Markham GO Station
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| Address | 214 Main Street Markham North Markham, Ontario, Canada L3P 1Y5 | |||||||||
| Station code | MR | |||||||||
| Fare Zone | 72 | |||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | |||||||||
| Platforms | 2 (6 cars only) | |||||||||
| GO Bus | 54, 71 | |||||||||
| Local Transit | TTC 102D | |||||||||
| Ridership (2019) | 703 | |||||||||
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Markham GO Station is a GO Transit train station located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the west side of Main Street Markham (formerly Highway 48), north of Bullock Drive.
The original station building was built by the T&NR and dates back to 1871. It is designated as a historic building and is maintained by the Town of Markham as a community centre, with rooms available for rental. The GO ticket agent also operates out of the building during morning rush hours only; outside of these times, tickets must be purchased from the Ticket Vending Machine or from the bus drivers.
Markham's station platform is unique in that the train stops on a curve; because of the restricted sight line, only the 5 coaches closest to the locomotive (and Main Street) open. As well, because of the station's location between Main Street and Snider Dr., trains longer than 10 cars are forced to stop on Snider while serving the station, and trains with multiple engines also extend onto Main Street.
History
Train service to Markham Station first started in 1868 with both freight and passenger service as part of the Toronto & Nipissing Railway, operating along its current course between Toronto north-east to Coboconk. The T&NR was merged into Midland Railway of Canada, then the Grand Trunk Railway, CN, and finally VIA. Operations were transferred to GO on January 1, 1982, who has expanded service from 1 train to the present 5 trains each way per day.
Markham GO Station had a large catchment area for many years (half the town of Markham), and being located in a built up area restricted room to expand parking lots. The lack of capacity at the stations in Markham led to the relocation of Unionville (which was also cramped), as well as two brand-new stations nearby, Centennial and Mount Joy, the latter specifically having much larger parking lots. Recently two additional parking lots at Markham have opened through the acquisition of vacant land (including a former gas station) to provide more space for parking.
Connecting routes
Due to the lack of space surrounding Markham, buses in all directions stop on Main Street Markham. Southbound buses stop at Station Rd., while northbound buses stop at Ramona Dr.
