Union (TTC)
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Union 55 Front Street West |
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Opened | March 30, 1954 (Yonge-University-Spadina line) June 22, 1990 (509 Harbourfront streetcar) July 27, 1997 (510 Spadina streetcar) |
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Line | Yonge-University-Spadina line 509 Harbourfront streetcar 510 Spadina streetcar |
Next station | Yonge-University-Spadina line: ≅0.5 km northeast to King 1 min ≅0.7 km northwest to St. Andrew 1 min 509 and 510 streetcars: |
Connections | Union railway station, 6A Bay, 65A Parliament, 72A Pape, 97B Yonge, 172 Cherry St. |
Platforms | Centre platform, streetcar loop |
Union is a station on the Yonge-University-Spadina line of the Toronto subway. It is placed at the bottom of the ‘loop’ formed by that line, between the Yonge and University sections, at its southernmost point. It is located at 55 Front Street West between Bay Street and York Street below Union Station. It opened in March 30, 1954, as the southern terminus of the original Yonge subway line, then for the University section of the Yonge-University-Spadina line on February 28, 1963, then on June 22, 1990 for the former Harbourfront LRT. This station serves approximately 72,240 people a day.
Union connects the subway with GO Transit trains and buses, VIA Rail, Ontario Northland, and Amtrak. Nearby landmarks include Union Station, the Royal York Hotel, the Air Canada Centre, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the CN Tower, the Royal Bank Plaza, BCE Place, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
An underground streetcar loop was added to the station in 1990, and is now served by the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina routes.
Union’s status as a transport hub has resulted in overcrowding on its narrow centre platform. A plan is in place to add a new platform for Yonge-bound trains, outside the tracks; the current platform will then only need to serve University-bound trains. Construction on that expansion is set to begin in 2006, which will also see the entire upper mezzanine become a fare-paid area [1].
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.
The station is also noted as being the only station on the TTC where a signal light is publicly accessible. 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.