While the Region of Waterloo works on bringing rapid transit to the cores of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, Wilmot Township is thinking of the bigger picture.

Could GO Transit service eventually extend to Baden?

That's the possibility Wilmot Township staff hopes the public transit service will consider as it examines a study area between Mount Pleasant and the Baden area over the next several months.

GO Transit is teaming with engineering consulting firm R. J. Burnside and Associates Ltd. to undertake a Class Environmental Assessment Study to assess the feasibility of extending GO train service from Georgetown to Guelph and Kitchener.

The study will identify passenger demand for the extended service, track improvements, stations and storage facilities. It will also look at available space for park-and-ride facilities and the integration with existing transit providers.

Last week Wilmot councillors approved a recommendation to endorse the inclusion of Wilmot in the study area and to encourage GO Transit to consider the short and long term merits of providing a location for a GO station in the vicinity of Nafziger Road.

Nafziger Road is adjacent to the secondary main line and in close proximity to the highway, providing what township staff consider "good community access to public transit."

Space limitations in the area of the Kitchener train station are what make the consideration of Wilmot Township land attractive.

Township director of development services Harold O'Krafka suggests that failing bringing a train service to the township, GO Transit should consider providing a GObus station in Wilmot.

"A Go Transit station in the vicinity of Nafziger Road would provide significant opportunity to reduce vehicle traffic on both Highway 7 and 8 and also the 401 corridor by improving access to public transit without having to drive to downtown Kitchener or Stratford to access those stations," O'Krafka wrote in his report to council.

Ongoing analysis of the highway has shown an increase in the number of commuters travelling from local communities to the Greater Toronto Area, O'Krafka states.

"We see it as a great opportunity for the township and its residents," he said.

"It's really an interesting proposal," said mayor Wayne Roth, admitting it came as a bit of a surprise that GO Transit is considering the township in its study area.

Roth said one of the biggest users of a GObus service could be local residents who want to eliminate the "short-hop trip" to a potential GO station in Kitchener.

Councillor Les Armstrong said he thinks it's a great idea and he's glad the township is under consideration.

Council agreed to endorse the consideration of the GO Transit extension to the Region and encourage GO Transit to consider the merits of building a station in the vicinity of Nafziger Road. The township will also ask the public transit service to consider a GO Bus service from Nafziger Road to the Kitchener station as an interim opportunity if a GO Transit station is not feasible at this time.

Although he was fully supportive of the proposal, councillor Peter Roe said he would rather see the recommendation reworded to encourage Go Transit to not just consider an extension to Waterloo Region, but to proceed with an extension. "We ought to ask them to do more than consider it," he said.

Not wanting to preclude the possibility entirely, Greg Ashbee, manager of the rail expansion program for GO Transit, said the real focus of the study will be bringing rail service to Guelph and Kitchener.

He said Wilmot is only included in the study area for the possible construction of a "layover facility" for the overnight storage of trains.

"That was the intent," Ashbee said of the reason for extending the study area to Baden.

With a light rail transit system most likely coming to the cores of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, Ashbee said it's a natural that GO Transit would strive to connect to that service.

"Obviously if we expand to Kitchener and things go well there's the potential of going further, " he added.

GO Transit did offer a single train service to Guelph in the early '90s but provincial cutbacks ended that extension a couple of years later.

One of the main challenges the public transit service is facing now is the need for improvements in its existing service areas.

Ridership has seen a sharp increase along GO Transit lines in the GTA and Hamilton in recent months.

"Ridership in our existing service is going up and the existing trains are getting overcrowded," Ashbee said. "We're trying to keep up and it's a sufficient challenge."

Expansion is also planned for the Niagara Region in the near future.

Last year GO Transit began offering service to Barrie.

The initial phase of the consultation process includes an assessment of all potential stakeholders' interest in participating in the study and identifying engineering issues, environmental features and sensitivities in the corridor.

An environmental assessment and preliminary design report is expected to be completed in March of next year..