Niagara Falls, ON | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 4267 Bridge Street Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 43°06′32″N79°03′48″W / 43.1088°N 79.0634°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Regional Municipality of Niagara | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform, 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | Niagara Falls Transit Terminal | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Structure type | At-grade; heritage building | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | Free; long and short term | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Unstaffed station | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
IATA code | XLV | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 84 (GO Transit) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1879 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1980–1990s | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Official name | VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Designated | 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Designated | 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Niagara Falls station is an international railway station in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. [1] It is served by the Maple Leaf train between Toronto and New York City and is the terminus of GO Transit's Lakeshore West line towards Toronto. The Gothic Revival station building, which was built in 1879 by the Great Western Railway, is a designated heritage railway station. [2] It is also listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. [3]
The Victorian Gothic Revival style station was built as the terminus for Great Western Railway (1879–1882) and Grand Trunk Railway (1882–1923). [4] During the period, it was the busiest and the grandest station owned by the railway. [5] The station was renovated in 1951, and the east wing, once housing a restaurant, was partially demolished in 1967. [5] It was acquired by CN Rail for passenger service from 1923 until the 1970s, since when it has been used by Via Rail Canada and more recently by GO Transit since 2009.
In 2012, as a result of federal funding cuts Via Rail Corridor trips between Toronto and Niagara Falls were discontinued, leaving only the single daily Via/Amtrak Maple Leaf service between Toronto and New York. In October 2012, the ticket agent was eliminated, replaced by an automated kiosk. [6]
GO Transit operated summer 'excursion' trains to Niagara Falls on weekends and holidays in 2009 and 2010, making them permanently recurring in 2011. Starting in January 2019, it also began operating a single weekday train trip to and from Niagara Falls. In September 2019, the formerly summer-only weekend train service was extended year-round.
GO Transit was expected to expand full-time rail service along the Niagara Branch to Niagara Falls by 2023 and with it upgrades to the station. [7]
On weekdays as of May 2023 [update] , the station is served by three daily round trips on the GO Transit Lakeshore West line, departing toward Toronto in the morning, afternoon and evening. On weekends the station is served by three daily trains in each direction, departing toward Toronto in the afternoon and evening. At all times, GO Transit bus route 12 operates hourly to Burlington GO Station, where it connects to regular train service to Toronto. [8]
Amtrak and Via Rail Canada jointly operate the Maple Leaf train service between Toronto and New York City. The service uses Amtrak rolling stock, but ticketing is shared, and Via crew operates the train along all Canadian stops until it reaches the station where Amtrak crew takes over the operation. The station was served once daily in each direction until March 2020, when Maple Leaf service within Canada was suspended indefinitely as part of a closure of the Canada–United States border to non-essential travel in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trains from New York City were truncated to Niagara Falls, New York. [9] [10] Full service between New York City and Toronto resumed on July 27, 2022. [11]
There are no US preclearance facilities at the station for the Maple Leaf train since both it and its sister station in Niagara Falls, New York, are located along the Canada-US border. Therefore, passengers arriving from the US will be inspected by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at the station. Passengers leaving for the US will be processed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Niagara Falls, New York, station on the other side of the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge.
In January 2020, US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York urged the CBSA to open a preclearance facility in the newer Niagara Falls, New York station as one of Canada’s first preclearance operations to improve what he described as an "unpleasant" Canadian inspection experience in the current open-air and uncovered location. In response, the CBSA said it would not commit to a timeline to open any preclearance facilities in the US. [12]
The Niagara Falls Transit Terminal is located directly across Bridge Street from the railway station and serves as the main local, regional and intercity bus terminal for the area. Unlike the train station, the transit terminal is owned and operated by the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the Niagara River, which forms part of the Canada–United States border, with the other side being the twin city of Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls is within the Regional Municipality of Niagara and a part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).
The Maple Leaf is an international passenger train service operated by Amtrak and Via Rail between New York Penn Station in New York City and Union Station in Toronto via Amtrak's Empire Corridor, and the south western part of Via Rail's Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. Daily service is offered in both directions; the 544-mile (875 km) trip takes approximately 12 hours, including two hours for U.S. or Canadian customs and immigration inspection at either Niagara Falls, New York, or Niagara Falls, Ontario. Although the train uses Amtrak rolling stock exclusively, the train is operated by Via Rail crews while in Canada and by Amtrak crews in the United States. Service began in 1981.
