Union Station is a major
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
and intermodal transportation hub in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada. It is located on
Front Street West, on the south side of the block bounded by
Bay Street
Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Stre ...
and York Street in
downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...
. The
municipal government of Toronto
The municipal government of Toronto (Municipal corporation, incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. ...
owns the station building while the provincial transit agency
Metrolinx owns the
train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
and trackage. Union Station has been a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
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
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
and
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
that directs and controls train movement along the
Union Station Rail Corridor
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 long, approximately stretching from Bathurst Street (mile 1.1) in the west to the Don River in the ...
, the largest and busiest rail corridor in Canada.
Its central position in Canada's busiest
inter-city rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
service area, "
The Corridor", as well as being the central hub of GO Transit's commuter rail service, makes Union Station Canada's busiest transportation facility and
the third-busiest railway station in North America (behind
New York Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...
and
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
), serving over 72million passengers each year. More than half of all Canadian inter-city passengers and 91 percent of Toronto commuter train passengers travel through Union Station.
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
provide inter-city train services while
GO Transit
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 millio ...
operates regional rail services. The station is also connected to the
subway and
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
system of the
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
(TTC) at its adjacent
namesake subway station. GO Transit's
Union Station Bus Terminal
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 Bo ...
, located in
CIBC Square
CIBC Square (known during early stages of development as Bay Park Centre) is an office complex under construction in the South Core neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The complex, located on Bay Street south of Front Street, is a joint de ...
, is connected to the Union station by a
enclosed walkway above Bay Street. The
Union Pearson Express
The Union Pearson Express (UP Express or UPX) is an airport rail link connecting Union Station in Downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The UP Express began operation on 6 June 2015, in time for the 2015 Pan American Games. ...
, which provides train service to
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...
, has a platform a short walk west of the main station building, accessible by the
SkyWalk
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
.
[
]
Site location
Toronto's Union Station is located at 61 Front Street West, between Bay and York Streets in Toronto's business district, with Toronto's entertainment district beginning across Bay Street. It is roughly at the city's east-west centre. It is also close to Lake Ontario, which marks Toronto's southern boundary. The southernmost part of the Gardiner Expressway, which lies between Union Station and Lake Ontario, provides easy core access to GO Transit buses. Union Station's columned façade and main entrance faces north, towards downtown Toronto. The Fairmont Royal York Hotel
The Fairmont Royal York, formerly and still commonly known as the Royal York, is a large historic luxury hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Front Street West, the hotel is situated at the southern end of the Financial District, in ...
, a former railway hotel, is directly across Front Street from Union Station and can be accessed from the station both at street level and via an underground passageway called Path
A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail.
Path or PATH may also refer to:
Physical paths of different types
* Bicycle path
* Bridle path, used by people on horseback
* Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle
* Desire p ...
. The Dominion Public Building
The Dominion Public Building is a five-storey Beaux-Arts neoclassical office building built between 1926 and 1935 for the government of Canada at southeast corner of Front and Bay streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The building was designe ...
, another building from the same era, is just to the east of the station, at the corner of Front and Bay Streets.
Other major buildings near Union Station are Telus Tower
Telus Harbour, formerly Telus House, formerly Union Tower, is a 30- storey office skyscraper at 25 York Street, on the south side of the traditionally defined financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Anchor tenant Telus will occupy 60 pe ...
and Brookfield Place. Brookfield Place is home to the Allen Lambert Galleria, a six story high pedestrian thoroughfare, as well as the Hockey Hall of Fame
, logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg
, logo_upright = 0.5
, image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg
, caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992
, map_type =
, former_name =
, established = 1943
, location = 30 Y ...
, which holds the Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
.
Scotiabank Arena
Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...
, Rogers Centre, Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Land ...
, and the CN Tower
The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...
are all close by, and are visible from some parts of the station. Like Union Station, these structures were built on former Railway Lands. All of them can be accessed directly from Union Station via the Skywalk. The land around the CN Tower has been converted to a public park. Union Station will soon be linked via a Path bridge on the east side to the Backstage Condominium building at the corner of Esplanade and Yonge Street.
