Lakeshore East | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() GO Train approaches a level crossing at Galloway Road in Scarborough | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Metrolinx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Greater Toronto Area | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Commuter rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | GO Transit rail services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | GO Transit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rolling stock | MPI MP40PH-3C, MPI MP54AC, EMD F59PH; Bombardier BiLevel Coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daily ridership | 22,700 (2019) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | May 23, 1967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 50.5 km (31.4 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating speed | Speed limit: 153 km/h (95 mph) Locomotive max: 150 km/h (93 mph) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lakeshore East is one of the seven commuter rail lines of GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Oshawa GO in Durham Region. Buses from Oshawa connect to communities further east in Newcastle, Bowmanville and Peterborough.
Most off-peak and some peak trains are interlined with the Lakeshore West line, continuing to Aldershot, West Harbour, or Niagara Falls.
The Lakeshore East line is the second oldest of GO's services, opening as part of the then-unified Lakeshore line on GO's first day of operations, 23 May 1967. [2] It is ten minutes younger than its twin; although the first train from Pickering bound for Toronto left at 6:00 am that day, a 5:50 am departure from Oakville on Lakeshore West beat it into the record books.
On December 12, 1975, the Lakeshore East line was the site of the deadliest accident in the history of both the TTC and GO Transit, when a westbound GO train collided with a stalled TTC bus at a level crossing east of Scarborough GO station at St. Clair Ave. East. 9 bus passengers were killed and 20 others injured. The level crossing was later replaced by a railway overpass.
The line initially ran along the CN Kingston Subdivision from Union to Pickering. Just prior to the opening of GO service, CN had moved much of its freight operations from downtown areas to the new MacMillan Yard north of the city. To feed freight traffic from the east into the Yard, CN built the new York Subdivision across the top of the city (in what was then farmland) and connected the Yard to the Kingston Sub just west of Pickering at Pickering Junction. This offloaded the majority of traffic from the Kingston Sub between Pickering Junction and Union, allowing ample scheduling room for GO service. Sections of the Kingston Sub to the east of Pickering Junction remained in use as the mainline to Montreal, and CN did not have capacity to allow GO traffic on these sections.
GO had originally planned to address this as part of a much larger project known as GO-Urban, and later, GO ALRT. GO ALRT would have used a new electric train car running on a dedicated right-of-way between Pickering and its terminus to the east of Harmony Road on the far eastern edge of Oshawa. ALRT was to have followed the CN lines east to Whitby, then across the 401 to follow the CP Belleville Sub, which runs in parallel on the north side of the 401. Stations would be built at Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Hopkins (west edge of Oshawa), Simcoe (downtown Oshawa), Oshawa east (at Stevenson) and finally Harmony. First proposed in 1982, ALRT lived for only a short time before it was cancelled in 1985 with a change of government.
Instead, the basic alignment planned for ALRT from Pickering to Oshawa was laid using conventional track, splitting off at Pickering Junction and running under the York Sub bridge over the 401 in a complex basket weave. It ran along the original ALRT layout to Whitby, but abandoned the 401 overpass and instead continued along the CN lines to the current Oshawa GO Station on the far western edge of town. The new lines were laid in sections, reaching Oshawa in 1995. [3] Until 29 December 2006, weekend and holiday trains still ended in Pickering, [4] but service is now offered along the entire route every day of the year.
In December 1993, GO Transit initiated a program for the eastward expansion of the Lakeshore East line, for which it received approval in 1994. [5] GO Transit undertook a study to determine whether to use the tracks of Canadian Pacific Railway or Canadian National Railway. [5]
Metrolinx purchased the Kingston Sub between Pickering Junction and Union on 31 March 2011 [6] and now completely owns the Lakeshore East corridor.
On 29 June 2013, off-peak service was improved to every 30 minutes. [7] On 24 September 2018, weekday mid-day service frequency was improved again, now operating every 15 minutes. [8]
As of July 2020, seven level crossings remain on the line.[ citation needed ]
As of September 2021, local service operates every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends. [9]
Express services have been temporarily suspended to facilitate track construction between Union Station and Danforth. [10]
Most off-peak trains, as well as some peak trains, continue as part of the Lakeshore West corridor after stopping at Union. With few exceptions, it is possible to travel from Oshawa to Aldershot, West Harbour or Niagara Falls without changing trains in Toronto.
