From about 8 p.m. Friday, June 25 until the end of service Sunday, June 27, GO Transit is adjusting schedules for trains along the 01 Lakeshore West line “due to critical work” to upgrade its rail infrastructure.

GO says, “This construction work is part of important upgrades to aged rail infrastructure. These upgrades will improve train speeds, service life and reliability, allowing us to provide better service to you in the future.”

GO is operating longer trains to accommodate demand throughout the weekend and for the Toronto FC game Saturday, July 17. It’s advising passengers to board at all doors and spread out along the platform to reduce crowding. GO staff are monitoring crowds and, if necessary, providing extra service.

Friday, July 16

• The westbound trains that usually leave Union Station at 9:45, 10:45 and 11:45 p.m. for Aldershot GO Station leave, instead, at 10:10 and 11:10 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. They drop off or pick up passengers at all stations on the line as much as 25 minutes later than usually.
• Eastbound trains to continue to operate with regular schedules.

Saturday, July 17
Sunday, July 18

• Trains drop off or pick up passengers at stations hourly, instead of every 30 minutes.
• All westbound trains (except for trains to Niagara Falls) leave Union Station for Aldershot at ten minutes after the hour.
• All eastbound trains (except for trains from Niagara Falls) leave Aldershot for Union at 25 minutes after the hour.

Niagara Falls trains

• GO is modifying schedules for most trains operating to and from Niagara Falls.
• The Niagara-bound train that usually leaves Union at 8:51 a.m. leaves, instead, at 8:23 a.m. It drops off or picks up passengers at stations on the line as much as 28 minutes earlier than usually.
• The Niagara-bound trains that usually leave Union at 12:51, 4:51 and 8:51 p.m. leave, instead, at 12:33, 4:33 and 8:33 p.m. They drop off or pick up passengers at stations on the line as much as 18 minutes earlier than ususally.
• The Toronto-bound trains that usually leave Niagara Falls VIA Rail Station at 11:16 a.m. and 3:16 and 7:16 p.m. leave, instead at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. They drop off or pick up passengers at stations on the line as much as 14 minutes later than usually.
• The Toronto-bound train that usually leaves Niagara Falls at 11:16 p.m. continues to operate with is regular schedule.

If you’re transferring at Union Station between Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West trains, you may experience delays due to the schedule changes to accommodate this project.

Also, GO is operating longer trains to accommodate demand throughout the weekend and for the Toronto FC game Saturday, July 17. It’s advising passengers to board at all doors and spread out along the platform to reduce crowding. GO staff are monitoring crowds and, if necessary, providing extra service.

All westbound trains leaving Oshawa GO Station at 40 minutes after the hour end their trips in Union Station.

Work crews have been replacing track and signal infrastructure on the Lakeshore West line for the past several months. Image: Metrolinx

Metrolinx has been replacing a major part of the track and signalling system between Long Branch and Mimico GO stations for the past several months.

Crews are overhauling the tracks and switches where the tracks of the Oakville subdivision meet the Canpa spur. (The Oakville subdivision tracks carry GO’s Lakeshore West trains. The Canpa spur extends north and south to link the Oakville sub and the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Galt subdivision — GO’s Milton line.

This is a particularly important location as it keeps GO trains running smoothly on the busiest line in the network. It also helps route trains into the Willowbrook rail maintenance facility and the nearby VIA Rail Canada maintenance facility.

According to a post in the Metrolinx News blog by Scott Money, a Metrolinx media relations senior advisor, “Replacing this infrastructure will also shave off precious minutes for train times. While that may not sound like much, every minute gained makes a huge difference in cutting down on rail congestion and makes way for future service increases.”

The problem is that the switches and tracks at this junction are some of the oldest in the GO network and heavily worn from use. Metrolinx needs to replace this infrastructure now to make sure it has the ability to add more GO service in the future, increase speeds and increase current service reliability.