Ontario to fund upgrade of 121 GO Transit rail cars

The Ontario government announced it will invest C$350 million to refurbish 121 Metrolinx GO Transit bilevel rail cars as part of the ongoing GO rail network expansion.

The refurbishing will take place at Ontario Northland’s facility in North Bay, Ontario, government officials said in a press release.

The refurbished cars will have new seating, flooring, walls, ceilings, doors and HVAC control systems These repairs will extend the cars’ life by 20 years and support the province's plan to expand rail service.

The GO Expansion program aims to deliver two-way service to Oshawa, Burlington, Kitchener, Stouffville and Barrie. Over the next 10 years, the Ontario government plans to invest almost C$70 billion to expand public transit across the province, officials said.

"Metrolinx and Ontario Northland are strong partners with shared ambitions to progress transit for the province,” said Michael Lindsay, interim president and CEO of Metrolinx. “We are fortunate to work with Ontario Northland and build on that exceptional partnership through this initiative, which will benefit GO riders for years to come and support the growth of our future rail capacity."