Canadian border reopening; how soon will international railrestored?

[jiml]

Not as all-encompassing as expected, but still good news:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/all-day-go-trains-1.6117376
(The connection to this topic is the restoration of the Maple Leaf on this route.)

 

[neroden]

Yes, the current Niagara Falls GO service bypasses West Harbour. No platforms on the main line and even the single-train storage track to the right in this picture has been severed.
View attachment 23643
It certainly looks like a connection on that side may be the plan and part of the announcement, which might involve other developments for the Grimsby Sub.

The long-term plan was definitely to have Niagara Falls service stop at West Harbour; I am not sure whether theyt are merely planning to connect the platform track to the mainline, or whether they're planning to build passenger-exclusive tracks parallel to the mainline for some distance. There is enough width in the right-of-way for passenger-exclusive tracks, and GO has generally preferred passenger-exclusive tracks (a good decision on their part), so I suspect the plan is actually to build an entire corridor of passenger-exclusive tracks. (Which would be awesome, BTW).

 

[NS VIA Fan]

The long-term plan was definitely to have Niagara Falls service stop at West Harbour; I am not sure whether theyt are merely planning to connect the platform track to the mainline, or whether they're planning to build passenger-exclusive tracks parallel to the mainline for some distance........

The Stair Access Structure is straddling half a platform now and appears that platform might be doubled in width in the future to also serve the Grimbsy Sub track on the right.

 

[jiml]

The long-term plan was definitely to have Niagara Falls service stop at West Harbour; I am not sure whether theyt are merely planning to connect the platform track to the mainline, or whether they're planning to build passenger-exclusive tracks parallel to the mainline for some distance. There is enough width in the right-of-way for passenger-exclusive tracks, and GO has generally preferred passenger-exclusive tracks (a good decision on their part), so I suspect the plan is actually to build an entire corridor of passenger-exclusive tracks. (Which would be awesome, BTW).

Agreed, although I think the plan (based on 2018 information - who knows post-Covid?) was for Metrolinx (GO's parent) to buy the Grimsby sub and rehab it in its entirety with concrete ties, upgraded switches and signalling, etc. Freight traffic would be rerouted or limited to overnights. Building entirely new tracks might render redundant some of the work that has already been done at other stations on the route. The key consideration for GO is the fact that this is a growing commuter area with only one really good highway. The route will be a success as soon as the trains start running with some regularity.

 

[jiml]

The Stair Access Structure is straddling half a platform now and appears that platform might be doubled in width in the future to also serve the Grimbsy Sub track on the right.

View attachment 23650

That would be logical.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Not as all-encompassing as expected, but still good news:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/all-day-go-trains-1.6117376
(The connection to this topic is the restoration of the Maple Leaf on this route.)

Excellent News indeed!( I'm not a Bus fan!).

 

[west point]

The one wild card for reopening the border is what will happen in the next month with the Delta variant.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The one wild card for reopening the border is what will happen in the next month with the Delta variant.

Sadly True as COVID explodes all over the US!!!

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Excellent News indeed!( I'm not a Bus fan!).

Besides the new hourly service from Hamilton West Harbour Station.....GO is also reintroducing 2 trains to Toronto (dropped during Covid...now 4 in total eachway) departing from the Hamilton GO Centre (1.6 km south) This is the nicely restored former TH&B Station that once had through service to Buffalo, New York GCT, Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The GO Centre also has hourly bus service to Toronto via the QEW.



And with all these new trains feeding into the Lakeshore line.......GO will offer every 15 min daytime frequencies on the 90 km between Oakville-Toronto Union-Oshawa.

(I'm going to give it a couple more months......then I might feel comfortable for a trip to Ontario for some GO riding!)

 

[Bob Dylan]

Besides the new hourly service from Hamilton West Harbour Station.....GO is also reintroducing 2 trains to Toronto (dropped during Covid...now 4 in total eachway) departing from the Hamilton GO Centre (1.6 km south) This is the nicely restored former TH&B Station that once had through service to Buffalo, New York GCT, Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The GO Centre also has hourly bus service to Toronto via the QEW.

View attachment 23663

And with all these new trains feeding into the Lakeshore line.......GO will offer every 15 min daytime frequencies on the 90 km between Oakville-Toronto Union-Oshawa.

(I'm going to give it a couple more months......then I might feel comfortable for a trip to Ontario for some GO riding!)

Thanks for the info, wish I was there to ride it!

My relatives in Oakville are going to take their first trip to Toronto in 16 Months on the GO Train now that they're Vaccinated!

My retired BIL used to be a Daily Commuter and I've ridden many times while visiting, did find it a little pricey for a Commuter Line, but it's Canada eh?

 

[jebr]

CBSA has authorized a strike for border agents. Wonder how this will impact the reopening (particularly with preclearance facilities away from the border.)

