Union Station is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT

Toronto subway and RT

The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...

. Opened in 1954 along with the first twelve subway stations of Toronto, it is located between the Yonge Street

Yonge Street

Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...

 and University Avenue

University Avenue (Toronto)

University Avenue is a major north-south road in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At its north end, University Avenue is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building. The eight-lane wide street is the location for several hospitals, numerous office buildings, Osgoode Hall and the Four Seasons...

 sections of the line at 55 Front Street

Front Street (Toronto)

Front Street is an east-west road in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street marks the rough outline of the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during the original English settlement of York, then called Palace Street...

 West between Bay Street

Bay Street

Bay Street, originally known as Bear Street, is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Street in that role in the 1970s...

 and York Street. It is the southernmost subway station of the city and is situated immediately north of the commuter train station

Union Station (Toronto)

Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...

 and regional bus terminal of the same name.

Union connects the subway with GO Transit

GO Transit

GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...

 trains and buses, Via Rail

VIA Rail

Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....

, Ontario Northland Railway

Ontario Northland Railway

The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario....

, and Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

. It serves approximately 95,290 people a day, ranking it as the fifth busiest station in the system, after Bloor-Yonge

Bloor-Yonge (TTC)

Bloor-Yonge is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina and the Bloor–Danforth subway lines operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 733 Yonge Street at Bloor Street West/East...

, St. George

St. George (TTC)

St. George is a station on the Yonge-University-Spadina and Bloor-Danforth lines of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 323 Bloor Street West at St. George Street. This is the second busiest station, after Bloor-Yonge Station, serving a combined total of approximately ...

, Sheppard-Yonge

Sheppard-Yonge (TTC)

Sheppard-Yonge is a station on the Yonge-University-Spadina and Sheppard lines of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the third busiest subway station in the system, after Bloor-Yonge, and St...

 and Kennedy

Kennedy (TTC)

Kennedy is the terminal subway station of the Bloor-Danforth and Scarborough RT lines of the Toronto subway and RT. It is located at 2455 Eglinton Avenue East, just east of Kennedy Road. The station opened in 1980 in what was then the Borough of Scarborough with the Bloor-Danforth platform, and the...

.

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

Islington (TTC)

Islington is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 3286 Bloor Street West at Islington Avenue. A central platform serves trains running in both directions....

). The signal is located on the east end of the platform. It is an Interlocking Signal

Signals on the TTC

The Toronto Subway and RT signals use a system of light-based signals to give instructions to its trains. It uses block signals commonly, as well as interlocking signals...

 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
  Royal Bank Plaza
  Royal Bank Plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the de facto headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada. The building shares with the Fairmont Royal York Hotel the block in Toronto's financial district bordered by Bay, Front, York, and Wellington streets....
  
  

South side entrances:

• 2 Street level stair cases on South side of Front Street.
• Outdoor connections via the "moat" to Union Passenger Rail Station
  Union Station (Toronto)
  Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
  
  

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.

The underground streetcar loop which opened in 1990 is now served by the 509 Harbourfront

509 Harbourfront

509 Harbourfront is a streetcar route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission.-History:The Harbourfront LRT, originally designated 604 Harbourfront, began service in 1990...

 and 510 Spadina routes.

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity

Leaving the station eastbound, the Yonge leg of the line runs briefly under Front Street

Front Street (Toronto)

Front Street is an east-west road in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street marks the rough outline of the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during the original English settlement of York, then called Palace Street...

 and turns 90 degrees north to run under Yonge Street

Yonge Street

Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...

; leaving westbound, the University leg also runs under Front Street, and eventually turns 90 degrees north to run under University Avenue

University Avenue (Toronto)

University Avenue is a major north-south road in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At its north end, University Avenue is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building. The eight-lane wide street is the location for several hospitals, numerous office buildings, Osgoode Hall and the Four Seasons...

.

Nearby landmarks

Nearby landmarks include Union Station

Union Station (Toronto)

Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...

, the Royal York Hotel

Fairmont Royal York

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, formerly the Royal York Hotel and still often so called, is a large and historic hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 100 Front Street West. Opened on June 11, 1929, the Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway...

, the Air Canada Centre

Air Canada Centre

The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The arena is popularly known as the ACC or the Hangar ....

, Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Metro Toronto Convention Centre , located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario at 255 Front Street West, has of space. The convention centre was completed in October 1984 and is home to the 1330-seat John Bassett Theatre...

, the CN Tower

CN Tower

The CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj...

, the Royal Bank Plaza

Royal Bank of Canada

The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...

, Brookfield Place, the Hockey Hall of Fame

Hockey Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

, and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Surface connections

A transfer is required to connect between the subway system and these surface routes:

• 6 Bay
• 72 Pape
• 97 Yonge

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

Transit City

Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced by then-Toronto Mayor David Miller and Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission Adam Giambrone on March 16, 2007...

 proposal calls for a new light rail line known as the Waterfront West LRT, extending the 509 Harbourfront

509 Harbourfront

509 Harbourfront is a streetcar route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission.-History:The Harbourfront LRT, originally designated 604 Harbourfront, began service in 1990...

 streetcar route from the Exhibition Loop

Exhibition Loop (TTC)

Exhibition Loop is the terminus for the 511 Bathurst and 509 Harbourfront streetcar routes and serves:* CNE at the Exhibition Place* Ricoh Coliseum* Exhibition GO Station* BMO Field-History:...

 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.