Union (TTC)

This article is about Union subway station. For the adjacent railway station of the same name, see Union Station (Toronto).

Union TTC Subway Station Station statistics Address 55 Front Street West Coordinates 43°38′44.38″N 79°22′49.81″W Lines   Yonge–University–Spadina Connections   509 Harbourfront   510 Spadina   Union Railway Station Structure underground Platforms centre Other information Opened 30 March 1954 Accessible Presto card Yes Traffic Passengers (2009-10) 102,160 Ranked 5th of 69 Services Preceding station   TTC   Following station St. Andrew toward Downsview Yonge–University–Spadina King toward Finch TTC Union Station streetcar platform. Excavation of the Union Station subway station circa 1949

Union Station is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT. Opened in 1954 along with the first twelve subway stations of Toronto, it is located between the Yonge Street and University Avenue sections of the line at 55 Front Street West between Bay Street and York Street. It is the southernmost subway station of the city and is situated immediately north of the commuter train station and regional bus terminal of the same name.

Union connects the subway with GO Transit trains and buses, Via Rail, Ontario Northland Railway, and Amtrak. It serves approximately 95,290 people a day, ranking it as the fifth busiest station in the system, after Bloor-Yonge, St. George, Sheppard-Yonge and Kennedy.

The station is also noted as being one of only two stations on the TTC where a signal light is publicly accessible (the other being Islington Station). The signal is located on the east end of the platform. It is an Interlocking Signal that guards the crossover to the northbound Yonge Line and is only used during service disruptions that require trains be turned at Union.

Entrances

North side entrances:

• Street level stairs on North side of Front Street.
• Underground connection from Royal Bank Plaza

South side entrances:

• 2 Street level stair cases on South side of Front Street.
• Outdoor connections via the "moat" to Union Passenger Rail Station

History

The station opened as the southern terminus of the original Yonge subway line on March 30, 1954, for the University section of the Yonge–University–Spadina line on February 28, 1963, and on June 22, 1990, for the former Harbourfront LRT.

Spadina and St Clair West stations were designed with an underground streetcar connection in mind. Retrofitting Union Station required building a pedestrian tunnel approximately 30 metres long, with a flight of stairs in the middle. The underground streetcar loop which opened in 1990 is now served by the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina routes.

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

Leaving the station eastbound, the Yonge leg of the line runs briefly under Front Street and turns 90 degrees north to run under Yonge Street; leaving westbound, the University leg also runs under Front Street, and eventually turns 90 degrees north to run under University Avenue.

Nearby landmarks

Nearby landmarks include Union Station, the Royal York Hotel, the Air Canada Centre, Rogers Centre, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the CN Tower, the Royal Bank Plaza, Brookfield Place, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Surface connections

Main article: List of bus routes in Toronto

A transfer is required to connect between the subway or streetcars and these bus routes at curbside stops:

• 6 Bay
• 72 Pape
• 97 Yonge

For most of the year no transfer is required to transfer to or from a streetcar in the underground loop to the main subway system. However, some summers tourists are allowed to board streetcars along Queens Quay without paying a fare. During these times passengers debarking at Union Station are asked to either pay a fare or show a valid transfer.

Station expansion

Union’s status as a transport hub has resulted in overcrowding on its narrow centre platform, often requiring TTC personnel to regulate the number of passengers allowed to wait on the platform at a given time. This results in overcrowding in the concourse level and significant commuter delays.

In 2003 public consultations and planning meetings were held to examine options to reduce crowding in the station. The resulting plan calls for the current platform to be re-purposed to serve only the University-Spadina line trains, while a new platform would be built on the south side of the existing tracks to serve the Yonge line trains. Preparatory construction for the expansion (mainly re-locating utilities buried in the area to be excavated for the new platform) began in 2006. The project went to public tender in April 2010 and construction commenced in February 2011.

The Transit City proposal calls for a new light rail line known as the Waterfront West LRT, extending the 509 Harbourfront streetcar route from the Exhibition Loop to Long Branch GO Station. Included in this plan is to expand the capacity of the Union Station streetcar loop by adding additional platforms and passing tracks.

An additional line, not part of the transit city plan, is to be built east along Queens Quay, from Bay to Parliament, partly to service sports facilities built in the old Portlands for the 2015 Pan American Games. This Queens Quay East light rail line would also require expansion of this portion of the station.

See also

• Union Station (Toronto)
• Queens Quay East light rail line

External links

• Union Station at the Toronto Transit Commission