Structure
Toronto's Union Station is Canada's largest and most opulent railway station. The Montreal architecture firm of Ross and Macdonald
Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane (known as Ross and MacFar ...
designed the building in the Beaux-Arts style
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporat ...
as a joint venture between the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, with help from CPR architect Hugh Jones and Toronto architect John M. Lyle
John MacIntosh Lyle (13 November 1872 – 20 December 1945) was an Irish Canadians, Irish-Canadian architect, designer, urban planner, and teacher active in the late 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century. He was a leading Cana ...
. In 1975, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada cited its design as being of "national architectural significance as one of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts railway station design in Canada".
The bilaterally symmetrical building comprises three connecting box masses facing Front Street West, with the main structure in the middle. Together, the three parts measure long and occupy the entire south side of the block between Bay Street in the east and York Street in the west.
The exterior Front Street façade is laid out in an ashlar pattern, constructed with smooth beige Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
and Queenston limestone. The colonnaded loggia which faces Front Street features 22 equally spaced Roman Tuscan columns made from Bedford limestone, each high and weighing 75 tons. Fourteen three-storey bays, each with severely delineated fenestration, form the façade on either side of the central colonnade for a total of 28 bays. The structures at either end have an additional ten bays. Three rectangular windows fill each bay, lighting the interior hall with plenty of natural light. However, the building's external profile is hard and flat, with a line of huge columns, heavy ornamentation and strong symmetry.
The recessed main entrance is framed by two sets of four columns, with relief wreaths carved into the entablature above the columns. These columns are composed of three separate segments on top of an incongruous octagonal plinth, implying an Ionic order
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
or Corinthian order
The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
; however, the capital is sculpted in a Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
. Consequently, these columns appear to be unfinished. The original plan for the columns is not known.
A wraparound dentil cornice and a recessed peaked hipped roof creates the illusion of a flat roof, just like a palazzo. On either side of the main entrance, a blind arch with an ornamental keystone contains a set of three steel-framed doors, along with a large arched window. Decorative friezes separate the arched window from the doors. When these entryway elements are combined, they create a processional experience through the entryway into the grand interior space. The flat-roof illusion, together with the axial symmetry, classical detailing in both structural and decorative elements, heavy ornamentation, and formal setting is typical of the Beaux-Arts style.
The station housed a gun range on the seventh floor from 1927 until 2008. The range was operated for "Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway police to practice their shooting skills. It eventually opened to members of the public". It was known as the Canadian National Recreation Association (CNRA) handgun club. The city closed the range in 2008 as a symbolic gesture to its effort to reduce gun violence.
Great Hall and Via Concourse
The front entranceway opens on to the expansive Ticket Lobby, informally known as the "Great Hall". This part of Union Station runs the entire length of the main section. It is long and high at its highest point. Like the outside facade, enduring materials such as bronze, limestone, marble, tiles, and translucent glass create a sense of enduring quality.
The entire space is lit with diffused natural light from clerestory
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
windows refracted throughout the lobby. Each end of the Great Hall also features four-storey tall arched windows, based on those of Roman baths.
The two-storey-high vaulted ceiling, which is what makes it look from the front as though a second building were rising behind the colonnade, is made of coffered Guastavino tile
The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of Catalan vault introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892.
Description
...
s. The walls are faced with Zumbro stone from Missouri, and the floors are constructed of Tennessee marble
Tennessee marble is a type of crystalline limestone found only in East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Long esteemed by architects and builders for its pinkish-gray color and the ease with which it is polished, this stone has been ...
laid in a herringbone pattern. Below the cornice surrounding the "Great Hall" are carved the names of many Canadian destinations, from the east coast to Vancouver, accessible by the Grand Trunk Railway or Canadian Pacific Railway at the time of the station's construction. Many remain destinations on Via Rail routes.
While historically shared by many different services, the Great Hall is now occupied primarily by Via Rail, whose agents also provide services to Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
passengers. The hall is home to Via's ticket and baggage desks, business class lounge, and several small displays, as well as the station's grand clock, a Traveller's Aid desk, and Via's departure board.
GO Concourses and Teamways
Passengers can connect with GO Transit services through the York Concourse, which opened on April 27, 2015, west of Union Station. This new concourse supplemented the York South Concourse that provided access to platforms 24 to 27. The York and York South Concourses connect to the York East Teamway, as well as an entrance to a Path tunnel leading across Front Street, between York Street and University Avenue. The York West Teamway is connected to Union Station via the Skywalk.
