‘Construction market’ makes timelines for Kitchener GO expansion unclear: Metrolinx CEO

People in Waterloo Region welcomed the news of expanded GO Train service on Thursday, but early signs indicate that weekday commuters could have a longer wait for two-way, all-day trains.

The Ontario government and Metrolinx announced the purchase of CN Rail land, intending to build 40km of dedicated GO Train tracks between Kitchener and Toronto to bring expanded daily service to Waterloo Region.

“GO expansion is not ahead of us, it’s happening right now,” said Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay in an announcement on Thursday.

Starting Nov. 23, Metrolinx will be adding four weekend trips from Kitchener GO to Union Station in Toronto, and one weekday trip to the Kitchener GO station that previously halted at the Guelph GO station.

The long-term goal is to bring 60-minute two-way, all-day service, seven days per week, with added trains during peak rush hours in the morning and evenings, but neither party has provided any firm timelines for when those trains may begin boarding.

“My team is working every day with the industry to think about how we get to a place where you have hourly, seven-day-a-week, bi-directional service from Kitchener to Union Station with surge at peak times. I think it’s important to state, once again, that that’s our goal,” said Lindsay.

Timelines for construction weren’t shared at Thursday’s announcement, but Lindsay noted that Metrolinx will provide Waterloo Region with an update once there is more.

“The construction market in North America, and indeed around the world, is in a time of volatility,” said Lindsay. “Great supply chain discontinuity, skilled trades are almost fully used across this region which is great because it means there’s lots of work to be done, but I promise you I’m not trying to be cagey when I say we need to ultimately get to market and talk to the designers of things like a 40km twin track project and the people who are going to construct it to ultimately understand what technically is possible.”

He added that, in the meantime, Metrolinx will continue to explore opportunities to surge GO traffic between Kitchener and Toronto.

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