INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPORT
April 14, 2026 1.6K
Overhauling Toronto’s rail routes for GO 2.0 and Alto
On March 30, a groundbreaking joint announcement from the federal, provincial and local governments made headlines regarding funding for the long-delayed Waterfront East LRT, but among other infrastructure plans also moving forward was a long-standing proposal for a new east-west GO Transit line through central Toronto, part of a larger rail expansion plan called “GO 2.0.” Vague references were also made to future high-speed services from Alto to Toronto. While further details on the route remain to be seen, the GO update notably follows the provincial government’s initial proposal for the GO 2.0 plan in February 2025.
Looking northeast at the former North Toronto Station, currently used as the LCBO site, image courtesy of Flickr user Dillan Payne at https://www.flickr.com/photos/197171168@N04/54640623896/
On March 30, Premier Carney, Premier Ford and Mayor Chow appeared together to announce a series of new funding for housing and transportation initiatives across Ontario. Called the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, this multibillion-dollar plan attracted widespread attention because it changed the way new housing is taxed and aimed at reducing costs at a time of crisis in Canada’s housing sector. Additionally, major news surrounding the long-speculated commuter rail expansion in the Greater Toronto Area received formal, if still vague, support from all three levels of government.
Prime Minister Carney, Prime Minister Ford and Mayor Chow walk through the construction site of The Stella, a joint mixed-use project between CreateTO, Tricon and Kilmer Group, during their trilateral announcement on March 30, Image via the PMO office
While the City of Toronto focused primarily on the Waterfront East LRT, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives’ election promise for a series of new GO Transit commuter lines from their February 2025 election campaign was dusted off. Building on GO Transit’s ongoing modernization of the majority of GO Transit’s existing rail network, collectively known as the “GO Expansion,” the GO 2.0 campaign promise aimed to expand both service levels and coverage to levels not seen in decades. A preliminary potential network map showed two new GO lines, the Bolton Line and the Midtown Line, which would add more than 50 new miles of rail service and over a dozen new stations across the region.
The Bolton line, shown in light pink on the potential network map below, would use the Mactier rail subdivision to serve North York, Vaughan and Caledon. This would provide commuter rail service to poorly connected parts of northwest Toronto while providing transit access to rapidly growing Caledon. The Midtown Line, shown in purple, would begin in western Mississauga and intersect with the Milton Line before following the North Toronto and Belleville subdivisions to serve Midtown, East York, Scarborough and Markham.
A campaign ad proposing “GO 2.0” released by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in February 2025, image courtesy of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
These new lines would provide tens of thousands more commuters with easy access to mass transit and facilitate cross-regional trips that are currently not possible on public transit or slowed by congestion on the 400-series highways. But despite the benefits these routes would bring, a major obstacle has stood in the way of new rail service along these corridors for generations: With small exceptions, all rail corridors required for GO 2.0 are owned by the continent-spanning Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC). Historically, the freight railroad has been extremely resistant to expanding passenger traffic along its rights-of-way, forcing operations on the Milton line to remain at a minimum for decades.
A map of rail routes in the GTA-owned Kansas City Canadian Pacific Territory, image courtesy of the Railway Association of Canada with notes from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada
In a press release from the Province of Ontario issued alongside the March 30 announcement, the government expressed interest in “constructing new bypass tracks in the Milton corridor and a new rail link through Toronto. These options are being considered along with plans to expand the Alto High-Speed Rail route, including connection to Pearson Airport.”
While the mention of a “new rail link through Toronto” is not explicit in reference to the new tracks, it leaves little room for conjecture since, outside of the already widely served Lakeshore West and East GO lines, no rail line other than the proposed Midtown Line corridor runs the width of Toronto. Additionally, the western portion of the Midtown Line would run along the current route of the Milton Line, so the introduction of expanded service on the existing corridor would almost certainly require new tracks, “bypass” or not, to the west.
Map of a potential GO Midtown Toronto Corridor, image courtesy of TransitToronto.ca
However, how much new track is built on the section through Midtown Toronto will depend on the approach to freight transportation while making better use of rail corridor space in and around Toronto: While the above corridors are the only ones that run through the official city of Toronto, rerouting freight away from Midtown becomes a possibility when one takes a broader look at Toronto and includes other communities in the Greater Toronto Area.
