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100-580: Prior to Via's formation in 1978, Canadian National Railway operated its passenger trains, branded Rapido , on the same tracks and Canadian Pacific Railway (now Canadian Pacific Kansas City ) also offered limited service. During the 1970s and early 1980s, CN and later Via Rail operated the Turbo Train on existing freight rail trackage. This equipment was later replaced by the Bombardier LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) train sets. Beginning in

200-845: A National Historic Site of Canada since 1975, and a Heritage Railway Station since 1989. Its central position in Canada's busiest inter-city rail service area, " The Corridor ", as well as being the central hub of GO Transit's commuter rail service, makes Union Station Canada's busiest transportation facility and the second-busiest railway station in North America (behind New York Penn Station ), serving over 72   million passengers each year. More than half of all Canadian inter-city passengers and 91 percent of Toronto commuter train passengers travel through Union Station. Via Rail and Amtrak provide inter-city train services while GO Transit operates regional rail services. The station

300-444: A "Metro Centre" development on the south side of Front Street on the site of Union Station and proposed to demolish the structure (which was costing an increasing amount of property taxes but not bringing in revenue). The proposed Metro Centre development was strikingly similar to what occurred with New York City's Penn Station and would have consisted of an underground fourth Union Station (the terminal trackage would have been buried),

400-469: A Canadian corporation. Following the successful IPO, CN has recorded impressive gains in its stock price, largely through an aggressive network rationalization and purchase of newer more fuel-efficient locomotives. Numerous branch lines were shed in the late 1990s across Canada, resulting in dozens of independent short line railway companies being established to operate former CN track that had been considered marginal. This network rationalization resulted in

500-690: A blue-plate tourist service, the Rocky Mountaineer , with fares well over double what the BCR coach fares had been. CN also announced in October 2003 an agreement to purchase Great Lakes Transportation (GLT), a holding company owned by Blackstone Group for US$ 380 million. GLT was the owner of Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad , Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DM&I), and the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company. The key instigator for

600-549: A central heating plant at the corner of York and Fleet streets (now Lake Shore Boulevard West) to replace the original Toronto Hydro plant on Scott Street which had been expropriated by the TTR to build the approach track viaduct to the new station. It was fuelled by coal delivered by a CNR siding and was the largest such facility in Canada when it opened in 1929; it produced 150,000 kilograms (330,000 lb) of steam per hour and 270,000,000 kilograms (600,000,000 lb) annually to heat

700-562: A convention centre, a telecommunications tower, along with complementary office and retail developments. Local opposition to the proposal was successful in having the city council's decision to support the Metro Centre development overturned and Union Station was saved. Although it was converted from coal to natural gas , the Central Heating Plant built in 1929 was decommissioned in the 1980s, and demolished in 1990. It

800-414: A core east–west freight railway stretching from Halifax to Chicago and Toronto to Vancouver and Prince Rupert . The railway also operated trains from Winnipeg to Chicago using trackage rights for part of the route south of Duluth. In addition to the rationalization in Canada, the company also expanded in a strategic north–south direction in the central United States . In 1998, in an era of mergers in

900-668: A direct connection from the GO Concourse to the Path pedestrian tunnel system, a new eastbound platform for the Union TTC station , improved access to streetcars at Union TTC station, and improved capacity for inter-city railway passengers. These developments were part of a $ 100   million initiative announced by the city and its transit authorities, along with the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada. On August 5, 2009,

1000-627: A great deal of public and political attention. Canada was one of many nations to engage in railway nationalization in order to safeguard critical transportation infrastructure during the First World War . In the early 20th century, many governments were taking a more interventionist role in the economy, foreshadowing the influence of economists like John Maynard Keynes . This political trend, combined with broader geo-political events, made nationalization an appealing choice for Canada. The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and allied involvement in

1100-440: A green roof installed, reducing the urban heat island effect and stormwater runoff; however, with the project being almost eight years behind and multiple times over budget, along with the fact that plant-watering logistics would clash with the planned overhead wiring for electrification, the addition of a green roof was cancelled. The central portion of the original train shed, totalling 30,000 square metres (320,000 square feet),

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1200-524: A high-speed rail service in the Corridor will be updated at the joint cost of the federal government, Ontario and Quebec. On November 14, 2011, the three governments officially released the final report of a high-speed rail study for this corridor. In 2009–2010, Via used CA$ 300 million of government stimulus money to upgrade segments of the Corridor. Notable track improvements were 70 km (43 mi) of additional third main track in four segments, and

