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PAGE 6. WEDNESDAY, JULY 2. 1980, WHITBY FREE PRESS TATOA tells Durha~m Regional Counc il,.. No GO expansion for at least four.,years It Is higiily unlikely that the GO Train ser vice will be extended east from Pickering for at least another three to four years. That was the sunimary of a formai presentation to Durhami Regional .Council last week by officiais of the Toronto Area, Transit Operating Authority (TATOA), who run the commuter service. Ini responding to a question from Oshawa Mayor Jim Potticary, who wanted to know when the region could expect expan- sion, Art Leech, t4he managing director of TATOA, said "We don't know." Leech told coundil that there were several studies to be made including a population study by regional planning staff and a cost fac- tor study by Canadian National Railway, who own the track. Coundil was assured, however, that if the demand for an extended is there, the service will probably be ex- panded to Whitby, Ajax and Oshawa. "lWe want to be sure that the passenger demand is there" before making any decisions, Leech said. Council was told that there are thr-ee levels of service being considered: two trains from Oshawa going to Toronto during the peak periods; five trains each. way from Oshawa throughoutthe day and ful service extension. The price tag for full ser- vice extension is ap- proximately $50 million. The reason for the high quote is because ON would require eight new tracks ini- stalled and GO Transit would have to purchase new locomotives and passenger cars. Equipment bas an 18 to 24 month lead time, addlng to the delay couneil was told. 'Fifty million dollars is a TATO.A figure, not a ON figure," Dave Sutherland, director of development and special projeets for the ser- vice told coundil. es I