Good to GO? Five questions and answers about new, all-day GO Train service to Hamilton

All-day, hourly GO Train service is finally arriving at West Harbour station Aug. 7 - seven years behind schedule.

That means 18 Toronto-bound departures per day during the week between 5:13 a.m. and 10:13 p.m. Hourly weekend departures start at 8:13 a.m. and end at 11:13 p.m.

Plenty of residents and commuters are celebrating the news - but they also have questions.

Here's what we know and don't know about the latest GO Train plans for Hamilton.

How many people will take the train from West Harbour?

There's no official estimate from GO Transit operator Metrolinx - and the commuter train network is only starting to recover from a pandemic-related crash in transit usage.

But ridership ought to be higher than the average 81 boardings recorded daily at West Harbour back in February 2020 - just prior to COVID - when only four trains departed daily.

Here's some math behind that assumption.

Aldershot GO station in Burlington averaged around 2,600 daily boardings in February 2020. Metrolinx says 62 per cent of PRESTO card users who drove to the Aldershot station to park and ride in 2019 came from Hamilton.

Is there room to park at West Harbour?

There are 300 parking spaces at the James Street North station.

That's not nearly as many as the 1,600-plus parking spots at Aldershot GO - but a lot more than zero, which is what is available for free at the downtown Hamilton GO Centre on Hunter Street.

Will the city improve transit access to the station?

The short answer is yes' - but the city has not yet specified exactly how. A HSR spokesperson said an update on pending service improvements is expected in the coming weeks."

The station is on the A-line, the north-south transit corridor between the waterfront and the airport. The A-line is due to see already budgeted service improvements in September under the city's 10-year HSR improvement strategy - with recent provincial-federal grant help to buy new buses.

At one point, those budgeted improvements called for more frequent bus service on the A-line - every 15 minutes at peak periods plus extended service to 10 p.m.

But like all municipal transit agencies, the HSR is also trying to plot a COVID recovery strategy after the pandemic cut annual ridership in half. So, service improvement timelines and details may be in flux.

What happens if I want to use the downtown Hamilton GO Centre instead?

Metrolinx is reinstating four train departures from the Hunter Street station to Toronto each weekday as of Aug. 7 after gearing down service during the pandemic.

The pandemic radically cut back GO Route 16 express bus service to Toronto, but some off-peak service was reinstated May 1. Metrolinx said the new West Harbour train service is not meant to replace bus service from Hunter Street, so expect to see more express buses brought back into service - eventually.

Meanwhile, if you bought a condo near Hunter Street in anticipation of more train service to-and-from Hamilton's original GO station, well ... the wait is not yet over.

In 2018, a GO expansion business case from Metrolinx suggested bringing hourly service first to West Harbour rather than Hamilton GO Centre as once planned. A blend" of new service is expected over time at both train stations, suggested Metrolinx head Phil Verster at the time.

But the business case service map suggests only peak period" train service at Hunter Street through 2024.

What about that promised east-end station?

Once upon a time, a Confederation GO train station was supposed to open in 2019 near Centennial Parkway. The former Liberal government put $150 million toward the plan.

There is now GO bus service (Route 12) to that eventual station location - but a planned new, self-serve" GO station is still in procurement and there is no estimated time of arrival for train service.

Metrolinx head Phil Verster said negotiations continue with rail corridor owner CN on how to allow commuter and freight trains to share access to the busy tracks through Hamilton.

Ultimately, a new track must be built from West Harbour to Confederation to ensure timely commuter rail service to the east end and beyond into Niagara. Four bridges that cross the tracks between Birch Avenue and the Red Hill Valley Parkway also need work.

And, the city and Metrolinx are studying level crossings - the intersections where cars bump over the tracks - to determine if any should be blocked, improved or turned into overpasses.

Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com