Kitchener NDP MPP pushes for two-way, all-day GO service along Kitchener corridor

Laura Mae Lindo describes GO bus commute to highlight need for expanded rail service

KITCHENER — Local Kitchener Centre NDP MPP Laura Mae Lindo is pushing the Ford Conservatives for a plan to deliver two-way, all-day GO service along the Kitchener corridor with a motion that will be debated at Queen’s Park this week.

On Tuesday, Lindo will depart Kitchener on the 10: 46 a.m. GO bus — one of the few options available to Kitchener commuters after the last morning train departs — and document the commute to Toronto that includes a GO bus to Bramalea GO station, followed by a transfer to a train.

“World class cities deserve world class transit. The Kitchener-Waterloo region is growing rapidly and we need our transportation network to grow with it, and provide people with easy, convenient access to work, school and opportunity.

“Kitchener-Waterloo commuters have been asking for two-way, all-day go for decades, only to be let down time and time again. Families deserve a plan to finally get these trains moving.”

In 2013, Waterloo Region cities commissioned a business plan that showed that all-day, two-way GO train service could save up to $272 million annually. Waterloo NDP MPP Catherine Fife passed a motion for expanded GO services in 2017 but the Wynne Liberals failed to act, leaving families, workers and students from across the region facing long, fragmented commutes to Toronto.

Lindo’s motion calls on the Conservatives to come to the table with a plan for expanded, electrified GO services before June 6, 2019.

“We can do so much more and so much better for families in the region. We can connect them with jobs and opportunities and bring more investment into Kitchener-Waterloo. But it’s going to take the political will to act. That’s why New Democrats are pushing the Ford Conservatives to stick with a timeline and get this done.”

Lindo’s motion will be debated on Thursday.