Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles (2018)

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119 GO Transit is a division of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (Metrolinx), which is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The Metrolinx Act 2006 created Metrolinx to improve the coordination and integration .aera notlimaH dna otnoroT retaerg eht ni noitatropsnart fo sedom lla fo GO Transit provides the regional public transit service (GO Bus and GO Train) for the greater Toronto and Hamilton area, serving a population of 7 million and an area of 11,000 square kilometers. Many GO Transit stations provide connections to GO Bus service. GO Transit off ers connections to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subways at Kipling, Bloor, Danforth, Kennedy, and Union GO stations. GO Transit also partners with TTC to allow TTC Metropass holders to purchase a GO fare sticker to travel to downtown Toronto at a lower overall cost. As a provincial crown agency, Metrolinx has a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Transportation. The Minister of Transportation sets the strategy and policy framework for Metrolinx, and the 11-member Metrolinx Board of Directors provides business direction to the staff . The president of GO Transit is responsible for managing the division’s day-to-day operation. GOVERNANCE GO Transit Greater Toronto Transportation Authority Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, ON, Canada HISTORY 1967 1974 1978 1981 1982 1990 1992 1997 2007 2009 2011 GO Transit began service on a single train line, the East–West Lakeshore Line, along Lake Ontario’s shoreline. GO Transit expanded the rail system, introducing the Georgetown Line (now the Kitchener Line). The Richmond Hill Line began operation. The Milton Line began operation. Bombardier, Inc., won a competitive bid to maintain GO Transit’s rail equipment, taking over from CN. GO Transit incorporated the Barrie and Stouff ville services of VIA Rail Canada (VIA) into the GO Train network after the Canadian federal government cut off VIA’s subsidy. However, GO Transit’s Barrie Line only extended to Bradford. The Barrie Line was extended from Bradford to Barrie. All day and weekend service was extended to Burlington on the Lakeshore West Line. The government announced the MoveOntario 2020 Plan to propose 52 projects in Ontario to improve transit services. GO Transit merged with Metrolinx. The Georgetown Line was extended to Kitchener with the opening of the Central GO Station and Kitchener GO Station. The Georgetown Line became the Kitchener Line. GO Transit operates seven commuter rail lines: Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Barrie, Kitchener, Stouffville, Milton, and Richmond Hill. The seven lines are linked together at Union Station. Trains operate all day, 7 days per week on the Lakeshore East, Lakeshore West, and Barrie rail lines. Trains operate weekdays on the Kitchener Line. GO Transit trains operate on the Stouffville Line weekdays in the peak direction with limited off-peak direction trips. The Milton and Richmond Hill lines operate weekdays during peak periods in the peak direction.

120 Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles Transport Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the Federal Railroad Administration, regulates the provision of passenger rail services in Canada. Bombardier’s contracts with GO Transit require the preparation and maintenance of a regulatory compliance plan to assure strict compliance with Transport Canada’s required plans and programs. GO Transit has in-house staff specifi cally trained and assigned to contract compliance. The above-referenced contracts have numerous provisions covering GO Transit’s rights and obligations to oversee, monitor, and audit the prime contractor, Bombardier, including a contractual requirement for Bombardier. The MOE and TOS agreements signed with Bombardier both contain a liquidated damages (LDs) regime stipulating circumstances where LDs can CN had operated six GO Transit lines as the host railroad and had maintained all equipment for GO service since operation of the East–West Lakeshore Line began in 1967. CN’s maintenance of equipment (MOE) services ended in 1997, after GO Transit concluded a competitive bid procurement for MOE services. GO Transit awarded the contract to Bombardier, which became the maintainer of the GO fl eet in May 1997. Bombardier retained the MOE contract and won the fi rst competitive bid for GO Transit train operation services (TOS) in 2007. Bombardier thereby became a single contractor with two contracts for MOE and TOS for six GO Transit commuter rail lines. Bombardier’s current MOE and TOS contracts began in 2008. Both All train dispatching remains with three host railroads: CN, CP, and short line freight railroad GEXR. GO Transit, however, is currently building a major new control center and plans to take over the train dispatching of all GO trains operating over GO-owned lines as soon as this new center is ready. CONTRACTED SERVICE PERFORMANCE STATISTICS Service Data in 2016 Data source: *Canadian Urban Transit Association **Metrolinx Annual Report 2015–2016 Total Modal Expenses*: Not reported by mode Total Directional Route Miles*: 283 Unlinked Passenger Trips**: 53.8 million Annual Total Passenger Miles*: 1,192 million General Contracted Service Informaon Oversight and Responsibilies Metrolinx has acquired 80% of the rail lines over which GO Transit service operates. The Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) own the remaining segments. These two railroads once owned all of the rail lines over which GO Transit service currently operates. CN owned six lines, and CP owned one line. agreements have a 5-year base term and any combination of extensions running from 2 to 5 years each, up to a total contract term of 20 years. As of 2017, both the MOE and TOS contracts with Bombardier have been extended through 2023. Additionally, in January 2015, a seventh GO Transit line, the CP-owned Milton Line, transitioned from CP train crews to Bombardier train crews for train operations. CN and CP maintain rights-of-way and signals along the trackage that they still own. GO Transit contracts with PNR RailWorks to maintain rights-of-way and signals owned by the agency, except the segment at the GO Transit equipment maintenance facility, the Willowbrook shop, in Etobicoke, Ontario (GO Transit maintenance personnel maintain both the trackage and the facility itself); and a segment of track known as the Union Station Rail Corridor, comprising the trackage in and around Union Station in Toronto (maintained by the Toronto Terminal Railway, a legacy joint venture entity created by CN and CP).

GO Transit 121 Contracted Service Matrix A B C D Train Operations Maintenance of Infrastructure Maintenance of Equipment Specifi cally: Train Dispatching Services Train Operations Maintenance of Equipment Facilities Maintenance Maintenance of Way Provision of Electric Traction (na) Signals and Communication Positive Train Control Maintenance (na) Station Operations and Maintenance Non-revenue Equipment Provision Safety Management Security Services Environmental Services Management/Oversight Services Materials Management Services Risk Management Assessment Customer Service Functions Marketing Communications Ticketing/Sales Revenue Collection Information Technology Systems Accident/Fatality Investigations/Support Supplemental Work Other (na) A—Agency; B—Host Railroads (RRs); C—VIA Rail Canada; D—Independent Contractors (RRor Non-RR) be levied against the contractor. The compliance staff assessed LDs as appropriate. Neither agreement contains financial incentives. The primary contractors are expected to work in harmony to resolve issues. GO Transit contract compliance staff intervene to resolve the matter if necessary. GO Transit takes the lead in developing plans for emergency preparation and directs all recovery efforts through its Toronto-based control center, including the dispatching of GO Transit buses as required. GO Transit is also responsible for funding and delivering capital programs. The matrix below illustrates the responsibility for major service functions for GO Transit commuter rail. The capital letters A, B, and D represent the Metrolinx in-house staff (GO Transit), the two host railroads (CN and CP), and the independent contractors (Bombardier and PNR RailWorks), respectively. In this case, C for VIA Rail Canada is not applicable.