1300-613: A north–south NAFTA railway (in reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement ). CN was then feeding Canadian raw material exports into the U.S. heartland and beyond to Mexico through a strategic alliance with Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS). In 1999, CN and BNSF Railway , the second largest rail system in the U.S., announced their intent to merge, forming a new corporate entity North American Railways , headquartered in Montreal to conform to

1400-537: A platform a short walk west of the main station building, accessible by the SkyWalk . Toronto's Union Station is located at 61 Front Street West, between Bay and York Streets in Toronto's business district, with Toronto's Entertainment District beginning across Bay Street. It is roughly at the city's east-west centre. It is also close to Lake Ontario , which marks Toronto's southern boundary. The southernmost part of

1500-469: A possible merger of the two companies. This was later rejected by the Government of Canada, whereupon CPR offered to purchase outright all of CN's lines from Ontario to Nova Scotia, while an unidentified U.S. railroad (rumoured to have been Burlington Northern Railroad ) would purchase CN's lines in western Canada. This too was rejected. In 1995, the entire company including its U.S. subsidiaries reverted to using CN exclusively. The CN Commercialization Act

1600-558: A preserved heritage feature of the platform 3 area; these were restored. The decorative, cast-iron columns along the platform were restored and reinstalled. Other structural renovations were done along the length of the platform. Once the north tower of the CIBC Square is completed, stair and elevator access will be reinstated between platform 3 and the Bay East Teamway. The 23 platforms are numbered from 3 to 27, but there

1700-519: A ribbon-cutting ceremony, using a pair of gold scissors. In attendance were Prince George , Lieutenant Governor of Ontario William Donald Ross and his wife, Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Stanley Baldwin and Mrs. Baldwin, Premier of Ontario George Howard Ferguson , and other members of the government of Ontario and government of Canada . Prince Edward

1800-571: A short segment of fourth main track, as well as additional yard tracks at three locations. Improvements were made to several stations along the line, with new station buildings constructed at Belleville and Cobourg , and additional platforms for existing stations at Brockville and Oshawa . The improvements were planned to reduce delays along the route and to allow for a reduction in travel time of up to 30 minutes from end to end. They were intended to allow Via to introduce two new round-trip trains from Toronto to both Montreal and Ottawa without requiring

1900-493: A through service from Toronto to New York City, operated jointly with Amtrak , is crewed by Via as trains 97 and 98 on Via schedules, between Toronto and Niagara Falls, and can be considered part of Corridor services as well. It is the only scheduled rail service from the Corridor line from Burlington to Niagara Falls. Two commuter rail agencies, GO Transit and Exo , share tracks with Via's Corridor trains. Both agencies are provincially funded and independent of Via. Most of

2000-405: A total of 28 bays. The structures at either end have an additional ten bays. Three rectangular windows fill each bay, lighting the interior hall with plenty of natural light. However, the building's external profile is hard and flat, with a line of huge columns, heavy ornamentation and strong symmetry. The recessed main entrance is framed by two sets of four columns, with relief wreaths carved into

2100-769: Is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue and the physical size of its rail network, spanning Canada from the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia to the Pacific coast in British Columbia across approximately 20,000 route miles (32,000 km) of track. In the late 20th century, CN gained extensive capacity in the United States by taking over such railroads as the Illinois Central . CN

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2200-434: Is a public company with 22,600 employees and, as of July 2024 , a market cap of approximately US$ 75 billion. CN was government-owned, as a Canadian Crown corporation , from its founding in 1919 until being privatized in 1995. As of 2019 , Bill Gates was the largest single shareholder of CN stock, owning a 14.2% interest through Cascade Investment and his own Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . From 1919 to 1978,

2300-549: Is also connected to the subway and streetcar system of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) at its adjacent namesake subway station . GO Transit's Union Station Bus Terminal , located in CIBC Square , is connected to Union Station by a 40-metre (130 ft) enclosed walkway above Bay Street. The Union Pearson Express , which provides train service to Toronto Pearson International Airport , has

2400-776: Is considered part of the Path network, and connects Union to the CN Tower and Rogers Centre . It is also the location of the Union Pearson Express station. The current Union Station's history can be traced to 1858, when the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) opened Toronto's first Union Station west of the present Union Station. The wooden structure was shared with the Northern Railway and the Great Western Railway . This structure

2500-558: Is expected to be announced in a few weeks time, with design of the system expected to take approximately four years. Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company ( French : Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada ) ( reporting mark CN ) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec , which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States . CN

2600-406: Is laid out in an ashlar pattern, constructed with smooth beige Indiana and Queenston limestone. The colonnaded loggia which faces Front Street features 22 equally spaced Roman Tuscan columns made from Bedford limestone, each 40 feet (12 m) high and weighing 75 tons. Fourteen three-storey bays, each with severely delineated fenestration, form the façade on either side of the central colonnade for

