Hamiltonians will soon be able to take the GO Train to one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Ontario’s Minister of Transportation stood at West Harbour GO Station to officially announce that Niagara weekend trains will soon stop in Hamilton following the completion of new tracks connecting the station’s east side to the main rail line.
The signals for the track were made operational a few weeks ago, ahead of schedule.
Metrolinx will amend its Lakeshore West train schedules “in the coming weeks” to include a West Harbour stop for trains operating to Niagara Falls during weekends and holidays. Additionally, all three Niagara weekday roundtrips will stop at West Harbour.
Niagara trains make five fewer stops between Hamilton and Toronto’s Union Station than the hourly Lakeshore West trains.
The transit agency states it will begin the added service as soon as possible.
Presently, only the morning peak-hour train from Niagara and the afternoon peak-hour train to Niagara stop at West Harbour. These trains lost around 15 minutes in travel time at West Harbour due to a need to reverse in and out of the station.
Present Niagara Schedules
The morning rush-hour Niagara train to Toronto departs West Harbour at 7:55 a.m. The afternoon rush-hour train to Niagara arrives at West Harbour at 6:32 p.m.
Two Toronto-bound weekday trains currently pass West Harbour at approximately 2:20 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. [An hourly Lakeshore West train from West Harbour to Toronto Union departs at 2:25 p.m.]
Two Niagara-bound weekday trains pass at approximately 10:10 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. [An hourly Lakeshore West train arrives at 10:09 a.m.]
Metrolinx operates three train round-trips each day on weekends and holidays.
The Niagara-bound trains pass West Harbour at approximately 10:10 a.m., 2:10 p.m. 6:10 p.m. on Sunday, and 7:25 p.m. on Saturday.
Toronto-bound trains pass West Harbour at approximately 1:20 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, and 10:20 p.m. on Saturday.
Installation of New Tracks at Bayview Junction Enabled Two-Direction All-Day Service
One of Canada’s most congested rail interchanges lies between Hamilton’s West Harbour GO and Burlington’s Aldershot GO. For over 15 years, numerous provincial governments have spent hundreds of millions constructing new Metrolinx-owned rail tracks on the Lakeshore West line, including numerous new tracks through Bayview Junction.
The new tracks allow GO trains to operate through the Junction to West Harbour without waiting for freight traffic or dealing with VIA Rail delays.
Following the announcement, Metrolinx operational staff stated in one-on-one conversations that trains will be able to flow through the Junction, even when off-schedule due to delays. West Harbour service will not experience bypasses or cancelled trips to Niagara.
GO Transit Email Alerts
GO Transit will announce the schedule changes via media release, its website, and also to customers directly using its email update service.
You can subscribe to GO Alerts here.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: April 9, 2025
Last updated: April 9, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
Happy that the trackwork is complet! Now, if they’d just unlock the front doors to West Harbour and allow access to the washrooms, almost like a real station. Maybe someday a coffee shop š.
Hi Bob,
Thank you for the comment. I asked the Minister this question. You can view the question / answer at approximately 10:30 in this video: https://www.facebook.com/OntarioTransportation/videos/9571502106267289
Joey
I get the feeling neither of them really understand what you’re asking. The second gentleman is just being sycophantic. I don’t know how 13:30 was chosen as the time the doors needed to be locked to increase safety. Sounds like an internal union decision.
The safety and security question is site specific and the answer relates to the broader issues occurring across the GO Network. The Minister is not directly involved in site operations, nor briefed on day-to-day site specific operations. Generally speaking, a Minister and their staff will further review matters brought up in questions.
Metrolinx provided operational staff after the media questions, they gave further details regarding the implementation of new service.
In my opinion (obviously), I’m pleased to see a government transit agency working to quickly adjust schedules.
Am I correct in thinking there will be more than 3 trains per day from Niagara to Union?
Hello,
There is no increase in trips to Niagara. Presently, two of the three trips bypass West Harbour. [Now all three trips will stop at WH]
Are there plans for more trips to Niagara in 2025?
I do not know.
I am not familiar with factors such as the Welland Canal bridge, track capacity, etc, that would influence these decisions, thus I cannot provide even a guess.