Cancelled GO express train through Brampton will return Feb. 13

TheStar.com
January 29, 2019
Pam Douglas

Calling it a “crucial service,” Metrolinx has announced it will reintroduce the 4:50 p.m. express GO train that was cut earlier this month during realignment of services on the Kitchener line.

“We listen to our customers very carefully,” said Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster in a video tweeted Monday calling the express train a “crucial service.”

Metrolinx has announced it will reintroduce the 4:50 p.m. express GO train that was cut earlier this month during realignment of services on the Kitchener line.

“I want to just apologize to our customers for their stress on Jan. 7 and 8 as we introduced new service. We are going to make much better preparations this time around to make sure that everyone understands what trains have changed in size, length and platforms.

The added train will provide 1,000 more seats for the afternoon commute, according to Metrolinx.

“The express is in addition to the current schedule, which means one more train on the line and expanded service,” MPP Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South) announced on social media.

On Dec. 17, Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek announced increased service to Kitchener GO by 25 per cent, but the enhanced service came at the expense of the 4:50 p.m. express train from Union Station. It was cancelled and several coaches were removed from existing trains.

Instead of improving service, the changes, which came into effect Jan. 7, caused chaos on platforms at Union Station, and standing-room-only in packed train cars.

Brampton commuters became “absolutely livid” and bombarded Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown with “massive complaints” about GO Transit service delays and the levels of crowding.

Brown filed a formal complaint against the province on Jan. 9.

Meanwhile, commuters posted photos and video of the overcrowding conditions on the line that runs from Union Station through Brampton to Kitchener, and began a social media campaign to reinstate the express train.

“The crowding on the trains as a result of our expanded service has proven how much of a demand there is for more service,” Yurek said in a statement earlier this month. “My caucus colleagues and commuters have raised their concerns over the crowding and I take their concerns very seriously.”