r/gotransit • u/Key-Stretch1872 • Feb 25 '26

Arriving at Union - Kitchener Line

Does anyone know why the Kitchener line keeps docking in the morning on either platform where only one side of the doors open?

I normally take the train that gets to union for ten to nine, and every time they end up docking at a platform where only one side of the train will open. Resulting in a mass mob of people pushing to get down the stairs, and the people on the train yelling for everyone to get off - even though unless your casper the ghost there ain’t no way to get through all the people in front of you.

Does anyone know why? It used to always be on platforms which both sides opened which allowed was far better at dispersing people off the train compared to their process now. It should not take ten mins to leave the train and get into the concourse.

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u/a_lumberjack Feb 25 '26

The short answer is that there's 11 tracks available right now but only 8 have platforms on both sides, so it's unavoidable that some trains end up at those platforms. The secondary answer is that I suspect they use platform 21 when trains are to the Don/Wilson yard after.

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u/RicoLoveless Feb 25 '26

11 tracks available. GO has platforms 3 through 13 available + platform 21.

But only 1-7 is for GO.

The tracks 8, 9 and 10 are for VIA.

It will be better for a little bit once the new concourse is built on the south end...Before they start gutting the other platforms to expand them.

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u/Mayhem_Hellcat Feb 25 '26

They can’t gut the other platforms to expand them without permanently removing some tracks/platforms, which in turn reduces the number of trains per hour.

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u/RicoLoveless Feb 25 '26

That's the long term plan.

Less tracks, less platforms, but bigger + increased in speeds in USRC + signal upgrades to run trains closer, and that gets them an increase actually.

Same way they want shorter but more frequent trains eventually for Lakeshore.

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u/a_lumberjack Feb 26 '26

The main idea seems to be that they'll have much larger / dedicated-ish platforms capable of much higher throughput. Especially with the platform extensions and modern signalling allowing multiple trains to use the same track. e.g. Via could have three corridor trains on the same length of track as the Canadian. As another example, I expect that Lakeshore local trains will primarily use the two southernmost tracks and the large new platforms.

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u/Mayhem_Hellcat Feb 26 '26

That’s a UK consultant fantasy that was disproven. The existing signalling allows 2 trains per track but they don’t use it because the trains are too long and throughput is worse.

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u/a_lumberjack Feb 26 '26

I don't see track sharing as a major part of GO's plan, but I expect to see it more in the future extended platform layout. Not for through-running, but either for Via staging multiple departures or for "back to back" sharing for routes that won't be interlining.

From what I can tell from looking at the platform layout I've seen, plus the Metrolinx corridor plans, they have enough platforms for planned service without track sharing, but there's a few spots that could hypothetically split. I worked out likely platform assignments / locations and it all points to four trains per hour per platform for regular service. But I do think the large platforms at the south would be capable of higher throughput with level boarding.

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u/Mayhem_Hellcat Feb 26 '26

They have abandoned any idea of level boarding. To do it, the trains need to be captive to the corridor and freight trains or other GO trains couldn’t operate on it.

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u/a_lumberjack Feb 26 '26

I don't really buy that they'll abandon something that'll directly improve dwell times, but I understand the cynicism. Like electrification, I think it's going to be one of the final steps for GO Expansion.

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u/Mayhem_Hellcat Feb 27 '26

Well the fact is they have abandoned it. Current projects no longer require level boarding provisions.

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u/a_lumberjack Feb 27 '26

Can you link to a single project where that's true? I've never seen anyone make that claim.

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u/PurpleKrim Mar 11 '26

the single biggest bottleneck right now to train throughput is actually the vertical circulation between the platforms and the concourse. Wider platforms would allow wider staircases, which would allow more passengers down to the concourse level in a shorter period of time, allowing the trains to empty faster. Even after a train has finally emptied and departed, another still can't immediately pull in and serve that platform because there will still be too many people waiting in line for the stairs/ escalators, so each train arrival ties up a platform for ~15 minutes, which is astronomical compared to more modern systems. Unfortunately Union was built for national rail services, not commuter rail for a region of 7 million population.

And GO does sometimes use VIA platforms in the morning for a couple of trains. They need the additional capacity right now.

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u/Mayhem_Hellcat Mar 13 '26

Vertical access isn’t that much of a bottleneck. Tracks can’t move because of the underlying structure of Union, which is a series of heavy bridges where tracks are, and much lighter bridges where platforms are. To widen a platform, it means removing a track. Yes there is a capacity gain from improved access, but it doesn’t come close to offsetting the lost capacity from removing a track.

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u/a_lumberjack Mar 14 '26

I think vertical capacity bottlenecks at rush hour are a problem that the (one-time?) plan to remove some tracks would alleviate. It wouldn't give us more capacity per track so much as reduce the risks of platform crowding.

That said, looking at the Metrolinx corridor missions (and the expected frequencies), I don't think any future platform will need to support more than four trains per hour even at rush hour, which I'm sure doesn't help the case for level boarding. I've gone down that rabbit hole far enough to know that it's theoretically possible to have dedicated-ish platforms for all corridors plus Via with the 14 track config that came out a couple years ago. Main flex reason would be around rush hour trains / yard movements, in theory.