GO Transit

GO Transit
GO Transit train lines
Reporting mark	GOT
Locale	Golden Horseshoe
Dates of operation	1967–present
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Website	http://www.gotransit.com

GO Transit is a regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves a conurbation designated the "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" (GTHA)^[1], with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. GO carries over 55 million passengers a year using an extensive network of train and bus services; rail service is provided by diesel locomotives pulling trains of unpowered double-deck passenger cars, while most bus service is provided by inter-city coaches.

Canada's first such public system, GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967 under the auspices of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Over time it has been constituted in a variety of public-sector configurations, today existing as a division of the provincial crown agency Metrolinx, a body with overall responsibility for transportation planning within the GTHA. Metrolinx, in turn, is governed by a board consisting of appointees of the province.

GO Train lines

Canada – United States border 130km Niagara Falls Via QEW Niagara Escarpment Welland Canal 406 Overpass Twelve Mile Creek 111km St. Catharines Via Jordan Harbour 95.0 km Barrie South Grimsby Via 66.8 km Bradford Hamilton Yard 63.2 km Hamilton Hunter St. Tunnel 60.0 km Desjardins Canal 59.9 km Hamilton Jct. 59.4 km Bayview Jct. 57.4 km East Gwillimbury 55.7 km Aldershot Via 55.0 km Newmarket QEW Underpass 52.5 km Burlington Jct. 51.5 km Burlington 50.2 km Milton 48.9 km Georgetown Via 48.1 km Aurora Credit River 44.9 km Appleby 407 Underpass 41.5 km Bronte Creek 40.6 km Mount Pleasant Lisgar 39.8 km Bronte 37.2 km Meadowvale 36.5 km King City 35.9 km Brampton Via Sixteen Mile Creek 34.4 km Oakville Via 34.1 km Streetsville Jct. 32.7 km Streetsville Credit River 403 Overpass 29.8 km Bramalea 29.5 km Maple 29.1 km Erindale 407 Underpass 27.4 km Halwest Jct. 26.9 km Clarkson 26.8 km Rutherford 24.8 km Cooksville 23.7 km Malton 427 Underpass 407 Overpass 21.2 km Credit River 20.8 km Snider Jct. 20.6 km Port Credit 20.0 km Dixie 19.8 km York University 17.7 km Etobicoke North 427 Underpass 401 Underpass 15.6 km Kipling TTC 15.4 km Long Branch 15.1 km Humber River 13.8 km Weston 401 Underpass 11.7 km Humber River Willowbrook Yard 10.8 km Mimico 9.2 km Gardiner Underpass 8.2 km Humber River West Toronto Diamond 6.2 km Bloor TTC Parkdale Jct. 3.2 km Exhibition North Bathurst Yard 0 km 0 km Union Via/TTC Summerhill Don Yard Prince Edward Viaduct Don River DVP Overpass CPR Trestle 8.4 km Danforth DVP Underpass 13.8 km Scarborough Scarborough Jct. 16.4 km Kennedy TTC CPR Trestle DVP Overpass 17.1 km Eglinton 18.2 km Oriole 18.2 km 401 Underpass 20.3 km Guildwood Via 401 Underpass CPR Underpass 22.7 km Old Cummer 22.9 km Agincourt 25.9 km Doncaster Jct. 26.6 km Rouge Hill 27.4 km Milliken 28.5 km Rouge River 29.5 km 407 Underpass 29.5 km Langstaff Viva 29.9 km Hagerman Jct. 407 Underpass 30.6 km Unionville Viva 31.9 km Durham Jct. 33.5 km Liverpool Jct. 33.6 km Pickering 33.8 km Richmond Hill 35.0 km Centennial 36.7 km Markham 37.5 km Ajax 38.7 km Mount Joy 46.2 km Whitby 46.8 km Stouffville Lincolnville 50.5 km Oshawa Via Station with all-day service Station with rush hour/limited service Maintenance yard TTC subway Other rail line Via - Via Rail Canada station TTC - TTC subway connection Viva - Viva bus connection

Service area

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) consists of the City of Toronto, the City of Hamilton, and the surrounding Regions of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham. GO Transit also reaches beyond the GTHA into Niagara and Waterloo Regions, and Peterborough, Simcoe, Dufferin, and Wellington Counties, although service to these non-GTHA jurisdictions is generally less extensive and, with some exceptions, bus-based only.

