It was a highly anticipated arrival, and now commuters in southwestern Ontario have a new option for getting to Toronto. They can take the train.

GO train service officially launched very early Monday morning between Waterloo Region and Union Station.

Frannie Maier of Guelph, along with Bruce Norgren and Richard Lee from Kitchener were among the first commuters to use the service.

Maier says "It's exciting. I've been waiting for this day since I started taking GO in Milton. There were rumours about it but it's nice to finally have it here."

The group calls themselves the ‘Milton Road Warriors.' For years they have had to fight traffic on Highway 401 to Milton before boarding GO trains there. They estimate around 50 people drove the route to Milton daily.

Now, the service will see two trains leave the Kitchener station every weekday morning, while two trains will return from Union Station in the afternoon.

The first train leaves Kitchener at 5:52 a.m., stops in Guelph, the times then remain the same between Georgetown and Union Station.

The existing weekday westbound 5:45 p.m. train from Union will now get to Georgetown at 6:46 p.m., Guelph at 7:18 p.m. and Kitchener at 7:42 p.m.

Norgren says "It's a work in progress and I think everybody's looking forward to expanded service."

Growing ridership after the introduction of GO bus service to Kitchener-Waterloo prompted GO Transit to finally introduce the train service.

The long-term goal is to run trains between the two communities throughout the day, seven days a week.

Jason Hammond, Grand River CarShare president, was travelling with friends on his way to a meeting in Toronto.

He says "We're all really excited to see GO service come to town. It's another way for people who want to live with less car in their lives to get around."

Kitchener commuters also like the cost of the GO train, which could save them about $2,000 annually compared to travelling with VIA Rail or driving to Milton.

The only concern is the limited schedule Norgren says, "If you happen to be delayed at work or you have to work later at work or something like that, I think more frequent trains [are needed.]"

The hope is that as ridership grows, so will the service.