GO Transit gets $16B from Ontario for improvements

The provincial government announced billions in new funding for GO Transit service on Friday and said some $16 billion is now ready to spend on transportation infrastructure in the GTA and Hamilton.

In a news release, the province said its total commitment to the Moving Ontario Forward plan — which aims to modernize the province's transit infrastructure — is now $31.5 billion.

Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency, will spend $16 billion of that money on improving the speed and frequency of GO trains in the GTA, as well as electrifying "core" parts of the rail network in the Toronto region.

"There's such an appetite for increased service," said Premier Kathleen Wynne, speaking to reporters in front of a GO train in Barrie.

"We are racing to keep up with that public demand."

GO Transit's Toronto-Barrie line is one of the first to get improvements. A second track is being added to part of the line, at a cost of $17.4 million, which will allow for two-way hourly service between the two cities during the midday, evenings and weekends.

The province said there are currently 70 trips on the line, but in the next five years that number will grow to more than 200 trips.  

Barrie's population is set to grow by 79 per cent by 2041, according to statistics cited by the Moving Ontario Forward plan.

The news release also said the government hopes the money will help provide "new travel options" in the region.

The province hopes GO ridership will increase from some 1,500 weekly trips to around 6,000.