GO/VIA Transit

[matt602]

Something like that, yeah. Possibly inbound trains in the morning and outbound trains in the afternoon to offer alternatives to the reverse that is offered at the TH&B station. No idea though.

[davidcappi]

It's my understanding that the James North station will be running all day trains to Toronto and Niagara.

[king10]

is that a second walkway/ station building in the distance?

also, Hunter st station currently gets 4 morning and 4 evening lakeshore west trains.

[king10]

Originally Posted by davidcappi

It's my understanding that the James North station will be running all day trains to Toronto and Niagara.

i thought it was confirmed all day service was out of the question for the near future and that it would open on a reduced schedule? all day to niagara would be great but i can't see that happening as currently they don't even offer any service to niagara during the winter months

[Berklon]

Almost seems like they put the cart before the horse with this station without all day service.

Even by adding a 2 or 3 trains in the morning and in the afternoon (whether they're inbound or outbound), the new station seems like overkill. It makes sense for all day service, but it hardly seems worth it if they're only adding a few trains.

Personally, I'd just be happy enough (for now) if they added some trains to Hunter. Bump the 7:15 to 7:30 and add an 8:00 and 8:30 train outbound in the morning, and add a 6:00 and 7:00 inbound in the evenings.

[lucasmascotto]

Two things anger me about this station.

1. Via Rail cancelled their service at the LIUNA Station in 1992 to consolidate it at the Aldershot Station, and GO followed in 1993. Now, were bringing back train service to the same place (literally right next to the LIUNA Station) we had it in ten years ago. And what are we replacing it with? A glass box worthy of a suburb city.

2. The planning of this new station went side-by-side with the promise of bringing all-day GO Service, to Hamilton. Excuses were made saying that the existing station on Hunter Street would not be able to support such a schedule, and yet with this new station we're only getting two more trains in the morning and two more in the evening; far off from all-day every 30 minutes that's standard in Burlington, for example.

So, what's the point?

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by lucasmascotto

So, what's the point?

More show than GO.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Katrillion

Wish we could just take Liuna Station over and convert it back to a REAL station but I guess we have to settle for this! This new station looks pretty good though.

On the school-board planning scale, this ranks as a winner.

I love that the old CN station is being used the way it is. It's a terrific building with a huge space. If it had been located on the main line between Toronto and Windsor we'd still be using it for what had been intended, and it would be a crown jewel among GO and VIA stations. But the outcome could have been disastrous had it not been converted to a banquet centre.

I wonder - if LIUNA had not closed in the lower level to create more hall space, could part of the GO station have been built there? That amazing passenger hall would still not be used for GO, but the entryway with staircases to the lower level could have been stunning... maybe with glass walkways to other platforms over the tracks on the side of the building.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by lucasmascotto

A glass box worthy of a suburb city.

As opposed to an old stone box worthy of a decaying rust belt city? (I'm not insulting the station, merely taking the same perspective to old as you're taking to new.)

[Innsertnamehere]

This will probably be the nicest go station in the network other than union and maybe Pickering... A suburban station would just be an asphalt platform along the rail line..

Also, you can't be serious about all day GO to niagara. Bringing it to Hamilton is all you are going to get.

On opening day this station will handle 2 peak trains travelling in the regular direction. I wouldn't expect it to stay that way however, GO will probably ramp up service fairly quickly as demand builds. This station is clearly built for more than 2 trains, when Hamilton does eventually get all day GO, this station will be built for it.

[mattgrande]

I'm expecting Hunter to close within two years of James North opening. There's no point for two stations so close together servicing the same line.

[Katrillion]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

I'm expecting Hunter to close within two years of James North opening. There's no point for two stations so close together servicing the same line.

Noooo... LIUNA Station > Hunter Station > New James St. Station

[thistleclub]

The staggered staging of the James North station and Metrolinx's cagey timelines could be a stay of execution for the Hunter GO.

Via Bay Observer:

Phase one of the James North GO Station will include a new station building complete with a ticket sales booth, full service multi-use washrooms and waiting areas. A Kiss & Ride including a taxi lane and barrier free drop-off is also planned. Two on-platform storage tracks with capability to layover trains for peak service will also be included.