Historically, the Bay Street Concourse was the hub of GO Transit operations for almost 40 years. The Bay Concourse was closed on August 16, 2015, for revitalization, and reopened on July 27, 2021. The concourse features 72 departure screens, 30 Presto devices, seven ticket vending machines and six self-service Presto reload machines. Both the Bay and York concourses give access to GO train platforms.
The Bay West Teamway provides access to platforms 4 to 13 and the Bay South Concourse. The Bay East Teamway provides indoor access to platforms 4 to 13 directly from the Union Station Bus Terminal
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 Bo ...
.
Train shed
Trains arrive and depart from the train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
, which contains 23 platforms (11 island platforms and one side platform) south of the Great Hall. On May 11, 2009, the last two platforms were opened, platforms 24/25 between tracks 12 and 13 and platforms 26/27 between tracks 13 and 14 on the south side of the train shed. Metrolinx was having platforms 24 to 27 and their three tracks demolished on the south side of the station in order to replace them with two new tracks and two new wider platforms to increase safety and capacity.
The train shed was designed by A.R. Ketterson and built between 1929 and 1930. It is a variation of the Bush train shed invented by Lincoln Bush. A reconstruction of the train shed began in January 2010. The east and west sides of the shed, totalling approximately were renovated and restored with input from Parks Canada
Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
to help preserve its heritage character. This renovation came with plans to have a green roof installed, reducing the urban heat island
An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparen ...
effect and stormwater
Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...
runoff; however, with the project being almost eight years behind and multiple times over budget, along with the fact that plant-watering logistics would clash with the planned overhead wiring for electrification, the addition of a green roof was cancelled. The central portion of the original train shed, totalling , was removed and replaced with a glass atrium. The structure floats above the tracks and allows daylight to reach the platforms.
Platform 3 is the northernmost platform at Union Station and is the only platform at the station serving just one track. It reopened for service on January 10, 2022, after a renovation of its heritage features. Allowing a lower, lighter shed roof in the age of steam, the smoke vents over tracks 1 and 2 are a preserved heritage feature of the platform 3 area; these were restored. The decorative, cast-iron columns along the platform were restored and reinstalled. Other structural renovations were done along the length of the platform. Once the north tower of the CIBC Square is completed, stair and elevator access will be reinstated between platform 3 and the Bay East Teamway.
The 23 platforms are numbered from 3 to 27, but there is no platform 1, 2, 23 or 24. The platforms were renumbered in 2008 for the benefit of operational staff in order to provide a correlation between platform numbers and track numbers. (Prior to the renumbering, the platform numbers had an A or B suffix that proved to be confusing for both customers and operational staff.) Tracks and platforms are each numbered from north to south with track 1 being beside platform 3 on the north side of the train shed. There is an island platform between all pairs of tracks except between tracks 1 and 2 and tracks 11 and 12. Odd numbered platforms are on the north side of a track while even numbered platforms are on the south side of a track. There is a formula to compute the platform number given the track number, with an exception for track 1:
* The number for the platform on the south side of a track equals two times the track number.
* The number for the platform on the north side of a track equals two times the track number minus one, except for track 1 where the platform number is set to 3 rather than 1.
Most Toronto-area railway freight does not enter downtown Toronto. Local freight movements are permitted on two dedicated tracks south of the train shed, allowing freight trains to go east towards Pickering and west towards Burlington.
West wing and SkyWalk
Union Station's west wing is west of the Great Hall. Metrolinx is headquartered in the west wing at 97 Front Street. Across from these offices is an official tourism information centre that provides maps, visitor guides, brochures and tourism specialists to provide help to city visitors.
A pathway known as the SkyWalk
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
continues west from the west wing, overtop of York Street. The SkyWalk is considered part of the Path network, and connects Union to the CN Tower
The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...
and Rogers Centre. It is also the location of the Union Pearson Express
The Union Pearson Express (UP Express or UPX) is an airport rail link connecting Union Station in Downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The UP Express began operation on 6 June 2015, in time for the 2015 Pan American Games. ...
station.
