Richmond Hill line

This article is about the train line in the Greater Toronto Area. For the New York surface transit line, see Q55 (New York City bus).

Richmond Hill
GO Train travels south through the Don Valley
Overview
Owner	Metrolinx (Toronto) Canadian National Railway (York Region)
Locale	Greater Toronto Area
Stations	7
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	GO Transit rail services
Operator(s)	GO Transit
Daily ridership	10,293 (2016)
History
Opened	May 1, 1978 (1978-05-01)
Technical
Line length	45.9 km (28.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	65 mph (105 km/h)
Route map km 45.9 Bloomington 42.3 Gormley 33.8 Richmond Hill 29.5 Langstaff Richmond Hill Centre Highway 407 25.9 Doncaster Junction York Region Toronto 22.7 Old Cummer Don River Highway 401 19.6 Oriole Leslie Don Valley Parkway CPKC Belleville subdivision Don River Don Valley Parkway CPKC Don Branch Prince Edward Viaduct Line 2 Bloor–Danforth Don River Don Yard 0 Union Station

Richmond Hill is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It operates between Union Station in Toronto to Bloomington GO Station in the north in Richmond Hill. Trains on the line operate only during weekday peak hours (morning trains southbound, afternoon trains northbound), while off-peak weekday times are served by the GO bus route 61.

History

A Richmond Hill commuter train service had been announced in 1969 by the provincial government, but its implementation was cancelled in 1970 in favour of bus commuter service.

Following a promotional opening on Saturday April 29, the Richmond Hill line became the fourth GO Transit rail line on Monday, May 1, 1978. The opening had been delayed because the BiLevel coaches ordered for the Lakeshore line were not delivered on time, so existing Lakeshore line trains were not available to be redeployed on the Richmond Hill line.

The layout of the line remained generally unchanged from 1978 to 2016, when the line was extended north to the new Gormley GO Station. This extension was part of the GO 2020 strategy, which aims to extend the line north to Aurora Road in Whitchurch-Stouffville. Phase I of the project, which was completed in late 2016, established the Gormley GO Station where the line intersects Stouffville Road, created a train layover facility at Bethesda Road, and graded the corridor for the extension. Phase II of the project, which was completed in June 2021, extended the line further north to Bloomington GO Station.

Route

The Richmond Hill line operates over the CN Bala Subdivision, which is owned by Metrolinx between Union Station and Doncaster Diamond, where the line crosses the CN York Subdivision. North of Doncaster Diamond, the line is owned by Canadian National and is part of its transcontinental freight route.

The Via Rail Canadian transcontinental service from Vancouver to Toronto operates along the entire route of the Richmond Hill line, but does not stop at any stations other than Union.

During regular service, the Richmond Hill line operates trains that are six to ten coaches long. Due to diminishing ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic, GO Transit is reducing the number of coaches on all Richmond Hill line trains from six to four cars. Following successful testing of four-car trains operating on the line beginning on April 19, 2021, all train trips on the Richmond Hill line are four cars long effective May 5, 2021.

Stations

Station	Community	Municipality	Regional Mun.	Fare zone	Distance (km)	Connections
Bloomington	Oak Ridges	Richmond Hill	York	98	45.9
Gormley	Gormley			78	42.3
Richmond Hill	Richmond Hill			50	33.8
Langstaff	Langstaff			60	29.5	(via Richmond Hill Centre)
Old Cummer	North York	Toronto		05	22.7	TTC
Oriole					19.6	(via Leslie station) TTC
Union Station	Toronto			02	0.0	TTC

Future

As a part of the GO Transit Regional Express Rail (RER) initiative, train service along the Richmond Hill line is planned to be expanded over the next decade. During peak hours, trains would run in peak direction every 15–30 minutes along this line. To implement the planned RER service, the Richmond Hill line would need $1 billion in flood mitigation and a grade separation at the Doncaster junction with the York Subdivision.

A layover facility was planned in the Don Valley adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway underneath the Prince Edward Viaduct as part of the GO Expansion program. In March 2023, Metrolinx found a different site for the planned facility in a light industrial zone at York Mills Road east of Leslie Street. GO Transit will use the Rosedale Siding adjacent to Bayview Avenue along the route as a temporary layover facility.

See also

• Toronto Transit Commission
• York Region Transit
• Canadian National Railways

External links

• GO Transit: Richmond Hill GO Train & Bus Service Schedule (PDF)
• AECOM (August 2009). "Richmond Hill Layover Facility Environmental Assessment (EA) and Project Design" (PDF). GO Transit. ITC-2006-EN-002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2017-07-17.