Editing Barrie line (section)

===Commuter service planning===
In 1968, [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] [[William Hodgson (Canadian politician)|William Hodgson]] introduced a [[private member's bill]] to [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|move]] that the [[government of Ontario]] establish GO Transit services north of [[Metro Toronto]].{{sfn|The Era|1968|p=1}} That year, a community group known as the GO North Committee distributed "GO North" stickers for motorists to adhere to their automobile's [[windshield]] to advocate for GO Transit commuter rail service north of Toronto.{{sfn|Lade|1968|p=1}}

Planning for commuter services resulted in the establishment of the [[Newmarket Bus Terminal]] by 1970, from which commuters would be taken to the [[Richmond Hill GO Station]] to commute to Toronto.{{sfn|The Era|1969|p=1}}

John Crawford Medcof, operating a company named Railroad Boosters<!-- dba name, officially named Asphodel Enterprises Ltd. -->, rented a train for one-day service between Barrie and Toronto on 16 October 1969,{{sfn|Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees|1973}}{{sfn|The Era|June 1970|p=29}} earning a profit.{{sfn|Ottawa Citizen|1971|p=21}} He gave the proceeds to the [[government of Ontario]] to support a north GO train service promised by [[John Robarts]] in late 1969, but asked for the government to return the money when the provincial government announced it would not establish a [[Richmond Hill line]] service in 1970.{{sfn|The Era|1970|p=2}}{{sfn|The Era|June 1970|p=29}} He applied for a grant of {{currency|97200|CAD}} from the [[Government of Canada|federal government]] to operate a commuter train for twelve weeks,<!-- source incorrectly states 3 months but correctly states costs per week of $8000 for the train and $100 for a supervisor: 8100x12 = 97200 --> with one train leaving Barrie in the morning for Toronto, and a return trip at night.{{sfn|Ottawa Citizen|1971|p=21}} The grant was approved per the government's local initiatives program in December 1971.{{sfn|Ottawa Citizen|1971|p=21}} The train was operated by Canadian National Railways, and charged the same fares as those for the GO Transit bus service.{{sfn|Ottawa Citizen|1971|p=21}} Another trial commuter service from Barrie to Toronto was operated in late 1972, carrying 13,483 passengers.{{sfn|The Era|1973|p=2a}}

In 1973, the [[Canadian Transport Commission]] held a [[Hearing (law)|public hearing]] at [[Georgian College]]{{sfn|The Era|1973|p=2a}} during which its three-member committee heard presentations from Medcof and councillors from all "municipalities between Toronto and Barrie".{{sfn|The Era|1973|p=5}} All presentations favoured the creation of commuter train service between the two cities, including that of [[York—Simcoe (federal electoral district)|York—Simcoe]] MP [[Sinclair Stevens]].{{sfn|The Era|1973|p=5}}

On April 1, 1972, CN introduced commuter service from Barrie to Toronto, as required by the [[Canadian Transport Commission]].  The service was transferred to [[Via Rail]] in 1978.{{sfn|Garcia|Bow}} As a result of federal government financial cutbacks to Via Rail, the service was transferred to the provincial government and integrated into the GO Transit network on September 7, 1982, but service only extended to Bradford.{{sfn|Garcia|Bow}} On September 17, 1990, the line was extended to Barrie, but was again cut back to Bradford on July 5, 1993.