Weekend travel plans are about to get a little more convenient for thousands of Greater Toronto Area residents.

With the province reopening, Metrolinx is bringing back some transit services starting July 10 to give customers more travel options.

What is coming back, you ask?

The transit agency is reintroducing some weekend GO train service and adding more frequent UP Express trips for parts of the day as well.

Barrie and Lakeshore Lines ramping up

As part of the service increases, Metrolinx is ramping up weekend and holiday GO train service on the Lakeshore East and West lines, with the reintroduction of 30-minute weekend service.

Metrolinx is also bringing back some weekend and holiday train service along the Barrie GO line to give customers flexibility for weekend trips. 

On the Barrie Line, there will be five train trips in each direction every Saturday, Sunday and holiday between Allandale Waterfront GO and Union Station.

Existing weekend Barrie GO bus trips will continue to run as scheduled.

There’s another bonus for Barrie Line customers, as Metrolinx debuts a new bike coach pilot program for four weekends starting July 10 on select trips. For specific trip information, head to GOTransit.com and stay tuned for more details on this program coming soon in Metrolinx News.

More UP Express service to the airport

Service increases aren’t limited to just GO trains either. Metrolinx is increasing UP Express service frequency to 30 minutes on weekdays during the day and on weekends and holidays during the mid-day and evening to provide more flexible options into the city or to Toronto Pearson Airport.

Also, the first and last weekday trains from Pearson Airport will depart 15 minutes earlier and the last weekday train from Union Station will depart 15 minutes earlier.

New GO Bus service to the zoo

Want to go to the Toronto Zoo and leave the car at home? There’s now a GO bus for that.

Metrolinx is piloting GO bus service to the Toronto Zoo each weekend this summer.

On weekends and holidays starting July 10 and continuing through Labour Day Monday, most weekend and holiday Route 96 GO Bus trips will now serve the Toronto Zoo. 

To accommodate the stop at the zoo, departure times for trips along the pilot route are shifting up to 15 minutes earlier, so please check our schedules and plan for additional travel time.

For more information on all of these service increases or to check schedules, click on the GO Transit webpage.

Safety Never Stops

For a lot of GO customers, it may have been a while since you last grabbed the GO.

Since you’ve been gone, a lot has changed. But one thing that remains the same is the health and safety of customers and staff remains central to everything Metrolinx does.

Here’s a quick summary on some of the many safety initiatives in place.

• First and foremost, the transit agency is asking everyone to wear a face covering while on transit vehicles or in stations, even if you’re vaccinated. It is also mandatory for GO and UP Express staff to wear one on the job

• Hand sanitizer is readily available along your journey

• Avoid lining up at the station. Load money onto your PRESTO card using the PRESTO app or buy your ticket online or through the UP Express app

• On-board seat dividers have been installed on GO buses and trains, as well as on UP Express

• Metrolinx staff disinfect transit vehicles and stations daily and have stepped up frequency to ensure all high touch surfaces are cleaned regularly throughout the day.   

• Metrolinx has also upgraded air filtration on buses, trains and in stations

Whether it’s a GO train trip to visit friends for the first time in a while, an UP Express ride to the airport, or a new GO bus trip to the zoo – Metrolinx is making sure there’s a lot more options for people to get out and about safely.

Interested in more on safety while on the GO? Here’s a recent story.

Safety upgrades underway at dozens of GO bus stations | Metrolinx News