History
Predecessor stations
The current Union Station's history can be traced to 1858, when the Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...
(GTR) opened Toronto's first Union Station west of the present Union Station. The wooden structure was shared with the Northern Railway and the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
. This structure was replaced by a second Union Station on the same site, opening in 1873. The Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
began using the facility in 1884 and it was completely rebuilt, opening in 1896.
The Great Toronto Fire of 1904
The Great Fire of Toronto of 1904 destroyed a large section of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 19, 1904. It was the second such fire for the city in its history.
Incident
The fire was first spotted at 8:04 p.m., on April 19, 19 ...
destroyed the block south of Front Street West, immediately east of the second Union Station (bounded by Bay and York streets), but did not damage the station. The GTR acquired this land east of the second Union Station for a new passenger terminal and in 1905 both the GTR and the CPR decided to proceed with the design and construction of a third union station.
The decision to undertake the third union station was made against a backdrop of significant change in the Canadian railway industry. At the same time, the Government of Canada was encouraging the GTR to build a second transcontinental railway
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
(what would become the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...
and the National Transcontinental Railway
The National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) was a historic railway between Winnipeg and Moncton in Canada. Much of the line is now operated by the Canadian National Railway.
The Grand Trunk partnership
The completion of construction of Canada's ...
) and the Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.
Man ...
was undertaking an aggressive expansion across the prairies and into southern Ontario.
Construction
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 GTR and the CPR who each held 50% of the TTR shares. The TTR supervised construction of the new station which began in 1914 and proceeded to 1920, having faced significant delays in the shortage of construction material and workers as a result of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, as well as the GTR's deteriorating financial position due to its ill-fated transcontinental GTPR railway project.
The resulting construction saw the elimination of Lorne Street located between Simcoe and Bay from Front to Esplanade with tracks leading west of the new station now in place.
Although the new station's headhouse and east and west office wings (the station building visible from Front Street West) were completed in 1920, it did not open to the public for another seven years, until the system of approach tracks was designed and implemented by the TTR and its owners. During this time in 1923, the bankrupt GTR was fully nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...
by the Government of Canada and merged into the Canadian National Railways
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
(CNR), which would assume the GTR's 50% ownership of the TTR and thus the third Union Station.
Opening and further construction
Although the station was incomplete, its building was complete and the station was opened by Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, on August 6, 1927, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, using a pair of gold scissors. In attendance were Prince George, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...
William Donald Ross
William Donald Ross (June 20, 1869 – June 25, 1947), was a financier, banker and the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Born in 1869 in Bras d'Or, Nova Scotia, Ross went to work for the Bank of Nova Scotia emptying wastebaskets at the age o ...
and his wife, Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
and Mrs. Baldwin, Premier of Ontario
The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...
George Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provinc ...
, and other members of the government of Ontario
The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor ...
and government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
. Prince Edward was the first person to step off of a train into Union Station; a mixed choir composed of soloists from the city's churches sang the royal anthem, "God Save the King
"God Save the King" is the national anthem, national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in ...
", as the royal party walked through the concourse. Once he was in the Great Hall, the Prince of Wales quipped, "you build your train stations like we build our cathedrals". He was then escorted to a nearby Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
wicket
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...
and was presented with the first ticket issued at the station: one "valid for all time" and "between all stations". He proceeded to the Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
's wicket, where he was given a first-class fare from Toronto to High River
High River is a town within the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. High River had a population of 14,324 in 2021.
History
The community take ...
, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, where his ranch was located.[ Prince George was given similar tickets.][
Four days later, the track network was shifted from the 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 viaduct, concourse and train shed were under construction. Demolition of the second Union Station began almost immediately and was completed in 1928. The third Union Station project was not fully completed until 1930 when the train shed was completed; its construction was supervised by the TTR from 1925 to 1930.]
The TTR also constructed a central heating plant at the corner of York and Fleet streets (now Lake Shore Boulevard West) to replace the original Toronto Hydro plant on Scott Street which had been expropriated by the TTR to build the approach track viaduct to the new station. It was fuelled by coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
delivered by a CNR siding and was the largest such facility in Canada when it opened in 1929; it produced of steam per hour and annually to heat the station; the passenger cars in the train shed; CNR and CPR yard facilities in the area now occupied by the Gardiner Expressway, Rogers Centre and Scotiabank Arena
Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...