2700-422: Is no platform 1, 2, 23 or 24. The platforms were renumbered in 2008 for the benefit of operational staff in order to provide a correlation between platform numbers and track numbers. (Prior to the renumbering, the platform numbers had an A or B suffix that proved to be confusing for both customers and operational staff.) Tracks and platforms are each numbered from north to south with track 1 being beside platform 3 on

2800-433: Is now site of The Ice condo towers. In 1978, CN and CP transferred responsibility for their passenger rail services to Via Rail, a new federal Crown corporation ; however, CN and CP retained their 50% ownership shares of the TTR. The GO Transit commuter rail agency which was established on May 23, 1967, had been undergoing unprecedented expansion which was seeing Union Station see passenger levels that outstripped some of

2900-423: Is what makes it look from the front as though a second building were rising behind the colonnade, is made of coffered Guastavino tiles . The walls are faced with Zumbro stone from Missouri, and the floors are constructed of Tennessee marble laid in a herringbone pattern. Below the cornice surrounding the "Great Hall" are carved the names of many Canadian destinations, from the east coast to Vancouver, accessible by

3000-605: The CN Commercialization Act of 1995. The merger announcement by CN's Paul Tellier and BNSF's Robert Krebs was greeted with skepticism by the U.S. government's Surface Transportation Board (STB), and protested by other major North American rail companies, namely CPR and Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Rail customers also denounced the proposed merger, following the confusion and poor service sustained in southeastern Texas in 1998 following UP's purchase of Southern Pacific Railroad two years earlier. In response to

3100-588: The CN Tower are all close by, and are visible from some parts of the station. Like Union Station, these structures were built on former Railway Lands . All of them can be accessed directly from Union Station via the Skywalk. The land around the CN Tower has been converted to a public park. Union Station will soon be linked via a Path bridge on the east side to the Backstage Condominium building at

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (Via Rail) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-615: The Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National, were reducing their services to the bare minimum mandated under the Canadian Transport Commission, largely as a result of unsustainable losses caused by increased competition from new, subsidized four-lane highways and airports. The third Union Station's future was looking bleak by 1972, when both railways sought to increase return on their underutilized waterfront rail classification yards which

3300-591: The Connecticut River valley from Quebec to Long Island Sound ; and the Berlin subdivision to Portland, Maine , known informally as the Grand Trunk Eastern , sold to a short-line operator in 1989. In 1992, a new management team led by ex-federal government bureaucrats, Paul Tellier and Michael Sabia , started preparing CN for privatization by emphasizing increased productivity. This

3400-552: The Gardiner Expressway , which lies between Union Station and Lake Ontario, provides easy core access to GO Transit buses. Union Station's columned façade and main entrance faces north, towards downtown Toronto. The Fairmont Royal York Hotel , a former railway hotel, is directly across Front Street from Union Station and can be accessed from the station both at street level and via an underground passageway called Path . The Dominion Public Building , another building from

3500-777: The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and the National Transcontinental Railway ) and the Canadian Northern Railway was undertaking an aggressive expansion across the prairies and into southern Ontario. On July 13, 1906, the Toronto Terminals Railway (TTR) was incorporated to "construct, provide, maintain and operate at the City of Toronto a union passenger station ". The TTR was jointly owned by

3600-585: The Russian Revolution seemed to validate the continuing process. The need for a viable rail system was paramount in a time of civil unrest and foreign military action. Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad The B&LE was acquired with the purchase of Great Lakes Transportation and the DM&;IR. British Columbia Railway In 2003, BCOL sold to Canadian National and leased the railroad to CN for 60 years. Central Vermont Railway Central Vermont

3700-715: The South Shore in the Montreal area (the latter lasted without any public subsidy until 1986). The Newfoundland mixed trains lasted until 1988, while the Montreal commuter trains are now operated by Montreal's EXO . On November 17, 1995, the Government of Canada privatized CN. Over the next decade, the company expanded significantly into the United States, purchasing Illinois Central Railroad and Wisconsin Central Transportation , among others. The excessive construction of railway lines in Canada led to significant financial difficulties striking many of them, in

3800-399: The Toronto Transit Commission opened its Union subway station adjacent to Union Station but buried beneath Front Street West. This subway station acted as the southern terminus of its new subway line . The subway station included a direct tunnel connection to the lower level passenger concourse. This passageway was closed and replaced by the direct connection between the railway station and

3900-461: The train shed , which contains 23 platforms (11 island platforms and one side platform) south of the Great Hall. On May 11, 2009, the last two platforms were opened, platforms 24/25 between tracks 12 and 13 and platforms 26/27 between tracks 13 and 14 on the south side of the train shed. In July 2022, Metrolinx was having platforms 24 to 27 and their three tracks demolished on the south side of

