Milton is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Milton, by way of Mississauga.
History
The Canadian Pacific Railway strongly resisted all efforts to put passenger trains on company-owned tracks to avoid disturbance of freight activity into Toronto. Due to the 1979 Mississauga train derailment and efforts made by Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, there was increased pushback for a passenger train line. McCallion and Mississauga city council threatened to sue CP for the cost of the emergency services and mass evacuation caused by the derailment on the CPR line near Mavis Rd. As part of the compromise that got the suit dropped, CP agreed to drop its long-standing objection to passenger service on its freight line.
Following a promotional opening on Sunday October 25, 1981, regular service began the following Monday. Six trips were operated from 2002–2009 and five before this. From 2009–2011, there were seven inbound and seven outbound train trips daily. An eighth train was added to the morning and afternoon runs in 2011 and a ninth train started on January 5, 2015. On February 25, 2016, a tenth train was announced for the 2016–17 fiscal year, as part of the 2016 Ontario budget process.
The Ontario government is working with Metrolinx to have more train service along the Milton line, known as the GO Transit Regional Express Rail, over the next decade. During peak hours, trains would run in peak direction every 15 minutes along this line.
Waterloo Region
Bus service was expanded into the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo in October 2009. Several bus routes operate between the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, the Charles Street Transit Terminal in Kitchener, and the Cambridge SmartCentre shopping centre to the Square One Bus Terminal in central Mississauga, including a small number of trips connecting with the train service at Milton GO Station.
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo funded a study indicating that a $110 million extension of the Milton line could bring trains to Cambridge by 2012, with possible stations at Guelph Line in Campbellville, Highway 6 in Puslinch, and at Franklin Boulevard (a park and ride) and Water Street (downtown with transit connections) in Cambridge. However, the plans didn't come to fruition when an environmental assessment became a victim of budget cuts. GO Transit expects expansion of train service to Cambridge to happen in the 15 to 25 year time frame, after passenger capacity upgrades at Milton to relieve current train overcrowding.
In September 2016, GO Transit created a new bus service to connect Cambridge and Milton on weekday mornings during peak travel times, with six return trips in the evening. This bus route averaged only five passengers per trip and was cancelled in June 2019 due to low demand.
Town of Milton
Regional Express Rail (RER) is part of the Province’s ‘Big Move’, a $50-billion public transit expansion adopted in 2008 to reduce traffic congestion in the GTHA. Part of the original plan announced in 2008 was the implementation of two-way, all-day rail service to Milton, slated to be in place within 15 years of the announcement (2023). In the 2012 ‘Big Move Update’, this timeline shifted to a 16-to-25-year planning horizon. As a result of this deferral to a longer-term timeline for the improvements, Milton town councillor Rick DiLorenzo has referred to the Milton line as the "orphan" of Metrolinx. Regional Chair Gary Carr said it feels like the rug was being pulled from underneath them with these sudden changes that affected Halton towns such as Milton and Georgetown. "If the Big Move projects benefiting Halton are delayed, Halton will not be able to meet provincial growth plan targets. The transportation system mode split and level of service objectives will not be met," said Tim Dennis, Halton's regional transportation services director.
Making matters worse for Town of Milton residents, the 2012 Big Move update document indicates that RER all-day, two-way service will only extend as far west as Meadowvale station in Mississauga, and will not service Lisgar station in Mississauga, nor Milton's station, service which had been promised by the provincial Liberals Halton candidate during the 2011 election. This change was approved in February 2013.