In total, GO trains and buses serve a population of 8 million in a 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) area radiating in places more than 140 kilometres (87 mi) from downtown Toronto. Present extrema are Hamilton and Waterloo to the west; Orangeville, Barrie, and Beaverton to the north; Peterborough and Newcastle to the east; and Niagara Falls to the south.

The GO system map shows seven train routes, all departing from Toronto's Union Station and mostly named respectively after the outer terminus of train service. Although colours and letters, noted below, are assigned in a consistent fashion to each line in all official media, in colloquial parlance lines are only ever referred to by their names.

Cab Control Car of a GO Train with a view of the CN Tower in the background.

The Lakeshore East and West rail lines frequently operate on an interlined basis: most off-peak and some peak-period trains provide through service between stations east and west of Toronto. With this exception, however, direct movement between the various "legs" is quite limited. While several GO buses run on orbital routes that connect multiple legs, all rail-based interchange from one line to another (with the aforementioned exception of the Lakeshore lines) requires switching trains at Union Station. (Trains on multiple routes pass through or by each of the Bloor, Danforth and Scarborough railway stations, but each station is assigned to a single corridor and only accordingly-routed trains stop there.)

Rail

A GO Transit train on its way out of Toronto

All GO Trains consist of bi-level railway cars

GO Transit's rail services (reporting mark GOT) carry the large majority of its overall ridership. GO trains are easily identifiable; all rolling stock is green and white, and the coaches are double-decked and shaped like elongated octagons. These Bombardier BiLevel carriages were originally designed for GO in the 1970s, and are now used by a number of other commuter railways across the continent. GO Trains generally operate in a push-pull configuration.

Most GO Train routes operate only in peak rush-hour periods and then only in the primary direction of travel. For example, as of June 2009, the Stouffville line service consists of five trains leaving Lincolnville each weekday between 5:18 and 7:42 a.m.^[2], and five trains leaving Toronto each weekday between 4:18 and 6:30 p.m^[3].

There is off-peak train service on parts of the Lakeshore lines; hourly trains operate on weekdays off-peak hours and weekends between Aldershot and Oshawa. More limited off-peak train service was offered on the Georgetown line between Toronto and Bramalea, but this was suspended in April 2010 to expedite construction work.

Although it has always owned its locomotives and coaches, GO's trackage was originally owned entirely by Canada's two major commercial railways: the large majority by the Canadian National Railway and the remainder by Canadian Pacific. In 1988, GO shifted part of the Lakeshore East line onto its first-ever section of self-owned purpose-built trackage. Since 2000, GO has incrementally acquired further trackage from the two commercial railways, including the Union Station Rail Corridor, the entire Barrie line, significant portions of the Georgetown and Stouffville lines, and smaller portions of the Lakeshore West and Milton lines. On the remainder of its rail network, GO is still required to work closely with CN and CP, who continue to own and operate the tracks, switches and signals.

Until recently, all train crews were also employees of one of the two railways, and GO Train service has been previously disrupted by non GO Transit-related labour disputes. A five-year contract with Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. meant 160 unionized engineers, conductors and newly coined "customer service ambassadors" replaced Canadian National crews operating the trains on six of GO's seven lines. Bombardier will continue to run trains with three-person crews, but their functions will change. Traditionally, the conductor focuses on safe operation, but also does customer service. Bombardier will put two engineers on each train, each driving in just one direction. When not driving, the spare engineer will handle operations. The crew person stationed in the accessible coach, formerly the conductor, will be a customer service ambassador.^[4] On the remaining line (the Milton line), GO continues to contract out the operation of its trains to the Canadian Pacific Railway, where operations continue as before.

Bus

Founded	1970
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Service area	Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), plus environs
Service type	Intercity coach service
Fleet	316 [5]
Operator	GO Transit
Web site	Official Web site

GO Bus number 2172 awaits passengers.