The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern end of the Golden Horseshoe, the largest megalopolis in Canada.
Union Station is a major railway station and intermodal transportation hub in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is located in downtown Toronto, on Front Street West, on the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street. The municipal government of Toronto owns the station building while the provincial transit agency Metrolinx owns the train shed and trackage. It is operated by the Toronto Terminals Railway, a joint venture of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, which directs and controls train movement along the Union Station Rail Corridor, the largest and busiest rail corridor in Canada. Constructed in 1927, Union Station has been a National Historic Site of Canada since 1975, and a Heritage Railway Station since 1989.
The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly known as the Whirlpool Bridge or the Lower Steel Arch Bridge, is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge that crosses the Canada–United States border, connecting the commercial downtown districts of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. This bridge is located approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) north of the Rainbow Bridge and about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Falls. It was acquired by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission in January 1959. Immediately upstream is the similar arch-style Michigan Central Railway Bridge, which has been out of service since 2001.
Lakeshore West is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Hamilton, along the shore of Lake Ontario. Some train trips extend past Hamilton to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
Oakville GO Station is a GO Transit railway station and bus station in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. It is colocated and shares platforms with Via Rail's Oakville railway station.
Aldershot GO Station is a railway station and bus station used by Via Rail and GO Transit, located at Highway 403 and Waterdown Road in the Aldershot community of Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Guelph Central Station is the main inter-modal transportation terminal in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is used by Via Rail and GO Transit trains, as well as Guelph Transit local buses, GO Transit regional buses and intercity buses. It is located at 79 Carden Street and includes the historic Guelph Railway Station, as well as the site of the former Guelph Bus Terminal.
Kitchener station is a railway station located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, slightly to the northeast of downtown Kitchener, at 126 Weber Street West, near the corner of Victoria Street. It is a heritage building containing a waiting room and ticket counter built beside a set of tracks also used as a freight yard. A separate building to the east of the passenger area, originally built in 1925 as a freight building, now serves as the headquarters for the Goderich–Exeter Railway.
Stratford is a Via Rail train station in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. It is served by one daily round trip between Sarnia and Toronto via London.
St. Catharines station is a railway station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is served by the Maple Leaf train between Toronto and New York City and is a stop on the Lakeshore West line of GO Transit. The station is a designated Heritage Railway Station.
Pacific Central Station is a railway station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country The Canadian service to Toronto and the northern terminus of Amtrak's Cascades service to Seattle and Portland. The station is also Vancouver's main intercity bus terminal. The station is wheelchair accessible and is staffed with full Via services. The station is a candidate for the northern terminus of a possible future high-speed rail line being considered primarily by the US state of Washington.
The Michigan Central Railway Bridge is an out-of-service steel Deck arch bridge spanning the Niagara Gorge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The bridge is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, which purchased the single track structure in 1990. The Canadian corridor and bridge are owned by the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario. The bridge is located just upstream from the older arch-style Whirlpool Rapids Bridge used by Maple Leaf Amtrak passenger trains.
The International was a named passenger train operated between Chicago and Toronto. It was originally an overnight train operated by the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada and its successors the Canadian National Railway and Grand Trunk Western Railroad, running as far as Montreal. The train was cut back to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1970 and discontinued in 1971.
The Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretive Center is an intermodal transit complex in Niagara Falls, New York. It serves Amtrak trains and Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority buses, houses U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices servicing the Canada–United States border, and houses the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center.
The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, also known as simply the Corridor, is a Via Rail passenger train service in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The Corridor service area has the heaviest passenger train frequency in Canada and contributes 67% of Via's revenue.
The Niagara Rainbow, known as the Empire State Express before 1976, was an American passenger train service operated by Amtrak between New York City and Detroit via Buffalo and Southwestern Ontario in Canada. The service ran between October 31, 1974, and January 31, 1979.
Grimsby station is a railway station in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. It is served by the Maple Leaf train between Toronto and New York City.
West Harbour GO Station is a regional rail station in the North End neighbourhood of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The station has been served by GO Transit's Lakeshore West line since July 9, 2015. There is hourly service between West Harbour and Toronto's Union Station, seven days a week. Via Rail service may eventually be provided.