The news is in on rail service to Niagara; there was a big show with a choo-choo train and everything. Maybe now that it can't scare off an announcement of more choo-choo trains the word can get out: There is already GO service to (and from) Niagara; an hourly bus service that has far more capacity than usage. And, because Niagara Falls is a place that people actually want to come to rather than just flee, in addition to weekend choo-choo trains Metrolinx also doubles the bus service on weekends (with an express to avoid the parking lot "stations" in Hamilton, Grimsby, and St. Catharines).
There is also no lack of service going to Toronto. If someone wants to be in Toronto for 9:00 tomorrow morning there will be no less than three buses leaving Bridge St. in Niagara Falls that will accomplish exactly that. There would be no problem finding a parking space. No problem getting a parking space on Stanley either. The problems with the current service are not problems with moving people to and from Toronto. The problems are: infrequent or non-existent local transit to pick up points; no fare or schedule integration with local services (such as they are); no placemaking at all.
The benefits of the project, if successful, will not be seen on the tracks; they will be seen in the areas in and around the mobility hubs. The Niagara Falls station has to be a hub for local transit and the WeGO visitor transportation service, and with fare integration so that Presto is all that is required. The hub has to be a signature piece of placemaking where incoming people will be inspired to shop, linger, and take selfies. It has to be the centre of a new density of both residential and commercial spaces in downtown Niagara Falls.
In St. Catharines the hub will have to be a one-site switch point for GO/regional transit/local transit. Lincoln was completely bypassed in this announcement and for the project to be worth their while in the short term there will have to be frequent regional transit (with fare integration to both local connections and GO) to the St. Catharines hub. The same is true for the other municipalities, the ones that didn't expect a station: Welland, Thorold, Pelham, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Colborne, Fort Erie, Wainfleet, West Lincoln. For these places to get value from the project there has to be more than just a choo-choo train going to Niagara Falls twice a day in the evening and twice a day in the morning. Relocating service from Fairview Mall to an area just outside of downtown is also a big benefit. And, again, not just for trains. To maintain current service levels, ten GO buses will leave there per day to compliment the seven departure train service to Confederation Station.
The communications for the website from the business case last year didn't use train iconography, it used bus iconography.
If Niagara wants to get a head start on the goodies that are on the way they can get on a bus today. It's not all about the choo-choo train, and there isn't champagne and caviar on GO trains. Promise. And maybe now that the commitment to choo-choo trains is in place marketing will be allowed to promote the robust service already here.