There are upgrades coming down the line – the Barrie GO line.
Metrolinx officials told Barrie they’re laying the groundwork to expand service and accommodate more passengers on its Barrie line with several capital upgrades.
“At Barrie South, we are adding 130 new parking spaces. We’re in design for the lot and anticipate construction to start next spring. We’re in the early stages for planning for upgrades at Allandale,” said Bruce Sevier, Metrolinx’s Barrie corridor infrastructure manager.
Metrolinx is also planning to add a seventh layover track near the Allandale Station.
“This is designed to set the table faster for more efficient service.”
More people are already jumping aboard, not just commuters but people are looking to get out of the city on the weekends, Sevier said.
“We noticed recently with the new weekend service, we’re getting people coming to Barrie. It’s not just a one-way service, with Barrie people going to see a Jays game on a Saturday,” said Sevier.
Metrolinx’s ultimate plan is to get more trains moving more people faster into and out of the GTA, to ease gridlock and to boost the quality of life in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. He noted by doubling the line, more trains can be added to provide 30-minute peak service and hourly non-peak service between Barrie and Union Station by 2025. (Peak service between Aurora and Union Station will be every 15 minutes, however.)
The work includes adding a second track on the Barrie line.
While working on the Barrie layover site, Metrolinx staff uncovered bones. They brought in the First Nations and also the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Archeologists found the bones to be those of a fox, said Sevier.
Sevier reassured the city the trains will not pose a safety hazard as they cross Minet’s Point Road and go into the layover area between Lakeshore Drive and the rear of commercial and residential areas.
“The trains that come into the layover are regulated at five miles per hour. They stay there overnight,” he said.
The plans also include adding stations, including one in Innisfil.
However, electrifying the lines would decrease travel time, he explained, as trains can accelerate and decelerate much quicker. And even with the addition of stations, travel time will decrease, he said, due to electrification and straightening the line by reducing curves.
As it is, the line can accommodate twice as many trains as now run between Barrie and Union. Crossing upgrades are also in the plans.
“With the current infrastructure, we can run up to 36 trains and we’re in the teens now,” Sevier said.
Sevier would not say, however, when more trains – that is the next round of service upgrades – will occur.
“There will be announcements on that, but it has to come from the minister (of transportation). There will be an announcement coming.”