GO Transit Orion V 2000 at Finch Bus Terminal bound for Newmarket.
Due to the introduction of York Region Transit's Viva Blue line, the GO Newmarket "B" is to be discontinued in April 2010.^[6]

Each train route has a corresponding GO Bus service for the times (and directions) when (and where) the trains are not operating. These accept the same tickets as the trains and in many cases serve the same stations. For example, buses operate from Toronto to Milton, and from Aldershot station in West Burlington to Hamilton, at all times except the weekday evening peak when trains are available. Some train routes are similarly extended by buses at all times, as noted in the list of routes, with through buses when the trains do not run. Thus buses to Guelph operate from Georgetown in the evening peak, and from Toronto at other times. Buses serving downtown Toronto operate to a terminal adjacent to Union Station.

Still other GO Buses are independent of rail services. Some parts of the route network use expressways (such as the frequent Toronto–Hamilton express bus via the Queen Elizabeth Way) while others are more local in character. Toronto Pearson International Airport is served by two routes: one from Brampton to Yorkdale and York Mills subway stations, and one from Mississauga City Centre to Richmond Hill City Centre.

Most GO buses are of inter-city coach design, and carry approximately 50 passengers. Double-decker coaches debuted in April 2008, exclusively operating on GO's Highway 407 and Highway 403 corridor on the Oakville GO Station branch.^[7] They feature reclining seats and other amenities.^[7] Once GO receives more, it will provide service to York Region.^[7] GO also operates several Orion V buses, which more closely resemble conventional urban transit buses. These vehicles are used primarily on routes that are more local in nature, such as the Yonge Street and Highway 2 (Kingston Road) corridors. When York Region Transit took over most of the service on Yonge Street, a number of these Orion Vs were sold to them. All GO Buses are diesel-powered.

Terminals

GO Bus service uses 15 bus terminals, with numerous intermediate stops and ticket agencies, in addition to providing off-peak and express services to GO Train stations.^[5] The terminals have a wide range of owner/operator/user relationships; GO owned facility with exclusive use or shared with local service; municipal transit operation shared by GO; intercity terminal shared with Greyhound, Coach Canada, etc. During the school year there are also thousands of rides a day to the York University Bus Loop, one of the biggest transit hubs in the GTA.^[8]

• Ajax Bus Terminal
• Barrie Bus Terminal
• Bramalea City Centre Terminal
• Brampton Bus Terminal
• Finch Bus Terminal - former GO York Region Terminal
• Guelph Bus Terminal
• Hamilton GO Centre
• Kitchener Bus Terminal
• McMaster University Bus Terminal
• Newmarket Bus Terminal
• Oshawa Bus Terminal
• Richmond Hill Centre Terminal
• Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal
• Square One Bus Terminal
• Union Station Bus Terminal
• Yorkdale Bus Terminal
• York Mills Bus Terminal

Connections

GO connects with every municipal transit system in the GTHA, plus Barrie Transit, Peterborough Transit, Guelph Transit, Grand River Transit, Orangeville Transit, Niagara Transit, the Niagara Parks Commission People Mover and St. Catharines Transit.

TTC connections

Thousands of passengers move between GO and TTC service at Union Station on Toronto's Front Street

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) provides the most connections with GO Trains and convenient connections can be made between the trains and TTC buses, streetcars, and subway trains.

Immediately adjacent to the GO concourse at Union Station is the Union subway station on the TTC's Yonge-University Spadina line. The Union subway station also includes the terminus for the TTC's Harbourfront (509) and Spadina (510) streetcar lines.

Four subway stations on the TTC's Bloor-Danforth line either are close to or directly connect to GO Train stations:

• Kipling subway station has a direct connection to Kipling GO Station (on the Milton line),
• Kennedy subway/RT station has a direct connection to the Kennedy GO Station (on the Stouffville line).
• Dundas West subway station is near Bloor GO Station (on the Georgetown line), and
• Main Street subway station is near Danforth GO Station (on the Lakeshore East line)

The Leslie subway station on the Sheppard line does not currently connect with the nearby Oriole GO Station on the Richmond Hill line, but there has been consideration given to building a connection to TTC Leslie Station in the future as the platform at Oriole was recently moved further north to allow for it.

