Metrolinx/GO has announced a series of public meetings through November 2016 dealing with some aspects of the electrification project.
GO Rail Network Electrification Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP) (Hydro One as co-proponents):
• The focus of this round of public meetings will be to provide an update on the project and conceptual design of the Traction Power Supply and Distribution components.
Barrie Rail Corridor Expansion TPAP:
• The focus of this round of public meetings will be to provide an update on the project and seek feedback on the environmental impacts.
Lakeshore East-Don River to Scarborough Expansion TPAP:
• The focus of this round of public meetings will be on existing conditions.
Further information and a list of meetings is available in the Metrolinx announcement.
Steve Munro 
GO doesn’t fool around! They have cordoned off a section of the former parking lot at the Aurora station so that construction can begin on the northern end of the second track that will be necessary for electrification and frequent service. Maybe it will all come true before 2023.
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They have been working at the Burlington GO station since 2012 or earlier and it still isn’t finished even thought its original finish date was fall 2014. Most of their projects take years longer but no one screams about their lateness.
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Aurora and Gormley get what they’re promised; maybe Burlington is the new Scarborough.
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The question that needs to be asked of Metrolinx is exactly when do they plan to run their first electric train. They have 75 locomotives but are only running around 52 train per day according to their last “By the Numbers” that I could find. They have 656 bi-level coaches, 67 of which are the new cab cars. They also have over 60 of the old cab cars so there is no shortage of cab cars. Many of the older ones are running within trains as coaches.
GO also has an order for 16 more MP40 locomotives and 125 standard bi-level coaches for delivery starting in 2020. Since they already have a surplus of locomotives and they are ordering more coaches and standard coaches exactly when are they going to start ordering electric locomotives at least. They will not be ordering an multiple unit cars for a while as they have a surplus of coaches and diesel locomotives. Metrolinx is great at making announcements about improvements, usually 2 election cycles away but very slow to deliver on anything in the immediate future. All their major construction projects seem to run years late but they don’t get anywhere near the flack the TTC gets for a late project, even when the lateness is not the TTC’s fault.
It is time for Metrolinx to give us some concrete starting dates within my lifetime.
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Some of their trains still use the old 3,000 HP locomotives, which means two per train [and a great deal more pollution]. Since you are a man of science, can you tell me why one 4,000 HP locomotive appears to push or pull a 12 car train out of the station more quickly than two 3,000’s?
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Technically it shouldn’t be able to. Acceleration rate depends on tractive effort at low speeds which is a function of tractive effort “weight on driving wheels” until you get up to a faster speed. Also with 6000 hp and twice the tractive effort they should be able to reach speed faster. It might have something to do with the age of the locomotives and the number of miles on them; the FP 59s might be “tired.” Also I have been told that the engines in the new locomotives have a better low rpm power function which might give more low speed power than 2 of the older locomotives and the control systems might be able to keep a higher power to the axles without causing wheel spin.
Apparently the one locomotive rebuilt with Cummins engines to 5400 hp, 4700 deliverable to the wheels, will not be repeated because the Cummins engines do not [have] the same power rating at low rpm as the 4000 hp engines in the MP 40s. There are apparently 16 more MP 40s on order but these will have ac traction motors which should improve low speed performance.
When you talk about 2 locomotives per train are you talking about current usage or before the new locomotives came along? I have seen the odd 12 car train with an old locomotive on each end but not recently. What I am seeing now are three 6 car trains with an old locomotive that run on the mid day Kitchener trains. These have no problem accelerating from a station but a 6 car train with a new locomotive is even better. Before the new locomotives came along GO used to run two locomotives on the trains on weekends because their fuel tanks weren’t large enough to carry the required fuel for the entire day. During the week trains would run in and out of service during the day and this was not a problem. The new locomotives have larger tanks.
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Robert Wightman: Thanks for the explanation. I knew that the MP 40’s were much cleaner, but I didn’t know that GO had been so specific in ordering power modifications to suit GO operating conditions. They work very well with 12 car trains.
As for the double FP 59 trains, there are still one or two per afternoon on the Barrie line. It seems that ten cars is the limit for one FP 59, and most PM trains are 12.
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F59PHs have 3000 hp prime mover so are limited to 10 car trains. They also only have a 500 kW auxiliary generator to provide electrical power to the coaches. The MP40s have one closer to 700 kW. An f59PH could pull 12 GO coaches but not very fast and they would not have adequate electrical power.
The MP40s have 33% more power for only a 20% increase in weight, less if you include the weight of the engine, so they should move faster. This is probably why the maximum speed is 93 mph vs 83 for the F59PHs.
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