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Lakeshore East line

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Lakeshore East
GO Train approaches a level crossing at Galloway Road in Scarborough
Overview
OwnerMetrolinx
LocaleGreater Toronto Area
Stations10
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemGO Transit rail services
Operator(s)GO Transit
Daily ridership22,700 (2019) [1]
History
OpenedMay 23, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-05-23)
Technical
Line length50.5 km (31.4 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed153 km/h (95 mph)(speed limit) 150 km/h (93 mph) (locomotive max)
Route map

Legend
km
0
 Union Station
Don Yard
Richmond Hill line
Don River
DVP Shield.svg Don Valley Parkway
 East Harbour (planned)
8.4
 Danforth
13.8
 Scarborough
Stouffville line
17.1
 Eglinton
20.3
 Guildwood
26.6
 Rouge Hill
Rouge River
Toronto
Durham Region
CN York Subdivision
33.6
 Pickering
37.5
 Ajax
46.2
 Whitby
Whitby Rail Maintenance Facility
50.5
 Oshawa
CN Kingston Subdivision
Ontario 401 crown.svg Highway 401
 Thornton's Corners East
St. Lawrence & Hudson Railway
 Ritson Road
Courtice
Bowmanville
St. Lawrence & Hudson Railway
This diagram:
Map
Lakeshore East line

Lakeshore East is one of the seven commuter rail lines of GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Oshawa GO in Durham Region. Buses from Oshawa connect to communities further east in Newcastle, Bowmanville and Peterborough.

Most off-peak and some peak trains are interlined with the Lakeshore West line, continuing to Aldershot, West Harbour, or Niagara Falls.

History

[edit]

The Lakeshore East line is the second oldest of GO's services, opening as part of the then-unified Lakeshore line on GO's first day of operations, 23 May 1967.[2] It is ten minutes younger than its twin; although the first train from Pickering bound for Toronto left at 6:00 am that day, a 5:50 am departure from Oakville on Lakeshore West beat it into the record books.

On December 12, 1975, the Lakeshore East line was the site of the deadliest accident in the history of both the TTC and GO Transit, when a westbound GO train collided with a stalled TTC bus at a level crossing east of Scarborough GO station at St. Clair Ave. East. 9 bus passengers were killed and 20 others injured. The level crossing was later replaced by a railway overpass.

The line initially ran along the CN Kingston Subdivision from Union to Pickering. Just prior to the opening of GO service, CN had moved much of its freight operations from downtown areas to the new MacMillan Yard north of the city. To feed freight traffic from the east into the Yard, CN built the new York Subdivision across the top of the city (in what was then farmland) and connected the Yard to the Kingston Sub just west of Pickering at Pickering Junction. This offloaded the majority of traffic from the Kingston Sub between Pickering Junction and Union, allowing ample scheduling room for GO service. Sections of the Kingston Sub to the east of Pickering Junction remained in use as the mainline to Montreal, and CN did not have capacity to allow GO traffic on these sections.

GO had originally planned to address this as part of a much larger project known as GO-Urban, and later, GO ALRT. GO ALRT would have used a new electric train car running on a dedicated right-of-way between Pickering and its terminus to the east of Harmony Road on the far eastern edge of Oshawa. ALRT was to have followed the CN lines east to Whitby, then across the 401 to follow the CP Belleville Sub, which runs in parallel on the north side of the 401. Stations would be built at Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Hopkins (west edge of Oshawa), Simcoe (downtown Oshawa), Oshawa east (at Stevenson) and finally Harmony. First proposed in 1982, ALRT lived for only a short time before it was cancelled in 1985 with a change of government.

Instead, the basic alignment planned for ALRT from Pickering to Oshawa was laid using conventional track, splitting off at Pickering Junction and running under the York Sub bridge over the 401 in a complex basket weave. It ran along the original ALRT layout to Whitby, but abandoned the 401 overpass and instead continued along the CN lines to the current Oshawa GO Station on the far western edge of town. The new lines were laid in sections, reaching Oshawa in 1995.[3] Until 29 December 2006, weekend and holiday trains still ended in Pickering,[4] but service is now offered along the entire route every day of the year.

In December 1993, GO Transit initiated a program for the eastward expansion of the Lakeshore East line, for which it received approval in 1994.[5] GO Transit undertook a study to determine whether to use the tracks of Canadian Pacific Railway or Canadian National Railway.[5]

Metrolinx purchased the Kingston Sub between Pickering Junction and Union on 31 March 2011[6] and now completely owns the Lakeshore East corridor.

