West Toronto Diamond

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The West Toronto Diamond is a railway junction and interchange in Toronto, Ontario, near the intersection of Keele Street and Dundas Street. Here the Canadian National's tracks coming up from Union Station cross the Canadian Pacific's east and west mainlines. The Canadian Pacific's West Toronto rail yard is located just west of the Diamond.

The crossing was originally controlled by a complex interlocking built by Saxby and Farmer which controlled 21 switches, derails and locks, plus 17 signals. The interlocking was controlled from an interlocking tower located at the centre of the Diamond. In 1965 the interlocking was replaced with a modern centralized traffic control system operated from Union Station and the tower dismantled.

Design work is underway to convert the West Toronto Diamond into a flying junction to allow GO Transit trains to pass through the crossing without delays.

The West Toronto Diamond is often referred to as "the junction" and gives Toronto's The Junction neighbourhood its name.