The York and Halton subdivisions are owned by Canadian National (CN) and run mostly north of Steeles Avenue across the entire width of Toronto through Vaughan and Markham. The line was originally built in the mid-20th century to remove freight traffic from what is now the Union Station Rail Corridor. There are plans to widen the route and create new connections to accommodate CPKC as well. If quadruple track were to occur here, the capacity improvements could result in the removal of through-freight rail traffic from Toronto’s urban core, freeing up midtown rail capacity for passenger trains.
However, with few details currently available, nothing is certain. A non-zero possibility that the historically more cooperative CN could agree to a conversion that would allow CPKC to shift freight north and free up capacity on the Midtown Line is a tempting idea, if a challenge to achieve.
Canadian National railway subdivision in York near Beare Hill Park in Scarborough, image courtesy of Dillan Payne via flickr
Assuming a GO Midtown line on the North Toronto Subway subway network will serve both directions in a similar way to existing all-day GO lines, the line has the potential to revolutionize intercity (or interregional) transportation in the GTA. As Toronto’s downtown and suburban centers become more dense, the demand for quick travel between these destinations will only increase. The GO service could meet this demand by offering high-speed, high-capacity travel in and through the city center. Long journeys currently made on relatively slow subways with many stops could be replaced by significantly faster GO commutes. This would be facilitated by transfers at integrated stations where the rail corridor meets the existing subway network, such as Kipling, Dupont and Summerhill stations.
Looking northwest toward the famous Dupont Station entrance at the corner of Spadina Road and Dupont Street, 2009, image courtesy of Architectural Conservancy Ontario
The potential benefits are undoubtedly significant, but setbacks are to be expected when concrete plans are put forward for the city-wide infrastructure improvements needed to facilitate passenger service. Over the last twenty years of growth, parts of the former industrial and commercial areas around much of the potential corridor have become dense. This is particularly evident as the rail line runs just north of Dundas and Dupont streets, with dozens of mixed-use developments springing up along the route.
A bird’s eye view of Tridel’s Bianca Condos, located between Dupont Street and the North Toronto Rail Subdivision – the potential Midtown Line corridor, February 2024, image courtesy of UrbanToronto forum contributor AlbertC
Furthermore, if the government’s comments on connecting the Alto High-Speed Rail (HSR) to Pearson International Airport indicate a direct connection, even more drastic upgrades to the Midtown rail corridor could be required if the Alto route goes to Toronto via Peterborough, preliminary studies suggest. High-speed trains typically operate in a completely isolated and completely grade-separated corridor to avoid conflicts with road vehicles as well as slower commuter or freight trains. Both types of rail service currently use the subdivisions of Weston, North Toronto and Belleville – the three rail corridors that provide the most direct connection to Pearson from Toronto’s east approach. There is a possibility that parallel tracks will be laid along much of the route, but it is also possible that building a new viaduct along parts of this corridor, potentially overlying existing rail lines, could be a way for Alto to circumvent grade and traffic problems and further increase the corridor’s capacity. However, raised sections could lead to protests from residents.
A group of protesters demand the removal of a roadway over the Eglinton Flats for the Eglinton Crosstown Western Extension, 2023, image courtesy of Robert Krbavac via Radio-Canada
As GO Expansion – the current plan that could now be aptly dubbed “GO 1.0” – continues to grapple with more than a decade of delays in delivering core infrastructure such as electrification and new stations, the province’s and Metrolinx’s capacity to manage additional regional projects without some radical infrastructure intervention is strained. It remains to be seen how a new wave of government enthusiasm, accompanied by funding that exceeds the existing $27 billion budget, will lead to meaningful improvements in travel habits across the GTA.
Looking east along the Lakeshore West GO Line corridor toward downtown Toronto from Dufferin Street, 2025, image courtesy of Flickr user Dillan Payne at https://www.flickr.com/photos/197171168@N04/54992330688/
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor GO 2.0 progress, but in the meantime, you can learn more in our database files linked below. If you’d like, you can join the discussion in the associated Alto HSR and GO 2.0 forum threads, or leave a comment in the designated area on this page.
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UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, from proposal to completion. We also offer instant reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from the first application.