Station | Municipality | Connections | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bowmanville | Durham | Clarington | TBD | Proposed station |
Courtice | TBD | Proposed station at Courtice Road [11] | ||
Ritson Road | Oshawa | TBD | Proposed station [11] | |
Thornton's Corners East | TBD | Proposed station | ||
Oshawa | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Whitby | Whitby | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Ajax | Ajax | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Pickering | Pickering | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Rouge Hill | Toronto | ![]() | ||
Guildwood | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Eglinton | ![]() | |||
Scarborough | ![]() | |||
Danforth | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
East Harbour | TBD | Planned station | ||
Union | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Through service to Lakeshore West line |
The Bowmanville Extension is a planned extension of the Lakeshore East line to run from Oshawa GO station to Bowmanville along a new branch line. The extension would be almost 20 kilometres (12 mi) long, [12] and have four new stations: Thornton's Corners East, Ritson Road, Courtice, and Bowmanville. [11]
Running east from Oshawa GO station, the extension would turn north crossing over Highway 401 and a CP Rail spur line on bridges to arrive at the planned Thornton's Corners East GO station in Oshawa. Continuing north, the extension would curve east on the south side CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision, passing the planned Ritson Road and Courtice GO Stations terminating at the planned Bowmanville GO Station. The extension would be mostly single-track with double-track between Ritson Road and Courtice GO Stations; there would two stub tracks at Bowmanville GO Station. [13] Between Oshawa and Bowmanville, GO Transit trains would be operating on its own track independent from freight operations on the CP Belleville division. [14]
Trains on the Bowmanville Extension would operate every hour on weekdays and every two hours on weekends. [11] Weekday peak period service would be every 30 minutes. [15]
In 2008, Metrolinx published its regional transportation entitled The Big Move . As part of this, the agency identified an express all-day service between Hamilton and Oshawa (via Toronto Union) as one of its top 15 priorities. [16] Metrolinx also committed to eventually providing service every 15 minutes on the line, as well as electrifying railways. This project, dubbed Regional Express Rail (now called GO Expansion), was expected to reduce some trip times by 20%. [17] [18] Continued growth of the Oshawa area has led to renewed calls for expansion of the Lakeshore East line, this time all the way to Bowmanville. On June 20, 2016, it was announced that the line would be extended to Bowmanville; at that time, the extension was expected to open in 2024. [19]
Part of the Bowmanville extension would be along a new GO Transit spur line connecting the CN rail corridor south of Highway 401 to CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision further north. Metrolinx considered three proposals for this spur. In a 2011 proposal, the spur would have branched off west of Oshawa GO Station, crossed over Highway 401 and Stellar Drive on bridges, turned east passing under Thornton Road and under CP Rail's GM spur servicing a General Motors Canada manufacturing plant. [20] : 11 In February 2020, Metrolinx proposed instead that the GO spur branch off east of Oshawa GO Station and utilize the existing GM spur to connect to the CPR corridor. [21] However, in November 2020, CP Rail advised Metrolinx to develop an independent alignment as the GM plant it served at the south end of the GM spur would reopen. Thus, in 2021, Metrolinx proposed a separate alignment east of Oshawa GO to cross Highway 401 on a new bridge parallel to the GM spur bridge, and then cross over that spur on another bridge to run eastwards parallel to CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision. Metrolinx prefers its 2021 proposal. [14]
The expansion project would cost about $730 million and include new signal infrastructure, seven new bridges, and upgrades to at-grade level crossings. [15]
By June 2023, Bowmanville Construction Partners (BCP) was selected as the construction manager to advise on the design and construction management for the Bowmanville Extension. BCP is a partnership between Ledcor CMI Ltd. and Dragados Canada Inc. [12]
The Lakeshore East Rail Corridor Expansion project is to prepare the Lakeshore East line for the addition of a fourth track and for electrification. Construction tasks along the corridor include: [22]
The Rouge River bridge carries GO Transit's Lakeshore East line over the Rouge River at the city limits of both Toronto and Pickering. Constructed about 1905, the bridge is listed as a provincial heritage property. It has two ashlar stone masonry end piers supporting a steel deck truss structure. It is one of only a few bridges of this design in the Greater Toronto Area. [24]
In late 2021, Metrolinx started rehabilitation work to extend the life of the bridge by another 20 years. Because of its heritage status, Metrolinx decided not to replace the bridge. [24] Rehabilitation of the bridge was completed in late 2022. [25]
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven million across an area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) stretching from Kitchener in the west to Peterborough in the east, and from Barrie in the north to Niagara Falls in the south. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 56,036,900. GO Transit operates diesel-powered double-decker trains and coach buses, on routes that connect with all local and some long-distance inter-city transit services in its service area.
Lakeshore West is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Hamilton, along the shore of Lake Ontario. Some train trips extend past Hamilton to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
Pickering GO Station is a train and bus station in the GO Transit network located in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. It is a stop on the Lakeshore East line and was the eastern terminus from 1967 until 1990, when service was extended to Whitby and subsequently to Oshawa.
Whitby GO Station is a train and bus station in the GO Transit network in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It is a stop on the Lakeshore East line and was the eastern terminus of the dedicated GO Transit right-of-way until those tracks were extended to Oshawa in 1995. There are connections by local Durham Region Transit routes within Whitby and Durham Region.
Durham College Oshawa GO station is a station for commuter rail, passenger rail and regional bus services in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the terminal station for the Lakeshore East line of GO Transit and serves Via Rail's Corridor service, which travels from Toronto to both Ottawa and Montreal. The bus terminal is served by bus routes of GO Transit and Durham Region Transit.
Metrolinx is a transportation agency in Ontario, Canada. It is a Crown agency that manages and integrates road and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). It was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority on June 22, 2006, and adopted its present name as a brand name in 2007 and eventually as the legal name in 2009. It is headquartered at Union Station in Toronto.
