GO trains were taken off the rails this past Saturday and Sunday in Toronto, Mississauga and elsewhere to allow for “critical track work” and “essential improvements.” (Photos: Metrolinx)

Many people in Mississauga, Toronto and elsewhere in the GTA who normally would’ve taken GO trains to and from their destinations this past weekend were forced to seek other modes of transportation due to the two-day shutdown of a normally busy section of the Lakeshore West line.

Officials at Metrolinx, the provincial agency that oversees GO Transit, provided plenty of advance notice of the temporary service disruption, telling the public the trains were being taken off the rails all day Saturday and Sunday to allow “critical track work” and “essential improvements” to take place.

The absence of the GO trains impacted many people in west Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington — and in other towns and cities along the Lakeshore line.

This week, Metrolinx provided more details about the specific type of work that took place on the tracks over the two days.

“Lakeshore West trains were paused this past weekend so crews could replace one of the line’s most important support structures: rail ties,” the provincial transit agency said online. “Rail ties, also called crossties or sleepers, are the wooden supports beneath the tracks. They form the foundation of the railway, keeping rails spaced and upright while distributing the weight of trains. They also absorb vibration, help prevent derailments and support long-term stability.”

The replacement of rail ties and other track work took place over two days this past weekend along the Lakeshore West line. (Photo: Metrolinx)

Transit officials added work crews replaced rail ties at the Burloak Drive Grade Separation and on the rail bridge over Bronte Creek in Halton.

During the two-day train service shutdown, crews also:

Installed utility crossings underneath the tracks at Long Branch GO in west Toronto to support future expansion of the rail corridor for increased service.
Advanced Ontario Line work at Exhibition GO in downtown Toronto with excavation, rebar installation and concrete pours.
Conducted necessary state-of-good-repair work including adding concrete under the Etobicoke Creek bridge on the Toronto-Mississauga border to protect the steel supports that help hold the bridge in place.

“While these shutdowns can be inconvenient, they allow crews to safely complete critical work that can only happen when trains aren’t running,” Metrolinx said.

“Weekend track closures are necessary to build a better, more reliable transit system. Over the next decade, GO expansion will bring significant, incremental service benefits to create a network with the capacity to deliver service every 15 minutes or better all-day in both directions on core routes like Lakeshore West (to Burlington GO).”

Late last year and earlier this year, weekend-long GO train shutdowns on part of the Lakeshore West line in west Toronto and Mississauga took place to allow crews to replace a 100-year-old railway bridge over Etobicoke Creek on the Toronto-Mississauga border.

More temporary GO train service shutdowns are planned later this spring.


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