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GO Transit
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GO Transit
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven million across an area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) stretching from Kitchener in the west to Peterborough in the east, and from Barrie in the north to Niagara Falls in the south. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 71,827,500. GO Transit operates diesel-powered double-decker trains and coach buses, on routes that connect with all local and some long-distance inter-city transit services in its service area.
GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, as a part of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Since then, it has grown from a single train line to seven lines. GO Transit has been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations. Today, it is an operating division of Metrolinx, a provincial Crown agency with overall responsibility for integrative transportation planning within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and is projected to grow dramatically with electrification, increased frequency and new stations through the GO Expansion, which is scheduled to be completed in phases through 2025–2032.
Cities in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) expanded greatly during the 1950s, influenced by growth in immigration and industrialization. Much of the existing commuter service was provided by the Canadian National Railway (CN), which faced mounting pressure to expand its service beyond the Lakeshore trains it ran between Hamilton in the west and Danforth in the east, to Toronto; however, CN lacked the financial and physical capital to do this. Real improved commuter service was not considered until the 1962 Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study, which examined land use and traffic in the newly created Metropolitan Toronto. The idea of GO Transit was created out of fear of becoming lost in years of planning; it was "approached as a test, but recognized to be a permanent service". In May 1965, the government of Ontario granted permission to proceed with the launch of Canada's first specially designed commuter rail service, at a cost of CA$9.2 million ($86 million in 2023 dollars).
Government of Ontario Transit (later shortened to "GO Transit") started as a three-year long experiment on May 23, 1967, running single-deck trains powered by diesel locomotives in push-pull configuration on a single rail line along Lake Ontario's shoreline. GO Train service ran throughout the day from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. The experiment proved to be extremely popular; GO Transit carried its first million riders during its first four months, and averaged 15,000 per day soon after. This line, now divided as the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines, is the keystone corridor of GO Transit. Expansion of rail service continued in the 1970s and 1980s, aimed at developing ridership in with the introduction of the Georgetown (now Kitchener) line in 1974 and the Richmond Hill line in 1978. The Milton GO Train line opened in 1981, followed by the Bradford (now Barrie) and Stouffville lines a year later, establishing GO Transit's present-day service of seven rail corridors.
Other than establishing new rail corridors, GO Transit introduced the Bombardier BiLevel Coaches in 1978, in order to increase the number of passengers carried per train. These unique rail cars were developed in partnership with Bombardier Transportation. One year later, in 1979, the former Bay Street GO concourse at Union Station was built to accommodate these additional passengers. GO Bus service began on September 8, 1970, extending the original Lakeshore line to Hamilton and Oshawa, as well as providing service north to Newmarket and Barrie. It eventually became a full-fledged network in its own right after 1989, feeding rail service and serving communities beyond the reach of existing trains.
Near the end of 1982, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Communications James W. Snow announced the launch of GO-ALRT (Advanced Light Rail Transit), an interregional light rail transit program providing $2.6 billion (1980 dollars) of infrastructure. Although this plan was not implemented, certain key objectives from it were established in other ways: additional stations were built, all-day service to Whitby and Burlington was established and networks of buses and trains interconnected the network.
GO extended limited rush hour train service on the Bradford, Georgetown and both Lakeshore lines and began offering off-peak service on the Milton line in 1990. Train service was also extended to Burlington on the Lakeshore West line in 1992. In a series of cost-cutting measures, then–Ontario Premier Bob Rae announced a "temporary" reduction in spending on services, causing all of the expansions of the 1990s to be reduced or eliminated.
All day train service was restored from Burlington to Whitby, and peak service was finally brought to Oshawa in 2000. A large initiative to expand the GO Transit network, under the GO Transit Rail Improvement Plan, or GO TRIP, started in the mid-2000s. C$1 billion was invested in multiple rail and bus projects, making it the largest commuter rail project in Canadian history. This was later dwarfed by a further slate of new GO infrastructure proposed in MoveOntario 2020, the provincial transit plan announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty in the leadup to the 2007 provincial election. With re-investment in regional transit, GO experienced growth in its train network: all day service was restored to Oshawa in 2006 and Aldershot in 2007; service was expanded to Barrie South in 2007, to Lincolnville in 2008, to Kitchener in 2011, to Gormley in 2016, to Bloomington in 2021, and an excursion train operated on summer weekends to Niagara Falls. This service was later expanded to all year round.