; the CPR's Royal York Hotel; the Dominion Public Building; the federal post office building adjacent to the station; and the CN/CP Telecommunications building on Front Street.
Subway connection
The first major change to Union Station took place in 1954 when the Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
opened its Union subway station adjacent to Union Station but buried beneath Front Street West. This subway station acted as the southern terminus of its new subway line. The subway station included a direct tunnel connection to the lower level passenger concourse. This passageway was closed and replaced by the direct connection between the railway station and the subway station in 1979 when the subway station mezzanine was renovated and enlarged. In 1990, the TTC's Harbourfront LRT project added an underground streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
loop now used by the 509 Harbourfront
509 Harbourfront is a Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and connecting Union Station with Exhibition Loop.
History 1990–2012
The 509 Harbourfront began service in 1990 as the "604 Harbourf ...
and 510 Spadina streetcar lines. TTC passengers using the Union subway and streetcar station may transfer between both modes without entering the Union Station proper.
Metro Centre redevelopment proposal
During the early 1970s, Canada's two major passenger railways, the Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
and Canadian National, were reducing their services to the bare minimum mandated under the Canadian Transport Commission, largely as a result of unsustainable losses caused by increased competition from new, subsidized four-lane highways and airports.
The third Union Station's future was looking bleak by 1972, when both railways sought to increase return on their underutilized waterfront rail classification yards which was being viewed as valuable real estate. Both CN and CP began to abandon their extensive waterfront rail classification yard
A classification yard (American and Canadian English ( Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English ( Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...
s south of the passenger station to make way for urban redevelopment. The Gardiner Expressway project was constructed over part of the railway property and CN had proposed constructing a telecommunication tower (what would become the CN Tower
The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...
later that decade).
CN and CPR proposed a "Metro Centre" development on the south side of Front Street on the site of Union Station and proposed to demolish the structure (which was costing an increasing amount of property taxes but not bringing in revenue). The proposed Metro Centre development was strikingly similar to what occurred with New York City's Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
and would have consisted of an underground fourth Union Station (the terminal trackage would have been buried), a convention centre, a telecommunications tower, along with complementary office and retail developments. Local opposition to the proposal was successful in having the city council's decision to support the Metro Centre development overturned and Union Station was saved.
Although it was converted from coal to natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
, the Central Heating Plant built in 1929 was decommissioned in the 1980s, and demolished in 1990. It is now site of The Ice condo towers.
In 1978, CN and CP transferred responsibility for their passenger rail services to Via Rail, a new federal Crown corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
; however, CN and CP retained their 50% ownership shares of the TTR.
Growth and waterfront development
The GO Transit
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 millio ...
commuter rail agency which was established on May 23, 1967, had been undergoing unprecedented expansion which was seeing Union Station see passenger levels that outstripped some of the busiest airports in the world. The consolidated TTR trackage included a flyover west of the station to permit freight trains to cross CN's Oakville subdivision without blocking GO Transit's commuter trains. The flyover was constructed in 1982–83 and also allowed GO trains destined for the CN Weston subdivision to cross over the tracks used by GO and Via trains using the CN Oakville subdivision.
The CN Tower had revamped the vision of Toronto's waterfront rail yards and proposals were made to construct what would later become SkyDome (1989) and Air Canada Centre
Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rap ...
(1999), resulting in further changes to the Union Station trackage. The Path pedestrian tunnel network was built to connect Union Station's passengers with many of the downtown office towers and the SkyWalk
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
was constructed over the terminal trackage west of the station to connect the Path with the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Land ...
and Rogers Centre.
21st century revitalization
In 2000, the City of Toronto purchased the station building from the TTR, while GO Transit purchased the railway corridor and the Union Station train shed. On July 24, 2003, the City of Toronto agreed to lease Union Station to Union Pearson AirLink Group, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, a ...
, for a term of 100 years.
A subsequent announcement on May 24, 2006, addressed several issues for commuters including: constructing a direct connection from the GO Concourse to the Path pedestrian tunnel system, a new eastbound platform for the Union TTC station, improved access to streetcars at Union TTC station, and improved capacity for inter-city railway passengers. These developments were part of a $100million initiative announced by the city and its transit authorities, along with the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada. On August 5, 2009, the Toronto City Council approved an update of this plan which was projected to cost $640million, with construction lasting from 2010 to 2014. Much of the work was undertaken by or managed by Carillion
Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018.
Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...
.
The work also involved a complete overhaul of the GO concourses, deepening them to create two storeys of space. The lower level (the food court
A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...
section of which opened in January 2019) will provide retail space and room for pedestrian traffic flow, and the upper storey will be dedicated to passenger traffic onto the platforms. This will expand not only the current GO concourse in the east of the building, but also open up the western end; GO Transit's presence in the building will nearly quadruple. Additional aesthetic points include glass roofs over the moat space around the north sides of the building, and a tall atrium over the central portions of the platforms. A new southern entrance, adjacent to the Air Canada Centre, opened in 2010.
The 2009 Ontario and Canada government budgets included financing to assist GO, Via and the city in redeveloping and restoring the station. Track has been upgraded with better signals and snow cleaning devices to reduce winter delays to train movement.
In 2016, it was realized that the renovated train shed roof was too low to allow electrification. The train shed roof is considered a heritage feature and cannot be removed. Remedies considered were raising the roof, or lowering the track level.
By early 2018, the cost had increased from $640million to an estimated $823.5million. Work that was to have been completed in 2015 was projected to be finished late 2018 and in late 2018 revised to 2019. In 2019 it was announced that the city's portion of construction would be complete in 2019, but then Metrolinx would have to start its work, with a projected 2020 completion date.
In February 2019, charges were laid by Toronto Fire Services against contactor Bondfield Construction and the city for an over-crowding issue where doors had been blocked. In March 2019 it was reported that Vaughan-based contractor Bondfield Construction had applied for bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
Heritage recognition
Union Station became designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1975, and a Heritage Railway Station in 1989. In 1999, Union Station was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame
North America Railway Hall of Fame (NARHF) is a not-for-profit organization housed in the recently restored Canada Southern Railway Station in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. It was founded to maintain, preserve and honor railway history with the i ...
as being significant in the course of railway history. The station is recognized as part of the Union Station Heritage Conservation District (Designated Part V) under the ''Ontario Heritage Act
The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage ...
'' enacted by Toronto City Council on July 27, 2006.
Passenger services
Union Station is the busiest public transportation structure of any kind in Canada, including air travel. It handles 65million passengers annually, with an average of 200,000 passengers each day. Approximately two-thirds of those passengers are GO train or GO bus commuters, while another 20million take the subway. The remainder are intercity travelers between other cities in Canada and the United States.
National
Toronto is Canada's primary passenger train hub. Consequently, Union Station is by far Via Rail's busiest and most-used station. Each year, 2.4million Via Rail passengers pass through Union Station, representing more than half of all Via Rail passengers carried systemwide. This heavy usage is partly due to Union Station's position at the centre of Canada's busiest inter-city rail service area, the "Corridor
Corridor or The Corridor may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''The Corridor'' (1968 film), a 1968 Swedish drama film
* ''The Corridor'' (1995 film), a 1995 Lithuanian drama film
* ''The Corridor'' (2010 film), a 2010 Canadia ...
", which stretches from Quebec City in the east to Windsor in the west.
Westbound Via Rail trains from Toronto connect directly to most major cities in Southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...
, including Kitchener, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Sarnia
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...
, and Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
. Additionally, westbound trains from Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
pass through Toronto en route to Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
. Northbound and eastbound Via Rail trains from Toronto primarily serve the heavily travelled Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
–Montreal-Toronto triangle. At Montreal, passengers can connect to trains heading to the Maritimes or north to the Laurentians.
Union Station is also the eastern terminus of ''The Canadian
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,'' Via Rail's transcontinental service westbound to Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
via Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
and Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
.
International
In partnership with Via Rail, Amtrak runs the ''Maple Leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.
History of use in Canada
By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...
'' train from Toronto to New York City. The train uses an Amtrak consist but is operated by Via crews north of Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...
. Other major U.S. destinations along the route include Buffalo, Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
, Syracuse and Albany.
Amtrak and Via Rail formerly operated the ''International Limited
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
'' from Toronto to Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
via the Sarnia
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...
–Port Huron
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately.
