Plans to have two early morning GO trains departing from Kitchener have some residents concerned about idling trains at a temporary layover facility between King Street and Park Street.

There are worries about the possible noise and air pollution that could come as a result of the idling trains. While the area is predominantly industrial and commercial buildings, there are homes too.

Martin Conde lives a block away from the tracks, and he is concerned about how long and how often the trains will be idling there, and what impact the soot and smoke from the diesel engines will have.

However, GO Transit says the trains will only start up and run for 30 minutes to an hour before departing, and that they only generate 50 decibels of noise, about the same as a normal conversation.

GO also expects the nearby buildings will largely shield homes from the noise.

Troy Zanatta lives near the tracks, but he's not bothered by the additional trains if it means better transit options.

He says "Sooner the better. The city needs more transportation out to Toronto. I grew up with railway tracks in the back yard, it's very comforting."

But some residents are surprised to hear about the possibility of trains idling nearby.

Henry Rasmussen says "I'm not really upset about GO trains being here. I haven't seen any plans for it, nobody notified us about it that it was going to be happening, we haven't really had any input at all."

Kitchener Councillor-Elect Frank Etherington says he has received calls and emails from residents who want to know what's going on.

While he doesn't expect anyone would want the project stopped, he says "I think [GO] need(s) to get out here and communicate more detail about the project to residents just to make people feel better about it."

He adds that while the area needs GO, "they also need transparency and open communication."

Approval has reportedly already been granted for the temporary layover in the area.

GO Transit says a public meeting is being planned to outline the plans for the temporary layover, but there's no word yet on when or where that will take place.