Kitchener GO train service won't decrease as Metrolinx expands, spokesperson says

Metrolinx says it is not planning to decrease Kitchener GO train service, despite a consultation document showing that as a possibility.

The February document looking at the GO Expansion OnCorridor Program appears to show a decrease in service for the Kitchener GO train line, from every 45 minutes to every hour.

Metrolinx spokesperson Nitish Bissonauth says the graphic about the Kitchener line should have been updated before it was posted online.

"We're not looking at a reduction of service, and we're not looking at fewer trains. It's actually quite the contrary," Bissonauth said. "We've doubled in service … we'll definitely continue in that trajectory."

In November, the Metrolinx board approved a revised business case for the Kitchener line, which involves building a rail bypass to alleviate the issue of CN and GO trains using the same tracks.

The new plan targets 2025 for the start of two-way, all-day GO train service, which would see trains every 30 minutes during peak hours, every hour during off-peak periods and every hour and 20 minutes on the weekends.

That revised business case still needs to receive funding from the province before it can move ahead.

'In transit, frequency is freedom'

Mike Boos, a public transit advocate and member of TriTAG (Tri-Cities Transport Action Group), raised concerns about the graphic in the consultation document on Twitter.

He said it was strange timing for the consultation document to come out when there had just been a report from Metrolinx showing a 40 per cent increase in users riding GO services from Kitchener between April and December of 2019.

"There is a separate study being done for expanding to Kitchener specifically, but the fact that the one is predicting a reduction in service makes me wonder … what kind of co-ordination is going on," he said.

He said he hopes to see GO train service increase soon.

"In transit, frequency is freedom," Boos said. "Once more trains are available at more times, people are more likely to take it."

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky said the report on ridership shows "if you build it, they will come."

"The more that they build, the quicker that they can get it done, the sooner we can all see even more benefits," Jaworsky said.