Guelph Central Station

Guelph Central Station

The heritage Grand Trunk Railway building
Location 79 Carden St, Guelph, ON
Canada
Coordinates 43°32′39″N 80°14′49″W / 43.54417°N 80.24694°W / 43.54417; -80.24694Coordinates: 43°32′39″N 80°14′49″W / 43.54417°N 80.24694°W / 43.54417; -80.24694
Owned by City of Guelph
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 1
Bus stands 22
Bus operators
Construction
Parking No
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code
Fare zone 39
History
Opened 1911 (1911)
Rebuilt May 13, 2012
Services
Preceding station   Via Rail   Following station
toward Sarnia
Sarnia–Toronto
toward Toronto
GO Transit
Terminus
Kitchener
  Former services  
Amtrak
toward Chicago
International Limited
toward Toronto
Designated 1992
Reference no. 4569

Guelph Central Station (also known as Guelph Central GO Station[1]) is the main inter-modal transportation terminal in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is used by Guelph Transit local buses, Greyhound Canada, and GO Transit intercity buses, as well as Via Rail and GO Transit intercity trains.

It is located at 79 Carden Street and includes the historic Guelph Railway Station, as well as the site of the former Guelph Bus Terminal.

The name "Guelph Central" was chosen with input from the community and the transit service providers using the new station.[2]

History

Original Railway Station

Built in 1911, the Guelph railway station is a classic example of early 20th Century Canadian railway station design and has been designated as a heritage structure per the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.[3] As of October 2012, VIA Rail no longer staffs the station.[4] The facility is wheelchair-accessible.

The station was formerly served by the International Limited, a train service between Chicago and Toronto operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak. The service operated from 1982 to 2004.[5]

Intermodal Terminal

The Intermodal Transit Terminal was first proposed in 2002 to consolidate intercity bus, local bus and railway services into one facility.[6] At the time, the downtown terminal for Guelph Transit was three blocks away at St. George's Square. A feasibility study was initiated in 2004, and Guelph City Council endorsed the Carden Street location and the concept design that same year. The project received federal and provincial infrastructure stimulus funding in 2009, and detailed design and stakeholder consultations were conducted. Construction began in April 2010.[7]

The station opened to the public on May 13, 2012.[8] The project was projected to cost $8 million, of which $5.3 million was from the Provincial and Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Funds.[9]

The opening of the bus portion of the station was delayed from October 2011 to May 2012 to allow time for the renovations of the railway station building to be completed.[9]

Services

Guelph Transit

On January 1, 2012, all the Guelph Transit routes were changed.[10] While it was originally planned to have the new bus routes meeting at the new station on the same date, this change has been delayed until May 6, 2012.[11]

Via Rail

Via Rail operates two daily trains in each direction on the Sarnia - London - Toronto line, one of which operates only between London and Toronto.[12]

GO Transit

The current GO Train service through Guelph Station began on December 19, 2011, when two daily trains in each direction on the then Georgetown line were extended to Kitchener.[16] $18 million was spent to get this first stage operational, with further upgrades planned.[17]

Guelph was also served by GO Transit trains between 1990 and 1993, when it served as the terminus of the then Georgetown line. Provincial cutbacks in 1993 caused GO Transit to cut back service to Georgetown.

Greyhound

Greyhound buses have since relocated back to Guelph Central Station using platform 10 for westbound trips and platform 11 for eastbound trips. Greyhound buses will continue to stop at the temporary Guelph Bus Terminal on Wyndham street throughout the month of February 2016.

Bus platforms

Guelph Central Station provides an exchange with both local and regional bus services. Bays 1-20 are located on an island bus platform, while bays 21 and 22 are located on the south side of Macdonell Street, immediately adjacent to the island platform. Bus platform allocation are as follows:[20]

Bay Provider No. Route / Note
1 Guelph Transit 2A West Loop Clockwise
2 16 Southgate
3 10 Imperial
4 5 Gordon
5 3A East Loop Clockwise
6 3B East Loop Counter Clockwise
7 8 Stone Road Mall
8 9 Waterloo
9 CS Community Bus South
10 CN Community Bus North
Greyhound Westbound Cambridge Kitchener London Stratford Waterloo Woodstock
11 Eastbound Aberfoyle Guelph Local Toronto
12 GO Transit[21][22] 29 Guelph - Mississauga
31 Guelph - Georgetown
13 33 Guelph - North York
39 Guelph - Bramalea
14 Guelph Transit 20 Northwest Industrial
15 11 Willow West
18 13 Victoria Road Recreation Centre
19 12 General Hospital
20 2B West Loop Counter Clockwise
21 4 York
22 14 Grange

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/travelling/stations.aspx?station=GUEP
  2. ↑ http://www.guelphtribune.ca/news/guelph-central-station-top-pick-for-new-transportation-terminal/ Name top pick for new transit terminal - retrieved September 22, 2011
  3. ↑ "Guelph Via-GO". Ontario Heritage Properties Database. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
  4. ↑ "Guelph Via station ticket sales agents gone in fall". Guelph Tribune. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Matt Melzer (23 April 2004). "http://www.trainweb.com/travelogues/mattmelzer/2004d21a.html". TrainWeb.org. Retrieved August 2015. From 1982, Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada had jointly operated the International train between Chicago and Toronto External link in |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "Guelph-Wellington Transportation Study - 5. Public Transit" (PDF). City of Guelph. 2005. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Transit Terminal Timeline". City of Guelph. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Guelph Central Station". City of Guelph. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  9. 1 2 "About the Inter-Modal Transit Terminal". City of Guelph. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  10. ↑ http://guelph.ca/uploads/Transit/2011%20Maps/GuelphTransitRec_Mapside_FINAL.pdf New Routes - retrieved September 22, 2011
  11. ↑ http://guelph.ca/remastered/?p=5044
  12. ↑ Via Rail Timetable: Toronto-London-Sarnia
  13. ↑ Kitchener Line GO Train Schedule
  14. ↑ Kitchener Line GO Bus & Train Schedule
  15. ↑ Cooksville to Guelph GO Bus Schedule
  16. ↑ http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/641732--guelph-s-first-go-train-late-but-still-a-hit
  17. ↑ Outhit, Jeff (14 November 2010). "GO trains to run from Kitchener to Toronto in 2011". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  18. ↑ Greyhound Canada Quicklink: Guelph - Toronto
  19. ↑ Greyhound Canada, Table 743
  20. ↑ Guelph Central Station Platforms
  21. ↑ GO Transit route numbers 30-31-33-39
  22. ↑ GO Transit route number 29

External links

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