Publicly, Metrolinx was also excited. It pitched GO Expansion in 2022 as a project ”unlike anything before in Canada,” comparing it to rail in London, Tokyo, Paris and Sydney.

When GO Expansion kicked off in 2022, Metrolinx handed off building out the track, signalling, and infrastructure for GO Expansion to ONxpress Transportation Partners. The conglomerate was made up of Canadian construction company Aecon, French train manufacturer Alstom, Spanish construction company FCC, and Deutsche Bahn.

Experts from all over western Europe came to Toronto to work for ONxpress on GO Expansion.

Three years after the GO Expansion project was announced, without explanation, Metrolinx dropped Deutsche Bahn and another key partner, who together were supposed to run the trains for the next 23 years.

But the Jan. 1 takeover date came and went. It was pushed back, Metrolinx said internally, because Deutsche Bahn wasn’t ready to take over.

Then, on May 15, Metrolinx cancelled its contract with OOI altogether. The agency said Alstom would “maintain its role supporting the operations and maintenance of GO Transit and UP Express, to continue delivering the best-in-class service that Ontarians have come to expect.”

Behind the scenes, all five sources who spoke with The Trillium described an acrimonious relationship between Deutsche Bahn and Metrolinx, with varying degrees of shared blame. One 40-year veteran of North American rail systems who worked for ONxpress said the Germans had an “autocratic” management style and didn’t want to collaborate. Three younger transit experts who yearn for high-frequency intercity rail said Metrolinx stonewalled the very partners it hired to get it done.

Metrolinx was not receptive to Deutsche Bahn’s proposed German scheduling software and discouraged its use in various ways, four sources said.

In a series of monthly town halls this year and last viewed by The Trillium, the agency said it was taking direct control over the project and would now focus on delivering a “minimum viable product.”