Toronto Transit Commission Union Station
Northbound to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre | Union | Northbound to Finch | ||
Next Station: St. Andrew | Next Station: King |
| |||||||||||
Rapid Transit | Line 1 Yonge-University | ||||||||||
Surface Routes | 19, 72, 97, 121, 172, 310, 320, 509, 510 | ||||||||||
Presto | Yes | ||||||||||
Opening Date | March 30, 1954 | ||||||||||
Platform | Side | ||||||||||
Ridership (2018) | 143,640 |
This page is for the TTC subway station. For the railway station offering GO and VIA services, see Toronto Union Station.
Union Station is a rapid transit station operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 55 Front Street West, just west of Bay Street. It is directly connected to Toronto Union Station, where GO Transit and VIA Rail Canada operate out of.
History
Union Station opened in 1954 as part of the original Yonge subway between Union and Eglinton stations. It was the southern terminus of the line with a double crossover. The University subway opened in 1963 between Union and St. George stations. The crossover at Union was removed and relocated to St. George since its approach was also on a curve. A single crossover replaced it. During the evenings and weekends, the University subway was underused and as a result, it was closed during those periods. During the closure, subway cars would turn back at Union Station using the single crossover. This arrangement ceased once the Spadina extension opened in 1978.
Union Station's usage increased with GO Transit's arrival at Union Station. The concourse was expanded to allow access to the PATH system. Commuters could cut through the concourse or enter the the subway through fare gates to the east and west.
The Downtown Relief Line, originally concieved in 1985 to relieve the stress at Bloor-Yonge station, was planned to end at Union. Passengers would have been able to transfer from the Bloor-Danforth Line at Pape Station or Donlands Station to this line that would bring them to their downtown destinations. The line faded from existence when capacity improvements at Bloor-Yonge Station were completed.
Expansion
When the $9 billion waterfront revitalization project began, TTC officials saw this as an opportunity to expand Union Station as it would be vital to the transportation network of the new waterfront. Most of the funds for the Union Station expansion came from this project. With GO Transit undergoing service expansions and the Waterfront becoming revitalized, Union Station will only become busier and busier in the near future.
The Union Station Second Platform and Concourse Improvements Project and was introduced to the public on June 24, 2003. At the December 2010 Commission meeting, EllisDon Corporation was awarded the $161,550,000 contract for the construction of a new subway platform and reconfiguration of the concourse. Construction was scheduled to begin in January 2011 and end in April 2014.
By early 2008, work began on the project to relocate utilities where the current platform exists. The old yellow and white slats that were covering the wall at platform level were also removed. The north wall was reinforced while the south wall was demolished. Excavation of Front Street, which included the removal of the centre median, began in January 2011. The second platform and reconfigured concourse opened to the public on August 18, 2014.
To meet the demand created from the Cherry, West and East Waterfront streetcar projects, there is a proposal to expand the streetcar loop. It will be expanded to two tracks (platform and passing) with two platforms capable of holding two streetcars each.
Station description
The TTC concourse is directly north of the GO Concourse and is accessed by crossing the 'moat' at the north end of the station. It may also be accessed from the two staircases leading up to Front Street and the PATH network from Royal Bank Plaza.
The two fare paid areas have been unified, with PATH traffic diverted via an east and west bypass. Stairs immediately after the south side fare line lead to the new platform serving Yonge trains only. Further north, the original stairways lead to the platform that now serves University-Spadina trains only. New stairways to the east end of each platform have been opened at the tunnel to Brookfield Place.
The original centre subway platform, which now only serves University-Spadina trains, is the thinnest in the entire system. Being just over 4 metres wide, it had become insufficient in serving both northbound and southbound trains. In comparison, the newest centre platforms on Line 4 are over 10 metres wide.
The new second platform, which serves Yonge trains only, was built to the south of the current platform. It features large pockets of space that can accommodate heavy passenger volumes. The platform intersects the tunnel to the streetcar platform, and has eliminated the original stairway from the concourse.
The streetcar platform wraps around the outer part of the loop between the tunnel entrances. It is divided into alighting and boarding areas separated by steel barriers. The barriers existed for use during the summer when a proof-of-payment system was used on the two streetcar routes and passengers had to pay their fare after they exit the streetcar. Today, both streetcar routes have a permanent proof-of-payment system due to the introduction of the new streetcars. The loop opened in 1990 and is one of the sharpest streetcar loops in the system.
To the west of the station is the Union storage track, which holds a spare train during peak periods to relieve crowds. To the east of the station, a single crossover exists for short turns, although most trains often use the storage track instead. The single crossover used to be a double crossover, but when the University line was built, the crossover was moved to St. George Station, whose approach is also on a curve.
The original finishes of Union Station included "Primrose" Vitrolite tiles with red trim and lettering. When the station was expanded with a connection to the new GO Transit concourse, a colour pallet matching it was adopted. Pillars were finished with small round brown tiles, and the walls across the tracks had yellow and white slats with a black strip. The lower half of the wall remained bare concrete.
There was an underground connecting passageway between the TTC subway station and the main Union Station building and it was built when the subway station was under construction. The passageway lead from a point inside the station to the TTC station mezzanine outside the fare paid areas and was lined with the original yellow Vitrolite tiling used in the original subway station design. It was closed off to the public when the GO concourse opened.
There were numerous concession buildings in the west mezzanine of the subway station at one time. In the most recent years leading up to station renovations, tenants were J.P Camera (later converted to a Chantelle), Time Plus, and Cafe On The GO. The latter became the location of the short-lived TTC Transit Stuff store, which opened in 2006 selling TTC-branded Legacy Sportswear merchandise. The store was closed after a few years with a food operation replacing it.
After the 2011-2014 renovation, the station received glossy and matted white wall tiles. The station name is engraved into the wall and painted a pale grey. An art installation is installed on the glass wall separating the two platforms. The vibrant piece will contrast the mostly white and grey environment.
Routes
Rapid Transit
Surface Transit
- 19 Bay
- 72B Pape
- 97B,C Yonge
- 121 Esplanade-River
- 172 Cherry Beach
- 310 Spadina
- 320 Yonge
- 509 Harbourfront
- 510 Spadina
Schedule
Union Station | |||
Yonge | Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
First Train northbound | 5:54am | 5:56am | 8:06am |
Last Train northbound | 1:45am | 1:45am | 1:45am |
Union Station | |||
University-Spadina | Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
First Train northbound | 6:03am | 6:09am | 8:14am |
Last Train northbound | 1:51am | 1:48am | 1:48am |
External links
- http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2009/August_26_2009/Reports/Union_Subway_Station.pdf Union Station Second Platform and Concourse Improvements Project details as of August 2009]