4000-470: The 1980s and through the 1990s, Via Rail, Bombardier and the provincial and federal governments studied the feasibility of establishing a dedicated high-speed passenger rail network linking Quebec City–Montreal–Ottawa–Toronto–Windsor similar to the French TGV as a means of reducing domestic air and highway travel between these destinations. After a hiatus of ten years, a feasibility study on launching

4100-742: The Bay and York concourses give access to GO train platforms. The Bay West Teamway provides access to platforms 4 to 13 and the Bay South Concourse. The Bay East Teamway provides indoor access to platforms 4 to 13 directly from the Union Station Bus Terminal . As of 2023 , Metrolinx is constructing the new South Concourse. This will connect the south ends of the Bay, Via and York Concourses, and span between Bay and York Streets. It will also provide access to Union Square and Scotiabank Arena. Trains arrive and depart from

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (Via Rail) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-439: The Corridor, the trains would run on dedicated passenger tracks, improving service reliability since the trains would not have to compete with freight trains. Service reliability could increase to 95 percent, up significantly from its 2021 rate of 67 percent. Travel times are projected to decrease by 90 minutes on some routes, such as between Ottawa and Toronto. Ninety percent of the route is planned to be electrified . The timing of

4300-519: The GTR and the CPR who each held 50% of the TTR shares. The TTR supervised construction of the new station which began in 1914 and proceeded to 1920, having faced significant delays in the shortage of construction material and workers as a result of the First World War , as well as the GTR's deteriorating financial position due to its ill-fated transcontinental GTPR railway project. The resulting construction saw

4400-495: The Grand Trunk Railway or Canadian Pacific Railway at the time of the station's construction. Many remain destinations on Via Rail routes. While historically shared by many different services, the Great Hall is now occupied primarily by Via Rail, whose agents also provide services to Amtrak passengers. The hall is home to Via's ticket and baggage desks, business class lounge , and several small displays, as well as

4500-494: The TTR and its owners. During this time in 1923, the bankrupt GTR was fully nationalized by the Government of Canada and merged into the Canadian National Railways (CNR), which would assume the GTR's 50% ownership of the TTR and thus the third Union Station. Although the station was incomplete, its building was complete and the station was opened by Prince Edward, Prince of Wales , on August 6, 1927, in

4600-647: The Toronto City Council approved an update of this plan which was projected to cost $ 640   million, with construction lasting from 2010 to 2014. Much of the work was undertaken by or managed by Carillion . The work also involved a complete overhaul of the GO concourses, deepening them to create two storeys of space. The lower level (the food court section of which opened in January 2019) will provide retail space and room for pedestrian traffic flow, and

4700-511: The U.S. rail industry, CN bought the Illinois Central Railroad (IC), which connected the already existing lines from Vancouver , British Columbia, to Halifax , Nova Scotia, with a line running from Chicago, Illinois, to New Orleans , Louisiana. This single purchase of IC transformed CN's entire corporate focus from being an east–west uniting presence within Canada (sometimes to the detriment of logical business models) into

4800-664: The York East Teamway, as well as an entrance to a Path tunnel leading across Front Street, between York Street and University Avenue. The York West Teamway is connected to Union Station via the Skywalk. Historically, the 3,700-square-metre (40,000 sq ft) Bay Street Concourse was the hub of GO Transit operations for almost 40 years. The Bay Concourse was closed on August 16, 2015, for revitalization, and reopened on July 27, 2021. The concourse features 72 departure screens, 30 Presto devices, seven ticket vending machines and six self-service Presto reload machines. Both

4900-447: The acquisition of new equipment. Inter-city service along the Corridor is provided by several different routes connecting the different cities served by the service. There is no single route that travels the entire length of the Corridor from Windsor to Quebec City. Via runs a mix of local-service and express trains in the Corridor. The Corridor service area has the heaviest passenger train frequency in Canada, with 36 Via trains traversing

5000-474: The announcement was criticized as political, since there was speculation of a federal election being held later in the year, which was later confirmed on August 15. In July 2023, the government selected three consortia to proceed to the request-for-proposals stage: On October 28, 2024, it was confirmed that High Frequency Rail would be built as fully high speed rail , with fully grade-separated trains capable of travelling up to 300 km/h (186 mph). The winning bid

5100-471: The axial symmetry, classical detailing in both structural and decorative elements, heavy ornamentation, and formal setting is typical of the Beaux-Arts style. The station housed a gun range on the seventh floor from 1927 until 2008. The range was operated for "Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway police to practice their shooting skills. It eventually opened to members of the public". It

