Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate

A report by GO Transit has raised the possibility of GO trains travelling between Waterloo Region and Toronto.

The report proposes that GO establish two stations in Waterloo Region, one in downtown Kitchener and the other at Breslau. No doubt there will be much discussion in the months ahead about the pros and cons of those options.

The new routes will not be cheap – at least to get up and running. GO Transit puts the initial start up cost to have the service running by 2011 at a minimum of $153 million. To turn it into a permanent service would cost about $549 million, according to the Go Transit report.

The report suggests that GO trains would initially carry between 2,300 and 5,000 passengers a day. It predicts that the number would rise to about 9,000 a day by 2031. Considering the growth potential of Waterloo Region this seems like a reasonable target.

Some things about this proposal seem obvious. First, the traffic on the 401 is increasing – especially the truck traffic – so anything that will take commuters off the 401 is worth considering. Second the potential for rail transport in SW Ontario is not being properly exploited. What we really need is a serious proposal for getting trucks off the highway and onto tracks.

Tags: 401, go transit, public transit, Toronto, waterloo region