Waiting for the train: Why Kitchener still lacks all-day GO service
It’s a question every Waterloo Region commuter has asked while stuck on a packed GO bus or waiting in the cold at Kitchener GO: “why don’t we have reliable two-way, all-day GO train service to Toronto?”
The launch of weekend GO trains this week is a milestone worth celebrating, but riders are still without frequent, all-day service throughout the week, which is a commitment that has been discussed since 2014 and remains only partially delivered.
In this post we hope to shed light on how we got here, what progress has been made, and what still needs to happen next.
A Brief History: Why we got stuck with limited service
(Image courtesy of David Teresi)
The Kitchener-Toronto corridor was the first major railway built through Kitchener. Built by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856, it was a main line from Toronto through Kitchener and towards London, eventually routing towards Sarnia, a major hub for Chicago-bound traffic. When Canadian National Railway (CN) absorbed the Grand Trunk Railway, both freight and passenger train service operated on this line, connecting people and goods to Toronto and southwestern Ontario. Today, CN still runs freight on most of the line, but over time passenger service has been taken over by VIA and GO.
The Kitchener-Toronto rail corridor can be split into 4 major sections: Kitchener-Georgetown (Guelph Subdivision), Georgetown-Bramalea (Halton Subdivision), Bramalea-King St. (Weston Subdivision) and King St.-Union Station (Union Station Rail Corridor).
Metrolinx purchased the Union Station Rail Corridor in 2000, and the Weston Subdivision in 2008, upgrading to higher quality track, adding extra tracks and allowing for speed increases — resulting in much better service today.
The Halton Subdivision is still owned by CN as their main freight line that links to their American operations, however in October 2025, the Ontario government and CN reached an agreement in principle, which would allow Metrolinx to purchase 20 kilometers of land across this subdivision to build dedicated tracks. This will open the corridor up for better service, but until then GO will need to continue to negotiate with CN to allow passenger and freight trains to co-exist on the line, allowing for two-way, all-day GO service from Mount Pleasant to Union Station.
The Guelph Subdivision between Kitchener and Georgetown was under CN’s ownership and later leased to a small freight operator, which limited any upgrades for passenger service by GO Transit. The track actively degraded when the shortline leased the track. In 2014, Metrolinx bought the corridor, but the freight lease did not expire until 2018. This delayed key work like passing tracks and higher-speed sections. Metrolinx was unable to perform any corridor improvements during this time. But 2018 was 7 years ago, what’s the hold up?
Why two-way all-day GO isn’t here yet
Even with the ownership settled, the corridor itself is a bottleneck with two key constraints holding up train service in both directions.
Bottlenecks between Bramalea and Georgetown
First, to run more trains, you need more tracks. Between Bramalea and Georgetown stations, GO trains share the Halton Subdivision, a segment of track that is part of CN’s main transcontinental freight corridor. There are multiple issues with this segment of tracks:
- East of Mount Pleasant station it has just one passenger track available for GO to use, meaning that only one train can travel going in either direction on this line at a time.
- GO trains must cross over busy freight tracks at Georgetown to continue through, often competing and conflicting with freight, which limits train frequency.
The Georgetown Problem
Metrolinx has expropriated land in Halton Hills, west of Mount Pleasant GO, to build a flyover that will let GO passenger trains cross CN’s freight tracks without conflict. The project also includes two new mainline tracks and the relocation of CN’s freight tracks, creating separate corridors for passenger and freight trains. This will make service faster, more reliable and allow Metrolinx to run much more service than hourly two-way, all-day GO if demand requires.
Despite land acquisition and early preparation, major construction on the flyover has not begun. For now, GO trains share a single track between Bramalea and Mount Pleasant and must cross the freight mainline to continue west to Georgetown and Kitchener, forcing trains to travel one at a time.
The situation is worsened by the Georgetown Yard – the track GO trains use to pass through Georgetown Station, which is treated as yard track rather than mainline. Because it is a limited signal area, trains are limited to 10 mph speeds, creating a major bottleneck and slow-creeping trains.
Until the flyover and additional tracks are built, freight and passenger traffic will continue competing for limited slots, and true two-way, all-day GO service will remain out of reach.
The Guelph Subdivision Problem
From Georgetown to Kitchener spans the Guelph Subdivision, another 50km long single-track line with very few places for trains going in opposite directions to pass each other. Today there is a passing track in Kitchener and newly inaugurated passing track in Breslau, with construction underway for new passing tracks in Guelph and Acton, which will allow both eastbound and westbound trains to pass.
This lack of passing tracks means that trains cannot leave some stations heading eastbound while a train is heading toward that station westbound.
When will we get full weekend service?
The recent news that 4 trains were being extended to Kitchener is a welcome one, as weekend trains have been a major request since GO came to Kitchener in 2011.
Service on the Kitchener line has already improved since Metrolinx took over the Weston subdivision and the Guelph Subdivision. More trains are leaving Kitchener GO on weekdays (10 per day) and are able to travel at higher speeds.