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5200-550: The busiest airports in the world. The consolidated TTR trackage included a flyover west of the station to permit freight trains to cross CN's Oakville subdivision without blocking GO Transit's commuter trains. The flyover was constructed in 1982–83 and also allowed GO trains destined for the CN Weston subdivision to cross over the tracks used by GO and Via trains using the CN Oakville subdivision. The CN Tower had revamped

5300-720: The corner of Esplanade and Yonge Street. Toronto's Union Station is Canada's largest and most opulent railway station. The Montreal architecture firm of Ross and Macdonald designed the building in the Beaux-Arts style as a joint venture between the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, with help from CPR architect Hugh Jones and Toronto architect John M. Lyle . In 1975, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada cited its design as being of "national architectural significance as one of

5400-649: The deal was the fact that since the Wisconsin Central purchase, CN was required to use DM&I trackage rights for a short 18 km (11 mi) "gap" near Duluth, Minnesota , on the route between Chicago and Winnipeg. To purchase this short section, CN was told by GLT it would have to purchase the entire company. Also included in GLT's portfolio were eight Great Lakes vessels for transporting bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore as well as various port facilities. Following Surface Transportation Board approval for

5500-415: The elimination of Lorne Street located between Simcoe and Bay from Front to Esplanade with tracks leading west of the new station now in place. Although the new station's headhouse and east and west office wings (the station building visible from Front Street West) were completed in 1920, it did not open to the public for another seven years, until the system of approach tracks was designed and implemented by

5600-406: The entablature above the columns. These columns are composed of three separate segments on top of an incongruous octagonal plinth, implying an Ionic order or Corinthian order ; however, the capital is sculpted in a Doric order . Consequently, these columns appear to be unfinished. The original plan for the columns is not known. A wraparound dentil cornice and a recessed peaked hipped roof creates

5700-453: The federal government would launch the procurement process to build a high-frequency rail corridor between Toronto and Quebec City by 2030. The cost of the project was expected to be between $ 6 billion and $ 12 billion. The plan is to have trains travel up to 200 km/h (125 mph) on a line that would run from Toronto to Quebec City through Peterborough , Ottawa, Montreal, Laval , and Trois-Rivières . As opposed to current operations along

5800-414: The finest examples of Beaux-Arts railway station design in Canada". The bilaterally symmetrical building comprises three connecting box masses facing Front Street West, with the main structure in the middle. Together, the three parts measure 752 feet (229 m) long and occupy the entire south side of the block between Bay Street in the east and York Street in the west. The exterior Front Street façade

5900-438: The illusion of a flat roof, just like a palazzo. On either side of the main entrance, a blind arch with an ornamental keystone contains a set of three steel-framed doors, along with a large arched window. Decorative friezes separate the arched window from the doors. When these entryway elements are combined, they create a processional experience through the entryway into the grand interior space. The flat-roof illusion, together with

6000-504: The north side of the train shed. There is an island platform between all pairs of tracks except between tracks 1 and 2 and tracks 11 and 12. Odd numbered platforms are on the north side of a track while even numbered platforms are on the south side of a track. There is a formula to compute the platform number given the track number, with an exception for track 1: Occasionally, freight trains from both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific networks pass through Union Station using two tracks on

6100-777: The northernmost trackage of the contiguous North American railway network. Since being purchased by CN in 2006, it has been officially known as the Meander River Subdivision. Newfoundland Railway On 31 March 1949, CNR acquired the assets of the Newfoundland Railway , which in 1979 were reorganized into Terra Transport . CN officially abandoned its rail network in Newfoundland on 1 October 1988. Savage Alberta Railway On December 1, 2006, CN announced that it had purchased Savage Alberta Railway for $ 25 million and that it had begun operating

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6200-402: The outside facade, enduring materials such as bronze, limestone, marble, tiles, and translucent glass create a sense of enduring quality. The entire space is lit with diffused natural light from clerestory windows refracted throughout the lobby. Each end of the Great Hall also features four-storey tall arched windows, based on those of Roman baths. The two-storey-high vaulted ceiling, which

6300-501: The owner of EWS , the principal freight train operator in the United Kingdom. On May 13, 2003, the provincial government of British Columbia announced the provincial Crown corporation , BC Rail (BCR), would be sold with the winning bidder receiving BCR's surface operating assets (locomotives, cars, and service facilities). The provincial government is retaining ownership of the tracks and right-of-way. On November 25, 2003, it

