GO Transit Lakeshore East Line
Lakeshore East line
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| Distance | 50.5 kilometres | ||
| Service periods | 7 days a week | ||
| Ridership | 52,000 (2014) | ||
| Bus connections | 81, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 96 | ||
The Lakeshore East line (internally: 09 Lakeshore East) is a GO Transit commuter train line operating in the Greater Toronto Area. The line runs from Toronto Union Station in the west to its eastern terminus of Oshawa GO Station. Service on the Lakeshore East line is augmented by a bus service traveling further east past Oshawa to Newcastle.
The first eastbound train departs Union at 06:13 for Oshawa and the first wesbound train departs Oshawa at 05:07 for Union. The very first trip in this corridor is actually done by a bus, route 90B. One trip leaves Oshawa for Union at 03:55 and another one at 04:15 stopping at Whitby, Ajax, and Pickering only. During rush hour, trains can run up to 10 minutes apart and certain trains skip some stops, therefore running an express service. During off-peak hours trains run every half-hour with the last train departing Union at 00:13. The last two trips are done by route 90B at 01:20 and 02:20.
History
Towards the end of the 1950s, provincial and municipal governments recognized that the growth in what is now the Greater Toronto Area could not be sustained around highways and the private automobile. The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study (MTARTS) was commissioned in 1962. This series of reports looked at the possibility of commuter rail playing a larger role in serving and facilitating regional development.[1] Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) had existing commuter services at the time. One of these services, operated by CN, connected Toronto with Hamilton along the lakeshore. These tracks also led further east.
In 1965, Premier John Robarts announced plans for a commuter line on an established CN corridor between Oakville and Dunbarton (part of Pickering) on an experimental basis. The service was called Government of Ontario Transit (GO Transit) and was inaugurated on May 23, 1967. The first train left Oakville GO Station at 05:50 bound for Toronto Union Station. At 06:00 at train departed Pickering GO Station in the opposite direction.[1]
Coincident with the launch of GO Transit's Lakeshore line, CN ended their Lakeshore commuter service. The bulk of GO's service was between Oakville and Pickering, however the limited connection to Hamilton and points west of Oakville was maintained.[1]
The Lakeshore line was an immediate success. Weekend service was introduced a few months later on July 1, 1967, and mid-day service eventually became hourly. On December 4, 1988 the line was extended from Pickering GO Station to Whitby GO Station with Ajax GO Station in between. Service was extended further east over CN tracks to Oshawa GO Station in January 1995.
Until 2001, mid-day service ended at Pickering. And until 2006, weekend service ended at Pickering too. Off-peak service on the Lakeshore East line remained every 60 minutes. Thirty minute off-peak service was introduced on June 29, 2013. GO Transit also added one more late night Lakeshore East GO bus trip earlier in the year.
Future
GO Transit Regional Express Rail will add increased service on core sections of the rail network. On the Lakeshore East line, off-peak frequencies will increase to every 15 minutes. GO Transit plans to deploy electric multiple units (EMUs) as well as electric locomotives on the line. A fourth track will be added between the Don River and Scarborough GO Station. A third track will be added between Galloway Road and Durham Junction. Currently, GO is limited in the number of trains it can run with the current number of tracks. A number of at-grade crossings will become grade separated.
On June 20, 2016, the province announced that they will be going ahead with the extension of the Lakeshore East line from it's current terminus in Oshawa to Bowmanville. They will be building four new GO Stations along the nearly 20 kilometre route at Thornton Road, Ritson Road, Courtice Road, and Martin Road.[2] GO Transit plans to branch off from the line before the current Oshawa GO Station and cross Highway 401 on a new bridge to the CP Rail corridor to the north. It will then follow that corridor to Bowmanville. Service at the current Oshawa GO Station will be relocated to the new station at Thornton Road.[3]
One June 21, 2016, the province and the City of Toronto unveiled plans for six new GO Stations along current rail corridors. These new stations will be in Toronto and along the SmartTrack route. On the Lakeshore East line, a station will be built over the Don River and at Gerrard Street.[4]
Stations
| Station name | Date opened | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto Union Station | August 6, 1927 | |
| Danforth GO Station | May 23, 1967 | |
| Scarborough GO Station | May 23, 1967 | |
| Eglinton GO Station | May 23, 1967 | |
| Guildwood GO Station | May 23, 1967 | |
| Rouge Hill GO Station | May 23, 1967 | |
| Pickering GO Station | May 23, 1967 | |
| Ajax GO Station | January 8, 1995 | |
| Whitby GO Station | January 8, 1995 | |
| Oshawa GO Station | January 8, 1995 |
Route Maps
January 2020 - Present
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sergeant, Wilfred. Building GO-Transit: The rail commuter initiative of The Government of Ontario & Canadian National Railways. HTA Press: 2004, Starkville. Web.
- ↑ Ontario Expanding GO Rail Service in Durham Region. Press release.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Ben Spurr (21 June 2016). "John Tory's SmartTrack going ahead with six new stops". Toronto Star.