Additionally, three GO bus terminals are on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line, at Finch, York Mills, and Yorkdale, and one is located on the Scarborough RT at Scarborough Centre.

All GO Train stations within the City of Toronto are adjacent to TTC bus routes, and Danforth, Exhibition, Bloor, and Long Branch stations are also on streetcar routes.

Connections with other operators

Municipal transit systems outside Toronto remain purely bus-based to date. Buses operated by Barrie Transit, Peterborough Transit, Durham Region Transit, York Region Transit, Brampton Transit, Mississauga Transit, Milton Transit, Oakville Transit, Burlington Transit, the Hamilton Street Railway, Orangeville Transit, Guelph Transit, Grand River Transit, St. Catharines Transit, Niagara Transit and the Niagara Parks Commission People Mover connect with GO stations and stops in their respective jurisdictions.

York Region's Viva bus rapid transit system interchanges with the GO Train system at two stations. Viva Blue, Viva Purple and Viva Pink connect with Langstaff GO Station on the Richmond Hill line, and the peak-only Viva Pink connects with Unionville GO Station on the Stouffville line (Viva Purple and peak-only Viva Green are located nearby).

Ridership

GO runs 180 train trips and 1,430 bus trips daily, carrying 217,900 passengers on a typical weekday — 166,000 on the trains and 51,900 by bus.^[9] GO says that their ridership growth has continually exceeded expectations. In 1967, the first year of operation, 2.5 million passengers were carried. The combined rail and bus system today handles more than 50 million riders annually^[10], and it was announced on October 11, 2006 that GO Transit had recently achieved its one billionth passenger mark.^[11]

At least 96% of the train ridership is to and from Union Station in downtown Toronto, while about 70% of all bus passengers travel to and from the City of Toronto.

Inside a GO Train, upper deck with stairs leading down at the back

History

Oakville GO Station, the original western terminus for all-day service

GO Transit was created and funded by the provincial government in 1967 as Government of Ontario Transit (hence the acronym 'GO'). It began as a three-year experiment on May 23, 1967^[13] running single-deck diesel multiple units on a single rail line along Lake Ontario's shoreline. All day GO Train service ran from Oakville to Pickering with limited rush hour train service to Hamilton. GO trains carried 2.5 million riders that first year and was considered to be a success. GO Bus service, which started out in 1970 as an extension of the original Lakeshore train line, has since become a full-fledged network in its own right. It feeds the rail service and serves communities that trains do not reach.

Expansion continued in the 1970s with the introduction of the Georgetown line in 1974 and the Richmond Hill line in 1978. In 1978 the GO Transit bi-level railcars were introduced, although many of the bi-level trains had to run with a single level cab car at first. Finally in 1979 the current GO Train concourse at Union Station was built. In 1981 the Milton GO Train line opened, followed by the Bradford and Stouffville lines in 1982.

Towards the end of 1982, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Communications, James Snow, announced the launching of GO ALRT (Advanced Light Rail Transit), an interregional light rail transit program.^[14] Although this plan didn't come to fruition, it was decided that certain parts of the GO ALRT proposal would live on, in the form of a GO Train extension of all-day GO Train service to Whitby and Burlington. The tracks between Pickering and Whitby were originally built for the GO ALRT system but were soon converted to handle conventional GO Trains. All day GO Train service was brought to Whitby in 1988.

In the 1990s, the era of continuous growth came to end. Ridership shrank as a result of a recession in the early part of the decade. In spite of this, GO extended limited rush hour GO Train service to Barrie, Guelph, Acton and Oshawa in 1990. In the same year, GO also introduced off-peak train service on the Milton line, much of which only operated as far west as Erindale. Similarly, all-day GO Train service was extended to Burlington on the Lakseshore West line in 1992. However, in 1993 then Ontario premier Bob Rae announced a "temporary" reduction in spending on services. Consequentially GO Train service to Barrie, Guelph and Acton was eliminated. All day GO Train service to Whitby and Burlington was reduced to rush hours only (while limited rush hour train service to Oshawa and Hamilton remained in place). All day Lakeshore train service existed only between Pickering and Oakville. In 1995 a new set of tracks and a station were built in Oshawa, allowing for frequent rush hour GO Train service to Oshawa. In 1996, off-peak service ceased on the Milton line.