6400-477: The platforms. A new southern entrance, adjacent to the Air Canada Centre, opened in 2010. The 2009 Ontario and Canada government budgets included financing to assist GO, Via and the city in redeveloping and restoring the station. Track has been upgraded with better signals and snow cleaning devices to reduce winter delays to train movement. In 2016, it was realized that the renovated train shed roof

6500-771: The rail industry, shippers, and political pressure, the STB placed a 15-month moratorium on all rail-industry mergers, effectively scuttling CN-BNSF plans. Both companies dropped their merger applications and have never refiled. After the STB moratorium expired, CN purchased Wisconsin Central (WC) in 2001, which allowed the company's rail network to encircle Lake Michigan and Lake Superior , permitting more efficient connections from Chicago to western Canada. The deal also included Canadian WC subsidiary Algoma Central Railway (ACR), giving access to Sault Ste. Marie and Michigan's Upper Peninsula . The purchase of Wisconsin Central also made CN

6600-918: The railway the same day. TransX Group of Companies In 2018, CN acquired the Winnipeg-based TransX Group of Companies. Transx continues to operate independently. Wisconsin Central Railroad In January 2001, CN acquired the WC for $ 800 million. CN's railway network in the late 1980s consisted of the company's Canadian trackage, along with the following U.S. subsidiary lines: Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) operating in Michigan , Indiana , and Illinois ; Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway (DWP) operating in Minnesota ; Central Vermont Railway (CV) operating down

6700-661: The railway was known as "Canadian National Railways" (CNR). The Canadian National Railways (CNR) was incorporated on June 6, 1919, comprising several railways that had become bankrupt and fallen into Government of Canada hands, along with some railways already owned by the government. Primarily a freight railway, CN also operated passenger services until 1978, when they were assumed by Via Rail . The only passenger services run by CN after 1978 were several mixed trains (freight and passenger) in Newfoundland , and several commuter trains both on CN's electrified routes and towards

6800-657: The route daily. About 67% of Via's revenue comes from Corridor routes. Via trains that start and end within the geographic region of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor are branded as a part of the Corridor service. Other inter-city trains from outside the Corridor may have their terminus at stations in the Corridor, such as the Canadian and the Ocean , but are marketed by their respective train names and are not considered to be Corridor services. The Maple Leaf ,

6900-572: The sale of BC Rail. Also contested was the economic stimulus package the government gave cities along the BC Rail route. Some saw it as a buy-off to get the municipalities to cooperate with the lease, though the government asserted the package was intended to promote economic development along the corridor. Passenger service along the route had been ended by BC Rail a few years earlier due to ongoing losses resulting from deteriorating service. The cancelled passenger service has subsequently been replaced by

7000-633: The same era, is just to the east of the station, at the corner of Front and Bay Streets. Other major buildings near Union Station are Telus Tower , Royal Bank Plaza , and Brookfield Place . Brookfield Place is home to the Allen Lambert Galleria, a six story high pedestrian thoroughfare, as well as the Hockey Hall of Fame , which holds the Stanley Cup . Scotiabank Arena , Rogers Centre , Metro Toronto Convention Centre , and

7100-435: The second Union Station for a new passenger terminal and in 1905 both the GTR and the CPR decided to proceed with the design and construction of a third union station. The decision to undertake the third union station was made against a backdrop of significant change in the Canadian railway industry. At the same time, the Government of Canada was encouraging the GTR to build a second transcontinental railway (what would become

7200-428: The south doors to the tracks located several hundred feet to the south while the new viaduct, concourse and train shed were under construction. Demolition of the second Union Station began almost immediately and was completed in 1928. The third Union Station project was not fully completed until 1930 when the train shed was completed; its construction was supervised by the TTR from 1925 to 1930. The TTR also constructed

7300-436: The south side of the train shed. Union Station's west wing is west of the Great Hall. Metrolinx is headquartered in the west wing at 97 Front Street. Across from these offices is an official tourism information centre that provides maps, visitor guides, brochures and tourism specialists to provide help to city visitors. A pathway known as the SkyWalk continues west from the west wing, overtop of York Street. The SkyWalk

7400-569: The station building while the provincial transit agency Metrolinx owns the train shed and trackage. It is operated by the Toronto Terminals Railway, a joint venture of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway , which directs and controls train movement along the Union Station Rail Corridor, the largest and busiest rail corridor in Canada. Constructed in 1927, Union Station has been

7500-630: The station in order to replace them with two new tracks and two new wider platforms to increase safety and capacity. The train shed was designed by A.   R. Ketterson and built between 1929 and 1930. It is a variation of the Bush train shed invented by Lincoln Bush . A reconstruction of the train shed began in January 2010. The east and west sides of the shed, totalling approximately 30,000 square metres (320,000 square feet) were renovated and restored with input from Parks Canada to help preserve its heritage character. This renovation came with plans to have

