GO/VIA Transit

[Innsertnamehere]

I'm sure the NDP would be fine with the big move, but the liberals seem unwilling to give them their auto insurance reduction so that is what could send us to the polls. Hopefully not.

[movingtohamilton]

This delay will disappoint many in the business sector who saw all-day service in 2015 as a boost for and a benefit to the local economy. A uptick in housing sales was predicted.

[Jon Dalton]

Hamilton already has peak period GO service. What's the point of introducing it again at a station 2km away from the one we already have? The need is for all day service and the need is for express service to Toronto. That is what GTA workers need if they buy homes and condos here.

[thistleclub]

That discrepancy was the point of my "Amaze!"

Admittedly, it's a synopsis, but the promises of "GO Transit service from a new James Street North station" and "Two-way GO service from Hamilton" even fail to specify trains.

[SteelTown]

They've begun working on the future James St N GO Station. Bunch of red flags and spray paint markings on the grounds.

[Beedok]

So, is the current train station going to continue having trains or will it be buses only?

[SteelTown]

Yes, it'll continue to have rush hour GO Train service and will be the main GO bus terminal.

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Yes, it'll continue to have rush hour GO Train service and will be the main GO bus terminal.

This is good news for me. I use the GO train rush hour service and the GO bus service, and the main terminal is very convenient.

As you all know, there has been discussion of all-day train service for years. Hamilton is, it seems, counting on this service to boost the local economy: TO people move here, etc.

But one aspect of this boosterism is eluding me. Currently, rush hour service is not express service. For example, the 7:15 eastbound train is all stops to Oakville, then express to Union. The 6:35pm westbound train is express to Clarkson, then all stops to Hamilton. (The Aldershot-Hamilton portion is a slow trip, due to the grade.)

On my trips westbound from Union, I have taken both train and bus service. The 6:35 train and the 6:35 bus arrive virtually at the same time, with the bus sometimes arriving a few minutes earlier than the scheduled time.

So I'm unclear on the benefit of all-day train service. It will be all-stops in each direction after the morning-rush and prior to the evening-rush. That's a slow trip. The GO bus currently provides a quicker trip after rush hour than will be provided on a train. Yes, more passengers can be accommodated on a train. Is passenger volume the benefit being promoted? Travel time won't be the positive unless all-day express service is being planned.

Thoughts?

[Beedok]

The train is a much nicer ride, so that's a bonus.

[Frankenrogers]

My thoughts.

I also work in Toronto and found that if I catch a bus before 230p or one after 630p I get home much quicker than the bus. I live off Locke so a part of that is that I can get off at Dundurn and walk home quicker than I can from downtown. But I can actually leave the bus station and be in my house in exactly one hour if it is past 630p. Train is steady in that it takes me exactly 1-1/2 hours from station to home.

The bus is a better ride for the most part than the train. I find it easier to sleep on it if I want and seating is more comfortable unless a bigger (or rude) person is beside you and you are squished off your seat. The train is better for working on the computer and socializing though.

[Berklon]

Personally I prefer the train over the bus.

The bus is constantly stop and go, accelerate and break - it leaves me feeling sick... especially when trying to read, watching a movie or working on the notebook. The only real advantage is that the seats are more comfortable. Usually it arrives a little sooner than the train, but I'd rather a bit later if it means I can be more productive.

[durandy]

I saw the light and starting commuting by bus two years ago, it's so much better for all the reasons stated. I also bring my bike sometimes which saves a load in subway tokens, which can't be done on the rush hour trains.

We're just lucky to have this amazing express bus service.

Electrification may improve things train-wise, but if we get a dedicated high occupancy or high tolled lane on the QEW it could cut the bus at all times to under an hour, which beats even the Via.

[Jon Dalton]

It is hard to get straight answers from GO but I believe they are planning a train that is at least partially express from the new Hamilton GO station. I have been to all of the public information sessions for the new GO service and said repeatedly that this needs to be done. I read in one of their proposed schedules that the train could be express from Aldershot to Toronto - this would make sense. In the context of future expansion to Niagara, which this whole project is based on, Hamilton and Aldershot would be the last stops before express to Toronto. Hamilton would take passengers from downtown and trips fed by local transit, Aldershot would act as a park and ride.

[SteelTown]

GO trains every 30 minutes from Aldershot starting June 29

http://www.thespec.com/news/ontario/arti...-minutes-from-aldershot-starting-june-29

GO trains every 30 minutes from Aldershot starting June 29

GO Transit is increasing the frequency of train service along its Lakeshore lines to every half hour from once an hour.