Located along the St. Clair ...
border crossing, until it was cancelled in 2004. Both VIA Rail and Amtrak maintain service along the route on their respective sides of the border, but the trains do not cross the border.
Provincial and suburban
Union Station is the central terminal for GO Transit, which handled approximately 69.5million passengers in 2015.
*Barrie line
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 route. From ...
to North York, Vaughan, King City, Aurora, Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, Bradford, and Barrie
*Kitchener line
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 ...
to York, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Acton, Guelph and Kitchener
*Lakeshore East line
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 in Durham Region. Buses from Oshawa connect to communities further east in Newcastle, B ...
to Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa
*Lakeshore West line
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.
Hi ...
to Etobicoke, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls
*Milton line
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.
History
The Canadian Pacific Railway strongly ...
to Etobicoke, Mississauga and Milton
*Richmond Hill line
Richmond Hill is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It operates between Union Station in Toronto to Bloomington GO Station in the north in Richmond Hill. Trains on the line opera ...
to North York and Richmond Hill
* Stouffville line to Scarborough, Markham and Stouffville
GO Transit's Union Station Bus Terminal
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 Bo ...
is located at CIBC Square
CIBC Square (known during early stages of development as Bay Park Centre) is an office complex under construction in the South Core neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The complex, located on Bay Street south of Front Street, is a joint de ...
, 81 Bay Street, on the south side of the terminal. The terminal currently serves GO Transit
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 millio ...
regional buses as well as Coach Canada
Coach Canada is the Canadian affiliate of Coach USA.
Charter services (rental of bus with driver) when originating in most areas in Ontario can travel to anywhere in North America. Megabus operations however are confined to the provinces of Queb ...
, TOK Coachlines
TOK Coachlines (formerly Can-ar Coach Service) is a scheduled and chartered coach operator in the Greater Toronto Area, It is a division of Tokmakjian Inc., a privately held Canadian corporation operating as TOK Group based in Vaughan, Ontario. A ...
, and Ontario Northland
The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in northern Ontario. It reports to ...
long-distance bus services.
Connecting services
Union Station is connected to the Toronto Transit Commission's Union Subway Station, which is part of Line 1 Yonge–University
Line 1 Yonge–University is a rapid transit line on the Toronto subway. It serves Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, has 38 stations and is in length, making it th ...
of the Toronto subway
The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is a multimodal transport, multimodal rail network consisting of three Pa ...
system. Two Toronto streetcar routes, 509 Harbourfront
509 Harbourfront is a Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and connecting Union Station with Exhibition Loop.
History 1990–2012
The 509 Harbourfront began service in 1990 as the "604 Harbourf ...
and 510 Spadina, can also be accessed underground without leaving Union Station. The streetcar platform was built in 1989 and is separate from the subway station platforms built in 1954. Altogether, twenty million TTC passengers pass through Union Station each year. The TTC station was renovated and expanded in 2015, with an additional platform to increase capacity.
Toronto Transit Commission bus routes 19 Bay, 72 Pape, 97 Yonge, 121 Esplanade–River, and night route 320 Yonge, use curbside stops on the streets outside.
Airport link
On June 6, 2015, the Union Pearson Express (UPX), a dedicated airport rail link
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city by mainline or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover, or light rail. Direct links operate straight to the airport terminal, while o ...
service, started running between Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...
, stopping only at Bloor and Weston
Weston may refer to:
Places Australia
* Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Weston, New South Wales
* Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra
* Weston Park, Canberra, a park
Canada
* Weston, Nova Scotia
* ...
GO stations. The opening of the line allowed Metrolinx to achieve its goal, announced in 2010, of operating an airport rail link from Union Station in time for the 2015 Pan American Games
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
.
Trains on this line do not stop at the regular platforms used by GO and Via trains, but use a separate station located west of the main station building along the length of the main atrium
Atrium may refer to:
Anatomy
* Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart
* Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods
* Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain
* Pulmona ...
of the SkyWalk
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
between York Street and Lower Simcoe Street. The UP Express Union Station is a 5-minute walk from Union subway station.[
]
Trains depart from the station's single side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...
every 15 minutes. Passengers access trains directly from an enclosed waiting area, and a glass wall with sliding doors
A sliding door is a type of door which opens horizontally by sliding, usually horizontal to a wall. Sliding doors can be mounted either on top of a track below or be suspended from a track above. Some types slide into a space in the parallel ...
separate trains from the platform and open to allow passengers to board directly from the waiting area without exposure to the elements. The floor of the waiting area is level with the train floor, which allows for step-free boarding.
