The Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC) is a corridor of railway tracks that exist through and adjacent to Union Station in downtown Toronto. It is 6.4 kilometres (4.0 miles) long, approximately stretching from Bathurst Street (mile 1.1) in the west to the Don River in the east, making it the largest rail passenger facility in Canada. [1] [2]
Union Station is the busiest passenger transportation hub in Canada, serving 250,000 people daily. It is a central hub for the Via Rail Corridor intercity service, the central hub for GO Transit commuter rail service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and the terminus of the Union Pearson Express which connects to Canada's second-busiest transportation hub, Toronto Pearson Airport. It also provides connections to the Toronto subway, municipal and intercity bus services, and other active transportation modes. More than half of all Canadian intercity passengers and 91% of Toronto commuter train passengers travel through Union Station. To serve all this rail traffic, the USRC has up to 14 tracks across its width and four interlockings that add up to a total of 40 kilometres (25 miles) of laid track. It also has platforms, over 180 signals, 250 switch machines, and various other associated infrastructure. [3] [4]
The Toronto Terminals Railway (TTR), a joint venture of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, directs and controls all train movements within the USRC at the John Street, Cherry Street, and Scott Street interlocking towers. The towers are staffed by train movement directors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The train movement directors control trains by route assignment, radio communication, track switching, and signals. [1] [5]
North Bathurst Yard, to the north of the USRC east of Bathurst Street, is owned and operated by GO Transit for storing trains and maintenance equipment, as well as light servicing of trains. [2]
On July 13, 1906, the Toronto Terminals Railway (TTR) was incorporated to "construct, provide, maintain and operate at the City of Toronto a union passenger station". The TTR was jointly owned by the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway who each held 50% of the TTR shares. During station construction, the Grand Trunk Railway went bankrupt, was fully nationalized by the Government of Canada, and merged into the Canadian National Railway which would assume the Grand Trunk's 50% ownership of the TTR (and thus the third Union Station). [5]
Union Station was opened on August 6, 1927 by the Prince of Wales, although it was not completed yet. [6] Four days later, the track network was shifted from the former second Union Station. To get to trains, passengers would walk from the south doors to the tracks located several hundred feet to the south while the new USRC viaduct, concourse and train shed was under construction. [6] Demolition of the second Union Station began almost immediately and was completed in 1928. The third Union Station was not fully completed until 1930 when construction of the train shed had finished. [5]
As GO Transit service increased in the 1970s, the junction between the Lakeshore West line and lines using the then-Georgetown corridor (which included the Milton and then-Bradford lines) was becoming a bottleneck, with some trains experiencing up to 30 minutes of delay. The junction was controlled by hand-thrown switches. A major upgrade to fix the issue was completed on November 22, 1983, when the Canadian Transport Commission approved the opening of a flyunder. The grade separation structure allowed Lakeshore West trains to travel to and from the USRC's northernmost tracks, and trains using the Georgetown corridor to cross over Lakeshore West trains to and from the USRC's southern tracks. [7] [8]
The TTR owned and operated the USRC until it was purchased by GO Transit in 2000. GO Transit was merged with the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority in 2009, and became a division of the authority under the name Metrolinx, which assumed ownership of all capital infrastructure assets such as the USRC. [5] In 2014, Metrolinx began a major upgrade and modernization of the 80-year-old signalling system, at a cost of $365.5 million (equivalent to $413 million in 2021). This was in anticipation of GO Transit ridership doubling in the coming decades. [9]
TTR is contracted, and continues to operate and maintain the USRC. [5]
As part of Metrolinx's Regional Express Rail initiatives, rail infrastructure in the eastern portion of the USRC will be expanded or modified to allow more trains. This will include increasing the number of mainline tracks, expansion of the Don Yard, and increasing train speed limits. [10] In addition, there are plans to create a new GO station in the proximity of North Bathurst Yard, near Front and Bathurst streets. [2]
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven million across an area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) stretching from London in the west to Peterborough in the east, and from Barrie in the north to Niagara Falls in the south. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 35,234,400. GO Transit operates diesel-powered double-decker trains and coach buses, on routes that connect with all local and some long-distance inter-city transit services in its service area.
Union Station is a major railway station and intermodal transportation hub in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Front Street West, on the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in downtown Toronto. The municipal government of Toronto owns the station building while the provincial transit agency Metrolinx owns the train shed and trackage. Union Station has been a National Historic Site of Canada since 1975, and a Heritage Railway Station since 1989. It is operated by the Toronto Terminals Railway, a joint venture of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway that directs and controls train movement along the Union Station Rail Corridor, the largest and busiest rail corridor in Canada.
