A review of Metrolinx’s April 2024 service changes

With a GO train serving as a backdrop, Premier Doug Ford, along with Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, announced major changes to GO Transit service, with 300 new weekly trains (a 15% service increase). The service changes will take effect on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

Though most new trains will be added on the Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, and Kitchener Lines (the Milton Line gets just one additional weekday round trip in the peak direction), the media event was held in Milton, where a byelection was called to replace outgoing PC MPP Parm Gill. With a competitive race between PC candidate Zeeshan Hamid and Liberal candidate Galen Naidoo Harris, the choice of venue made it an especially political event.

News of the pending service changes was publicized in regular Metrolinx email newsletters in March, but was since taken down, likely to allow for the news to be shared first by the premier and minister of transportation. It is quite clear that Metrolinx is entirely beholden to the provincial government these days, where communications are tightly controlled by its political masters.

The new GO Transit schedules are now available online. Though there is plenty of good news, some of the added trains are merely restoration of previous service levels. Meanwhile, there will be a significant service cut for two Toronto stations.

Lakeshore Corridor

Fifteen-minute train service returns on the busy Lakeshore line on weekend afternoons and evenings, between Oshawa and Oakville Stations only. Service will still run every half-hour on weekdays, weekend mornings, and to Bronte, Appleby, Burlington, and Aldershot Stations, and every hour to West Harbour GO in Hamilton.

However, weekend 15-minute service starts late in the afternoon. Frequent service from Oakville to Union starts at 2:30 PM Saturdays and Sundays and at 3:14 at Union Station. This additional service starts too late for family day trips to the city or for getting to afternoon Blue Jays games.

Bus route 18K, which operates between Aldershot, West Harbour, St. Catharines, and Brock University, is renumbered to Route 11.

Milton Corridor

There will be one new peak-period round trip leaving Milton at 6:43 AM and leaving Union at 4:10 PM.

More importantly, Route 21 will return to its previous routing, operating directly into Union Station Bus Terminal. When I wrote about the April 2023 changes, I commented that the changes simplified the complicated Route 21 while improving reliability and predictability for Milton Line passengers. However, the changes proved to be unpopular, with poorly timed connections between buses and trains.

But with the Gardiner Expressway down to two lanes between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue for long-term construction, and with downtown Toronto’s traffic, I am wondering how much better the ride will be.

Route 21A, which ran between Milton and Oakville, will be replaced by Route 22, which offers much more limited service — every two hours, weekdays only. Route 21A offered useful connections to GO buses at Trafalgar Road Park & Ride for Highway 407 services to McMaster University, Downtown Hamilton, Square One, and beyond. It is a shame to see that service reduced, though perhaps Milton Transit should begin serving it.

Kitchener Corridor and UP Express

The good news? There will be new weekday half-hourly train service between Bramalea and Union Stations during midday and early evening periods. (Hourly service between Bramalea and Union will remain in the counter-peak direction.) There are no changes to rail service between Kitchener, Mount Pleasant, or Union Station and only minor changes to connecting GO buses. Not all trains will stop at Etobicoke North, which only has one platform.

The bad news? UP Express service will be split into express and local services, with non-stop service between Union Station and Pearson Airport every 30 minutes, and local trains every 30 minutes stopping at Bloor and Weston. Both local stations will see improved weekday GO service, but this still amounts to a service cut, especially at Bloor, an important connection to the Line 2 Subway and local TTC services. This is also at a time when the connection between Dundas West Station and Bloor Station is finally being improved.

Other changes

Weekday evening train service will be restored on the Stouffville Line on April 28.

Elsewhere, there are minor schedule adjustments — it’s always a good idea to check your trip before you depart.

One last thing worth commenting about is a brand new, well-designed GO Transit bus map that clearly shows each route and how they connect to the rail network. Bus routes are sorted into “core” and “train support” services, a useful distinction.

My only criticism is that they should show frequency or level of service — some “train support” routes run hourly or better, seven days a week (like Route 30) while some of the “core” routes do not operate evenings and weekends.

Finally

Apart from my observations and criticism above, I would have liked to have seen more changes to the bus network. For example, service to Peterborough remains too slow, while there should be weekend service between Kitchener, Guelph, and Hamilton. Hopefully, there will be more changes in September.