Six years after the city of Toronto closed Union Station’s Bay Concourse for major rehabilitation and construction, Metrolinx has announced the work is now complete and the space is has reopened.
With the reopening of Bay Concourse, GO Transit customers now have about three times the amount of waiting area inside Union Station: from roughly 40,000-square feet to now more than 123,000-square feet when combining the York and Bay Concourses.
At track level, it’s easier to get on and off trains since stairwells along the entire length of the platforms are now open to GO customers.
There are new stairs and elevators at the east ends of the train platforms to give riders access to the new Bay Concourse. As there are some platforms that only have stair access, Metrolinx recommends customers use the York Concourse for barrier free access.
Customers can now also walk indoors directly from the new Bay Concourse to the TTC Subway through the new retail space.
There are also more departure boards, giving customers the ability to spread out – meaning less crowding. And there are lots of new PRESTO and ticket vending machines, making it even easier for customers to pay fares.
Here’s a breakdown of the new features for customers:
- 72 departure screens;
- 30 PRESTO devices;
- Seven ticket vending machines; and
- Six self-service Presto reload machines.
“We know our customers have been waiting for this day and we’re extremely excited to announce the re-opening of Union Station’s Bay Concourse,” said Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster. “The revitalized Bay Concourse will provide more connections and waiting space for GO customers, enhancing the experience inside Canada’s largest transit hub while supporting the future needs of our growing region.”
Not only is Bay Concourse bigger and more spacious than customers remember it, but there will also be new retail options opening in the future.
The city of Toronto’s Union Station Revitalization Project was one of the most complex construction projects in the country. Wedged into one of the most congested parts of downtown Toronto, all the work needed inside this historic site needed to be done while still maintaining train and bus service to one of the busiest commuter hubs in North America.
While work on the Union Station Revitalization Project is now complete, construction inside the transit hub will continue for years to come as Metrolinx focuses on making train travel safer, faster and more reliable for GO customers.
That next phase of work is called the Union Station Enhancement Project. It will be completed in stages and includes work on removing heritage steel, installing overhead lighting, a new south concourse, widening platforms, increasing vertical access and upgrades to passenger communications systems.