On 29 June 2013, off-peak service was improved to every 30 minutes.[7] On 24 September 2018, weekday mid-day service frequency was improved again, now operating every 15 minutes.[8]

As of July 2020, seven level crossings remain on the line.[citation needed]

Service

[edit]

As of September 2021, local service operates every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends.[9]

Express services have been temporarily suspended to facilitate track construction between Union Station and Danforth.[10]

Station list

[edit]

Most off-peak trains, as well as some peak trains, continue as part of the Lakeshore West corridor after stopping at Union. With few exceptions, it is possible to travel from Oshawa to Aldershot, West Harbour or Niagara Falls without changing trains in Toronto.

Station Municipality Connections Notes
Bowmanville Durham Clarington TBD Proposed station
Courtice TBD Proposed station at Courtice Road[11]
Ritson Road Oshawa TBD Proposed station[11]
Thornton's Corners East TBD Proposed station
Oshawa
Mainline rail interchange
DRT
Whitby Whitby
DRT
Ajax Ajax
DRT
Pickering Pickering
DRT
Rouge Hill Toronto TTC, DRT
Guildwood Mainline rail interchange
TTC
Eglinton TTC
Scarborough TTC
Danforth
TTC
East Harbour TBD Planned station
Union
Mainline rail interchange Amtrak

TTC 		Through service to Lakeshore West line

Expansion

[edit]

Bowmanville extension

[edit]

Description of extension

[edit]

The Bowmanville Extension is a planned extension of the Lakeshore East line to run from Oshawa GO station to Bowmanville along a new branch line. The extension would be almost 20 kilometres (12 mi) long,[12] and have four new stations: Thornton's Corners East, Ritson Road, Courtice, and Bowmanville.[11]

Running east from Oshawa GO station, the extension would turn north crossing over Highway 401 and a CP Rail spur line on bridges to arrive at the planned Thornton's Corners East GO station in Oshawa. Continuing north, the extension would curve east on the south side CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision, passing the planned Ritson Road and Courtice GO Stations terminating at the planned Bowmanville GO Station. The extension would be mostly single-track with double-track between Ritson Road and Courtice GO Stations; there would two stub tracks at Bowmanville GO Station.[13] Between Oshawa and Bowmanville, GO Transit trains would be operating on its own track independent from freight operations on the CP Belleville division.[14]

Trains on the Bowmanville Extension would operate every hour on weekdays and every two hours on weekends.[11] Weekday peak period service would be every 30 minutes.[15]

History of extension

[edit]

In 2008, Metrolinx published its regional transportation entitled The Big Move. As part of this, the agency identified an express all-day service between Hamilton and Oshawa (via Toronto Union) as one of its top 15 priorities.[16] Metrolinx also committed to eventually providing service every 15 minutes on the line, as well as electrifying railways. This project, dubbed Regional Express Rail (now called GO Expansion), was expected to reduce some trip times by 20%.[17][18] Continued growth of the Oshawa area has led to renewed calls for expansion of the Lakeshore East line, this time all the way to Bowmanville. On June 20, 2016, it was announced that the line would be extended to Bowmanville; at that time, the extension was expected to open in 2024.[19]

Proposed alignment of the railway tracks, which will carry trains on a new bridge over Highway 401.

Part of the Bowmanville extension would be along a new GO Transit spur line connecting the CN rail corridor south of Highway 401 to CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision further north. Metrolinx considered three proposals for this spur. In a 2011 proposal, the spur would have branched off west of Oshawa GO Station, crossed over Highway 401 and Stellar Drive on bridges, turned east passing under Thornton Road and under CP Rail's GM spur servicing a General Motors Canada manufacturing plant.[20]: 11  In February 2020, Metrolinx proposed instead that the GO spur branch off east of Oshawa GO Station and utilize the existing GM spur to connect to the CPR corridor.[21] However, in November 2020, CP Rail advised Metrolinx to develop an independent alignment as the GM plant it served at the south end of the GM spur would reopen. Thus, in 2021, Metrolinx proposed a separate alignment east of Oshawa GO to cross Highway 401 on a new bridge parallel to the GM spur bridge, and then cross over that spur on another bridge to run eastwards parallel to CP Rail's Belleville Subdivision. Metrolinx prefers its 2021 proposal.[14]

The expansion project would cost about $730 million and include new signal infrastructure, seven new bridges, and upgrades to at-grade level crossings.[15]