In principle, weekend service comparable to today’s weekday schedule (about 10 trains per day) is technically feasible right now. This is because the number of freight trains is consistent throughout the week.
The main reason it hasn’t been introduced is that most construction work for the major corridor upgrades happens on weekends, when trains aren’t running to Kitchener.
Adding regular weekend trains would either force Metrolinx to shut them down frequently for track work or slow progress on the projects needed for two-way, all-day service. Insiders suggest that Metrolinx recognizes the strong demand for weekend service but has held off, anticipating that trains would be repeatedly cancelled to accommodate the construction program on the Guelph Subdivision.
Recent developments resulting in the weekend service we see today suggest that GO has found a way to coordinate weekend construction with weekend train service.
GO’s takeover of the corridor has boosted speed and frequency. Kitchener–Toronto service today is far better than it was even seven years ago. (Diagram courtesy of Johannes Urbanski, rail scheduling expert)
Why not add more buses while we wait for rail?
If you’ve caught a Kitchener corridor Route 30 bus, you’ve likely noticed the buses often leave packed, especially on Fridays. Some bus routes may even skip Kitchener stops because they fill up in Waterloo before they get there. So why not just add more buses?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many older buses were retired before replacements had arrived. Factors such frequent bus substitutions on several GO rail lines for track work and a rapid ridership recovery post pandemic has meant that GO Transit’s bus fleet is now stretched thin. They’ve recently ordered 97 new coaches to help meet demand, on top of a previous purchase of 80 buses earlier this year.
Local demand and pressure has already made a difference before. Just a few years ago, Waterloo Region only had Route 25 and a few variants. Service was cut back during the COVID-19 pandemic, but since then it’s bounced back and then some. New routes have been added: 30, 30E, 17, and 17B, plus express trips. Today, buses run roughly every 30 minutes off-peak and about every 15 minutes at peak between Kitchener-Waterloo and the GTA. This corridor has seen faster growth than most other parts of the GO network.
Bus service is better than it’s ever been but like the rail network, expansion takes time. And it’s a question of where in GO Transit’s network Metrolinx prioritizes for that expansion.
Standing room only on the #30 GO Bus. (Image courtesy of TriTAG member Rodney Chan)
How do we get even better than hourly rail service to Kitchener?
Two-way all-day, half hourly service to Kitchener is also under long term development and is in the 10 year plan. To get half hourly service all of the projects mentioned previously have to be completed in addition to the 2 projects listed below.:
Addition of an extra track in the Georgetown-Bramalea corridor.
There are 2-3 tracks in the Georgetown-Bramalea corridor (Halton subdivision) when GO shares track with CN freight trains. Although this is currently sufficient for the hourly two-way all-day service from Mount Pleasant station to Union, there are still some conflict points with CN. This new track would be owned by GO and would allow for off peak 30 minute service to extend west of Mount Pleasant station and would allow for more express trains. This project also involves the relocation of Brampton station to accommodate the extra track through downtown Brampton.
Addition of an extra tracks in the Bramalea-King st (Toronto) corridor
Although this part of the corridor (the busiest part of the Kitchener line) already has 3-4 tracks, there needs to be an additional track to accommodate the Kitchener local, express and UP express trains. This is why GO completed the 401-409 twin tunnel project in 2021 to accommodate two additional tracks up to Bramalea station. However the current Etobicoke station platform is blocking the Eastern entrance to the tunnels. GO is working with Woodbine Racetrack to construct a new Woodbine station to act as a transfer station between GO, UP express and the Finch West LRT in the future. Once this station is completed in the next 2 years or so, Etobicoke North can be demolished and rail can be put in the tunnels.
What can you do?
It’s a lot easier to scrutinize subway or LRT projects which have a definite completion date and timeline. What’s much harder is to analyze railway projects like GO Expansion which is a collection of several medium-sized projects that the public doesn’t directly interact with and for which Metrolinx doesn’t share timelines.
While we’ve heard promises for more than 10 years that two-way, all-day service is coming to Kitchener, it’s important we acknowledge that there has been a lot of progress. Frankly, Metrolinx could do better at communicating what they have done to improve service and the progress they are making.
Though we are seeing incremental improvements, there are still opportunities to advocate for better service. How can you help?
1. Keep up continued public pressure
Some local politicians have pushed for faster progress on the Kitchener line, but continued public pressure matters. Sign petitions as they come available to show there is community support.
2. Directly contact your local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP)
Another way to make a difference is to contact your local MPP directly. Let them know you want to see Two-Way, All-Day GO service brought to Waterloo Region.
You can find your MPP by searching your address on the Find an MPP tool on the Ontario Legislature’s website, then call or email their office to share your support.
About the Authors:
Simha Kalimipalli is a Waterloo resident with an interest in infrastructure development.
Noah Dykstra is a resident of Kitchener with an interest in public transport. He is also the KW-Cambridge lead for MTSO.
David Teresi has walked almost every street in the City of Waterloo.
Jeff Beemer is a resident of Kitchener, cat-dad and advocate for inter-city rail expansion.