GO Train temporarily expands service on Kitchener line

The Kitchener GO Station. (CTV Kitchener)

It’ll be easier for travellers to get around this weekend and next, as GO Transit is offering extra train service between Kitchener and Toronto.

Four additional trains have been added between Kitchener’s GO Station and Toronto’s Union Station on Feb. 17 and Feb. 25 as some post-secondary students mark the winter reading week.

The expanded routes were also available during the fall reading week back in October.

Metrolinx, the governing body for GO Transit, tells CTV News CN has given the company permission to use a portion of the tracks to operate the extra trains.

In an email to CTV News, Metrolinx said:

“Additional service is being implemented on the Kitchener line to accommodate students who will be returning home and back to school for and after the winter reading week. Transforming the Kitchener line into a two-way, all-day rapid transit line is a massive undertaking made up of many different packages of work, that once complete, will fit together seamlessly to deliver increased service and connections from Union Station to Kitchener GO. ”

Currently, Metrolinx has increased GO Train service by four trips per day on weekdays, meaning customers now have 10 Toronto-bound trips from Guelph GO and 10 Guelph-bound trips from Union Station to pick from. In April 2023, weekend bus service was extended to Waterloo, which neighbours Guelph.

Additional trips were also added in June and September 2023, delivering a total of 55 trips on weekends. GO Bus Route 17 was also added in April 2023, a new hourly weekday direct bus service that offers 32 trips between Waterloo-Guelph-Hamilton – connecting four post-secondary institutions year-round.

With reporting from Stefanie Davis