Richmond Hill line

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 Gormley 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.

This article is about the Toronto train line. For the New York surface transit line, see Q55 (New York City bus).
Richmond Hill
GO Train travels south through the Don Valley
Overview
OwnerMetrolinx (Toronto)
Canadian National Railway (York Region)
LocaleToronto; Richmond Hill
Stations6 (plus 1 under construction)
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemGO Transit rail services
Operator(s)GO Transit
Daily ridership10,293 (2016)
History
OpenedMay 1, 1978 (1978-05-01)
Technical
Line length42.3 km (26.3 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
km
45.9
 Bloomington
42.3
 Gormley
33.8
 Richmond Hill
29.5
Langstaff
Richmond Hill Centre
Highway 407
25.9
Doncaster Junction
22.7
 Old Cummer
Don River
Highway 401
19.6
Oriole
Leslie
Don Valley Parkway
CPR Belleville subdivision
CPR trestle
Don River
Don Valley Parkway
CPR trestle
CPR North Toronto subdivision
Prince Edward Viaduct
Line 2 Bloor–Danforth
Don River
CPR Belleville subdivision
Don Yard
0
 Union Station

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.[1]

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.[2]

The layout of the line remained generally unchanged from 1978 to 2016, when the line was extended north to the new Gormley station. This extension was part of the GO 2020 strategy, which aims to extend the line north to Aurora Road in Whitchurch-Stouffville.[3][4] Phase I of the project, which was completed in late 2016, established the Gormley GO Station where the line intersects Stouffville Road, created a train layover facility at Bethesda Road, and graded the corridor for the extension.[4] Phase II of the project will extend the line further north to the new Bloomington GO Station, which is planned to open by 2021.[5]

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.[6]

Stations
Station Community Municipality Regional Mun. Fare zone Distance (km)[7] Connections
Bloomington
(Opens 2021)		 Oak Ridges Richmond Hill York TBD 45.9
Gormley Gormley 62 42.3
Richmond Hill Richmond Hill 61 33.8
Langstaff Langstaff 60 29.5
(via Richmond Hill Centre)
Old Cummer North York Toronto 05 22.7 TTC
Oriole 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.[8] To implement the planned RER service, the Richmond Hill line would need $1 billion in flood mitigation and a grade separation in the Doncaster area.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Refund request 'amusing to robarts, but not to Medcof". The Era. 3 June 1970. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  2. "Rail line ready but trains late". The Liberal. 22 February 1978. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. "GO Transit reveals Strategic Plan - GO 2020". GO Transit. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  4. "Expansion Projects". GO Transit. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  5. "New GO station blooms in Richmond Hill". Metrolinx News. Metrolinx. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  6. Kalinowski, Tess (17 April 2015). "GO to add almost 50 per cent more trains in next 5 years". Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  7. Delcan/Arup (30 July 2010). "Electrification Baseline Draft Report" (PDF). GO Transit. GO Transit. Retrieved 12 December 2016. (Page 58)
  8. "Ontario Improving GO Transit Service Along All Corridors" (Press release). Ontario Ministry of Transportation. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
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