From the Duluth News Tribune:

Just as many U.S. residents were celebrating their ability to travel to Canada starting Aug. 9, a strike by Canadian border officers threatens to effectively shut down the border.

Strike votes were held earlier in July. The unions for more than 8,500 Canada Border Services Agency officers announced Tuesday that an overwhelming majority of their members voted to strike as soon as Aug. 6.

While a number of border officers would be deemed essential workers and required to stay on the job, a strike would almost certainly cause delays for those traveling by air and land.

 

[zephyr17]

That will probably preclude any resumption of cross border rail service until the strike is settled. Thinking Cascades here, which I think will he first out of the gate, since WashDOT is committed to resuming rail service north of Seattle once the border is opened.

CBSA has no Preclearance facilities. While the treaty establishing Preclearance rights allow reciprocal rights for Canada to operate Preclearance in the US, Canada has so far not chosen to exercise those rights and has no Preclearance facilities in the US. US Preclearance facilities in Canada are staffed by US CBP agents.

 

[danasgoodstuff]

Border workers vote to strike, putting Canada's reopening plans at risk | CBC News oops, the spanner in the works.

 

[Anderson]

CBSA has authorized a strike for border agents. Wonder how this will impact the reopening (particularly with preclearance facilities away from the border.)

From the Duluth News Tribune:

Couldn't they have just gone on strike...oh, any time in the last year and a half, when it wouldn't have affected anyone?

(Actually, come to think of it, a deep enough strike might have led to some border-jumping...)

 

[OBS]

Couldn't they have just gone on strike...oh, any time in the last year and a half, when it wouldn't have affected anyone?

(Actually, come to think of it, a deep enough strike might have led to some border-jumping...)

Then they wouldn't have had any leverage because no one would care....

 

[jiml]

CBSA has authorized a strike for border agents. Wonder how this will impact the reopening (particularly with preclearance facilities away from the border.)

Just to clarify, CBSA is "management" in this case, so did not authorize the strike. The union that authorized strike action is the Public Service Alliance.

Then they wouldn't have had any leverage because no one would care....

Exactly. This puts the government between the proverbial rock and hard place. They were so anxious to re-open the border to save tourism, that the union sees a window to settle many long-standing issues. Key among these is wage parity with police officers.

 

[Mailliw]

Speaking of preclearance; isn't construction on the actual facility at Gare Centrale de Montreal complete? If it's just a matter of arranging staffing then maybe Adirondack service won't resume until it's operational. It would certainly make processesing easier, especially with additional Covid19 measures, than stopping the train in the middle of nowhere for 2 hours.

 

[west point]

IMHO Do not expect any opening of the border either way until both government's CDC equivalent determines what and where "Delta" finally ends up. How it spread will be a big determination. Even if 90% of the persons not vaccinated tomorrow with the 2d in 4 weeks remember that full immunity will not come into effect for 6 weeks from the first vaccination. We IMO will see a lot of 1st and some second vaccinations will get "Delta" before immunity can kick in.

I have a request for all here who are not vaccinated. Write a sealed letter to be opened only after death or very bad case of C-19. State why you felt that vaccination was not necessary. Write one of the letters to each of your important persons telling how you feel towards each. If you are still alive in 3 years tear up the letters.

 

[jiml]

Speaking of preclearance; isn't construction on the actual facility at Gare Centrale de Montreal complete? If it's just a matter of arranging staffing then maybe Adirondack service won't resume until it's operational. It would certainly make processesing easier, especially with additional Covid19 measures, than stopping the train in the middle of nowhere for 2 hours.

The short answer is "kind of", but even pre-Covid the hurdles were numerous - especially in the area of who pays for what.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The short answer is "kind of", but even pre-Covid the hurdles were numerous - especially in the area of who pays for what.

Diplomats!

 

[Wolverine72]

So far this is a one-way street. The U.S. has not opened it’s northern border. How does this impact returning U.S. citizens or trains has not been made clear.

 

[jiml]

So far this is a one-way street. The U.S. has not opened it’s northern border. How does this impact returning U.S. citizens or trains has not been made clear.

I believe US citizens are exempt from the closure. It's only Canadians that are not allowed.

 

[jis]

I believe US citizens are exempt from the closure. It's only Canadians that are not allowed.

Right. US Citizens and Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) are generally allowed to return home.

Since there are no trains running and none are likely to run possibly until next year, no one has made a train specific statement. I am sure they will when the time comes.

 

[Wolverine72]

Right. We can’t have those Canadians crossing our border.
They can fly over it but can’t drive or even walk across it.
But hey, the southern border is wide open for all to enter.

 

[jis]

After watching some shrill nonsense being posted here I thought it might be good to bring in some facts to the table

https://mx.usembassy.gov/travel-restrictions-fact-sheet/