According to Ontario's Ministry of Transportation, a new morning GoTrain service from Niagara Falls to Toronto will start four years ahead of schedule, and will stop in St. Catharines along the way.
Minister of Transportation Jeff Yurek visited the rail station in St. Catharines Friday to announce the introduction of the service, which will operate on weekdays using existing CN rail lines.
The service will start Jan. 7, 2019 with a morning route between Niagara Falls and Toronto's Union Station. The train will depart at 5:19 a.m. and stop in St. Catharines before continuing on to Toronto, while the existing 5:15 p.m. train from Union Station to West Harbour will continue operating routes to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls in the evenings.
“Our government is keeping our promise to get people moving and make life better for everyone in Ontario by expanding GO train service to Niagara Falls,” said Yurek, in a press release.
“We are working with our railway partner, CN, to use the existing rail infrastructure to expand GO Transit service for people in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines four years sooner than promised.”
Yurek was joined by Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation Kinga Surma, and Leslie Woo, chief planning and development officer for Metrolinx.
“This is great news for people in Niagara Region,” said Oosterhoff. “Weekday GO train service between Niagara Falls and Toronto will help connect the region and create new business opportunities.”
“We are very excited to introduce this essential commuter rail service to this market. Regular weekday GO trains have never operated out of Niagara Falls or St. Catharines before,” said Woo. “This is new territory and a sign of more great things to come.”
“Today's announcement is a demonstration of our commitment to improving the transportation experience and getting people moving. We make every decision with the customer – the Ontario taxpayer – in mind. Our Government for the People looks forward to continuing to provide better transportation across the province,” said Yurek.
