Seasonal GO service enjoyed a 40% increase in ridership in 2017 - service ready to go for 2018.
Moving Transit Forward – Niagara celebrates the start of seasonal GO Train Service
Niagara celebrates the start of the tenth year of seasonal weekend GO Train Service to Niagara. Starting June 22 GO Transit runs trains from Union Station along the Lakeshore West corridor, making stops at the existing St. Catharines and Niagara Falls VIA Rail stations. This seasonal service, which enjoyed a 40 percent increase in ridership in 2017, is an annual reminder of the importance of GO Train service for Niagara.
Niagara Region and Niagara’s local area municipalities are working hard to ensure that our communities are ready for daily GO Train service when it arrives with stops in Grimsby by 2021, and St. Catharines and Niagara Falls by 2023.
"This year we’ve already made tremendous progress here in Niagara to get ourselves ready for daily GO Train Service. The success of the of the seasonal services is a demonstration of the importance of GO Train Service for our region." ~ Alan Caslin, Niagara Regional Chair
A number of projects are currently underway to plan for the redevelopment of future GO Train Station sites, improve transportation corridors between these stations and to enhance and expand transit services in Niagara.
GO Transit Station Secondary Plans completed
Grimsby, Lincoln, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls have completed Secondary Plans that provide a clear community vision around each GO Transit Station site and respect the character of existing neighbourhoods.
Transportation Corridor improvements - GO Station-supportive infrastructure
Niagara Region is working to improve our regional transportation corridors so it’s easier to travel between GO stations when daily service arrives. In Grimsby we are planning and designing Casablanca Boulevard to ensure this main access point to the new GO station is able to handle higher traffic volumes and provide Active Transportation options for transit users.
We are planning and designing the St. Paul Street West CNR Bridge in St. Catharines to replace the aging bridge at Great Western Street (known as the ‘humpback bridge’) to allow safer access to the GO Station. In Niagara Falls we are extending Thorold Stone Road to Victoria Avenue and reconstructing Bridge Street to fully revitalize and enhance the traffic capacity of the main access road to the new GO station, provide a pedestrian and cyclist friendly public realm environment, and enable local transit to access the area more seamlessly.
Enhancing and expanding Inter-municipal Transit
Niagara Regional Transit continues to operate, improve and grow while the Region and local area municipalities continue to work on a new integrated transit service for Niagara.
While work continues towards a truly integrated system, we continue to make improvements to the current service focused on the rider experience. Highlights from 2018 so far include:
- Standardized and consistent on-bus customer service policies deployed across all four large transit systems effective April 1, 2018
- Transit App - All Niagara transit systems’ routes are available on a single digital mobile platform
- Consolidated after-hours customer service call handling to a single external provider
