The vast majority of GO Transit's active locomotive fleet consists of MP40PH-3Cdiesel-electric locomotives manufactured by MotivePower in Boise, Idaho. These replaced most of the older EMD F59PH over a 4-year transition program from 2008 to 2011. The new MP40 locomotives are significantly more powerful with 4000 bhp vs the F59's 3000 bhp, and their greater Head End Power capacity allows them to handle 12 coach trains instead of 10.[1]
In 2011, GO Transit ordered 11 MPI MP54AC locomotives, to be rebuilt from existing units, followed by an order for 10 new build locomotives.[2] MP40PH-3C unit 647 was sent back to Boise for conversion with a Cummins QSK-95 diesel engine into an MP54 in 2012, and was completed in 2015 (although dual Cummins QSK-60 engines were substituted instead). Testing of the first MP54AC began in December 2015, and the locomotive was formally delivered in March 2016, by which time GO Transit had increased its order for newbuild units to 16, for a total of 26.[2][3] The order of 10 rebuilt units was later converted to newbuilds, the first of which was delivered in March 2018.[4][5] While they are technically model MP54ACs, GO classifies them as MP40PHT-T4AC units.
MP54AC number 668 at the Malton GO stationTwo F59PH locomotives at Oakville station
Retired
Coaches
All GO Trains use bilevel rail cars entirelyUpper levels of the coach. (Plastic barriers and social distancing signs are temporary throughout the COVID-19 pandemic)
On June 1, 2012, Metrolinx contracted Bombardier to manufacture an additional 60 bilevel cab cars of an updated design incorporating crash energy management features and improved ergonomics.[clarification needed] Deliveries of these models have been ongoing since 2015.[7]
Bus
GO Transit currently operates two types of buses: single-decker highway coaches, constituting 75% of the active fleet; and commuter-type double-decker buses, constituting the remaining 25%. All vehicles run on diesel fuel.
The current highway coach fleet consists exclusively of D4500-model coaches built by Motor Coach Industries (numbered from 2100 onwards). The first of these coaches were ordered in 2001 and orders have continued until 2015. They have a length of 45 feet (14 m). All orders since 2005 (from 2267 onwards) are of a facelifted design, designated as D4500CT, and two of these vehicles (3000 and 3001), ordered in 2008, have a hybrid-electric drivetrain and are model D4500CTH. Older vehicles in the fleet are retired after reaching a certain mileage; as of 2017, the oldest vehicles in the active fleet were made in 2004.
The double-decker fleet uses Alexander Dennis Enviro500s. They come in three distinct configurations, differing mainly in height and distinguishable external appearance:
The standard-height version (numbered in the 8000s) are 43 feet (13 m) in length and have a height of 4.2 metres (13 ft 9 in). Built in Falkirk, Scotland, they entered service in 2008, but their height prevents them from meeting many height standards set by the provincial Ministry of Transportation, restricting their usage to the Highway 407 and Highway 403 corridors, providing service between Peel and York Regions.
The Go-Anywhere version (numbered in the 8100s and 8200s) are the same length, but have a shorter height of 4.1 metres (13 ft 5 in). This variant, also made in Falkirk, entered service in 2012, and their lower height allows these buses to meet many more clearance standards as a result and are used on a wider variety of routes, including those that travel on Highway 401 into Durham Region.
The Super-Lo version (numbered in the 8300s) are longer than previous orders, at 45 feet (14 m) in length, but have an even shorter height of 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in). Developed specifically for the GO Transit network, it is capable of accessing bus terminals with height restrictions that prevent previous double-deckers accessing them. They are also the first double-decker buses to be manufactured locally (from a newly established facility in Vaughan). The first of these vehicles entered service in 2016 and orders are ongoing to replace older single-decker coaches. By 2020, Metrolinx estimates that 75% of the active fleet would be composed of double-deckers.
In May 2023, GO Transit placed two electric buses into revenue service on a trial basis. They had been tested without passengers since December 2021. An electric bus costs $1.5million compared with $700,000 for a diesel bus; the electric bus has lower fuel and maintenance costs. Between charges, an electric bus can run about 225 kilometres (140 mi) in winter and 300 kilometres (190 mi) in summer; GO bus routes can be as long as 650 kilometres (400 mi). Battery charging takes 3–4 hours at garages.[12]
Active
GO Transit MCI D4500 with original paint scheme
GO Transit MCI D4500CT with original paint scheme
Back view of the 2007 GO bus paint scheme back view
^"Updated BiLevel coaches ordered for GO Transit".
^GO Transit [@GOtransit] (14 May 2017). "It's finally here! Please welcome the latest addition to the @TORailwayMuseum: a restored original GO cab car from…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Toronto Railway Museum [@TORailwayMuseum] (13 May 2017). "The Toronto Railway Museum was pleased to welcome a very special part of our rail heritage to Roundhouse Park today…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Canadian Rail" (PDF). p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
^"The Bi-Level Coaches (1977-?) - Transit Toronto - Content".
^"GO Transit unveils 2 electric buses in tentative zero-emissions trial". Global News. 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023.
^"MCI Hybrid Commuter Coach Specifications" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
^"Kitchener GO bus fire blamed on 'mechanical malfunction'". The Record. 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
^Orion V, Technical Specifications
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to GO Transit.
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