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On 10-10-28 05:00 PM, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:AANLkTina7YXg_3SsODTheuLH=7ez0r08+AN44uzDAbwU-Rq2MYuBUFGs@public.gmane.orgail.com"
type="cite">On 27 October 2010 13:51, Lennart Sorensen <span
dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys@public.gmane.org">lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbsCMcJQe/j3Cw@public.gmane.orgaterloo.ca</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
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> Brilliance: GO Transit, easily one of the best suburban
commuter rail<br>
> systems on the continent<br>
<br>
</div>
It is absolutely awful. The line up through weston may become
great now<br>
that they are resignaling it (after buying it instead of
leasing access<br>
to the line), so that they can run trains more than every 30
minutes.<br>
Now if they will run more frequent service and both ways
throughout the<br>
day, then it can start to be considered a good train system.
As it is<br>
it is probably the worst train system I have ever seen.<br>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
They work with what they have. Unlike in Europe and Japan,
commuter rail here has always had to deal with limtations of
working with and alongside freight-train lines. GO is trying
to increase capacity to the Georgetown line to give that
northwest service similar capacity and times to the lakeshore
line. But neighborhood opposition in Weston has impeded
progress.<br>
<br>
In any case, there are not trainfuls of commuters going from
downtown to Markham in the morning, so there is bus service
from Union station, but now that area is best served by GO bus
service to Finch station, York University and Scarborough
Centre (and will soon be complemented by a VIVA LRT on highway
7). It's nice to see GO taking advantage of highway 407 from
Oshawa to Hamilton, as an alternative to going through
downtown. In some cases, fares for service on that line are
less than the 407 tolls alone (or so it seems).<br>
<br>
Its also in other areas -- payment methods, station upgrades,
other intangibles and even car design -- where I think GO does
very well.<br>
<br>
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</blockquote>
There's one, PAYMENT METHODS, where the TTC is still in the 1950s.
Try using a credit or debit card to buy a roll of tokens at a TTC
collection booth... [game show sound effect] wah wah waaaah [/game
show sound effect]. Sorry, no can do. Cash only. And try asking
for a receipt for that. They'll give you a little slip from a pad
of paper where the collector writes (illegibly) their employee
number, the date, and the amount. Well anyway, you've woken them up
from their snooze, so what do you expect.<br>
<br>
Martin<br>
<br>
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