The UP Express Union Station has a dedicated customer service
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...
counter, ticket vending machine
A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instanc ...
s and flight check-in kiosk
Airport check-in is the process whereby an airline approves airplane passengers to board an airplane for a flight. Airlines typically use service counters found at airports for this process, and the check-in is normally handled by an airline ...
s. These kiosks permit check-in
Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, seaport or event.
Office check-in
Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriving to a ...
s for Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
and WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...
.[
] Three stands in the waiting area offer Balzac's coffee, souvenirs and Mill Street Brewery
Mill Street Brewery is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is a part of Anheuser–Busch InBev and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards ...
draft beer.[
]
Former operations
;Ontario Northland:
*''Northlander
The ''Northlander'' was a passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Ontario, Canada.
The ''Northlander'' operated six days per week year-round in both directions and connected Cochrane with Toronto. The train typically con ...
'' to Gravenhurst, Huntsville, North Bay, Cobalt and Cochrane
The ''Northlander'' provided a passenger train service between Union Station and Northeastern Ontario from 1976 until 2012. In March 2012, the Government of Ontario announced plans to discontinue this service, and the final day of operations was September 28, 2012.
;Amtrak:
*''International
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
'' to Port Huron, Flint, Battle Creek, Niles, and Chicago
The ''International'' (known until 1983 as the ''International Limited'') provided a passenger train service between Union Station and Chicago Union Station from 1982 until 2004, when the cross-border service was discontinued and replaced by Via Rail's Toronto-Sarnia service, and Amtrak's ''Blue Water
Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water.
Definitions
The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...
'' route from Port Huron to Chicago. The final day of operations was April 23, 2004.
Other railway stations (terminals or depots) in Toronto
* Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway
The Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&B) was a railway company which operated in Ontario, Canada in the years immediately following the Canadian Confederation of 1867. It connected two rural counties, Grey County and Bruce County, with the provi ...
Terminal – south of Fort York
Fort York (french: Fort-York) is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of t ...
(now 24 Bathurst Street condo across from Housey Street)
* Grand Trunk Freight House – Front Street West and Simcoe Street (now Metro Toronto Convention Centre)
* Northern Railway Office – Spadina Avenue and Front Street West (late as ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' head office and now being re-developed as The Well condo project
* Grand Trunk Passenger Terminal – Front Street East and Yonge Street (Freight Office after 1882, later as Toronto Wholesale Fruit Market from 1900 and Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company, shed destroyed by fire in 1952 and station finally demolished to make way for the O'Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts (now Meridian Hall)
* Toronto and Nipissing Railway
The Toronto and Nipissing Railway (T&N) was the first public narrow-gauge railway in North America. It chartered in 1868 to build from Toronto to Lake Nipissing in Ontario, Canada, via York, Ontario, and Victoria counties. At Nipissing it would ...
Passenger, Freight and Maintenance Terminal, Berkeley Street – Front and Parliament, now Parliament Square Park
* Northern Railway Depot – Jarvis and The Esplanade at south end of old St Lawrence Market and now part of St Lawrence Market South wing
References
Bibliography
*
Toronto Union Station Master Plan
CBC: Train station leased for 100 years
Toronto Terminals Railway Company
External links
Official website
Union Station
at the City of Toronto
*Union Station on Via Rail
EnglishFrench
*
Union Station
at Transit Toronto
Photos of Toronto Union Station and Skywalk
Article from "Architectural Forum" (1924) about the design of the station
*
*
{{Authority control
Via Rail stations in Ontario
GO Transit railway stations
Ontario Northland Railway stations
Amtrak stations in Canada
Railway stations in Toronto
Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada
Railway stations in Canada opened in 1927
PATH (Toronto)
Ross and Macdonald buildings
Toronto Union Station (1927)
Canadian Pacific Railway stations in Ontario
Railway Lands
Designated heritage railway stations in Ontario
Transport in Toronto