Summary
The Toronto Region benefits from an irreplaceable legacy of rail corridors radiating from Union Station. They are invaluable routes for linking together the Region’s residents and employers. They are burgeoning routes for off-peak travel. But we have not yet been able to harness their full potential.
While GO Transit services have long transported tens of thousands of workers every weekday to their jobs in downtown Toronto, these corridors could be made useful for a far wider variety of trips. Realizing this potential is especially important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the timing is right to consider their full potential as we begin to understand how the future of work is shifting commuter patterns.
As the province moves ahead with GO expansion, this report lays out a comprehensive plan for how regional rail can be adjusted to function as the backbone of regional transit. Its guiding principles are two-way, all-day service; high frequency; seamless integration with local transit; a focus on equity; and integration with regional planning.