GO Transit trains operating along the 01 Lakeshore West line start dropping off and picking up passengers in the newest GO Station, West Harbour, starting this Thursday, July 9.
Four trains — two in each direction — Mondays to Fridays will serve the new station, on James Street North, just north of downtown Hamilton. By opening this new station, GO increases to twelve the number of GO trains to and from Hamilton — including trains serving the Hamilton GO Centre — Mondays to Fridays during rush hours. GO will also increase service to and from the station during the Pan Am Games. The station is the temporary transit hub for service to and from the CIBC Pan Am Soccer Stadium in Hamilton.
On opening day, the public can use:
- the north track;
- the station building, including washrooms, ticket booth, ticket-vending machines, PRESTO fare-card machines; and
- part of the public landscaped plaza.
After the Pan Am Games, contractors continue working until 2016 on:
- the south track;
- a pedestrian bridge from Bay Street;
- a parking lot with about 300 spaces;
- a bus loop;
- a “kiss ‘n’ ride” — the passenger drop-off and pick-up area; and
- pedestrian and bicycle pathways.
With this station, GO points to expanding its services eastward along the Canadian National Railway’s Grimsby Subdivision in the near and distant future. It’s already confirmed that it will open a new station in east-end Hamilton near the Queen Elizabeth Way and Centennial Parkway North in 2017. It’s tentatively dubbed this stop, “Confederation GO Station”, nodding to its location to nearby Confederation Park. This may also be the line it uses to expand regular service even further eastward to Grimsby, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
The new station also has a role to play in GO’s future regional express rail service. That program will bring 30-minute service from West Harbour to Toronto Mondays to Fridays during morning rush hours and from Toronto to West Harbour during afternoon rush hours. It will also operate 15-minute rush-hour service from Hamilton GO Centre to Union Station in the morning and back in the evening. GO will also operate trains hourly both ways every day of the week between the Hamilton GO Centre and Union.
Some buses operating along the 18 Lakeshore West route also serve the new station.
01 Lakeshore West train
Starting Thursday, July 9, the Toronto-bound trains that usually start their trips in Aldershot GO Station at 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. Mondays to Fridays, start, instead, in West Harbour GO Station at 6:16 and 6:46 a.m. The trains drop off or pick up passengers at all stations along the line at the same time as currently. They operate express — without stopping — east of Clarkson GO Station and end their trips in Union Station at 7:24 and 7:57 a.m.
The trains that usually end their trips in Aldershot at 5:45 and 6:21 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, continue, instead, to West Harbour. The trains drop off or pick up passengers at all stations at the same time as currently. They leave Union at 4:47 and 5:23 p.m. and operate express to Clarkson. They end their trips in West Harbour at 5:59 and 6:35 p.m.
You can view the new schedule for the line here (.pdf)
18 Lakeshore West bus
18E branch
The Hamilton-bound buses that leave Aldershot GO Station at 12:59, 1:59, 3, 3:59, 4:59, 7:59, 8:59 and 9:50 p.m. Mondays to Fridays continue to West Harbour GO Station after they arrive in Hamilton GO Centre.
After leaving Hamilton GO Centre, buses proceed:
northward along John Streets South and North;
westward along Barton Street East; and
northward along James Street North to across from West Harbour GO Station terminal,
ending their trips.They arrive in Hamilton GO Centre at 1:14, 2:14, 3:20, 4:19, 5:21, 8:14, 9:14 and 10:14 p.m. They end their trips on James Street North across from West Harbour GO Station at 1:24, 2:24, 3:30, 4:29, 5:31, 8:19, 9:19 and 10:19 p.m.
You can view the new schedule for the route here (.pdf)
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