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, with occasional trips extending to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
The Milton line 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 Milton, by way of Mississauga.
Kitchener is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends westward from Union Station in Toronto to Kitchener, though most trains originate and terminate in Brampton in off-peak hours. A two-year pilot project which began in October 2021 extends the line west to London, Ontario.
Barrie 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 in a generally northward direction to Barrie, and includes ten stations along its 101.4 kilometres (63.0 mi) route. From 1982 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2007, it was known as the Bradford line, named after its former terminus at Bradford GO Station until the opening of Barrie South GO Station.
The Stouffville line is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Its southern terminus is Union Station in Toronto, and its northern terminus is Old Elm in Whitchurch-Stouffville. There are connections from almost every station to Toronto Transit Commission or York Region Transit bus services.
Lakeshore East is one of the seven commuter rail lines of GO Transit in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Oshawa GO in Durham Region. Buses from Oshawa connect to communities further east in Newcastle, Bowmanville and Peterborough.
Brampton GO Station is a railway station served by GO Transit and Via Rail, located at 27 Church Street West in downtown Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is directly connected to the Downtown Brampton Terminal which serves GO Transit and Brampton Transit buses.
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.
Durham College Oshawa GO station is a station for commuter rail, passenger rail and regional bus services in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the terminal station for the Lakeshore East line of GO Transit and serves Via Rail's Corridor service, which travels from Toronto to both Ottawa and Montreal. The bus terminal is served by bus routes of GO Transit and Durham Region Transit.
The Union Station Bus Terminal is the central intercity bus terminal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Downtown Toronto on the second floor of the south tower of CIBC Square, on the northeast corner of Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard. The terminal currently serves GO Transit regional buses as well as Coach Canada, TOK Coachlines, Greyhound Lines and Ontario Northland long-distance bus services. Owned by the provincial Crown agency Metrolinx, the terminal is connected by pedestrian walkways to the adjacent Union Station, Canada's busiest transportation hub.
Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union Station in Toronto, the agency was created as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority on June 22, 2006. The agency adopted its present name as a brand name in 2007 and eventually as the legal name in 2009.
GO Transit is an interregional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada, operated by the provincial crown agency Metrolinx. It primarily serves the conurbation referred to by Metrolinx as the "Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area" (GTHA) with operations extending to several communities in the area centred around Toronto and Hamilton.
Railway Lands is an area in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally a large railway switching yard near the Toronto waterfront, including the CNR Spadina Roundhouse and the CPR John Roundhouse, it has since been redeveloped and today is home to mostly mixed-used development, including the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. The lands were owned and maintained by the Canadian National Railway and later transferred to the federal crown corporation Canada Lands Company. The area is bounded by Front Street, Yonge Street, Gardiner Expressway and Bathurst Street. The western portion of the Railway Lands is now part of the CityPlace neighbourhood and the eastern portion is now called South Core.
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. Via Rail service may eventually be provided.
GO Expansion, previously known as GO Regional Express Rail (RER), is a project to improve GO Transit train service by adding all-day, two-way service to the inner portions of the Barrie line, Kitchener line and the Stouffville line, and by increasing frequency of train service on various lines to every 15 minutes or better on five of the corridors. This would be achieved with the electrification of at least part of the Lakeshore East line, Lakeshore West line, Barrie line, Kitchener line and Stouffville line. GO Expansion is one of the Big Move rapid transit projects.
GO Transit rail services are provided throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The GO Transit rail fleet consists of 90 MPI MP40 locomotives and 979 Bombardier BiLevel Coaches. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 25,484,600 passengers per year.
The Ontario Line is an under-construction rapid transit line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its northern terminus will be at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road, at Science Centre station, where it will connect with Line 5 Eglinton. Its southern terminus will be at the existing Exhibition GO Station on the Lakeshore West line. The Ontario Line was announced by the Government of Ontario on April 10, 2019. As of November 2022, the estimated cost for the 15.6-kilometre (9.7 mi) line was CA$17 to $19 billion with an estimated completion in 2031. Originally, the cost was estimated at $10.9 billion with completion by 2027. A groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place on March 27, 2022. Upon opening, the plan is for the line to assume the "Line 3" moniker currently used by Line 3 Scarborough, which is expected to close permanently in 2023.