In January 1997, the province announced it would hand over funding responsibility for GO Transit to the Greater Toronto Area municipalities (which consist of the City of Toronto, and the Regions of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham) and the neighbouring Region of Hamilton-Wentworth (which became the new City of Hamilton on 1 January 2001). In exchange, the province would assume certain other funding responsibilities from municipal governments.

In 2000, all day GO Train service was restored from Burlington to Whitby and finally brought to Oshawa (although weekend & holiday Lakeshore GO Train service would still only see service between Pickering and Oakville). GO Train service was fully restored along the Lakeshore East line to Oshawa in 2006, and along the Lakeshore West line to Aldershot in 2007. The Bradford line was extended to Barrie South GO Station in 2007, restoring GO Train service to Barrie for the first time in 15 years. In 2008, train service on the Stouffville line was extended to Lincolnville GO Station.

On May 14, 2009, with the passage and approval of the 'Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Transit Implementation Act, 2009', GO Transit was merged with Metrolinx.

Future expansion

Rail system expansion

A GO Train Delays board in the Long Branch Train Station

The majority of expansion projects presently underway on GO Transit's rail network fall under the funding umbrella of the GO Transit Rail Improvement Plan, or GO TRIP. The majority of projects have been completed, with only the following remaining:

• Constructing a third track between Port Credit GO Station in Mississauga and Kerr St. in Oakville (just west of Oakville GO Station) on the Lakeshore West line. [4], due to be completed April 2010 ^[15]
• Grade separation of the West Toronto Diamond on the Georgetown line.^[16]
• Extension of the Barrie line to Allandale station, in the centre of Barrie (due to open in 2011)

The GO TRIP initiative, though seen as substantial at the time of its initial proposition in the mid-2000s, has since been dwarfed by a further slate of new GO infrastructure proposed in MoveOntario 2020, the provincial transit plan announced in 2007. MoveOntario 2020 was announced by Dalton McGuinty in the leadup to the 2007 provincial election as a provincially-initiated transit plan for the Greater Toronto Area. Unlike previous plans, there is to be no expectations of municipal contributions for capital costs, with a two-thirds/one-third funding arrangement between the province and the federal government foreseen. As of 2010, however, the Harper government has indicated it will not provide wide-ranging funding, but rather contribute to individual MoveOntario 2020 projects at its discretion. Of the estimated $17.5 billion worth of projects, a significant portion are to involve GO expansion. These include a number of new train corridors.

Although not provided for in MoveOntario 2020, GO Transit has also contemplated adding rail service to Niagara Region and to Waterloo Region. In 2009, GO introduced bus services with the stated goal they might build the market for eventual train service. Both Waterloo and Niagara regional governments are strongly in favour of GO Trains service being brought to these areas.^[17]

A new round of post-GO TRIP expansions to the rail system has been progressing through the various environmental assessment processes. These include:

Bolton line

This line would follow a CP rail line from Union Station through western Toronto and Woodbridge to the suburban community of Bolton, Ontario, replacing a bus service that currently encompasses two inbound and two outbound trips. Because of a rapidly growing population in the area and stronger transit connections that have been developed in last few years between Brampton and Vaughan, it is quite likely that train service on this route will be introduced within the next few years.

Seaton line

This line would use CP's Belleville subdivision to run from Toronto through northern Scarborough and east to Brock Road in Pickering. The line would likely be introduced after further development of the Seaton new town in Pickering. GO Trains originating at Union might reach the Belleville subdivision by potentially using disused CP Trackage in the lower Don Valley or by following the existing Stouffville line then shifting onto Belleville subdivision trackage via a new connection structure near Kennedy and Sheppard. Alternately, trains might originate along the Midtown Corridor (see below).

