Like many great tales throughout history, it all started over a drink.  

In 1967, GO Transit was launched in Ontario, with its inaugural train departing Oakville for Toronto on the then-singular Lakeshore Line (which would later separate into East and West). 

During those early days, trains operated with single level coaches, built by manufacturer Hawker-Siddeley in Thunder Bay. They were certainly roomy for the time, big enough to seat 94 passengers and hold 125 in total. But no one could have predicted how popular GO Transit service would be.

In a matter of months, over one million customers rode the rails. Within a year, it was more than 2.5 million. How does one keep up with that level of demand? Simply adding more coaches wouldn’t work with such fixed platform lengths. The solution? Going vertical. 

Back to that drink. Transport yourself to the 70’s, to the hotel bar at the Royal York in Toronto. A group of industry experts, including late GO Transit Director of Engineering Norm Kuster, were about to make transit history, perhaps with the help of some libations. 

In that meeting, Kuster would draft the first sketch of the iconic bi-level coaches on a bar napkin.  

Kuster had a long-established career as an engineer in the transportation sector, helping the Toronto Transit Commission design their first subway cars and streetcars in the late 40’s. 

Experts like Ralph Bean, a manager at Canadian Car and Foundry (which would later become Bombardier and then Alstom), and engineer Harry Pool would then play a pivotal role in bringing that napkin sketch to life. 

Russell Booth, a buyer in CanCar’s procurement division at the time, worked alongside Bean. “Ralph and Norman were the original architects of the bi-level cars,” Booth said.  

Bean was fastidiously detailed. “Ralph held everyone’s feet to the fire,” Booth said. “He had a memory second to none. He would question price increases, labour costs and anything else he could think of, all in the spirit of accuracy.” 

Pool, a mechanical structural engineer, made certain the newly designed coaches would be structurally sound – critical for the safety of passengers. “Harry would spend hours going over calculations to ensure the accuracy of numbers,” Booth recalled. “One time, we were out for lunch when Harry suddenly got up and left – because a calculation he reviewed earlier didn’t seem right. He lived in a world of diagrams, numbers and theorems, most of which none of us ever understood.”   

On March 13, 1978, the first bi-level coaches hit the rails to immediate success. With ever-increasing demand and an expanding GO network (which continues to grow!), these new coaches offered 70 per cent more seating over its single-level predecessor. Norm Kuster even won an engineering medal for his pivotal work in introducing the coach – a prize given only to three out of 30,000 engineers at the time. 

There was no resting on laurels, however. The bi-level coaches would continue to implement improvements over the following decades, adding amenities like a fully accessible washroom, electrical outlets, USB ports, new and improved seats and more. There was even a time where some coaches had built-in TV.

These bi-level coaches also see use outside of Ontario. Operators would even put their own spin on them, like Vancouver’s West Coast Express at one point operating a coffee bar right out of the coach.  

Should you ever find yourself in Florida, Washington, New Mexico, Minnesota, California or Utah, you may just see a familiar friend running along the rails. Transit agencies in all these locations include the recognizable bi-level coach among their fleet. 

Through agreements with our rail partners, over 300 of GO Transit’s bi-level coaches will see further improvements. 181 of them will return to their home factory in Thunder Bay, now operated by Alstom. The remaining 121 will head to the Ontario Northland factory in North Bay.  

At both facilities, the coaches will undergo extensive upgrades including new seating, flooring and walls, new doors, upgraded washrooms and improved heating and air conditioning.  

Those improvements not only create and support hundreds of jobs but also extend the life of these coaches by 20 years.  

All 979 of our bi-level coaches were built in Thunder Bay, and it’s rather fitting so many of them are going back to their home factory for a renewed lease on life. These classic coaches still stand the test of time, and like those who designed it, we’re building on their legacy of continual improvement.