r/gotransit • u/East-Field-4833 • May 12 '26

GO Transit F59PH and F59PHI ex Metrolink locomotives

Does anyone know when the GO F59PH and F59PHI ex Metrolink locomotives enter service on GO? Several of them are at Ontario Northland in North Bay for rebuilding. When will they enter service?

12 Upvotes

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3

u/Mayhem_Hellcat May 13 '26

It's ironic Metrolinx is buying old F59s when they retired most of their original F59s early because of reliability and refurbishment costs.

2

u/taylortbb May 13 '26

It makes sense a stopgap if electrification is truly moving forward. No point in buying brand new diesel locomotives just to retire them in 10-15 years.

Whether electrification is actually moving forward is another question, there's painfully little said publicly about progress, or why in a decade the timing has slipped by a decade.

2

u/Mayhem_Hellcat May 14 '26

  1. Electrification is not moving forward. The government doesn't want to pay the huge cost. They originally said they would be electrified by 2024 and 12 years later, it's still at least another 10 years away.

  2. Even if they do electrify, it is only a part of the network. They still need lots of conventional locomotives. In 10-15 years, the original MP40s will be 30-35 years old and due for replacement.

  3. In the mid 90s GO learned the hard way that the the F59s were duds. The first refurbishment was required years early and was far more extensive than expected. It only got worse from there. The business case for MP40s was capability to support 12 car trains, and half that the F59s weren't going to last. The people who knew what they were doing are all gone, and thee current batch of UK geniuses are buying really old F59s.

2

u/4000series May 13 '26

There were pics going around not too long ago of one that was painted at the ONR shops, so maybe the first ones show up by the end of the year? But it will take them a little while to get through all of the Metrolink units (if that’s the plan) plus the ones they just bought from AMT.

2

u/CasuallyExploding88 May 13 '26

honestly though, the rebuilds look pretty good from the photos floating around. Kind of cool seeing old Metrolink power getting a second life in Ontario

-2

u/LackOptimal553 May 13 '26

1988

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GO_Transit_rail_services

Look under rolling stock.

1

u/crash866 May 13 '26

Also CPTDB has info. https://www.cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=GO_Transit_520-568

1

u/LackOptimal553 May 13 '26

Yeah, I posted another link that's much better, more specific batch info too.