WATERLOO, ONT.—Ontario, through its agency Metrolinx, has secured an “agreement-in-principle” with CN that will allow GO Regional Express Rail to be built along the Kitchener GO corridor.
The agreement between Metrolinx and CN will allow for continued planning and design on improvements to the Kitchener GO corridor to support more GO train service in the future and deliver GO Regional Express Rail along this line, a release states.
The province states this means it is one step closer to "building the innovation supercorridor by delivering two-way, all-day GO train service between Toronto and Waterloo Region."
The agreement also begins the planning and technical analysis to build a new freight corridor. This will enable CN to shift most of its freight traffic from the section of the Kitchener corridor the company owns, which is roughly between Georgetown and Bramalea, to the new corridor.
This move will free up capacity for more GO service through Brampton to Kitchener.
The province will be seeking support from the federal government to construct the new rail corridor and the shifting freight rail operations, the releaser states.
Premier Kathleen Wynne also announced that Ontario is committing up to $43 million to help fund the Region of Waterloo’s proposed transit hub in downtown Kitchener.
"This hub will make it easier for transit users to connect to GO rail and bus service, the light rail transit line being built in Waterloo Region, VIA Rail services, and local and inter-city bus services," the release explains.
In the short term, however, beginning in September GO will extend two morning and two afternoon peak train trips that currently run between Georgetown and Union Station to also serve Kitchener, Guelph and Acton. This will double the number of weekday train trips between Kitchener and Toronto. GO will introduce a new express bus service running all day between Kitchener and the Bramalea GO Station in Brampton.
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