Metrolinx is making the next moves to take GO transit to Bowmanville.
Metrolinx took to its blog to announce it had started its search for a construction partner to build rail service east of Oshawa and into nearby Bowmanville.
The anticipated Bowmanville Extension will add four new stations along the Lakeshore East Line: Thornton’s Corners East, Ritson Road, Courtice, and Bowmanville. It will utilize existing Canadian Pacific (CP) railway tracks north of highway 401 through to Bowmanville.
According to Metrolinx, the new extension will reduce travel times for commuters from Bowmanville to Union Station by an average of 15 minutes.
Once completed, there will be express peak GO train service every half hour between Union Station and Pickering GO Station, making all stops between Pickering and Bowmanville. During off-peak times, GO trains will run hourly, making all the stops between Bowmanville and Union Station. The weekends will see trains run every two hours and make all stops between Union Station and Bowmanville.
'@transit_hub/Instgram
All stations along the Bowmanville Extension (Thornton’s Corners East, Ritson Road, Courtice, and Bowmanville) will be pursued through Metrolinx and the Province’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) program. The TOC Program aims to create high-density, connected communities next to or within a short walk to transit stations and stops, while leveraging third party investment to build infrastructure.
In addition to the future residents of these transit oriented communities, the new GO stations will surely be appreciated by those who swapped Toronto’s concrete for more affordable pastures an hour to the east during the pandemic -- especially now that life has returned to Toronto’s office buildings.
With that said, projects like this clearly don't materialize over night. Estimations of timelines of any sort won't be made until the design stage nears completion, says Metrolinx. In the meantime, Metrolinx needs to find the best fit on the construction front before the wheels can start turning on this inevitably intricate design stage in the first place. The procurement process to identify a construction manager kicked off with a Request for Proposals (RFP) released in April 2022.
The materialization of the Bowmanville Extension was promised by Premier Doug Ford when he was campaigning for re-election.
