Confederation GO opening with extended Lakeshore West service

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

Metrolinx the announced that services to the newly completed Confederation GO station in Hamilton will commence on October 27, 2025.

Monday to Friday:

• Three daily round trips to Niagara Falls will call to Confederation.
• Four eastbound trips will start at Confederation.
• Three westbound trips will be extended from West Harbour to Confederation.

Saturday and Sunday:

• Services to and from Niagara Falls will increase from three to four round trips.
• Five eastbound trips will be start at Confederation.
• Two westbound trips will be extended from West Harbour to Confederation.

The initial service pattern is limited, but is likely to be expanded as passengers begin using the new station.

“The opening of Confederation GO Station will be a game changer for residents in East Hamilton and Stoney Creek, while bringing much-needed relief to Burlington and West Harbour GO.”

Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario

The station is part of the GO Expansion project, with construction having been started in 2017, although completion of the station and trackwork, including connecting tracks at West Harbour, took longer than expected. Transport Action Ontario continue to be concerned about the cost escalation and timeline creep associated with Metrolinx projects.

Toronto Transit Commission Ridership Growth Strategy

By Transport Action Ontario | Latest News , Urban Transit

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is developing its 2026-2028 ridership growth strategy (RGS) and its 2026 budget considerations. Transport Action Ontario participated in the TTC Planning Advisory Group and has submitted input into the RGS. While the draft RGS had numerous components that we supported, our input emphasized the need for more transit-only lanes with enforcement. This is the single most cost-effective way to improve service reliability and attractiveness of the TTC and to meet the transportation needs of a growing region.

We also supported increases in the transit signal priority program and in the express bus, all-day-every-day and 10-minute networks.

Our submission is attached below.

Building Canada requires a national rail strategy

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario

Transport Action strongly believes that a good freight and passenger rail network is a major component of a strong and independent Canada. However, with 5 decades of observation and advocacy, we have regretfully seen the opposite – a continuous diminution of Canada’s rail system.

Transport Action Canada and Transport Action Ontario have written Prime Minister Carney summarizing the reasons for this decline, including largely foreign ownership of our rail assets and continued populist actions by government to subsidize personal vehicle use.

Our letter recommended establishing a national strategic rail authority to:

• Identify the necessary rail network, including multi-modal inlands distribution centres
• Work with the industry to jointly develop shared investments that boost both freight and passenger rail service
• Support provincial rail investments
• Decline federal funding for urban highway expansions
• Maximize Canadian industrial benefits
• Maintain transparency on the Alto HSR project and on its impact on VIA Rail
• Encourage First Nation participation

Our letter is attached.

Optimizing the Role of Railways in Building Canada’s Economy

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario

Transport Action Ontario has written to the Premiers of Ontario and Alberta expressing our delight that both governments are considering expansion of rail services in Canada for resource development and increased interprovincial trade. Based on our observations from the decades of diminution of rail infrastructure under largely investor-focused, mainly foreign ownership, we provided the Premiers with a number of pragmatic suggestions including:

1. New and expanded infrastructure should be under public ownership.
2. Use crown corporations such as Ontario Northland Transportation Commission to develop the projects.
3. Consider indigenous partnerships.
4. Minimize U.S. capital and supplies.
5. Comparisons with highway alternatives should include long term and externalized costs.
6. Include consideration of passenger rail service and international rail tourism.
7. Public investment on privately-owned rail corridors must be included to increase resiliency and capacity on a mutually beneficial basis.
8. Provinces should “rail bank” all rail infrastructure considered surplus by private operators.

Our letter can be viewed below.

Photo: CN freight train passing Brantford station.

Mapping Canada’s Intercommunity Bus Routes

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News

Transport Action Canada (TAC) is supporting and working with geographer Sean Marshall to improve Canadians’ knowledge about where intercommunity bus routes operate and where there are gaps in the bus and train network.

Sean presented an update of his work at the TAC Annual General Meeting in Kingston, Ontario on April 5, 2025.  He discussed:

• The importance of intercommunity buses
• Changes between 1983 and now
• Mapping Canada’s intercommunity bus links – features and challenges

His presentation is attached to this posting.

The map can be viewed at: https://www.transportaction.ca/canada-intercity-transportation-map/

We encourage operators to send us their updates, and the map will be updated at least quarterly.  

This is only a first step in improving Canada’s intercommunity bus network.  Transport Action’s plan is to continue to advocate for filling gaps in routes, using joint stations (ideally with VIA Rail and local transit operators), schedule coordination between carriers, central booking of tickets and through-ticketing.  We are also working with other on-line bus services like BusBud and Betterez to integrate platforms to provide complete planning and travel information in one website location.

Photograph: Prevost H3-45 motorcoach by Jason Lawrence CC BY 2.0