Yesterday marked a major milestone for GO Transit in the celebration of their 50th anniversary, and held at Roundhouse Park in Downtown Toronto. Home of the Toronto Railway Museum, representatives from GO Transit and its parent agency Metrolinx kicked off the celebrations with speeches by Steven Del Duca, the Minister of Transportation, Greg Percy, Chief Operating Officer of Metrolinx, John Jensen, the President and CEO of Metrolinx, and finally Phil Spencer, the President and CEO of the Toronto Railway Historical Association and Toronto Railway Museum.

Most spectacularly for the public, the celebrations included the unveiling of a fully restored 1967 Hawker Siddeley GO Cab Car, adding a major new attraction to the Toronto Railway Museum.

The Hawker Siddeley now on display at Roundhouse Park, image by Greg Lipinski

On May 23rd in 1967, the commuter system began with a 14-stop rail line, the first train departing from Hamilton, and making its way via Union Station to the final stop in Pickering. Within a six month span, GO saw 2.5 million riders, far exceeding its anticipated projection. Now, GO serves over 70 million riders at over 5 dozen GO Train stations on seven rail lines each year, while also connecting to 17 municipal transit systems across the GTHA, and 15 GO Bus terminals.

In recent years, the Province of Ontario announced funding for the largest commuter rail project in Canada, bringing significantly increased GO rail service across the region. This is through GO's Regional Express Rail (RER) plan which includes more two-way, all-day service to the heavily serviced parts of the GO network, extending service to Niagara Falls and over to Bowmanville. This means increasing the number of weekly trips throughout the regional network from 1,500 to about 6,000 come 2025, all while shifting to electrify the lines.

Inside the Hawker Siddeley Cab Car, image by Greg Lipinski

Mary Proc, Vice President, Customer Service at Metrolinx, also discussed with UrbanToronto ongoing plans to better serve daily transit riders. For instance, GO plans on improving the retail offerings at their GO Stations. While Union Station is getting substantial retail improvements, GO will soon begin a pilot program with five new Tim Hortons located at GO Stations, starting with Oakville in response to a poll of GO Train riders which showed that 70% of the m preferred the chain as their go-to coffee shop when commuting. Another feature, never before offered in Canada but successful in other locations across the globe, will be a partnership with a national grocery retailer allowing riders to order groceries via an app, and having the products waiting for them in refrigerated lockers when they arrive at their home GO Stations in the evening.

Here are some GO Transit facts as provided by Metrolinx:

In 2009, GO Transit was merged with Metrolinx in an effort to improve the integration and coordination of rapid transit throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

Over $16 billion has been invested by the provincial government for priority rapid transit lines in the GTHA, with around $13.5 billion dedicated to the GO RER service; about $1.4 billion towards the Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) project through the City of Mississauga and the southern part of Brampton; about $1 billion for an LRT line in Hamilton; as well as continued work in the Next Wave of The Big Move.

In Toronto alone, the province has contributed over $8.4 billion for rapid transit lines including the under-construction Crosstown LRT, the Finch West LRT, and the extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway line in Scarborough.

Since 2003, 14 new stations have been built by GO Transit, including the rebuild of four existing GO stations, the rail network has been extended by almost 90 km, and over 31,000 vehicular parking spaces have been added across the region.

GO RER involves over 500 separate projects in 31 different municipalities, making it the largest singular investment in rapid transit in the country. This includes track upgrades, grade separations, bridge and station modifications, and electrification. Some of this work will include supporting Toronto Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack program.

Alternative view inside the Hawker Siddeley Cab Car, image by Greg Lipinski

Reflecting on GO's history and what's to come, Del Duca said, "GO Transit has played an important role in building and shaping communities over the last 50 years, and the best is yet to come. While we unveil this iconic piece of GO Transit’s history today, history is in the making as we work toward transforming the GO rail network from a commuter-based service into a true regional rapid transit system.”

Want to get involved in the ongoing conversation related to GO? Head on over to UrbanToronto's Transportation Forum, where you can find threads for varying GO Transit-realted topics including construction projects, service, and transit electrification.