Kitchener line

Kitchener is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Kitchener, though most trains originate and terminate in Brampton in off-peak hours.

Kitchener
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	GO Transit rail services
Locale	Toronto; Mississauga; Brampton; Halton Hills; Guelph; Kitchener
Stations	12
Daily ridership	18,000 (2014)[1]
Operation
Opened	April 29, 1974 (1974-04-29)
Owner	Metrolinx Canadian National Railway
Operator(s)	GO Transit
Technical
Line length	102.7 km (63.8 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map VIA to London layover yard km.0 Kitchener Central 102.7 Kitchener Conestoga Parkway Grand River Waterloo Region Wellington County Hanlon Parkway 80.3 Guelph Speed River Wellington County Halton Region Acton CN Halton Subdivision 48.9 Georgetown Credit River Halton Region Peel Region 40.6 Mount Pleasant Peel Regional Road 107 (formerly Highway 7) Orangeville Brampton Ry 35.9 Brampton Highway 410 29.8 Bramalea Highway 407 27.4 Halwest Junction CN Halton Sub to MacMillan Yard 23.7 Malton UPX to Pearson Airport Peel Region Toronto Highway 427 17.7 Etobicoke North Highway 401 Humber River CP MacTier Subdivision Weston tunnel 13.8 Weston Mount Dennis West Toronto Diamond Milton line 6.2 Bloor Barrie line Lakeshore West line North Bathurst Yard 0.0 Union   Lakeshore East line Richmond Hill line

History

Services

The GO Transit Georgetown line opened on April 29, 1974, becoming the second line in the GO Transit rail network. Peak-direction train service operated between Georgetown and Union Station, replacing a commuter service previously operated by Canadian National Railway (CN).[2]

Service was extended beyond Georgetown to Guelph on October 29, 1990, but was again cut back to Georgetown on July 2, 1993.[2]

Limited weekday midday service was introduced in April 2002, with four trains in each direction between Union and Bramalea. These trains were discontinued in 2011 to facilitate construction of the Georgetown South Expansion project.

On December 19, 2011, the Georgetown Line was renamed the Kitchener Line as service was extended to Kitchener, making one intermediate stop at Guelph. Another intermediate stop, Acton, opened on January 7, 2013.[2]

Weekday midday service was re-introduced in September 2015, with hourly service between Mount Pleasant and Union.[3]

In September 2019, GO Transit introduced limited off-peak train service along the entire length of the line, with 2 new weekday round trips operating between Toronto and Kitchener outside of peak periods.[4][5][6]

Infrastructure

As a part of the GO Transit Rail Improvement Program, the West Toronto Diamond was grade separated. The Metrolinx Weston railway, which carries the Kitchener Line as well as UP Express and Via trains, was lowered into a trench to pass under CP's North Toronto main line.[7] Trains began using the new grade separation in May 2014.[8]

The Georgetown South railway expansion project was initiated in 2009 with Metrolinx now as its proponent.[9] The project represented a significant increase in railway capacity, with the former one- to two-track[10] railway being widened to 4 tracks within Toronto, with a total of 8 tracks where the Milton line and Barrie line share the corridor. All level crossings along the corridor were eliminated with using railway or roadway underpasses. The plan would allow for an increased frequency of trains on the route, increasing service from approximately 50 per day to about 300.[11] It drew criticism from Weston community groups, which opposed the increased use of diesel locomotive on the basis of air pollution. They preferred instead that the corridor be electrified.[11] The group has also requested more stations along the route.[11]

The Georgetown South project was later reduced in scope due to cost overruns: the corridor was expanded to three tracks, with the fourth track as well as the dedicated Barrie line tracks deferred to future projects. Construction on the Weston subdivision itself finished in 2015[12], allowing UP Express to begin operating, while additional track work in the Union Station Rail Corridor continued into 2016.[13]

In 2009 Metrolinx purchased 26 kilometres (16 mi) of track along the corridor from Toronto to Bramalea for $160 million.[14]^:10 In September 2014, it purchased the 53 kilometres (33 mi) of track from Georgetown to Kitchener from CN for $76 million.[15]

In 2019, Metrolinx conducted a series of public forums on electrification of the Kitchener line from Georgetown to Kitchener, in a change from its earlier Regional Express Rail plan, which had called for continuation of diesel train service on the western portion of the line. Electrification plans reaffirmed overall Metrolinx goals of track bed and bridge improvements, quad-tracking sections of the line, and the addition of a station at Breslau.[16]

Station list

Station	Municipality	Connections	Notes
Kitchener	Kitchener	GRT	To be replaced by Kitchener Central Station[17]
Breslau	Woolwich		Proposed station
Guelph	Guelph	Guelph Transit
Acton	Halton Hills
Georgetown
Mount Pleasant	Brampton	Brampton Transit  505   561
Brampton		Brampton Transit  501   502   561
Bramalea		Brampton Transit  511
Malton	Mississauga	MiWay  505
Etobicoke North	Toronto	TTC
Weston		TTC
Mount Dennis		TTC	Opening 2021
St. Clair		TTC	Proposed station
Bloor		TTC
Liberty Village		TTC	Future station
Union Station		TTC

Current service

GO Transit train service operates on weekdays only. During the times that trains do not operate, corresponding GO bus service is provided.

On weekdays during peak periods in the peak direction, approximately 2 trains per hour operate the full route between Toronto and Kitchener, while additional trips operate shorter segments to and from Toronto. Express trains typically serve all stations between Kitchener and Bramalea, and operate non-stop between Bramalea and Union.

