UP Express trains will now skip stations, with Toronto transit users outraged by the news

Announcing some major improvements to GO Transit service in and around Toronto on Monday, Premier Doug Ford upset his fair share of voters with changes his government is making to the UP Express train.

Starting April 28, riders on the Lakeshore West and Lakeshore East GO lines will see trains every 15 minutes instead of every 30 minutes, as well as on the Kitchener, Milton and Stouffville routes.

But in addition to this positive development, since that date half of UP Express trains will skip the Bloor and Weston stops and run non-stop between Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport.

It's what Ford calls an improvement, but many see it as the opposite.

It's horrible. When going from Pearson to Union or vice versa, you get on whichever train comes first — because the difference between an express and a local is less than a 15-minute wait. And if you're coming from or going to Bloor or Weston? You get half the service. Who benefits? https://t.co/XdTFeEMW1x

— Stefan Novakovic (@NovakovicTO) April 15, 2024

Residents are questioning what the benefit of changing the timetable is if there are more people boarding or alighting at the two intermediate stops, adding only a few minutes to the total travel time between the terminal points for commuters.

Based on conversations online, people expect more confusion and hassle for passengers than anything else, with the general consensus being that people would rather have more stops and bigger connections than save a few minutes on a relatively short trip.

“This is objectively a bad decision,” said one person on Reddit. “If they were serious about improving overcrowding, they would have increased service by ordering more trains and making them run more frequently. Instead, they did the opposite and made the service worse while trying to say it was a good thing.”

Another agreed, saying that while it was “conceived and designed only as an 'airport' network, the reality is that (UP) is a very useful tool for us to go the other way.” I would like to see increased service/frequency.”

Some thought the move was a cost-saving measure (perhaps to avoid travel fees and cut enforcement costs, since many inspectors often work only at Union and Pearson) and could help with more people and training. capacity issues.

As one person commented, “UP Express is too crowded, especially at rush hour. Replacing half the service at Bloor/Weston with longer GO trains would help solve this problem. Ideally, they would run more UP service, but they can't because we're out of trains and overbooked.” We won't buy because they had problems.”

Others also pointed out that while the idea may seem preposterous at first, the cuts will be offset by expanded service on the Kitchener line, which stops at Bloor and Weston.

Opinion
From the byu/sprungy discussion
Inronto

Overall, the revisions to GO Train schedules will add 300 weekly trips to support Metrolinx and the province's goal of providing two-way, 24-hour GO options.