An announcement planned for Friday morning is expected to include details about the launch of GO train service in Waterloo Region.

Kitchener Centre MPP John Milloy has a public transit announcement scheduled at the Kitchener VIA Station and the president of GO Transit is expected to speak simultaneously in Guelph.

In Kitchener, work has been underway to complete the construction of $18 million in upgrades, including a layover facility near King Street that will hold two 1,200-passenger trains.

And it now looks like the rail service expansion, which was announced more than a year ago, could be in place by Dec. 19. GO bus service started in the region two years ago.

The full schedule has not yet been announced but the trains are expected to make two early morning runs each day from Kitchener to Union Station in Toronto. The trip is expected to take about two hours.

Nearly a thousand passengers are expected to leave from Kitchener each day, with another 300 boarding in Guelph.

Judy-Anne Chapman is a commuter who says "It's just the way to go…having to leave here at 5:30 in the morning to try to beat the rush it's just crazy, so I'm really glad to get GO coming."

Riders like Shirley Starchuk who are familiar with the service like it and say it's "fast, efficient and it's very inexpensive."

The cost of the trip is expected to be similar to that of GO bus fare, which is currently $14.60 for an adult single ride ticket.

Part of the long-term transportation plan also involves utilizing Waterloo Region's new transit hub to tie in local transportation with GO service.

Graham Vincent, director of transportation planning for Waterloo Region, says "It just gives people more choices and more connections and expands the area that they can access once they get into a community."

Concerns remain though that there is no westbound rail service from the GTA to Kitchener-Waterloo in the morning.

Mark Dowling, a Toronto businessman who was in Waterloo Region for work on Thursday, says the schedule poses a problem.

"It's now the middle of the day, I'm coming out for business, I prefer to have been here two, three hours ago. So the GO is great, I think it's a great investment for Ontario, but for me personally it doesn't really get me to where I want to be."

That issue is one Vincent says the region will be working on, "The high tech industry are trying to attract employees from the GTA area and a service of this nature would help them tremendously."