Outside of peak periods, service operates hourly between Mount Pleasant and Union, of which 2 off-peak in each direction also cover the entire route from Kitchener to Toronto.[4][5][6]

Future expansion

The 2008 proposal to extend the line past Georgetown to Kitchener included some components which have not yet been realized. In addition to the now-realized stations in Kitchener, Guelph and Acton, the report proposed a station in Breslau which would serve as a Park-and-ride facility for Waterloo Region, and a layover yard in Baden, Ontario.[18] The Breslau station received further approval in an official expansion plan in June, 2016.[19]

The provincial initiative known as GO Regional Express Rail proposes a substantial increase in Kitchener Line service over the next decade. During peak hours, trains would run in peak direction every 30 minutes from Kitchener to Union Station and every 15 minutes from Mount Pleasant to Union Station. Electrification will be in place from Bramalea to Union Station, with trains running every 15 minutes along the electrified line throughout the day.[20] CN Rail owns a 19-kilometre (12 mi) segment of the line between Georgetown and Bramalea that will be bypassed by a 30-kilometre (19 mi) track to which freight traffic will be shunted.[21] Once completed, Metrolinx will acquire the track segment between Bramalea and Georgetown.[21]

A new station is also proposed where the line crosses Eglinton Avenue in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood. It would interface with the western end of the Line 5 Eglinton LRT at Mount Dennis station, and open when that line opens in 2021.[22]

The Region of Waterloo is planning to build Kitchener Central Station, a transit hub, at the north-east corner of King and Victoria streets in Kitchener. The hub would serve GO Transit trains and buses as well as other local and intercity public transit services.[17]

As part of Toronto mayor John Tory's Smart Track initiative, new stations are planned where the line crosses St. Clair Avenue West and near Liberty Village.[23]

As of December 2018, Metrolinx is considering replacing its Etobicoke North GO Station with a proposed Highway 27–Woodbine station about 2 kilometres west, near Woodbine Racetrack.[24] Metrolinx wants to demolish Etobicoke North station site to effect service improvements.[25]

In February 2020, Metrolinx held a series of Public Information Centres detailing plans for expansion on the line. During peak hours, the plan calls for hourly peak direction service from Kitchener and 30 minute service from Georgetown. Both of these will run express from Bramalea, with trains from Kitchener making a stop at Weston. The plan also calls for full 10 minute bi-directional service from Bramalea and hourly off-peak services running express from Bramalea to Union Station, with weekday trains stopping at Bramption and Mount Pleasant.[26]

References

1. "Regional Express Rail" (PDF). Metrolinx. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
2. Garcia, Daniel (25 June 2015). "GO Transit's Kitchener Line". Transit Toronto. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
3. Kalinowski, Tess (19 August 2015). "GO boosts Brampton trains and bus service to Pearson". Toronto Star. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
4. Kitchener GO Train and Bus Schedule. Metrolinx. June 29, 2019.
5. Munro, Steve (August 16, 2019). "GO Transit Service Changes Effective September 3, 2019". Steve Munro. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
6. "Train Schedule Changes". GO Transit. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
7. Cameron, Roger (1 April 2009). "Reduces Corporate Taxes, Sales Tax Harmonization". Railway Association of Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
8. "West Toronto Diamond". GO Transit. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
9. "News Release - Metrolinx is new proponent of Georgetown Line" (PDF). December 2009.
10. http://www.mapleleaftracks.com/Store/Free/Greater%20Toronto%20Area%20Documentation.pdf
11. Kalinowski, Tess (22 April 2009). "GO plans anger residents". Toronto Star. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
12. "Metrolinx Georgetown South Project".
13. http://libraryarchives.metro.net/RMC/18-672-Whitbred/18-672-3-APPENDIX-A-RESUMES-METRO-SYSTEMS-PARTNERS.pdf#p46
14. Pfeifer, Judy; Troughton, Gord; Burke, Chris. "Transforming the way our region moves" (PDF). Metrolinx. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
15. "Metrolinx buys 53-km track section, touts Kitchener GO upgrades". CBC News. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
16. Turcotte, Spencer (25 November 2019). "Metrolinx talks GO train electrification in Kitchener". CTV News.
17. "Transit Hub". Region of Waterloo. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
18. "Georgetown to Kitchener Rail Expansion". Greater Toronto Transit Authority (GO Transit). Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
19. "GO Regional Express Rail 10-Year Program: New Stations Analysis" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
20. Ontario improving GO Transit service along all corridors
21. Vrbanac, Bob (2 September 2017). "Metrolinx said potential agreement could shorten timelines for two-way all-day GO train". Waterloo Chronicle. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
22. James Bow (2013-09-04). "Future Mount Dennis Station (Kitchener Line/Eglinton LRT)". Transit Toronto. Retrieved 2013-09-08. The connection was given new life with the launch of Eglinton LRT, operating from Jane Street east to Kennedy. A stop near Black Creek Drive would include a connection with the GO Kitchener line and a new stop on the Union Pearson Express.
23. Spurr, Ben (June 21, 2016). "Locations of four new Toronto GO stations announced". Toronto Star. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
24. "New GO Station Coming to Woodbine Racetrack". woodbine.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
25. Spurr, Ben (December 3, 2018). "Metrolinx proposes GO Transit station near Woodbine Racetrack". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
26. "GO Expansion OnCorridor Program" (PDF). metrolinxengage.com. Metrolinx. 13 February 2020. p. 13. Retrieved 21 February 2020.

External links

• Kitchener Line: Train and Bus Schedule on GO Transit updated January 5, 2019
• GO Transit's Kitchener Line on Transit Toronto
• "Metrolinx negotiations with CN Rail ongoing for Kitchener GO". CBC News. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.