Locust Hill line

This line, like the Seaton line, would use CP's Belleville subdivision, then branch at the Agincourt yard onto CP's Havelock subdivision and continue northeast to Brock Road in the small community of Claremont, within the city of Pickering. This line would serve the growing community of Cornell in Markham, as well as the established Morningside Heights subdivision in Toronto. If the proposed Pickering International Airport is built, it will likely also connect to this line.

Although it was not been included in MoveOntario 2020, commuter rail service to Peterborough has also been proposed, which would involve trains travelling on the same line but continuing beyond Claremont. The federal government announced funding for a commuter train route to Peterborough in its 2008 budget, but it is uncertain who will operate it, as neither GO Transit nor federally-owned Via Rail have expressed any interest. Extensive track upgrades would be necessary to allow trains to reach desirable speeds. GO Transit provided a compromise by starting a train-meet bus service on September 5, 2009 between Peterborough and Oshawa GO station (on the Lakeshore East line), making stops at RR10 & Highway 115, downtown Peterborough and Trent University.

Midtown corridor

MoveOntario 2020 also proposed adding passenger service on the CP freight mainline that cuts through Toronto to the north of the downtown area. The midtown corridor runs from the Junction (intersection of many CN and CP lines, as well as the GO Georgetown and Milton routes) to the Don Valley. Service could involve an extension of the Seaton and North Pickering routes westward, or a combination of trains from the Georgetown and Milton lines. Passenger service would need to be restored to the former North Toronto Station on Yonge Street, or a new station would possibly be built adjacent to the Dupont TTC Station at Spadina Road.

While this proposal would take pressure off of Union Station, and would arguably become one of the more popular and lucrative of the new lines, it faces tremendous roadblocks and is the least likely of the new routes to be implemented. Canadian Pacific is strongly resistant to allow operation of GO trains on its tracks, and this line would use its most congested route, the mainline. The TTC is highly opposed also to a competing corridor to its Bloor-Danforth line. Furthermore, the proposed transfer points to the Yonge-University-Spadina subway would require new construction and would swamp existing stations. GO passengers transferring to the TTC at Union Station are moving "counterflow" (northbound into downtown) and take advantage of some rare rush-hour spare capacity on the line, whereas the new station would only add to the growing congestion on the Yonge and University segments. On the surface, the midtown corridor appears to require the least increase in infrastructure and should be the simplest to implement, but is in fact the most difficult from a bureaucratic perspective.

Union Station Revitalization

Improvements to Union Station's platforms, tracks and signalling system has been an ongoing process for GO Transit. In January 2010, GO began construction on a major renovation of Union Station's trainshed.^[21] The City of Toronto, owner of the station proper, has planned a major redevelopment in parallel, which will see private sector partner Osmington manage a significantly expanded station space.^[22] City-led renovations are slated to begin in Spring 2010.^[21]

Other expansion initiatives

Fleet expansion is also ongoing, including buses and Bombardier Bi-Level Rail Cars, and the replacement of old locomotives with more reliable and powerful models. GO will be a key user of the Presto card, a unified smartcard-based payment system for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area similar to the Oyster Card used by Transport for London in the United Kingdom.

GO has stated that it views the primary obstacle to further ridership growth has been a limited supply of park-and-ride spaces at its suburban stations, along with an existing train trips travelling at or above their maximum passenger capacity. Plans for decked parking at Ajax, Burlington, Centennial, Clarkson, Erindale, Oakville, and Unionville stations have been drafted; and structure in Aurora (opened March 2010), Burlington and Whitby have been completed. Platforms at Lakeshore and Milton corridor stations have been lengthened to permit 12-car train sets; construction is underway at Appleby, Clarkson, Streetsville and Hamilton stations to lengthen the platforms, with Mimico being the last station requiring this work.

GO is also developing a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that will provide extensive east-to-west express service across the GTA, using transit priority measures and park-and-ride stations with links to local transit. GO's already popular Highway 407 express buses, launched in the fall of 2000, are the BRT's precursor, showing that demand for such service is already there. It has grown and flourished, with greatly improved services and new park & ride lots. The GO 407 corridors are now among GO Transit's fastest growing services, yielding 12,000 rides on a typical day. As part of this service, GO Transit is collaborating with the City of Mississauga to build new, exclusive bus lanes along Highway 403. Mississauga's BRT website has more information on this new project.

