Aurora GO Station is a

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

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...

in 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 ...

network located on Wellington Street East between

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

and

Bayview Avenue Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is designated as York Regional Road 34. History Bayview Avenue follows the first concession line, laid east of Yong ...

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is a stop on the

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 ...

train service, and connects with

York Region Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time, rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva bus ...

local bus routes, and the GO Express Bus between

Newmarket Bus Terminal Newmarket Terminal is a bus terminal in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada operated by York Region Transit (YRT). It is located at 320 Eagle Street West at the intersection of Eagle Street West and Davis Drive. The facility has 447 parking spaces. The Ne ...

and

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 Boul ...

History

Aurora station first train bell (29354189262)

Aurora station opened on 16 May 1853, when steam train service began between Toronto and Machell's Corners, as Aurora was then known, on the

Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway The Northern Railway of Canada was a railway in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was the first steam railway to enter service in what was then known as Upper Canada. It was eventually acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway, and is therefore a p ...

. The first train was led by the ''Toronto'', the first locomotive built in Canada, completed at the James Good foundry ''Toronto Locomotive Works'' on 16 April 1853. The train consist included two

boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

s carrying freight, one passenger coach car, and one mixed passenger and baggage car. This first voyage is commemorated by a plaque installed in 1953 at

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

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 ...

, as well as a steam locomotive bell placed first at Centennial Park in May 1963, which has since been relocated to Aurora station. There is also a plaque placed in a small parkette at the station by the Board of Trade and another placed by the Province of Ontario to remember the event. The train's arrival at the Wellington Street train station was greeted with cheers from nearly all residents of the community, who had assembled at the station, and the event was celebrated with a fireworks display. Connection to the railway led to prosperity for Aurora, with the development of two hotels, a wagon maker, a brewery, and other businesses. In 1855 the line was completed to Collingwood. In 1900,

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 ...

constructed the present building to a standard plan design with a

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...

and low profile. The building was designated a provincial heritage building in 1971 and a federal heritage railway station in 1990. The station building was renovated after GO Transit became the exclusive passenger carrier in 1992. On August 21, 2012,

opened a new bus loop to accommodate all GO and York Region Transit bus service at the station.

Services

As of January 2018, weekday train service operates approximately every 15–30 minutes in the morning peak period (southbound), every 30 minutes in the afternoon peak period (northbound) and every hour at other times. Outside of peak periods, most trains terminate at Aurora with connecting buses for stations further north. On weekends and holidays, service operates approximately every hour to and from Union Station, with most trains terminating at Aurora station. Three daily trains in each direction cover the full route from Barrie to Toronto, while the remainder have bus connections at Aurora station for stations further north.

Connecting York Region Transit buses

*32 Aurora South *33/33A Wellington *54 Bayview *Mobility On-Request

Future Service

Under the

GO Transit Regional Express Rail 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 inc ...

plan, by a target date of 2024 service will be increased to run every 15 minutes during peak, midday, evenings, and weekends between Aurora and Toronto using electric trains rather than the current diesel trains, and along the full route between Barrie and Toronto every 30 minutes during peak and every 60 minutes off-peak.

References

External links