By June 2023, Bowmanville Construction Partners (BCP) was selected as the construction manager to advise on the design and construction management for the Bowmanville Extension. BCP is a partnership between Ledcor CMI Ltd. and Dragados Canada Inc.[12]

Corridor expansion

[edit]

The Lakeshore East Rail Corridor Expansion project is to prepare the Lakeshore East line for the addition of a fourth track and for electrification. Construction tasks along the corridor include:[22]

  • Widening of the Warden Avenue overpass bridge.
  • Widening of the Danforth Avenue overpass bridge.
  • Constructing retaining walls along the railway embankment between Wolcott Avenue and Warden Avenue.
  • Constructing a retaining wall along the railway embankment between Main Street and Victoria Park Avenue.
  • Constructing a retaining wall along the railway embankment in the Small's Creek area.
  • Widening the railway embankment between the Don River and Gerrard Street to accommodate four GO train tracks plus two tracks for the planned Ontario Line.[23]
  • Building the East Harbour Transit Hub providing four tracks for GO trains plus two tracks for the Ontario Line.[22]

Rouge River bridge

[edit]
This section is about a railway bridge carrying the Lakeshore East line over the Rouge River. For the Highway 401 bridge further upstream, see Rouge River Bridge.

The Rouge River bridge carries GO Transit's Lakeshore East line over the Rouge River at the city limits of both Toronto and Pickering. Constructed about 1905, the bridge is listed as a provincial heritage property. It has two ashlar stone masonry end piers supporting a steel deck truss structure. It is one of only a few bridges of this design in the Greater Toronto Area.[24]

In late 2021, Metrolinx started rehabilitation work to extend the life of the bridge by another 20 years. Because of its heritage status, Metrolinx decided not to replace the bridge.[24] Rehabilitation of the bridge was completed in late 2022.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "GO Transit ridership update – how is your station or line doing?". Metrolinx. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024.
  2. ^ "GO celebrates 40 years of success". www.newswire.ca.
  3. ^ "Significant dates in GO Transit". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  4. ^ Daniel Garcia; James Bow. "GO Transit's Lakeshore Line". Transit Toronto. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Cole, Lindsay. "GO Train expansion - Will all be 'all aboard?'". The Oshawa Express. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  6. ^ "GO owner buys rail line between T.O. and Pickering". CTV Toronto (CTVGlobeMedia). 30 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  7. ^ Kalinowski, Tess (19 April 2013). "GO trains to run every 30 minutes all day on Lakeshore lines". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  8. ^ "GO trains on Lakeshore lines to run more often". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  9. ^ "Lakeshore East Line 2021" (PDF). GO Transit. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Lakeshore East express trains paused as important construction work takes place". Metrolinx. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d "Metrolinx is advancing plans to bring GO Train service to Bowmanville". Metrolinx. June 24, 2022. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Metrolinx selects construction manager for Bowmanville Extension". Metrolinx. June 19, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023.
  13. ^ "Bowmanville Extension – Project Overview – Key Components" (PDF). Metrolinx. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Bowmanville Extension – Infrastructure Refinement" (PDF). Metrolinx. March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Ontario government moves forward with GO train expansion into Durham Region". CBC News. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  16. ^ The Big Move Archived 2010-06-18 at the Wayback Machine, Section 5.2: The first 15 years. Retrieved July 23, 2010
  17. ^ "Metrolinx Regional Express Rail – Lakeshore West GO line". www.metrolinx.com.
  18. ^ Tess Kalinowski, Transportation reporter (17 April 2015). "GO to add almost 50 per cent more trains in next 5 years". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  19. ^ "Lakeshore East GO train service expanding 20 km to Bowmanville by 2024". CBC. The Canadian Press. June 20, 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Oshawa to Bowmanville rail service expansion and rail maintenance facility - Environmental Assessment Study, Public Information Centre" (PDF). Metrolinx. January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  21. ^ "Bowmanville Rail Service Extension Initial Business Case Update February 2020" (PDF). Metrolinx. February 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  22. ^ a b "GO Expansion update – Progress continues on Lakeshore East Line to help bring faster and more frequent GO train service". Metrolinx. March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022.
  23. ^ "Get the facts about Ontario Line plans in Riverside and Leslieville". Metrolinx. June 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Historic Rouge River bridge to get new lease on life in the name of GO Transit expansion". Metrolinx. September 17, 2021. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  25. ^ "Rehabilitation work on the Rouge River Bridge comes to a close". Metrolinx. October 17, 2022. Archived from the original on October 17, 2022.
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