Stouffville line


The Stouffville line is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Its southernmost terminus is Union Station in Toronto, and its northernmost terminus is Lincolnville in Whitchurch-Stouffville. There are connections from almost every station to Toronto Transit Commission and York Region Transit bus services.
During peak periods on weekdays, trains operate approximately twice per hour over the entire route, but in the peak direction only. Otherwise, trains operate hourly in both directions 7 days a week between either Unionville and Mount Joy stations 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. Weekend service was operated entirely by bus until November 2, 2019 when weekend train service was finally introduced.
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. Coincidentially, both GO lines are the only ones in the network to be entirely grade separated from mainline CN & CP freight traffic.

History

Originally laid by the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, the track 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 then 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 servicethen just a single weekday runwas started by GO Transit.
On June 29, 1998, GO Transit restored full service to the Lakeshore lines, and terminated Stouffville Line service to and, 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.
On September 2, 2008, the line was extended northwards from Stouffville to Lincolnville. Lincolnville station was built directly over GO Transit's Stouffville Yard, and so it consists of six tracks and platforms instead of the usual one or two.
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.
All-day weekday service was introduced on June 24, 2017. Trains began operating from as early as 5 a.m. to as late as 11:45 p.m. with hourly service in both directions between Unionville and Union Station during the midday and evening. Service in the counter-peak direction continued to be operated by buses.
On April 8, 2019, midday train trips were extended to Mount Joy station, and buses continued the rest of the trip from Mount Joy to Lincolnville.
On August 31, 2019, GO Transit began providing bidirectional late-evening service between Union Station and Mount Joy, hourly between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The final northbound trip continues past Mount Joy and arrives at Lincolnville at 12:29 a.m.
Starting on November 2, 2019, hourly two-way weekend train service between Mount Joy and Union Station began, with some morning and late night trips arriving in Lincolnville.

Schedule

On weekdays, GO Transit train service on the Stouffville line consists of nine southbound train trips during the morning peak and eight northbound train trips during the afternoon/evening peak, running the entire length of the line. During midday non-peak hours, five southbound and five northbound trips are provided between Union Station and Mount Joy, and during the early evening non-peak hour, one northbound trip is provided from Union Station and terminates at Mount Joy.
Bus service is provided approximately every 30 minutes in the direction opposite that of the train trips during peak hours.
Due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, train service on the Stouffville line is currently limited to three southbound trains from Lincolnville to Union Station and three northbound trains from Union Station to Lincolnville daily. The limited service will remain in effect for an indefinite amount of time. Further reduction of train service began on June 20, 2020, with buses replacing all weekend train service.

Route

The Stouffville line operates entirely over railways owned by Metrolinx. The line begins at Union Station and follows the Kingston Subdivision 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.

Route description

From Union Station to Scarborough GO station, the Stouffville line's tracks are shared with the Kingston Subdivision and the Lakeshore East GO Transit corridor. The first station after Union Station, Danforth GO Station, is therefore shared with Lakeshore East trains. The Stouffville GO train switches to the Uxbridge Subdivision at Scarborough and begins curving towards the north until the Midland and Danforth Road intersection, at which point the line points straight north. The train then passes through residential neighborhoods up to Eglinton Avenue, and stops at the Kennedy GO station, which is the terminus for the TTC's Line 2, Line 3, and Line 5, upon opening.
As the train progresses through the route travelling adjacent to the Scarborough RT corridor in between Eglinton Avenue and Ellesmere Road, the train enters several industrial districts, with former Uxbridge Sub owner, Canadian National Railway, occasionally servicing them. Continuing north, the train arrives at Agincourt GO station next, which is close to Sheppard Avenue.
North of Sheppard Avenue, the train passes through more residential and industrial areas. Just south of Steeles Avenue is the Milliken GO Station. Past Milliken, the train crosses Steeles Avenue and the site where the original Milliken station once stood, and enters the City of Markham, continuing north. Past Denison Street, the Stouffville train descends below 14th Avenue and the CN York Subdivision tracks before making its way back up, going beneath Highway 407 and stopping at Unionville GO Station.
North of Unionville GO station, the train begins curving in the east direction, passing through historic Unionville and residential suburban neighborhoods built closer to the track before arriving at Centennial GO station. Further along the line to the east is Markham GO station, which is located in the historic Markham Village.
After Markham GO station, the line curves northward again, passing industrial areas before approaching Mount Joy GO station, now a major terminal station for all non-peak trains. As the train departs from Mount Joy GO station, the scenery becomes much more rural as the line continues north, crossing 19th Avenue, exiting Markham, and entering the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Suburban development is seen once again as the train enters the historic village of Stouffville, stopping at Stouffville GO Station. Stouffville was once a major junction, and passengers can see an abandoned track beside the main track where the trains were used to be stored.
The train continues until a little northeast, just exiting urban Stouffville, where it terminates at Lincolnville GO Station, which is located next to the line's GO Train overnight storage facility.