7600-664: The station to connect the Path with the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and Rogers Centre. In 2000, the City of Toronto purchased the station building from the TTR, while GO Transit purchased the railway corridor and the Union Station train shed. On July 24, 2003, the City of Toronto agreed to lease Union Station to Union Pearson AirLink Group, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin , for a term of 100 years. A subsequent announcement on May 24, 2006, addressed several issues for commuters including: constructing

7700-472: The station's grand clock, a Traveller's Aid desk, and Via's departure board. Passengers can connect with GO Transit services through the 62,000 sq ft (5,800 m ) York Concourse, which opened on April 27, 2015, west of Union Station. This new concourse supplemented the York South Concourse that provided access to platforms 24 to 27. The York and York South Concourses connect to

7800-570: The station; the passenger cars in the train shed; CNR and CPR yard facilities in the area now occupied by the Gardiner Expressway , Rogers Centre and Scotiabank Arena ; the CPR's Royal York Hotel ; the Dominion Public Building; the federal post office building adjacent to the station; and the CN/CP Telecommunications building on Front Street. The first major change to Union Station took place in 1954 when

7900-537: The subway station in 1979 when the subway station mezzanine was renovated and enlarged. In 1990, the TTC's Harbourfront LRT project added an underground streetcar loop now used by the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina streetcar lines. TTC passengers using the Union subway and streetcar station may transfer between both modes without entering Union Station proper. During the early 1970s, Canada's two major passenger railways,

8000-423: The system was more or less finalized at that point. However, certain related lawsuits were not resolved until as late as 1936. Canadian National Railways was born out of both wartime and domestic urgency. Until the rise of the personal automobile and creation of taxpayer-funded all-weather highways, railways were the only viable long-distance land transportation available in Canada. As such, their operation consumed

8100-790: The trackage that Via trains use along the Corridor is owned by the Canadian National Railway . Via owns three former freight lines long the Corridor, one from Smiths Falls to Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec , via Ottawa ; one from Smiths Falls to Brockville ; and one from Chatham, Ontario , to Windsor, Ontario . Via Corridor trains run on three segments of tracks owned by Metrolinx ; one from Burlington, Ontario , to Pickering, Ontario ; one from Toronto Union Station to Malton, Mississauga ; and one from Georgetown, Ontario , to Kitchener, Ontario . The proposed High Frequency Rail plan calls for adding Corridor services between Toronto and Quebec City that run on newly constructed dedicated tracks. On July 6, 2021, Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra announced that

8200-414: The transaction shortly thereafter. The EJ&E lines create a bypass around the western side of heavily congested Chicago-area rail hub and its conversion to use for mainline freight traffic is expected to alleviate substantial bottlenecks for both regional and intercontinental rail traffic subject to lengthy delays entering and exiting Chicago freight yards. The purchase of the lightly used EJ&E corridor

8300-460: The transaction, CN completed the purchase of GLT on May 10, 2004. On December 24, 2008, the STB approved CN's purchase for $ 300 million of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) ( reporting mark EJE) from the U.S. Steel Corporation , originally announced on September 27, 2007. The STB's decision was to become effective on January 23, 2009, with a closure of

8400-623: The two railroads were formally amalgamated into the CN system. Iowa Northern Railway In 2023, CN acquired the Iowa Northern Railway , but the transaction is awaiting approval by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Mackenzie Northern Railway In 2006, CN acquired Mackenzie Northern Railway , previously purchased by RailAmerica . This purchase allowed CN to increase their network footprint and hold

8500-405: The upper storey will be dedicated to passenger traffic onto the platforms. This will expand not only the current GO concourse in the east of the building, but also open up the western end; GO Transit's presence in the building will nearly quadruple. Additional aesthetic points include glass roofs over the moat space around the north sides of the building, and a tall atrium over the central portions of

8600-407: The vision of Toronto's waterfront rail yards and proposals were made to construct what would later become SkyDome (1989) and Air Canada Centre (1999), resulting in further changes to the Union Station trackage. The Path pedestrian tunnel network was built to connect Union Station's passengers with many of the downtown office towers and the SkyWalk was constructed over the terminal trackage west of

8700-506: The years leading up to 1920: The Canadian National Railway Company then evolved through the following steps: GTR management and shareholders opposed to nationalization took legal action, but after several years of arbitration, the GTR was finally absorbed into the CNR on January 30, 1923. Although several smaller independent railways would be added to the CNR in subsequent years as they went bankrupt or it became politically expedient to do so,

