Regional Express Rail, also known as GO Expansion, is a project to improve GO Transit train service by adding all-day, two-way service to the Barrie line and the inner portions of the Kitchener line and the Stouffville line, and by increasing frequency of train service on various lines to as often as every 15 minutes on five of the corridors. This would be achieved with the full electrification of the Lakeshore East line and the Barrie line and the electrification of the inner portions of the Lakeshore West line, the Kitchener line, and the Stouffville line. RER is one of the Big Move rapid transit projects. With RER, GO Transit will increase the number of train trips per week from 1,500 to about 2,200 by 2020 and expanding to 6,000 weekly trips upon completion. Most of the extra trips will be in the off-peak hours and on weekends. The expanded services, new infrastructure and electrification is projected to roll out in phases between 2025 and 2030. The 10-year regional express rail plan will cost $13.5 billion, and will require of new track including new bridges and tunnels.
Electrification
RER goals would be achieved with the electrification of core sections of the GO Transit train system, as follows:
the Lakeshore West line between Burlington and Union Station
the Barrie line between Allandale Waterfront and Union Station
the Stouffville line between Lincolnville and Union Station
RER will operate 4-car, bi-level electric multiple unit sets which would be coupled to form 8- and 12-car trains. To reduce operating costs, smaller 4-car trains will run during periods of lighter demand, such as on weekends. GO Transit's existing fleet of unpowered bi-level cars will be used to operate many peak services, but will be pulled by electric locomotives, in a similar manner to SEPTA Regional Rail. EMUs cost less to operate than 12-car diesel trains and have faster acceleration. Journey times can be reduced significantly with electric traction depending on the route, stopping pattern and equipment. The electrified network will ultimately extend to 262 route-km with six traction substations and 11 traction distribution facilities.
Proposed frequencies
Metrolinx proposes the following service levels along the GO train network: Two-way, all-day 15-minute service:
for the Lakeshore West line between Aldershot and Union Station
for the Lakeshore East line between Oshawa and Union Station
for the Kitchener line between Bramalea and Union Station
for the Barrie line between Aurora and Union Station and
for the Stouffville line between Unionville and Union Station
Two-way 60-minute service:
for the Lakeshore West line between Hamilton GO Centre and Union Station
for the Kitchener line between Mount Pleasant and Union Station
for the Barrie line between Allandale Waterfront and Union Station
for the Stouffville line between Mount Joy and Union Station
every 20 minutes on the Stouffville line between Lincolnville and Union Station
Express service:
In addition to the services outlined above, communities between Oakville and Hamilton on the Lakeshore West line, between Bramalea and Kitchener on the Kitchener line, and between Pickering and Oshawa on the Lakeshore East line would enjoy express services to/from Union Station.
New stations
Metrolinx plans to build up to 12 new stations, including up to six new stations to support Toronto's proposed SmartTrack service.
Background
GO Transit has historically offered two-way, all-day service along its Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines, while only providing peak rush hour service on its other lines. The Big Move outlines the building of express and regional rail service improvements across the existing GO Transit network. Other improvements included extensions to Hamilton and Bowmanville, as well as new GO Transit corridors to Bolton, Seaton and Locust Hill. As part of the 2011 Ontario general election, PremierDalton McGuinty also made a campaign pledge to provide two-way, all-day train service on all corridors. The vision of two-way, full-day train service on all corridors eventually included electrification of the system, and was renamed Regional Express Rail. As part of the Phase 2 announcement, Metrolinx stated that the Kitchener and Lakeshore lines would be electrified, as well as the Union Pearson Express. With RER, Metrolinx expects to nearly double ridership to 127 million riders per year by about 2029 from 65.7 million in 2015.
History
On March 31, 2017, the federal government announced it would contribute $1.9 billion of the estimated $13.5 billion cost of GO RER. The Kitchener line will receive at least $750 million of the federal funding for infrastructure upgrades including of new track. The Barrie line, Lakeshore East line, and Lakeshore West line will share the balance of the federal funding for upgrades and of new track.
SmartTrack
SmartTrack is a proposed Regional Express Rail surface line to run mostly within the City of Toronto. It was proposed by John Tory during his successful mayoral campaign in 2014. The SmartTrack proposal depends on electrification of the Stouffville and Kitchener corridors where SmartTrack service would run.