Route operation

The Stouffville line operates nine trains out of Lincolnville every weekday and three trains every weekend. Service is provided in push pull configuration with the MPI MP40PH-3C locomotive at the north end of the train and the Bombardier BiLevel cab control car at the south. The trains are typically six, ten, or twelve cars long, with the fifth car from the locomotive being the door control location.
On regular service days, the first southbound train departs Lincolnville at 5:15 a.m. The rest of the trains follow at a service frequency of 30-60 minutes with most frequent service taking place during rush hour. The last southbound train departs Lincolnville at 10:14 a.m. The first northbound train departs Union Station at 3:11 p.m. Another seven trains follow at a service frequency of 25-60 minutes with most frequent service taking place during rush hour. The last northbound train does not depart Union Station until 11:15 p.m.
As of November 2, 2019, the Stouffville line operates on all weekends and holidays with three trains departing hourly from Lincolnville starting from 7:14 a.m. and three trains departing hourly from Union Station starting from 10:15 a.m. All non-peak and most weekend/holiday service is provided by buses.

Train whistle cessation agreement

As of the fall of 2019, the entire length of the GO Transit Stouffville line has train anti-whistling procedures implemented as the result of recent public outcry regarding the level of noise to which some residents were introduced as a result of the provision of increased rail service along the line. The 24/7 whistle ban prohibits train engineers operating on the line from using their train whistles at all level crossings. The Canadian Rail Operating Rules currently requires trains to begin blowing train whistle warning signals a quarter mile from every railroad crossing and continue to do so until the train enters the crossing as a warning to motorists and pedestrians that the train is fast approaching. What train anti-whistling does is that it prohibits this warning signal.
Every city served by the line had to apply to Transport Canada individually in order to stop whistling. The railroad authority Metrolinx worked closely with these cities to implement whistle cessation as quickly as possible provided that all safety requirements are met. In order to impose a ban on train whistle usage at railroad crossings, several safety upgrades had to be installed at each crossing in order to receive approval from Transport Canada. These safety measures include flashing lights, bells, and gates, signs warning the public that trains will arrive without providing any warning, and removal of trees to increase sighting distance.
It is important to note that even when train whistling at level crossings is prohibited, there are other requirements in the Canadian Rail Operating Rules which require trains to whistle, such as when encountering a crew of track maintenance workers on or near the railroad right-of-way. As anti-whistling does not extend to these factors, residents living in close proximity to the line may still hear the whistle from time to time.
It should also be understood that the elimination of train whistling at public level crossings causes an increase in liability against the city where a train accident causing injury, permanent disability, or death occurs. As it is a well-established fact that whistle bans will increase both the frequency and severity of accidents, the city where such an accident occurs would have to assume liability to which it otherwise would not be exposed.

Stations

In addition to the stations listed below, one train per day serves Scarborough GO Station, located between Danforth and Kennedy stations.
StationCommunityMunicipalityDistance ConnectionsNotes
LincolnvilleLincolnvilleWhitchurch-Stouffville49.6 Constructed over GO's Stouffville Yard
StouffvilleStouffvilleWhitchurch-Stouffville46.8
YRT
Mount JoyMount Joy/
Greensborough		Markham38.7
TTC
YRT
MarkhamMarkham VillageMarkham36.7
TTC
YRT		Cannot fit 10- and 12-car trains due to platform restrictions
CentennialUnionvilleMarkham35.0 TTC
YRT
UnionvilleUnionville/
Downtown Markham		Markham30.6
MillikenMillikenToronto27.4 TTC
YRT
Finch East
MillikenToronto TTCProposed station
AgincourtAgincourtToronto22.9 TTC
Lawrence East
Dorset ParkToronto TTCProposed station
KennedyIonviewToronto16.4
TTC
DanforthEast DanforthToronto8.4
TTC
UnionDowntown TorontoToronto0.0


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.
Double tracking of the line from Unionville GO station to Scarborough GO was scheduled to begin in 2015. This section is proposed to become part of the SmartTrack line proposed by Toronto mayor John Tory.
On April 16, 2015, the Ontario government announced a Metrolinx initiative to increase rail service throughout the GO Transit network over the subsequent decade, known as Regional Express Rail. Under the plan, diesel trains would operate on the Stouffville line every 20 minutes from Lincolnville to Union Station during peak periods, and hourly or more frequently from Mount Joy to Union Station. In addition, electric trains would operate every 15 minutes between Unionville and Union Station.
In June 2015, new stations were approved in Toronto at Finch Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue East, to be built alongside the RER electrification.
In February 2020, Metrolinx hosted a series of Public Information Centres detailing planned expansion and future service levels. On the line, peak direction service from Lincolnville will be increased to every 20 minutes, with hourly reverse direction service to Mount Joy. There would also be 7 1/2 minute bi-directional service from Union Station to Unionville. During off-peak times, trains will run in both directions every 10 minutes to Unionville and every 30 minutes to Mount Joy.
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.