As another direct rail service between London, Ont. and Toronto is close to resuming, London Station is set to receive a significant modernization investment from the Crown corporation.
Early next week, officials with Via Rail and the federal government will announce an investment of over $25 million to upgrade the downtown structure.
Via Rail says the upgrades will aim to improve passenger service, with the investments varying in “civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical work, to redesigning, retrofitting, and modernizing.”
The to-be-announced investment comes on the heels of Via Rail confirming they are in the late stages of resuming a direct London-to-Toronto service. Trains 82 and 83, running the London-Brantford-Toronto corridor, were discontinued amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Crown corporation told Global News last week those trains are set to come back.
“We are currently in discussions with our infrastructure partners to coordinate the resumption of this service and these discussions are going well,” a Via Rail spokesperson said. Via said more details would be shared once an agreement is finalized.
Before it was cut during the COVID-19 pandemic, Via Rail’s daily commuter train gave Londoners the ability to arrive in Toronto by 9:30 a.m. and return in the early evening.
Via Rail says it currently operates the Quebec to Windsor, Ont., corridor with a daily average of 50 frequencies, compared with the 62 daily frequencies pre-COVID-19. While service levels were significantly affected by the pandemic, the Crown corporation cites a “lack of available rolling stock” as the core reason why a full schedule has yet to resume.
With Via daily service cut, the GO Train service served as a replacement in October 2021. The Metrolinx-operated train has provided weekday trips with one early morning trip to Toronto’s Union Station and one return trip in the late evening since Oct. 18, 2021.
The Go trip typically takes four hours between the major two cities and half the time between London and Kitchener, Ont., but those trips are about to end.
In a statement to Global News, Metrolinx confirmed the London GO pilot project would end on Oct. 13. Metrolinx says the agreement between CN and Via Rail permitting the use of the lines would not be renewed.
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