A bus loop with heated shelters will also be included but it’s not clear whether the HSR will make use of the platforms. Hamilton Street Railway bus routes ’4 Bayfront’ and ’99 Waterfront Shuttle’ pass by the site on James Street.

It is possible that the ’12 Niagara Falls’ GO bus route, which runs all year via the QEW between Burlington GO and Niagara Falls, could be rerouted to also serve this station.

Phase two will include pedestrian bridges or tunnels complete with elevators and/or ramps providing two access points to the rail platforms.


Via CBC Hamilton:

The provincial transit agency is "committed" to bringing all-day GO train service to Hamilton "in the future," says spokesperson Malon Edwards, but he could not be more specific.


We have a downtown bus terminal three blocks from our train/intercity bus station, and another train station coming online 1.5km to the north, in an area with half the population density of Durand. It would be nice to think that Hamilton could manage to integrate its transit modes in the manner of Union Station/TTC/Bay GO Terminal.

[coalminecanary]

all of this because widening tunnels and twinning is "impossible"....

unless we are doing it for a highway that is

[Beedok]

Based off how the Gardiner is causing such a headache I don't think we'd be doing it for a highway either.

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

I'm expecting Hunter to close within two years of James North opening. There's no point for two stations so close together servicing the same line.

God no. James North is very inconvenient for most people.
Hunter station needs to continue with it's rush hour service.

[matt602]

I don't think Hunter street is in any immediate danger. They dumped a lot of money into restoring it only 15 years ago and there isn't any room at the James North station to relocate bus service to it, nor does it have the highway hookups like the Hunter street station does.

Maybe 20 years down the line Hunter might lose train service altogether but it should still remain as the intercity bus terminal for quite some time.

[Jon Dalton]

They also just built the storage facility behind the Hunter station. Can't store trains overnight at LIUNA.

Niagara expansion is actually the reason James North was planned and is being built. If Hamilton was the end of the line, they would have used Hunter and widened the tunnel (or not, as they don't really need to).

In 20 years, hopefully population growth, gas prices and market trends will bring rail service back to Buffalo, which is why the Hunter station was there in the first place.

[markbarbera]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

The staggered staging of the James North station and Metrolinx's cagey timelines could be a stay of execution for the Hunter GO.

Via Bay Observer:

Phase one of the James North GO Station will include a new station building complete with a ticket sales booth, full service multi-use washrooms and waiting areas. A Kiss & Ride including a taxi lane and barrier free drop-off is also planned. Two on-platform storage tracks with capability to layover trains for peak service will also be included.

A bus loop with heated shelters will also be included but it’s not clear whether the HSR will make use of the platforms. Hamilton Street Railway bus routes ’4 Bayfront’ and ’99 Waterfront Shuttle’ pass by the site on James Street.

It is possible that the ’12 Niagara Falls’ GO bus route, which runs all year via the QEW between Burlington GO and Niagara Falls, could be rerouted to also serve this station.

Phase two will include pedestrian bridges or tunnels complete with elevators and/or ramps providing two access points to the rail platforms.


Via CBC Hamilton:

The provincial transit agency is "committed" to bringing all-day GO train service to Hamilton "in the future," says spokesperson Malon Edwards, but he could not be more specific.


We have a downtown bus terminal three blocks from our train/intercity bus station, and another train station coming online 1.5km to the north, in an area with half the population density of Durand. It would be nice to think that Hamilton could manage to integrate its transit modes in the manner of Union Station/TTC/Bay GO Terminal.

While Hamilton is too small for a fair comparison, I find Toronto has disadvantaged itself by having only one local/regional transit hub, which has contributed to its own shortcomings. All traffic comes into one station, which leads to bottleneck problems. Union is near capacity already and there is no room for expansion. It is also a single point of failure. Any disruption at or near Union Station paralyses the entire GO Train network. Toronto would be better served to have at least one other major passenger rail hub. Two downtown rail stations may seem excessive now, but it will become an advantage 20-30 years from now. Easier to blend it into long term transit plans if it already exists rather than trying to fit it in 30 years from now.

[flar]

That's pretty nice. I expected a strip of asphalt with a roof and maybe a very small ticket building. This is an actual station.