Bloor GO Station

Bloor

Reconstruction of the station in 2014
Location 1456 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°39′28″N 79°27′03″W / 43.65778°N 79.45083°W / 43.65778; -79.45083Coordinates: 43°39′28″N 79°27′03″W / 43.65778°N 79.45083°W / 43.65778; -79.45083
Owned by Metrolinx
Connections Dundas West (TTC)
Construction
Parking None
Other information
Station code GO Transit: BOGO
Fare zone 02
History
Opened 1974
Rebuilt 2015
Services
Preceding station   GO Transit   Following station
toward Kitchener
Kitchener
Terminus
Union Pearson Express
UP Express
Terminus

Bloor GO Station is a railway station on GO Transit's Kitchener line and the Union Pearson Express rail service, located in Toronto, Canada, at 1456 Bloor Street West, between Lansdowne Avenue and Dundas Street West. It is nearby Dundas West station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the Toronto rapid transit network. The West Toronto Railpath runs along the eastern side of the station, providing a pedestrian and cyclist connection to the neighbourhoods to the north, east, and south. The Railpath also has bicycle parking by the station's entrances from the path. The Crossways shopping mall and apartment complex is located to the west of the station.

Overview

Eastbound and westbound GO and UPX trains on this line use the Weston Subdivision, locally oriented northwest-southeast; there is one low and high-level platform on each of the two tracks. Parallel to these tracks, running along their southwest side, is the Galt Subdivision, also double-track; this carries GO trains on the Milton line, but they do not stop at Bloor station. However, GO has considered including the station as part of Milton line services,[1] but it is not in current plans.[2]

Until 1996 there was a fifth parallel track on the other side of the CN line, which also belonged to CP and was used for access to local industries; its former right-of-way is now used for the West Toronto Railpath. Bloor Street dips down here to cross under all the tracks, and the station is reached by stairs from its north sidewalk.

The ticket sales office at Bloor station was closed in April 2008; tickets are sold only by vending machines. It is one of the system's few stations with no parking lot.

Only 200 passengers use the station per day, but that is expected to increase to 1,000 with the opening of the Union Pearson Express. Metrolinx is projecting 2,000 riders will use the station daily by 2031.[3] UPX president Kathy Haley said 25 per cent of UPX riders are expected to use Bloor Station.[4]

Expansion

Bloor GO Station has been a stop on the Union Pearson Express running from Union Station to Toronto Pearson International Airport since June 6, 2015. It was designed and built by Metrolinx in time for the 2015 Pan American Games. The agency also owns and operates the line.[5]

Dundas West subway station predates GO Transit, and its only entrance is on Dundas Street, so passengers connecting to Bloor station must walk for some 200 m along Dundas and Bloor Streets. Since the subway platforms happen to extend eastward from the station entrance, a direct tunnel from the GO station to the other end of the subway station would be relatively short. In March 2011, Metrolinx announced plans to improve the Bloor Street entrance by tunnelling a small concourse next to the sidewalk, and to create a second access from the TTC platforms in an under-track tunnel. In the fall of 2012 GO started construction on station improvements that are scheduled to be completed in early 2015, but this work does not include an underground TTC connection[6][7] which was to be completed in 2017.[4] However, in March 2016, Metrolinx officials said it will take five years to build a tunnel between the two stations because of the need to expropriate property.[8]

Other improvements to the station are to include a covered promenade at street level, elevators, heated shelters, a staffed ticket booth, bicycle storage and signage.[3][4] Metrolinx intends to add a second entrance to the Bloor GO Station at Dundas Street West and Edna Avenue by adding a kiss-and-ride by early July 2015 for easier drop-off and pick-up to the airport. Metrolinx has asked the city to install a traffic light at Dundas Street West and Edna Avenue but this is not expected until after July 2015.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "GO rail Options Benefits Case Assessment" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  2. ↑ Steve Munro. "Neptis Reviews Metrolinx: A Critique (II)". Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  3. 1 2 "GO and TTC make a connection at Dundas West" Tess Kalinowski, Toronto Star. March 22, 2011
  4. 1 2 3 4 Tess Kalinowski (2015-05-22). "Union Pearson Express riders at Bloor face two-year wait for tunnel to TTC". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  5. ↑ "Airport link plan tackles fears in Weston area, premier says" By Tess Kalinowski & Rob Benzie, Toronto Star. January 22, 2009
  6. ↑ "Dundas West - Bloor Mobility Hub Public Open House". Metrolinx. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Dundas West - Bloor Mobility Hub Public Open House" (PDF). Metrolinx. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Tess Kalinowski, Transportation reporter (17 March 2016). "Union Pearson Express ridership spikes after fare reduction". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2016-03-17.

External links

Media related to Bloor GO Station at Wikimedia Commons

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