Starting June 29, GO Trains that currently run hourly between Aldershot and Oshawa will run every 30 minutes, seven days a week.

Transportation Minister Glen Murray says the change will add 263 new train trips in total each week along the heavily used line.

GO carries about 200,000 passengers each weekday and has the fifth highest commuter train ridership in North America.

[movingtohamilton]

Interesting announcement. The GO express bus will get you to/from Union more quickly, depending on time of day and/or traffic conditions. Are there riders who need, for example, a Hamilton-Port Credit trip every 30 minutes?

It would be great if some of those newly announced trips were partially express.

[Jon Dalton]

An express service is needed. Since they are basically doubling the service frequency, they could make every other train a limited stop service with one stop in each city. Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Toronto. I don't know which Mississauga station is busiest, but it might make sense to use one. The VIA train stops at Oakville between Aldershot and Toronto and makes the trip in 40 minutes.

[CaptainKirk]

Passenger service is proposed to return to James Street North in the form of a two-storey glass building that is reminiscent of the MacNab Street Transit Terminal in downtown Hamilton.

The proposed station, set to open in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games, will be located just east of the MacNab Street North bridge.

It will be attached to a plaza that will stretch to James Street North — just across from LIUNA Station (which was built as the CN station in 1930) — and the plaza is proposed to have bus bays, pedestrian walkways and areas for public art.

The station will be level with MacNab Street and the bottom floor will be about eight metres below and level with the tracks. This is because the rail line is located in a bit of a valley between Stuart Street and Strachan Street West.

That, at any rate, was the vision shown to about 40 people specially invited to a Metrolinx meeting Tuesday night at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre on Stuart Street.

Those stakeholders in attendance included Mayor Bob Bratina, councillors Brian McHattie and Jason Farr, plus city officials, representatives of neighbourhood associations, the waterfront trust and the Hamilton-Burlington Society of Architects.

The station is to be a supplement to the Hamilton GO Centre (the former TH&B station) several blocks south of the proposed site, although attendees were told it will be developed as a mobility hub. It will connect with other transit such as buses and the proposed A-line Light Rail Transit (LRT) between the bayfront and the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.

There are plans for a parking garage, easy exit for cars and a kiss-and-go spot.

Metrolinx official Randal Dreise said the platforms will be 350 metres long, stretching from James Street North to Hess Street North and Stuart Street.

That will see it stretch onto land that once housed a majestic train station linked to Hamilton’s development. A station was built off Stuart Street by the Great Western Railway in 1875. The GWR was swallowed up by the Grand Trunk Railway in the 1880s.

The station stood until the 1920s, when it was replaced by the CN station. The new station opened in 1931 and served passengers — the last being GO commuters — until 1993.

Dreise said, however, negotiations remain to make the station a reality — negotiations with CN to acquire tracks for the GO trains, negotiations with CN to provide all-day GO service and negotiations with land owners to build the plaza.

Bratina, a well-known rail buff who pushed for the return of GO service at James Street North, said he liked the proposed station design and that he never expected there would be some “grand station.”

“It’s the service that counts, but a simple and elegant plan would enhance the neighbourhood,” he said. “I think it goes in hand with the growth of the service, but the desire to keep costs in hand.”

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/927075--design-for-new-james-north-go-station-unveiled

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I guess we're using the word 'design' very loosely. I'm not even sure what I'm looking at - it just looks like a bunch of concrete. A work in progress you say? I — well hope so. I just wish that we could build something that would make people proud - for once. I know there isn't a great budget for this station but give us something decent, for the love of all that is sacred!

[thistleclub]

The proposed station, set to open in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games, will be located just east of the MacNab Street North bridge. It will be attached to a plaza that will stretch to James Street North — just across from LIUNA Station (which was built as the CN station in 1930) — and the plaza is proposed to have bus bays, pedestrian walkways and areas for public art.... The station will be level with MacNab Street and the bottom floor will be about eight metres below and level with the tracks.... Metrolinx official Randal Dreise said the platforms will be 350 metres long, stretching from James Street North to Hess Street North and Stuart Street.

So technically MacNab North station, James North transit hub/pedestrian plaza. What are the odds that the (460-vehicle parking lot) will end up at Barton/Tiffany?


Edited to add:

Not good, it seems. There's more visual coverage at CBC Hamilton.

The presentation document suggests that parking (surface and multi-level) will be dispersed between MacNab and Hess, parallel to the tracks.

Proposed Station: Exterior 1 / Exterior 2

[mattgrande]

It's not great... but it's nicer than most other GO stations. I was expecting something something like Long Branch, so I'm actually surprised.