Citizens fume as ‘wandering’ London-to-Toronto GB Train route axed

The London-to-Toronto GO Train is being pulled off the tracks this fall, Metrolinx announced Friday, as the organization declines to extend its two-year pilot project and would-be riders fume over what many see as a failed effort.

Metrolinx is the provincial agency that manages mass transit in the Greater Toronto Area including GO Transit. Its officials say the London-to-Toronto GO Train route will not operate past Oct. 13, the Friday after the Thanksgiving long weekend.

The GO service was possible because of an agreement between Metrolinx and VIA Rail Canada – a federal Crown corporation – and CN, the company said in a short statement Friday. The arrangement ends this fall and is not being renewed, meaning Metrolinx will no longer have access to the rail infrastructure to run the route, the company said.

“We remain committed to serving commuters and will look to redeploy those assets where appropriate to meet demand,” Metrolinx said.

Frustrated Londoners reacted on social media after news broke of the looming end of the route – which took a whopping four hours each way to travel between London and Toronto.

“So they provided a half-a–ed service and then claim it does not work,” one man wrote in response to a Free Press story. “Sounds about right.”

Added another person: “I’m no train scientist but maybe next time the London-to-Toronto service should go from London to Toronto without wandering off on a four-hour detour.”

The cynicism was widespread, with another reader saying: “It is a pity but it sounds like it was designed to fail.”

When the first London-Toronto GO Trains hit the tracks in October 2021, Metrolinx said it was spending $2.5 million on the two-year trial.

The GO Train was another option for Londoners heading to downtown Toronto, but came with a travel time nearly double what it would take to drive the route. The GO trip took four hours, with trains leaving the Forest City early in the morning and returning at night. There are also stops in St. Marys, Stratford, Kitchener and Guelph.

Ridership got off to a very slow start in the first months of the route, carrying just 37 people a day in January 2022 and 65 a day the following month. The poor numbers were no surprise to Mayor Josh Morgan, who was serving as deputy mayor in early 2022 when he said: “I’m not surprised that the numbers aren’t great,” noting the service needed to be faster and more frequent.

Speaking Friday, Morgan said the end of the GO Train’s London to Toronto line won’t change city hall’s push to get better rail and transit service not just to Ontario’s capital, but from London to other centers in Southwestern Ontario.

“Where I always saw a lot of potential in this was the fact that it connected people shorter distances away. London is a hub and we do know people are looking to move in and out of our city,” Morgan said. “We need more frequent, faster rail service to and from the GTA. I don’t care what the name of the train is, whether it’s GO or VIA Rail.

“We’ve been advocating with the federal government lately for the improvement of VIA Rail service to London. For me, that has been the focus lately.”

Morgan said the London-Toronto GO Train pilot generated data on how often the commuter train was used to get people from smaller centres, such as Stratford or St. Marys, to and from London. He wants to see this information used to shape future provincial transit improvements within the region.

“There is a need to engage with the province on that commuter piece in and out of the city with surrounding communities,” he said. “There are conversations about where rail service can continue to play a role in and out of our city.”