More GO train trips means better service for commuters in Mississauga

Tens of thousands of Mississauga residents and workers will have an easier time taking the GO train with service improvements along both Lakeshore West and Milton lines expected to take effect the end of April.

The service enhancements impacting Mississauga are slated to launch on April 28 and are among a series of GTA-wide improvements listed in a service update several days ago from Metrolinx, the provincial agency that runs GO Transit.

The information was reportedly made public prematurely by Metrolinx and by the time the post was taken down it had already been shared via many online platforms.

The upcoming changes to GO’s schedule represent the largest service expansion since 2013 and will see 308 new weekly rail trips across the GTA and beyond. That’s a 15 per cent increase from the current level (1,999 weekly trips to 2,307).

Some service upgrades will take effect on April 27, with the majority being implemented the following day.

On the Lakeshore West line, which provides service between Union Station in Toronto and Hamilton — with Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington in between — GO train service will increase to 15-minute frequency on weekend afternoons and evenings between Oakville GO and Union Station.

On the Milton line, which takes commuters between that community and Union Station in Toronto with several Mississauga stops along the way, one additional morning rush hour trip to Union Station and one extra afternoon rush hour trip to Milton are being added.

Also, some trips on Lakeshore West and Milton lines will be adjusted to depart as much as nine minutes earlier or later to better align with travel times and new and connecting services, Metrolinx officials said.

In other areas of the GTA, Lakeshore East, Kitchener and Stouffville lines are all being enhanced as well.

Metrolinx is expected to officially announce the service/scheduling changes at a later date.

News of the upgrades comes on the heels of a major announcement in early February when it was revealed by the Ontario government the Milton GO line would soon be expanded to offer two-way, all-day service.

Mississauga and Milton GO train commuters had been waiting years for such a commitment from upper levels of government.