Vehicles

A new MP40 #604

As of December 2008, GO Transit operates a total of 328 buses, 71 locomotives and 470 coaches, of which 52 are cab cars.

For their rail services, GO Transit uses a fleet consisting of older EMD F59PH locomotives and newer MPI MP40PH-3C locomotives. The MP40s are significantly more powerful with 4000 bhp vs the F59's 3000 bhp. The coaches used in GO Transit's trains are all various models of Bombardier Transportation's Bi-Level coach, with a seating capacity of 136 to 162, and a claimed standing room space for 276 standees.

For bus services, GO Transit has a variety of buses made by Prevost, Orion, MCI and Alexander Dennis.

Staff

GO has a workforce of 1,447 (2007).^[23]

In its earlier years, much of GO Transit's staff were actually employed by private companies and worked for GO under contract. As GO has expanded, many positions have gradually been brought in-house, such as its bus drivers, and GO has consolidated its contractual arrangements primarily with Bombardier Transportation.

Today, all staff are employees of GO Transit, with the exception of train maintenance personnel, who are contracted from Bombardier Transportation, and conductors and engineers on trains, who are employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway on the Milton line and employees of Bombardier Transportation elsewhere. Bombardier conductors and engineers are all trained per Transport Canada on Railway Operating Rules, allowing them to operate GO Trains on mainline railway tracks.

Unionized staff are part of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 235, and generally based in Toronto.

Special Constables

GO Transit has Special Constables patrolling the transit agencies' properties and vehicles, as well as enforcing the Criminal Code and related violations of GO Transit by-law # 2. They are also known as Transit Enforcement Officers. The GO Transit Special Constables are appointed by the Ontario Provincial Police and have police authority for a variety of federal and provincial acts. These officers patrol the GO system and can arrest and enforce a variety of laws. Their authority is essentially no different than that of a police officer during certain situations. Jurisdictional police are actively involved in the safety and security of the GO system and work together with GO Special Constables. GO Transit also employs Provincial Offences Officers (internally known as Customer Attendants) to enforce and assist with the proof of payment system. They are not to be confused with a GO Special Constable. GO Transit Special Constables are outfitted in blue shirts with blue striped cargo pants and blue forge peaked police caps. The GO Special Constables are trained and equipped with batons, pepper spray, handcuffs and body armour. All front-line GO staff are trained in CPR. GO Transit Enforcement operates a 24-hour emergency call dispatch centre that is able to dispatch Police and Special Constables to all areas served by GO. Customers are also encouraged to report any crimes on GO property to the enforcement dispatch number 905-803-0642, as well as contacting the local Crime Stoppers. GO Transit Special Constables travel in marked vehicles. They use Crown Victoria, Dodge Dakota, and Chevrolet Uplander. These vehicles are equipped with two-way radios and red emergency lighting as well as prisoner cages. GO Transit enforcement staff are obligated to produce proof of appointment ID under the GO Transit Act 2001 when requested. For this reason, officers are given wallet badges, warrant cards and appointment card for provincial offences.^[24]

By-law No. 2

GO Transit By-law No. 2^[25] are rules and regulations governing the actions of passengers and employees while on Authority property. It can be enforced by a "proper authority" which is defined in the by-law as: "an employee or agent of GO Transit wearing a GO Transit uniform; an employee or agent of GO Transit carrying an identification card issued by GO Transit; a GO Transit Special Constable; or a municipal police officer." The by-law covers rules regarding, fare payment and conduct while in the system.

