By James Bow
When I was much younger, I knew a gentleman who had lived in Toronto since before the Second World War. Like me, he was a rail fan. He had been around to watch the reduction in the number and reach of Toronto’s streetcar routes. My friend marked the passing of many routes, staying up late into the night to ride the last streetcar in service.
Then the TTC abandoned its streetcar abandonment policy, and started putting streetcar routes back in service. When the TTC opened the Spadina streetcar in 1997, my friend was there at 5 a.m. to ride the first vehicle. “It was about time that I rode a ‘first car’ instead of a ‘last car,’” he said.
I thought about that as I boarded the first GO Train to depart Kitchener station in service to Toronto, at 5:52 a.m. on Monday, December 19.
The reality is, our lives are a story of change and flux, but for this advocate for improved public transportation, events like the first run of the Kitchener GO Train make me optimistic that, for the most part, things are changing for the better.
The service the province has installed is modest, getting the trains running while promising more for the future. Even so, the two morning trains into Toronto offer more choices for commuters that weren’t available a week ago.
At two hours between Kitchener and Union, it is a long commute. The problem is the tracks between Kitchener and Georgetown, which Via and GO both schedule an hour to get past.
These tracks need investment to upgrade rails and signalling so that GO and Via can improve travel times by as much as thirty minutes. Reports suggest that funds are available, but the freight railroad leasing the line is dragging out negotiations.
GO’s service opens up more of Toronto to commuters hoping to avoid the highways. The trains stop at six stations that Via avoids, adding a half hour to GO’s travel time, but giving Kitchener residents access to jobs throughout western Toronto and Brampton.
Here, too, commuters must look to the future for improvements.
On my trip into Toronto, I got off at Bloor station and walked to the nearby Dundas West subway stop. While only a five minute walk, it was far from pedestrian friendly. The TTC and GO Transit have been talking about a direct connection between the two stations for over a decade, and it is possible such a connection will open in 2015.
Then there are the transit connections here in Kitchener. Grand River Transit is running a BusPLUS shuttle between the station and the downtown bus terminal, but there is no GRT bus available to catch the 5:40 BusPLUS to the station. To catch my train, I had to take a $10 cab ride. The BusPLUS service was useful on the return journey, however.
Overall, I was happy with GO’s new service. I think I am more likely to take the morning Via train, as it is thirty minutes faster and has more legroom, but GO is a better choice for my afternoon return, avoiding the uncomfortable half-hour lineup that Via passengers endure waiting for their train back to Kitchener.
People on the journey seemed pleased with the new GO service and wanted more: trips on weekends, and even the ability to reverse commute between Toronto and Kitchener. These things will come if the initial investment succeeds. While there is room for improvement, I am confident that the service will be popular enough to ensure such improvements come.
• • •
James Bow is a writer and a father of two in Kitchener.
You can read more about him http://bowjamesbow.ca/
