Union Station Revitalization
Backgrounder - June 2010
Infrastructure investment stimulates economic growth, creates jobs, supports stronger communities and enhances the overall prosperity of Ontarians.
The revitalization of Union Station in downtown Toronto is a federal and provincial priority investment.
Union Station is Canada’s busiest rail passenger facility, handling as many as 65 million passengers annually, and this number is expected to grow substantially in future, along with expanded commuter rail and other services.
The initiative will result in a redeveloped station with enhanced pedestrian movement, both throughout and around it. Two new GO Transit concourses will be built, with one concourse providing enhanced access from the station’s York Street side and the other from Bay Street. In 2012, the first new GO concourse on York Street will be created. The second GO concourse on Bay Street will be completed in 2014. Together, these projects will triple the concourse space from 39,000 square feet to 122,000 square feet, vastly improving pedestrian flow and accessibility to support an anticipated doubling of GO Transit passengers in the next 20 years.
Additional improvements in passenger flow include improved underground access from the station through a new underground PATH connection along York Street from Union Station to Wellington Street, new access to Toronto’s waterfront, and enhanced access between the Toronto Transit Commission’s subway station and Union Station itself.
Also included in the revitalization is a new deep-lake water cooling system, installation of photovoltaic panels, enhancements to the heritage components of the building, restoration of the upper three levels of the west wing and the creation of a new lower retail level intended to make Toronto’s Union Station a destination for everyone to visit, shop, dine and experience the city.
