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Caption: GO Trains return to Stratford...???? Did they ever come through here? I know they did make runs west in the 1990's for various reasons, including running to Sarnia for the tunnel opening. Anyway, GO, without announcement or fanfare ran a test train to London and back today, and plans to do the same again tomorrow. Who knows how long this will last though? It's a 28 MPH, 2 hour journey from Kitchener to London, seriously, in the 1990's it was only one hour - how is this even feasible? Politics.
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I think the only time GO coaches made it there in revenue service was when the LRCs were sidelined. Lots of speculation but no answers yet.
My question is why is it even out there? Expansion of service would only be the logical answer.
Wow ! Stephen, a GO train in Stratford ! Wonderful, and as far as I know, this is a first time event. Yes, GO equipment was used on the Dundas Sub to London when the LRC equipment was laid up, but I don’t remember VIA using GO equipment at that time over the back line. Very nice colour composition with the beautiful hanging flower baskets – now if CN would only spend a few shekels and clean out the track weeds and put down some fresh gravel ballast. Maybe the next ballast train (like the one you recently photographed near Guelph) could be sent all the way to Stratford. Any idea at all why GO train shows up in Stratford ? And how and when did it return from Stratford ? Was this possibly just an equipment move of one of the stored GO trains in Kitchener back to Toronto that couldn’t use the Guelph Sub to Silver because of weekend upgrading work ? As you know, extra equipment may be required for Blue Jay games, increase in weekday Lakeshore Corridor service (every 15 minutes being restored Oakville-Oshawa), Stouffville and Barrie corridors). Thanks for posting, John
GO is testing service to London all weekend. There are moves happening this afternoon, two round trips I believe, from Kitchener.
It was announced by Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney in February 2020 that the are looking at service to London, and now this is happening, so it’s surely a political ploy to expand service and win votes.
The real question is, will patrons of GO trains deal with 30 MPH track from Kitchener to London? At least VIA folks have much more distance at a greater overall average speed..
Honestly, John, after my shot at Stratford I just went home, with gas at $1.40/litre I was out of it and didn’t want to spend any more time, I imagine they returned about 2.5 hours later.
GO trains to London? I suspect that after London commuters who have been used to LRC seats have to sit in Bi-Level seats for an hour or two there may be a mutiny afoot.
Yeah, that track is going to need major upgrades if they want GO trains.
I wonder if they plan to run trains through from London to Toronto, or if they’re thinking of a hub-and-spoke model – Toronto-Kitchener, Kitchener-London, etc. Either way, it won’t take the place of VIA service, if that’s their plan.
I have a sneaky suspicion they’re going to run on existing track ‘as is’ as a political ploy only. Probably only one or two trips a day…. just to say they did it.
Political ploy? Sounds like a tourist train operation now. But yeah, they can then say “yes we did it”.