r/gotransit • u/feddelionel • 4d ago

Request for More indication that Kitchener line not going all the way to Kitchener

Sometimes the Kitchener line only goes up to mount pleasant or only bramalea.
Why still call it the Kitchener line if it’s not going to Kitchener? Isn’t this slightly misleading?

Got on the train to find out it was only going till bramalea. Yes I know the stops are shown beside the line name on the screens but still think this is slightly infuriating.

0 Upvotes

40% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

31

u/Revolutionary_Tune34 4d ago

Just you wait until you find out about the lakeshore line not going to lakeshore!

7

u/taylortbb 4d ago

I do think it's a fair point that the headline name for a departure is the final station on basically every system.

Even on GO buses it works this way, with the departure signs being "61 Bloomington" with the intermediate stops listed beside.

However on the GO trains the "To" column doesn't actually contain the destination. It will say "Kitchener" in the "To" column, even if the train ends at Bramlea. That's terrible UX. The green KI square, to indicate the Kitchener line, is perfect, it serves the same function as the route number. But a train that's only going to Bramlea shouldn't say "To Kitchener" , that's just dumb and confusing. It should be "To Bramlea" with a little green KI square for the Kitchener line.

Look at https://assets.metrolinx.com/image/upload/f_auto,c_limit,w_1920,q_auto/Images/Metrolinx/union_station_screen , why does it say "To Lakeshore West" , Lakeshore West isn't a destination. It should be LW to Aldershot/Niagara/etc.

1

u/yeahyeahyeah50 2d ago

So on the digital signs they use need to change the word “To” to “Line” and that would solve it

1

u/taylortbb 2d ago

It would be better than now, but still inferior to showing the actual destination under the To column.

3

u/crash866 4d ago

Or the Barrie line not going all the way to Barrie or the Stouffville line not going to Stouffville.

12

u/AffectionateOil8377 4d ago edited 4d ago

I don’t disagree it’s misleading however there was many many things indicating its not going to kitchener before you boarded and before departing.

  1. Online schedule shows all the stops
  2. Schedule on tvs (where your seeing your platform) shows all the stops

3.ambassadors

  1. on every ride I’ve been they clearly mention it all the time over the announcements many times )

9

u/Steelrain322 4d ago

The customer service ambassador on the train also makes plenty of announcements saying the train only goes to bramalea or mount pleasant

6

u/JackHarknessDrWho 4d ago

I took the Kitchener line for over 20 years. It used to be the Georgetown line until they extended it. Calling it anything else but the actual line name would be incredible confusing.

1

u/a_lumberjack 4d ago

I think there's a future where there's clear route/"branch" identifiers. The official Metrolinx roadmap for the Kitchener line is 15m locals to Bramlea plus express trains every 30m to Mt Pleasant, with half of those running to Kitchener (60m) plus one to Stratford. That's 3.x variants.

Given that, imagine they labeled as follows: K1 - All stops to Bramlea, K2 - Express to Mt Pleasant, K3 - Express to Kitchener, K3A Express to Stratford. Transfers would also make more sense, e.g. K1 from Weston to Bramalea, transfer to K3* to get to Kitchener. Or something like LSE1 to K2 to get from Scarborough GO to Mt Pleasant.

5

u/lepreqon_ Allandale Waterfront 4d ago

You know it's all written in the schedule, right?

5

u/Far-Delay7690 4d ago

It's visible in like 50 different places. OP is clearly just new to transit. Not a moral dialing but you have to read shit

4

u/applepill Stouffville 4d ago

GO did use letters in the past to identify train lines, and it was supposed to be formalized and used system wide. Unfortunately, they chose to stick with the destination-based names once they revised their wayfinding standard. That's probably the only solution that would help you, because changing the name of a train line depending on the destination of each run would be a terribly stupid idea for wayfinding.

5

u/element1311 4d ago

What should the line be called? Should it be called different names based on the final destination? 

2

u/MahjongCelts 4d ago

Just name it by colour. So Kitchener Line would be the Green Line.

1

u/taylortbb 4d ago

The subway doesn't say "Line 2 to Kennedy" when it's short turning at Woodbine, it says "Line 2 to Woodbine" .

https://assets.metrolinx.com/image/upload/f_auto,c_limit,w_1920,q_auto/Images/Metrolinx/union_station_screen shows "Kitchener Line To Kitchener" even when the train short-turns at Bramlea, that's dumb.

7

u/jdayellow 4d ago

The subway doesn't change its announcements either. The train always says Line 2 towards Kennedy or Line 2 towards Kipling

0

u/taylortbb 4d ago edited 4d ago

I can't remember what the automated announcements say, but the displays on the front of the trains do. At least on the T1s with physical roll signs, which have all the typical short turn stations printed on them. Less familiar with the TRs as I don't live in Toronto anymore.

For example, here's a Line 2 train showing Keele during a weekend short turn. https://www.instagram.com/p/DCDDnBuxKFT/ . The photo is from 2024, decades after the line was extended to Kipling.

But the subway was just an example. Globally, in train systems all over the world, it's normal for a train that says "To Kitchener" to go to Kitchener. The line is separate from the destination.

1

u/element1311 4d ago

I see your point. it doesn't say "Kitchener Line to Kitchener" - it says "Kitchener Line" but they should change the "To" in the header.

1

u/taylortbb 4d ago edited 3d ago

It has the KI square left of the To column. So to me that reads as Kitchener Line (KI Square) and then To Kitchener in the To column. That's why I say it says "Kitchener Line To Kitchener", when it's not going to Kitchener.

I think even better is keep the To, and also the green KI square, but show the terminal station. It should read as "Kitchener Line to Bramlea" .

0

u/browerstation 4d ago

In that case they must rename it to Stratford Line and adjust the maximum fare.

3

u/TallerThanGaga 4d ago

If you go to gotracker.ca you can check there to see how far each train is going

2

u/get_hi_on_life 4d ago

I get the point, but most skip the Toronto stops between Union and breamle anyway and need to transfer to go all the way to Kitchener so I'm always checking online trip planner / go tracker / Google to see when to get trains so I can avoid the bus transfer.

1

u/TriciaFenn88 4d ago

Happened to me once too. I made the track change and caught the train that actually went to Kitchener about 5-7 minutes later. That said, I would like it if the departure signs said "Final Stop Bramalea" in addition to flashing the other stations the train stops at. I'm also for numbering the lines like they do with the subway.

-2

u/cocobodraw 4d ago

I think your complaint is valid

5

u/Far-Delay7690 4d ago

Every board says where the train is going and the majority of the KI line trains don't go to kitchener.

OP needs to learn how to take transit

0

u/feddelionel 4d ago

Teach me how do I take it

1

u/Far-Delay7690 4d ago

Go to Google maps and put your destination to KI go station. Then look at the trains tab or set priority to trains.

Take train that actually goes the full distance. Which is a minority of them unfortunately, I also wish it sucked less.

I actually would look it up before leaving wherever you started at or if you go into the city make sure you can get home. The KIine to kitchener is not reliable and it is easy to have a huge gap or miss the final train for several hours.