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GO Transit
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven million across an area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) stretching from Kitchener in the west to Peterborough in the east, and from Barrie in the north to Niagara Falls in the south. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 71,827,500. GO Transit operates diesel-powered double-decker trains and coach buses, on routes that connect with all local and some long-distance inter-city transit services in its service area.
GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967, as a part of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Since then, it has grown from a single train line to seven lines. GO Transit has been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations. Today, it is an operating division of Metrolinx, a provincial Crown agency with overall responsibility for integrative transportation planning within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and is projected to grow dramatically with electrification, increased frequency and new stations through the GO Expansion, which is scheduled to be completed in phases through 2025–2032.
Cities in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) expanded greatly during the 1950s, influenced by growth in immigration and industrialization. Much of the existing commuter service was provided by the Canadian National Railway (CN), which faced mounting pressure to expand its service beyond the Lakeshore trains it ran between Hamilton in the west and Danforth in the east, to Toronto; however, CN lacked the financial and physical capital to do this. Real improved commuter service was not considered until the 1962 Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study, which examined land use and traffic in the newly created Metropolitan Toronto. The idea of GO Transit was created out of fear of becoming lost in years of planning; it was "approached as a test, but recognized to be a permanent service". In May 1965, the government of Ontario granted permission to proceed with the launch of Canada's first specially designed commuter rail service, at a cost of CA$9.2 million ($86 million in 2023 dollars).
Government of Ontario Transit (later shortened to "GO Transit") started as a three-year long experiment on May 23, 1967, running single-deck trains powered by diesel locomotives in push-pull configuration on a single rail line along Lake Ontario's shoreline. GO Train service ran throughout the day from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. The experiment proved to be extremely popular; GO Transit carried its first million riders during its first four months, and averaged 15,000 per day soon after. This line, now divided as the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines, is the keystone corridor of GO Transit. Expansion of rail service continued in the 1970s and 1980s, aimed at developing ridership in with the introduction of the Georgetown (now Kitchener) line in 1974 and the Richmond Hill line in 1978. The Milton GO Train line opened in 1981, followed by the Bradford (now Barrie) and Stouffville lines a year later, establishing GO Transit's present-day service of seven rail corridors.
Other than establishing new rail corridors, GO Transit introduced the Bombardier BiLevel Coaches in 1978, in order to increase the number of passengers carried per train. These unique rail cars were developed in partnership with Bombardier Transportation. One year later, in 1979, the former Bay Street GO concourse at Union Station was built to accommodate these additional passengers. GO Bus service began on September 8, 1970, extending the original Lakeshore line to Hamilton and Oshawa, as well as providing service north to Newmarket and Barrie. It eventually became a full-fledged network in its own right after 1989, feeding rail service and serving communities beyond the reach of existing trains.
Near the end of 1982, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Communications James W. Snow announced the launch of GO-ALRT (Advanced Light Rail Transit), an interregional light rail transit program providing $2.6 billion (1980 dollars) of infrastructure. Although this plan was not implemented, certain key objectives from it were established in other ways: additional stations were built, all-day service to Whitby and Burlington was established and networks of buses and trains interconnected the network.
GO extended limited rush hour train service on the Bradford, Georgetown and both Lakeshore lines and began offering off-peak service on the Milton line in 1990. Train service was also extended to Burlington on the Lakeshore West line in 1992. In a series of cost-cutting measures, then–Ontario Premier Bob Rae announced a "temporary" reduction in spending on services, causing all of the expansions of the 1990s to be reduced or eliminated.
All day train service was restored from Burlington to Whitby, and peak service was finally brought to Oshawa in 2000. A large initiative to expand the GO Transit network, under the GO Transit Rail Improvement Plan, or GO TRIP, started in the mid-2000s. C$1 billion was invested in multiple rail and bus projects, making it the largest commuter rail project in Canadian history. This was later dwarfed by a further slate of new GO infrastructure proposed in MoveOntario 2020, the provincial transit plan announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty in the leadup to the 2007 provincial election. With re-investment in regional transit, GO experienced growth in its train network: all day service was restored to Oshawa in 2006 and Aldershot in 2007; service was expanded to Barrie South in 2007, to Lincolnville in 2008, to Kitchener in 2011, to Gormley in 2016, to Bloomington in 2021, and an excursion train operated on summer weekends to Niagara Falls. This service was later expanded to all year round.
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