Metrolinx CEO blames FIFA World Cup for cuts to GO service - Toronto Star

Metrolinx is cutting GO train service on several lines due to operator shortages after the Toronto World Cup.  

Metrolinx increased GO service during the FIFA World Cup, especially during the six Toronto match days.

Increased GO service for the FIFA World Cup games in Toronto left Metrolinx without enough train operators for the fall, the CEO of the provincial transit agency said at a board meeting on Thursday. 

Metrolinx ran 30 per cent increased GO service for the World Cup, Michael Lindsay told the board. To do that, the agency and its private operations contractor Alstom had to take steps such as pausing vacation, as well as halting training and certification of operators, “in ways that now, this fall, lead us to have to deploy crew carefully,” he said.

Asked why Metrolinx wasn’t better prepared for the shortage of operators, Lindsay said, “I think it’s probably fair to say that it’s almost impossible to perfectly and fully — and accurately — try to forecast what a major, global, international event like FIFA is going to do to you.”

Changes will kick in starting September and will mostly affect Barrie and Stouffville Line riders.