WATERLOO REGION - Kitchener saw a 40 per cent increase in average daily GO train ridership in 2019, one of the largest increases across the entire transit network.

Between April and December 2019, Metrolinx said an average of 328 people rode the GO train to and from Kitchener per day, or approximately 64,600 people overall. That's up from just over 230 people at the end of 2018.

"This proves our argument that the Toronto-Waterloo Region corridor is an economic corridor, not just a commuter line," said Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky. "If you build it they will ride."

Stations close to Kitchener also saw a double-digit increase in daily ridership. Guelph was up 20.2 per cent to a daily average of 307 riders (60,500 riders overall), and Acton increased 15.1 per cent and had 121 average daily riders.

The entire Kitchener line - which has 11 stops including Guelph, Acton, Georgetown, Brampton and Malton, and ends at Toronto's Union Station - saw a 5.9 per cent increase in average daily ridership (13,300) and about 2.6 million total rides in 2019.

The 40 per cent increase in Kitchener ridership was only surpassed by increases in West Harbour and St. Catharines on the Niagara line, which launched regular weekday GO service in 2019 but only has a few dozen riders each day.

Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster isn't surprised by the ridership growth in Kitchener.

"I've been here for about two years and I've said from the start that increasing service along the Kitchener corridor is among my top three or four objectives," said Verster, who was appointed in August 2017. "It's such an important corridor for economic activity."

The latest ridership report will be presented at the Metrolinx public board meeting on Feb. 20. The agency defines ridership as a boarding minus transfers.

Year-over-year ridership for the entire Metrolinx system was up 4.5 per cent to a total of 60.3 million rides in 2019. GO train ridership made up about three quarters of that total, or about 47.9 million rides.

Both Metrolinx and Jaworsky said recent service changes played a big role in the local increase.

In August, Metrolinx announced changes to the GO train network that added 84 more trips per week across the entire system. For this region that meant an extra weekday morning train leaving from Kitchener, two new afternoon trips and two new evening trips. One existing afternoon rush hour train was also changed to an express trip.

"It just goes to show that a few tweaks made ridership spike 40 per cent," said Jaworsky. "Can you imagine if we had a train coming in (from Toronto) every morning? That will spike again. And once we get all-day service, it'll spike again."

It's also possible that the official launch of light rail transit service in Waterloo Region last June played a role in normalizing train travel as a viable alternative to cars, the mayor said, and has made it easier to get to and from the Kitchener GO station without a car.

According to Metrolinx, weekend and off-peak weekday GO ridership is growing more than three times as fast as peak time travel.

Verster said by introducing additional train trips Metrolinx has made it clear to riders that rail is a reliable choice, which translates into increased ridership numbers.

"It becomes more of an option, so I think the key factor to drive ridership up in Kitchener and along the corridor is to get more trains and more services out there," he said.

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The ridership increase also came at a time when Waterloo Region was the fastest-growing urban area in the entire country, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The agency looked at the growth of 35 census metropolitan areas, which are the biggest urban areas in the country with a population of 100,000 or more, and Waterloo Region topped the list by growing 2.8 per cent from 2018 to 2019.

The next two fastest-growing cities were London and Ottawa, which both saw population increases of 2.3 per cent.

More changes are coming as Metrolinx works to bring two-way, all-day service to the community. Last November, the Metrolinx board of directors unanimously approved a less costly expansion of GO transit that could bring the service to Waterloo Region by 2025.

Verster said that's still an aspirational deadline, but it "remains one of our highest priorities."

The plan would require negotiating a way for freight and passenger trains to continue to share tracks under new terms with CN Rail, instead of building a new freight rail bypass between Bramalea and Georgetown.

It will cost an estimated $927 million to purchase land and upgrade tracks and facilities, and a further $970 million spent over six decades on operations and maintenance.

In 2018, the Progressive Conservative government said it intended to shelve the freight bypass option, estimated to cost $3.7 billion plus another $1.1 billion to maintain and operate over 60 years.

jjackson@therecord.com

Twitter: @JamesDEJ

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