Union Station: Good Enough?

January 25, 2024 - Arguably the most transformational infrastructure project currently under construction in Canada, GO Expansion is set to take a commuter focused rail system common to North American cities and retrofit it to become more akin to regional rail networks in Europe. Just a couple days ago, Metrolinx announced that as of January 1st, 2025, the consortium ONxpress will take over the operation and maintenance of the GO network. This consortium includes German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and construction firm Aecon. Not only will they be the operators of this enhanced network, they are also obligated to deliver the OnCorr projects which include upgrades to signalling, track, and after what seems like forever - electrification and the procurement of electric vehicles. 

The centrepiece of this network is Union Station. A rail hub for nearly 100 years, the facility is the second-busiest railway station in North America after New York's Penn. Transit riders in Toronto are quick to lament the fact that the station has felt under construction for ever - and they're not wrong. For around 15 years various projects have been done to enhance the passenger experience and make the rail terminus more alike to its counterparts in Europe and Asia. The most recent renovation to be opened to the public with much fanfare was the Bay Concourse. Officials from the City of Toronto and Metrolinx heralded it as 'the day construction ends' at Union Station (This however is not true, a South Concourse is still under construction as well as upgrades at track level). The new concourse was gleaming white with empty glass storefronts ready for boutique stores and bank branches to move in. Down the large corridor, escalators and signs led you to 'Regional Trains'. At track level, a piece of the historic train shed was removed for a new, loftier glass shed - helping relieve some of the dinginess felt while awaiting trains. On the west end of the station is the York Concourse, where a multilevel hall houses the waiting area for GO trains and a food court that has been open for a few years. 

All of these enhancements have made Union Station better, and more ready for the changes to come once GO Expansion is fully implemented. Recently, my grandparents made a visit to the city for the holidays, and as a transportation and urbanism geek, I felt it would be a great day trip to go show them Union Station - and they were amazed at the changes. But I am not convinced it's there yet. There are some key issues with the station that inhibits it from reaching its true potential as a regional and inter-city rail hub.

Union Station does not feel integrated. It does not feel like one building. Even though the projects undertaken to renovate the two GO train concourses were great, they feel disconnected. The Bay Concourse, with its shiny storefronts and corporate pop music playing over the speakers feels more like a mall than a train station. No, it feels like a mall that you have to find your way through before you get to the train station. Union Station suffers from a serious problem of devolution. See, the station is actually not controlled as a single entity. The main building is owned and operated by the City of Toronto, the GO concourses and train corridor by Metrolinx, and the VIA concourse by national train operator VIA Rail. Metrolinx transit cops, city corporate security, and VIA Police (yes that's a thing) patrol their respective domains while carefully making sure they do not step over the imaginary borders that divide the building. While Metrolinx has been able to install signage around the station as a whole, it feels lacklustre in certain areas directing people from Metrolinx controlled areas before abruptly stopping, leaving many confused. On New Years 2024, the station was swamped by partygoers returning home from downtown festivities. The surge of people was not adequately directed, partially due to the fact that nobody knew who's job it was to tell people where to go.

Where this devolution really pains me is the communication of information to passengers. Whether it is when your train is leaving, what platform it is on, or how to make a connection, information at Union Station is all disconnected. In order to know when your GO train is leaving and what platform it is on, you need to travel to the GO concourse. Need to know when the train to Pearson Airport is departing? Walk 10 minutes to the other side of the station to find out. Changing through the Great Hall from a VIA train to a GO train with a tight connection? Once again, you need to leave one company's territory and enter the other's before you can get any info about your trip. Yes - people can use their smartphones to get more information, but that is not enough. There needs to be information for passengers at the entrance thresholds of Union, and at the large communal spaces like the Great Hall or the retail section of the Bay Concourse. One of the main features of rail termini around the world and the hubs of European networks we are attempting to emulate here is a simple visual feature placed in these communal spaces, the departure board. Yes GO and VIA have departure info, but they are not good. They are small screens sometimes placed in very random locations. In order to meet the standard of an effective rail hub, Union Station and its owners need to collaborate to implement new screens throughout the building - and I have created examples below.

You might have noticed one of the key differences between the current GO wayfinding and my retrofitted screens. I decided to use letters as opposed to names to differentiate between the lines, as per the Metrolinx Wayfinding and Design Manual. Currently, these are not in use and only confusing names are in place on the small departure screens. Metrolinx needs to immediately implement their own guidelines by doing away with the confusing line names. For visitors and locals alike, it is extremely confusing to look at a small screen and know that a Kitchener Line train (named after the final destination) only goes to Georgetown (not the final destination). What about a Stouffville Line train (named after the penultimate station) that is actually travelling all the way to Old Elm, the end of the line? Yes, GO staff provide the information on what stops are being made, but usually only once you have gotten on a train. Eliminating the line names and using letters and destinations would immediately improve passenger experience at Union. I also included the UP Express on these departure boards. An essential not only for travellers to the airport but those going to the west end of the city, infromation on the UP Express is completely absent from the station until you make your way to platform, out of the way from the rest of the trains.

In order to make Union Station a true rail hub fit for the GO Expansion network, enhanced VIA Rail service, and the other rail operators using the station, the owners of the different spaces within the building need to come together and work hard to integrate all the different spaces of the station, using technology like better passenger information, making the space feel like an integrated train station first rather than a mall, food court, and historical building glued together. In order to go from good enough to great, the companies need to work together and address the issues holding back the station. Hopefully we will see some leadership from the ONxpress consortium going forward, but changes need to happen now.