TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford has written to the Metrolinx board asking the agency to study the potential construction of a freight rail bypass as a means of exploring the “next generation” of GO passenger train services in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, also coined GO 2.0.
In a letter posted on X, he states diverting freight rail from existing lines through the bypass could occur in an area that has been referred to as the “missing link,” which is adjacent to the Highway 407 corridor between the CPKC main line near Trafalgar Road in Milton and the CN bypass line at Bramalea.
He says this has the potential to “unlock new GO lines, stations and transit-oriented communities, supporting the province’s plan to build more homes near transit.”
Ford has directed Metrolinx to work with the Ministry of Transportation to initiate discussions with CPKC and CN as well as the federal government.
It also asks for a preliminary assessment to be undertaken into the requirements to plan, design and deliver GO 2.0. This would include an analysis of the benefits to passenger rail operations, including increased services along the Kitchener and Milton corridors as compared to existing GO expansion plans.
A timeline is also slated to be ironed out.
“GO 2.0 can be a central component of our ambitious plan to build the roads, highways and transit that will get Ontario commuters out of traffic, with the infrastructure we need to support our continued growth for decades,” he writes.
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