Contractors

• Bombardier Transportation - Responsible for GO Train maintenance and train crewing since June 2008.
• Pacific Northern Railway - Responsible for track and signal maintenance on all GO transit owned trackage
• Gray Coach Lines - defunct
• Travelways
• Charterways Transportation Limited
• Penetang-Midland Coach Lines (PMCL)
• CN engineers and conductors used to operate all GO Trains excluding those operated on Milton line until 2008. Both GO transit and CN mutually decided to discontinue the crewing of GO trains by CN employees. GO was not satisfied with the quality of service that CN was providing. For examples, many crews would "book rest" (i.e. take a shift off) before the Friday afternoon rush hour period. This occasionally resulted in cancelled trains because there would not be any personnel available to fill in. Also CN charged exorbitant rates to provide crewing. CN's priority is their freight service which generates significantly more revenue on a per employee basis than the passenger service. They were more than happy to have all their employees who operated on the passenger service return to freight service. It also reduced their hiring requirements.
• CP engineers and conductors still operate GO Trains though on Milton line only.
• Exclusive Advertising - Represents 4,350 interior poster faces and 1760 digital monitors throughout the GO Train fleet.

Facilities

North Bathurst Yard office

Layover at Don Yard

A new rail facility for GO Transit is being planned in Whitby, located west of Thickson Road along the Lakeshore East line and is scheduled to be complete by early 2013.

GO buses are also stored and serviced in Aberfoyle, Ajax, Barrie, Beaverton, Bowmanville, Bramalea, Caledon, Hamilton, Oakville (until February 27 ), and Oshawa .

References

• Burnet, R. G.. "Significant Dates in GO Transit". http://gotransitmotive.bravehost.com/RosterStats/significantdates.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-21. 
• Sergeant, Wilfred (2004). "Building GO-Transit: The Rail Commuter Initiative of The Government of Ontario & Canadian National Railways, People in the project 1965-1969". Starkville, MS: HTA PRESS. http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=63. 

External links

• GO Transit
• GO Transit Rail Improvement Program (GO TRIP)
• Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587
• FindTheWay.ca

Public transit systems in Canada Alberta Airdrie • Banff • Calgary • Edmonton • Fort McMurray • Grande Prairie • Hinton • Lethbridge • Medicine Hat • Red Deer • St. Albert • Strathcona County British Columbia Abbotsford/Mission • Campbell River • Chilliwack • Comox Valley • Cowichan Valley • Kamloops • Kelowna • Nanaimo • Penticton • Prince George • Trail • TransLink (Metro Vancouver) • Victoria • Vernon • Whistler • For all other systems see BC Transit Manitoba Brandon • Flin Flon • Thompson • Winnipeg New Brunswick Fredericton • Moncton • Saint John Newfoundland and Labrador Corner Brook • St. John's Northwest Territories Yellowknife Nova Scotia Annapolis Valley • Cape Breton • Halifax Regional Municipality Ontario Barrie • Belleville • Brampton • Brantford • Brockville • Burlington • Chatham-Kent • Clarence-Rockland • Cobourg • Collingwood • Cornwall • Deseronto • Durham Region • Elliot Lake • Fort Erie • GO Transit (Greater Toronto) • Guelph • Hamilton • Huntsville • Kenora • Kingston • Leamington • Lindsay • London • Midland • Milton • Mississauga • Niagara Falls • North Bay • North Glengarry/Prescott-Russell • Oakville • Ottawa • Orangeville • Orillia • Owen Sound • Peterborough • Port Hope • St. Catharines • St. Thomas • Sarnia • Sault Ste. Marie • Stratford • Sudbury • Tecumseh • Thunder Bay • Timmins • Toronto • Wasaga Beach • Waterloo Region • Welland • Windsor • Woodstock • York Region Prince Edward Island Charlottetown Quebec AMT (Greater Montreal) • Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan • Drummondville • Gatineau • Granby • Haut-Saint-Laurent • Lanaudière • Laurentides • Laval • Lévis • Longueuil • Montreal  • Mont-Tremblant • La Presqu'Île • Quebec City • Le Richelain • Richelieu Valley • Roussillon • Rouyn-Noranda • Saguenay • Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu • Sainte-Julie • Sherbrooke • Sorel-Varennes • Sud-Ouest • Trois-Rivières Saskatchewan Moose Jaw • Prince Albert • Regina • Saskatoon Yukon Whitehorse Defunct Iqaluit