Richmond Hill line

Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill
	GO Train travels south through the Don Valley
Overview
Owner	Metrolinx (Toronto); Canadian National Railway (York Region)
Locale	Greater Toronto Area
Stations	7
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	GO Transit rail services
Operator(s)	GO Transit
Daily ridership	5,800 (2019)
History
Opened	May 1, 1978; 46 years ago
Technical
Line length	45.9 km (28.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Langstaff
	Richmond Hill Centre
	York Region
	Toronto
	Oriole
	Leslie
	Prince Edward Viaduct
	Line 2 Bloor–Danforth
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

Richmond Hill is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It operates between Union Station in Toronto to Bloomington GO Station in the north in Richmond Hill. Trains on the line operate only during weekday peak hours (morning trains southbound, afternoon trains northbound), while off-peak weekday times are served by the GO bus route 61.

History

A Richmond Hill commuter train service had been announced in 1969 by the provincial government, but its implementation was cancelled in 1970 in favour of bus commuter service.^[2]

Following a promotional opening on Saturday April 29, the Richmond Hill line became the fourth GO Transit rail line on Monday, May 1, 1978. The opening had been delayed because the BiLevel coaches ordered for the Lakeshore line were not delivered on time, so existing Lakeshore line trains were not available to be redeployed on the Richmond Hill line.^[3]

The layout of the line remained generally unchanged until the 2010s, when the line was extended as part of the GO 2020 strategy, which aimed to extend the line north to Aurora Road in Whitchurch-Stouffville.^[4]^[5] The line was first extended north to Gormley in late 2016, with a new train layover facility at Bethesda Road.^[5] It was extended further north to Bloomington Road in June 2021.^[6]^[7]

Route

The Richmond Hill line operates over the CN Bala Subdivision, which is owned by Metrolinx between Union Station and Doncaster Diamond, where the line crosses the CN York Subdivision. North of Doncaster Diamond, the line is owned by Canadian National and is part of its transcontinental freight route.

The Via Rail Canadian transcontinental service from Vancouver to Toronto operates along the entire route of the Richmond Hill line, but does not stop at any stations other than Union.^[8]

During regular service, the Richmond Hill line operates trains that are six to ten coaches long. During the COVID-19 pandemic, GO Transit reduced the number of coaches on all Richmond Hill line trains from six to four cars due to diminished ridership.^[9]

Stations

Station	Community	Municipality	Regional Mun.	Fare zone	Distance (km)^[10]	Connections
Bloomington	Oak Ridges	Richmond Hill	York	98	45.9
Gormley	Gormley			78	42.3
Richmond Hill	Richmond Hill			50	33.8
Langstaff	Langstaff			60	29.5	(via Richmond Hill Centre)
Old Cummer	North York	Toronto		05	22.7	TTC
Oriole	North York			05	19.6	(via Leslie station) TTC
Union Station	Toronto			02	0.0	TTC

Future

As a part of the GO Transit Regional Express Rail (RER) initiative, train service along the Richmond Hill line is planned to be expanded over the next decade. During peak hours, trains would run in peak direction every 15–30 minutes along this line.^[11] To implement the planned RER service, the Richmond Hill line would need $1 billion in flood mitigation and a grade separation at the Doncaster junction with the York Subdivision.^[8]

A layover facility was planned in the Don Valley adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway underneath the Prince Edward Viaduct as part of the GO Expansion program. In March 2023, Metrolinx found a different site for the planned facility in a light industrial zone at York Mills Road east of Leslie Street.^[12] GO Transit will use the Rosedale Siding adjacent to Bayview Avenue along the route as a temporary layover facility.^[12]

References

^ "GO Transit ridership update – how is your station or line doing?". Metrolinx. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024.
^ "Refund request 'amusing to robarts, but not to Medcof". The Era. 3 June 1970. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
^ "Rail line ready but trains late". The Liberal. 22 February 1978. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^ "GO Transit reveals Strategic Plan - GO 2020". GO Transit. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Expansion Projects". GO Transit. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
^ "New GO station blooms in Richmond Hill". Metrolinx News. Metrolinx. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
^ "History is made as Bloomington GO Station opens doors for the first time". Metrolinx News. Metrolinx. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b Kalinowski, Tess (17 April 2015). "GO to add almost 50 per cent more trains in next 5 years". Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
^ metrolinx (2021-04-29). "Richmond Hill line sees GO Transit's first ever four-car trains". Metrolinx News. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
^ Delcan/Arup (30 July 2010). "Electrification Baseline Draft Report" (PDF). GO Transit. GO Transit. Retrieved 12 December 2016. (Page 58)
^ "Ontario Improving GO Transit Service Along All Corridors" (Press release). Ontario Ministry of Transportation. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
^ ^a ^b Draaisma, Muriel (1 March 2023). "Metrolinx does an about-face on a GO facility planned for the Don Valley". CBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2023.

External links

GO Transit: Richmond Hill GO Train & Bus Service Schedule (PDF)
AECOM (August 2009). "Richmond Hill Layover Facility Environmental Assessment (EA) and Project Design" (PDF). GO Transit. ITC-2006-EN-002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2017-07-17.

[daily-ridership-1] "GO Transit ridership update – how is your station or line doing?". Metrolinx. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024.

[2] "Refund request 'amusing to robarts, but not to Medcof". The Era. 3 June 1970. Retrieved 28 April 2015.

[3] "Rail line ready but trains late". The Liberal. 22 February 1978. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

[expanding-4] "GO Transit reveals Strategic Plan - GO 2020". GO Transit. Retrieved 22 April 2009.

[2011extension-5] "Expansion Projects". GO Transit. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2011-03-23.

[bloomington-6] "New GO station blooms in Richmond Hill". Metrolinx News. Metrolinx. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

[bloomingtonopen-7] "History is made as Bloomington GO Station opens doors for the first time". Metrolinx News. Metrolinx. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.

[Kalinowski-8] Kalinowski, Tess (17 April 2015). "GO to add almost 50 per cent more trains in next 5 years". Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 March 2016.

[9] trolinx (2021-04-29). "Richmond Hill line sees GO Transit's first ever four-car trains". Metrolinx News. Retrieved 2021-05-03.

[10] Delcan/Arup (30 July 2010). "Electrification Baseline Draft Report" (PDF). GO Transit. GO Transit. Retrieved 12 December 2016. (Page 58)

[11] "Ontario Improving GO Transit Service Along All Corridors" (Press release). Ontario Ministry of Transportation. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2018.

[Draaisma-12] Draaisma, Muriel (1 March 2023). "Metrolinx does an about-face on a GO facility planned for the Don Valley". CBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2023.

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