The GO Train has left the station, but few actually 'go'
The first GO Transit train to depart London left the VIA station Monday morning, however the new service, long sought after by commuters, attracted few customers.
About a dozen boarded the multi-car double-decker train as it departed London at 5:20 a.m. bound for Toronto.
It also made scheduled stops in other communities, for the first time, in St. Marys and Stratford, before continuing onto to Kitchener and Toronto.
Matt Llewelyn, a spokesperson for Metrolinx which operates GO Transit, did not focus on the lack of riders.
He says it’s not unexpected for a first trip that has had little time to be promoted.
“It’s an important first step, which is why we are taking things slowly”, he told CTV News London.
As it turns out, at least half of the riders on the initial ride were self-described "Rail Fans."
Nick Kynoch drove from Cambridge.
“This is going to be the inaugural trip, and I really wanted to be involved in this historical trip to Toronto.”
Londoner Ferrell Manalif was also riding to be part of history. He’s excited to see the service and hopes it lasts.
The first official trip of GO Train from London to Toronto departed at 5:20 a.m. Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV London)
But, as many Londoners have already expressed, he says the GO needs to ‘go’ on the faster southern rail route to Toronto to be successful.
“I mean four hours for me is pretty much too long. But we’ll see if the customers love it. Maybe they’ll improve the tracks along the way.”
Both Manalif and Kynoch paid about $60 for the round trip to Toronto.
Kynoch believes ticket affordability over VIA Rail will eventually win over London area riders.
“I don’t want to pay $50 to go from here to Toronto. Yes, it is four hours, but I think a lot of commuters will enjoy the fact that they can get from London and work in Toronto once things go back to normal, post-pandemic.”
Llewelyn says the service will be enhanced as more riders utilize the service and offer feedback.
“We’re going to monitor the results on this pilot project and as those results come in, we are going to look for more opportunities to enhance our services and potentially bring more service to southwestern Ontario”.
The run from London to Toronto is a two-year pilot project for GO.
The evening train leaves Toronto at 4:19 and arrives in London at 8:17pm.
Interestingly as the service begins, a Via Train, using the Southern rail route to Toronto departed London one hour after the morning GO Train. It carried a larger number of passengers to the GTA in just over two hours.
Chris Childs of London, Ont. said he looked at the option of taking the GO Train but opted for VIA’s faster service, even though it cost him about $25 more than a GO ticket.
"Right now the VIA option is a lot shorter, if they cut that down I would probably choose that (GO Transit) instead."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.