8800-435: Was achieved largely through aggressive cuts to the company's management structure, widescale layoffs in its workforce and continued abandonment or sale of its branch lines. In 1993 and 1994, the company experimented with a rebranding that saw the names CN , Grand Trunk Western , and Duluth, Winnipeg, and Pacific replaced under a collective CN North America moniker. In this time, CPR and CN entered into negotiations regarding

8900-488: Was announced CN's bid of CA$ 1   billion would be accepted over those of CPR and several U.S. companies. The transaction was closed effective July 15, 2004. Many opponents – including CPR – accused the government and CN of rigging the bidding process, though this has been denied by the government. Documents relating to the case are under court seal, as they are connected to a parallel marijuana grow-op investigation connected with two senior government aides also involved in

9000-415: Was being viewed as valuable real estate. Both CN and CP began to abandon their extensive waterfront rail classification yards south of the passenger station to make way for urban redevelopment. The Gardiner Expressway project was constructed over part of the railway property and CN had proposed constructing a telecommunication tower (what would become the CN Tower later that decade). CN and CPR proposed

9100-409: Was enacted into law on July 13, 1995, and by November 28, 1995, the Government of Canada had completed an initial public offering (IPO) and transferred all of its shares to private investors. Two key prohibitions in this legislation include, 1) that no individual or corporate shareholder may own more than 15% of CN, and 2) that the company's headquarters must remain in Montreal , thus maintaining CN as

9200-533: Was known as the Canadian National Recreation Association (CNRA) handgun club. The city closed the range in 2008 as a symbolic gesture to its effort to reduce gun violence. The front entranceway opens on to the expansive Ticket Lobby, informally known as the "Great Hall". This part of Union Station runs the entire length of the main section. It is 250 feet (76 m) long and 88 feet (27 m) high at its highest point. Like

9300-607: Was merged with Central Vermont in 1971 with the creation of the Grand Trunk Corporation. In 1991 the GTW was merged with CN under the "North America" consolidation program. Many of GTWs locomotives and rolling stock would be repainted and the motive power would get the new CN scheme. Illinois Central Railroad In 1998, IC was purchased by CN, which also acquired the Chicago Central in the deal. A year later,

9400-645: Was nationalized in 1918 and consolidated into the Grand Trunk Western in 1971 with the creation of the Grand Trunk Corporation. Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railroad The DM&IR was purchased by Great Lakes Transportation and in 2011 the DM&IR was merged into CN's Wisconsin Central Subsidiary. The DM&IR was acquired at the same time as the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. Duluth Winnipeg & Pacific Railroad The DWP

9500-570: Was nationalized with CN in 1918 and became a part of CN's Grand Trunk Corporation in 1971. In 2011 the DWP was merged into the larger Wisconsin Central Subsidiary of CN. Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway In 2009, CN acquired the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway to assist with traffic congestion in Chicago and the surrounding area. In 2013 EJ&E was merged into the greater Wisconsin Central Subsidiary of CN. Grand Trunk Western Railroad The GTW

9600-504: Was positioned by CN as a boon not only for its own business but for the efficiency of the entire U.S. rail system. Union Station (Toronto) Union Station is a major railway station and intermodal transportation hub in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. The station is located in downtown Toronto , on Front Street West , on the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street. The municipal government of Toronto owns

9700-444: Was presented with the first ticket issued at the station: one "valid for all time" and "between all stations". He proceeded to the Canadian Pacific Railway 's wicket, where he was given a first-class fare from Toronto to High River , Alberta , where his ranch was located. Prince George was given similar tickets. Four days later, the track network was shifted from the second Union Station. To get to trains, passengers would walk from

9800-438: Was removed and replaced with a glass atrium. The structure floats above the tracks and allows daylight to reach the platforms. Platform 3 is the northernmost platform at Union Station and is the only platform at the station serving just one track. It reopened for service on January 10, 2022, after a renovation of its heritage features. Allowing a lower, lighter shed roof in the age of steam, the smoke vents over tracks 1 and 2 are

9900-417: Was replaced by a second Union Station on the same site, opening in 1873. The Canadian Pacific Railway began using the facility in 1884 and it was completely rebuilt, opening in 1896. The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 destroyed the block south of Front Street West, immediately east of the second Union Station (bounded by Bay and York streets), but did not damage the station. The GTR acquired this land east of

10000-520: Was the first person to step off of a train into Union Station; a mixed choir composed of soloists from the city's churches sang the royal anthem, " God Save the King ", as the royal party walked through the concourse. Once he was in the Great Hall, the Prince of Wales quipped, "you build your train stations like we build our cathedrals". He was then escorted to a nearby Canadian National Railway wicket and

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