Stouffville line

Stouffville
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	GO Train
Locale	Toronto; Markham; Whitchurch-Stouffville
Stations	11
Daily ridership	15,000 (2014)[1]
Operation
Opened	September 7, 1982 (1982-09-07)
Owner	Metrolinx
Operator(s)	GO Transit
Technical
Line length	49.6 km (30.8 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	90 miles per hour (145 km/h) (max)
Route map km 0 Union Station Don Yard Richmond Hill line Don River Don Valley Parkway 8.4 Danforth 13.8 Scarborough Lakeshore East line 16.4 Kennedy Line 3 Scarborough Lawrence East Highway 401 Canadian Pacific Railway West Highland Creek 22.9 Agincourt Finch East 27.4 Milliken Toronto York Region Highway 407 30.6 Unionville 35.0 Centennial 36.7 Markham 38.7 Mount Joy 46.8 Stouffville 49.6 Lincolnville Detailed diagram

Stouffville is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Its southern terminus is Union Station in Toronto, and its northern terminus is in Lincolnville in Whitchurch-Stouffville. There are bus connections from almost every station to Toronto Transit Commission and York Region Transit services.^[2]

On weekdays during peak periods, trains operate twice per hour over the entire route, but in the peak direction only. Outside of peak periods, trains operate hourly in both directions between Unionville and Union, with a small number of trips covering the full line to Lincolnville. GO bus routes 70 and 71 provide service in the directions, time periods and segments not covered by train service. However, buses to and from Union Station bypass all other stations within the City of Toronto.^[2]

Between Union Station and Scarborough Station, the Stouffville line shares tracks with the Lakeshore East line. Most Stouffville Line trains operate non-stop through the shared segment, but certain peak-period trains stop at Danforth Station and one train per day also stops at Scarborough station.^[2]

History

The track was originally laid by the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, and came into operation in 1871. The T&N merged with the Midland Railway of Canada in 1882. Only two years later, the Grand Trunk Railway leased most of the lines in the area as part of a major expansion plan, and purchased them outright in 1893. The Grand Trunk would later merge with the Canadian National Railway in 1923. CN would provide passenger rail service on the line until the formation of Via Rail in 1977.

On September 7, 1982, Via service was discontinued and replacement service—then just a single weekday run—was started by GO Transit.^[3]

On June 29, 1998, GO Transit restored full service to the Lakeshore lines, and terminated Stouffville Line service to Danforth and Scarborough, which are shared with the Lakeshore East line.

On December 13, 2007, the government of Ontario announced funding to Metrolinx for network expansion, which included $20 million to build a second track to enable all-day two-way service between Union Station and Markham.^[4]

On September 2, 2008, the line was extended northwards from Stouffville to Lincolnville.

On February 2, 2015, select trains began stopping at Danforth GO Station as part of a year-long pilot project to increase GO service within the City of Toronto. As of June 2017, many peak-period trains continue to stop at Danforth station, and one daily train also stops at Scarborough station.^[2]

All-day weekday service was introduced on June 24, 2017, with hourly service in both directions between Unionville and Union Station during the midday and evening. Service in the counter-peak direction continues to be operated by buses.^[2]

Route

The Stouffville line operates entirely over railways owned by Metrolinx. The line begins at Union Station and follows the Kingston Subdivision (GO Lakeshore East line) to Scarborough Junction, just east of Scarborough GO Station, with some trains stopping at Danforth Station along the way. It then branches north onto the Uxbridge Subdivision, originally the Toronto and Nipissing Railway.

Stations

In addition to the stations listed below, one train per day serves Scarborough GO Station, located between Danforth and Kennedy stations.^[2]

	Community	Municipality	Distance (km)	Connections
Lincolnville	Lincolnville	Whitchurch-Stouffville	49.6
Stouffville	Stouffville		46.8	YRT Bus
Mount Joy	Mount Joy/ Greensborough	Markham	38.7	TTC YRT Bus
Markham	Markham Village		36.7	TTC YRT Bus
Centennial	Unionville		35.0	TTC YRT Bus
Unionville	Unionville/ Downtown Markham		30.6
Milliken	Milliken	Toronto	27.4	TTC YRT Bus
Finch East (SmartTrack Finch–Kennedy)				TTC
Agincourt	Agincourt		22.9	TTC
Lawrence East (SmartTrack Lawrence–Kennedy)	Dorset Park			TTC
Kennedy	Ionview		16.4	(Under construction ) TTC
Danforth	East Danforth		8.4	TTC
Union	Downtown Toronto		0.0	TTC

Future expansion

In June 2013 GO held a first "Public Information Centre" of an environmental assessment study for expanding rail service in the Stouffville Corridor. This represented the completion of the second of five stages of work to implement expanded service, and recommended adding double track segments and other improvements between Union Station and Unionville to support increased train service levels.^[5]

Double tracking of the line from Unionville GO station to Scarborough GO is scheduled to begin in 2015. This section is proposed to become part of the SmartTrack line proposed by Toronto mayor John Tory.^[6]

On April 16, 2015, the Ontario government announced a Metrolinx initiative to increase rail service throughout the GO Transit network over the next decade, known as GO Regional Express Rail. Under the plan, diesel Stouffville line trains would operate every 20 minutes from Lincolnville to Union Station during peak periods, and hourly or better from Mount Joy to Union Station. In addition, electric trains would operate every 15 minutes between Unionville and Union Station.^[7]

In June 2015, new stations were approved in Toronto at Finch Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue East, to be built alongside the RER electrification.^[8]

There are long-term plans to extend service beyond Lincolnville to Uxbridge, over tracks already owned by GO Transit. Until such an expansion, Uxbridge is served by a GO bus stop at Uxbridge station, and the only rail service north of Lincolnville is the York-Durham Heritage Railway.^[9]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stouffville line.

• GO Transit: Stouffville GO Train & Bus Service Schedule
• Daniel Garcia and James Bow, GO Transit's Stouffville Line
• "Stouffville Corridor Rail Service Expansion - Environmental Study Report" (PDF). R.J. Burnside & Associates Limited. Metrolinx. July 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.