The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, also known as simply the Corridor, is a Via Rail passenger train service in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The Corridor service area has the heaviest passenger train frequency in Canada and contributes 67% of Via's revenue.
GO ALRT was a rapid transit system proposed by GO Transit in 1982. The ALRT system would have been implemented along two new lines in the Greater Toronto Area. It would have utilized a new electric train to provide interurban service, then referred to as "inter-regional rapid transit", along the existing and new GO corridors. The system was based on an enlarged UTDC ICTS vehicle that was designed to offer a compromise between passenger capacity and the level of infrastructure needed. The project was cancelled due to budget cuts by the Tory government in 1985. However, several of the proposed lines were later implemented using conventional heavy rail systems, including the eastern portion of the Lakeshore East GO train service route from Pickering station to Whitby station in the Durham region.
MoveOntario 2020 was a 2007 plan proposed by the Government of Ontario that would fund 52 rapid-transit projects throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in Ontario, Canada. It was succeeded by The Big Move and GO Transit's Go 2020.
GO Transit is an interregional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada, operated by the provincial crown agency Metrolinx. It primarily serves the conurbation referred to by Metrolinx as the "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" (GTHA) with operations extending to several communities in the area centred around Toronto and Hamilton.
The Kawartha Lakes Railway is a Canadian rail line. It was created in 1996 to assume the operations of the Havelock and Nephton Subdivisions of the Canadian Pacific Railway which serve the Peterborough, Ontario area.
The CN York Subdivision, or York Sub, is a railway line in York and Durham regions in the Greater Toronto Area. It runs for 25 miles between the Pickering Junction on the eastern edge of Toronto, and the MacMillan Yard in Vaughan.
Canadian National Railway's Kingston Subdivision, or Kingston Sub for short, is a major railway line connecting Toronto with Montreal that carries the majority of CN traffic between these points. The line was originally the main trunk for the Grand Trunk Railway between these cities, although there has been some realignment of the route between these cities. The majority of the Kingston Sub runs close to the northern bank of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River.
West Harbour GO Station is a regional rail station in the North End neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The station has been served by GO Transit's Lakeshore West line since July 9, 2015. There is hourly service between West Harbour and Toronto's Union Station, seven days a week. Via Rail service may eventually be provided.
Thornton's Corners East GO Station is a planned GO Transit train station to be built by Metrolinx in the community of Oshawa, Ontario, as part of the approved expansion of train service on the Lakeshore East line to Bowmanville. The station would be located along a new single-track spur line connecting the CN rail corridor east of Oshawa GO Station to CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision farther north. The station would be on the west side of Fox Street north of Laval Drive.
Courtice GO Station is a planned GO Transit train station to be built by Metrolinx in the community of Darlington, Ontario, Canada, as part of the approved expansion of train service on the Lakeshore East line to Bowmanville. It will be situated between the main downtown areas of Oshawa and Bowmanville, in an area that is anticipated to be developed over the next few years. The station is intended to serve areas east of the station, as there will be close access to Highway 401. According to 2011 environmental impact assessment, the station would have 1,100 parking spaces, a bus loop and a "Kiss and Ride" area.
Bowmanville GO Station is a planned GO Transit train station to be built by Metrolinx in the community of Bowmanville, Ontario. It will be the terminus station of GO Transit's approved expansion of train service on the Lakeshore East line and will become a transit hub for Durham Region Transit and GO Transit. According to a 2011 environmental impact assessment, the station would have about 770 parking spaces, a bus loop and a kiss and ride area on the south side of the station. The station will be located on the south side of CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision and, as a terminal, it will have two stub tracks.
Ritson Road GO Station is a planned GO Transit train station to be built by Metrolinx in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada as part of the approved expansion of train service on the Lakeshore East line to Bowmanville. It will be built on the south side of an existing freight rail line owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, on a section of land formerly occupied by Ontario Malleable Iron Company until 1977 and later by Knob Hill Farms at 500 Howard Street in downtown Oshawa.
GO Expansion, previously known as GO Regional Express Rail (RER), is a project to improve GO Transit train service by adding all-day, two-way service to the inner portions of the Barrie line, Kitchener line and the Stouffville line, and by increasing frequency of train service on various lines to every 15 minutes or better on five of the corridors. This would be achieved with the electrification of at least part of the Lakeshore East line, Lakeshore West line, Barrie line, Kitchener line and Stouffville line. GO Expansion is one of the Big Move rapid transit projects.
GO Transit rail services are provided throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The GO Transit rail fleet consists of 90 MPI MP40 locomotives and 979 Bombardier BiLevel Coaches. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 40,807,100 passengers per year. GO Transit started on May 23, 1967, running single-deck trains powered by diesel locomotives in push-pull configuration on a single rail line along Lake Ontario's shoreline. When GO trains began operation, they ran on tracks mostly owned the two major freight railways of Canada: Canadian National (CN) and CPKC. Over time, GO Transit have acquired tracks, ensuring GO Transit has control over track maintenance and expansion. Metrolinx currently owns 80% of the GO's rail corridors.