GO Transit weekend train cuts to stay through spring as crew training resumes after World Cup

GO Transit weekend train service on the Lakeshore East, Lakeshore West, Barrie and Stouffville lines will remain reduced through spring 2027 as Metrolinx works to restore crew training and certification paused during the FIFA World Cup.

Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay told the board of directors Thursday that the service changes, which took effect September 5, stem from the operational realities of the World Cup surge. GO increased trips to almost 3,000 per week — a 30 per cent service increase across the network — to handle the influx of visitors. That required pausing vacations, training, and crew certification to deploy available staff.

"We needed to deploy crews carefully to match service to crew availability," Lindsay said at the board meeting. The temporary measures affect mostly weekend train service, with minimal weekday adjustments and no changes to rush-hour rail service, according to Metrolinx.

Some rail service is being temporarily replaced with enhanced bus connections. "Any of the individual GO trips that we have modified have been replaced by enhanced bus connections," Lindsay said. Nick Simone, chair of the Metrolinx board, noted that dozens of letters have been received about service reductions on the Barrie and Stouffville lines.

Metrolinx announced the changes in late August, initially attributing them to ridership returning to "more typical levels" after the World Cup. The changes support crew training and certification to address the backlog created by the tournament surge. As HighOnCity reported on August 31, GO Transit cut weekend trains on Barrie and Stouffville lines and added bus replacements. The interim measures are temporary, but no specific restoration date has been provided beyond the spring 2027 timeline.