Go Train commute times from London, Ont. to Toronto can eventually be shorter: Metrolinx CEO
The CEO of Metrolinx believes the Go Train commute from London, Ont. to Toronto won't always be four hours.
"I think we can shorten that time," Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster said from London on Wednesday.
He believes the 120-kilometre track between London and Kitchener, Ont. can be improved and renewed.
"So there's a lot of potential here and what we're doing through the pilot is exploring that potential," says Verster. "We have a lot of effort into figuring out how we can encourage the ridership, and I think we may all be surprised at the end how much ridership there could be between the intermediate stations.”
Members from all levels of government were at the VIA Rail station in London to discuss their collaboration on 'Phase One' of the pilot project.The CEO of Metrolinx, Phil Verster, believes the Go Train commute from London, Ont. to Toronto won't always been four hours, Oct. 13, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)
"The key element of this announcement is it's not just about the four-hour journey from London to Union Station, but is the opportunity for people from Kitchener-Waterloo to come work and have appointments and meetings here in London, and vice versa," says Caroline Mulroney, Ontario's Transportation Minister.
"That connection is key to helping people who live in these regions, but also unlocking additional economic opportunities for everyone."
London Mayor Ed Holder referenced the strong tech sectors in cities along the corridor, as well as tourism.
"We've got the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, and we've got the festival in Stratford," says Holder. "We've got all these great tourism things in London, so as a result of this we will draw tourism and economic development to this community and that can't be understated."
At $30 with free WiFi for a one-way ticket, compared to $56 for a VIA Rail ticket, Metrolinx feels this could become a viable option for commuters.
At a cost of $2.5 million annually, Metrolinx is initially committing to Monday-Friday runs for two years.Members of the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments in London, Ont. Wednesday Oct. 18, 2021 for an update on Go Train Service from London to Toronto. (Brent Lale / CTV News)
"The reason why there's only one service in and out here today is because in order to run more services, we'll have to take the single-track section up here and create passing loops and invest quite a lot of money in it," says Verster. "As we make that choice of how we increase services in the future, we'll also make a choice on infrastructure investment that will have to happen."
Verster says it's about providing capacity first and then watching a gradual extension of the ridership. He cites a recent expansion of service to West Harbour in Hamilton, Ont., which after infrastructure investment increased from 40 to 250 trains per week.
Mulroney credited Elgin-Middlsex-London MPP Jeff Yurek for his continued push to improve transit options in the region, while Holder was proud that the federal, provincial and municipal governments all had the same goal in mind.
"This is all hands on, and this is a team effort that makes this work," says Holder.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6% in January as Quebec strikes end
Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.