It’s a few centimetres tall and the thousands of people who use GO Transit every day hardly notice it’s there, but getting rid of it could lead to major improvements at Canada’s busiest rail station.The single step at the door of every GO Transit car may not look like much, but Metrolinx plans to eliminate it as part of a wider effort to more than double the capacity of Union Station. Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of GO, estimates making modifications that would allow passengers to directly board the cars without a step, just like a TTC subway car, could shave up to 20 seconds off the time it takes each train to enter and leave Union. With about 40 GO trains serving Union during every weekday morning rush hour those seconds add up, and the time saved could allow Metrolinx to run more trains. “It’s just the way to go for the system,” said Michael Wolczyk, vice-president of technical resource management in Metrolinx’s capital projects group.“It helps people get on and off quicker, because you don’t have to deal with steps.” The change would also make all GO Transit cars accessible, Wolczyk pointed out.Read more:Metrolinx improperly approved GO stations under political pressure, Ontario’s auditor general finds Private deals to develop GO stations need to meet public needsOntario to tap private sector for new GO stations, admits strategy may delay projectsFinding ways to run more trains in and out of Union will be crucial in the coming years as the region’s population grows and the province moves ahead with plans to dramatically increase GO Transit service.Under the GO expansion program, which was formerly known as regional express rail, Metrolinx plans to add more two-way, all-day service, run trains every 15 minutes or sooner, and electrify some of its rail lines. As today, the vast majority of all trips will start or end at Union.The station’s location in the heart of downt ...
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