Guelph Central Station

Guelph Central Station
The heritage Grand Trunk Railway building
Location	79 Carden St, Guelph, ON Canada
Coordinates	43°32′39″N 80°14′49″W / 43.54417°N 80.24694°W / 43.54417; -80.24694Coordinates: 43°32′39″N 80°14′49″W / 43.54417°N 80.24694°W / 43.54417; -80.24694
Owned by	City of Guelph
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Bus stands	22
Bus operators	Guelph Transit GO Transit Greyhound Canada
Construction
Parking	No
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	GO Transit: GUEP IATA: XIA
Fare zone	39
History
Opened	1911 (1911)
Rebuilt	May 13, 2012
Services
Preceding station   Via Rail   Following station Kitchener toward Sarnia Sarnia–Toronto Georgetown toward Toronto GO Transit Kitchener Terminus Kitchener Acton toward Union Station   Former services   Amtrak Kitchener toward Chicago International Limited Georgetown toward Toronto
Heritage Railway Station (Canada)
Designated	1992
Reference no.	4569

Guelph Central Station (also known as Guelph Central GO Station^[1]) is the main inter-modal transportation terminal in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is used by VIA Rail and GO Transit trains, as well as Guelph Transit local buses, GO Transit regional buses and Greyhound intercity buses.

It is located at 79 Carden Street and includes the historic Guelph Railway Station, as well as the site of the former Guelph Bus Terminal.

The name "Guelph Central" was chosen with input from the community and the transit service providers using the new station.^[2] Still standing, the station was renovated in 2016-2017.^[3]

History

GTR station

Built in 1911 the Central station (still in use), was constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway which had arrived in Guelph in 1856;^[4] years later, it was taken over by the Canadian National Railway. This is a classic example of early 20th Century Canadian railway station design and has been designated as a heritage structure per the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.^[5][6] The Romanesque Revival building, with an Italianate tower, has been listed on the Canadian Register since 2006 and was formally recognized as one of Canada's Historic Places in November 1992.^[7] One of the goals of the 2016-2017 renovation project was to maintain and restore the building's heritage aspects.^[8]

Between 1982 and 2004, the Central station was served by the International Limited, a train service between Chicago and Toronto that was then operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak.^[9]

There had also been passenger stations in Guelph that were built by the Canadian Pacific Railway.^[10] The first CPR station, from the 1800s, was the Priory House station, converted from the first house in Guelph. It stood opposite the current Priory Square and was eventually dismantled.^[11] Its replacement, located between Cardigan Street and the Speed River, was a brick building erected in 1911.^{[12][13] [14][15]} After this brick building was no longer used as a rail station, it was converted for other purposes; eventually it was dismantled and moved to the Galt area of Cambridge, Ontario.^[16]

As of October 2012, VIA Rail no longer staffed the station.^[17] The facility is wheelchair-accessible.

Intermodal Terminal

The Intermodal Transit Terminal was first proposed in 2002 to consolidate intercity bus, local bus and railway services into one facility.^[18] At the time, the downtown terminal for Guelph Transit was three blocks away at St. George's Square. A feasibility study was initiated in 2004, and Guelph City Council endorsed the Carden Street location and the concept design that same year. The project received federal and provincial infrastructure stimulus funding in 2009, and detailed design and stakeholder consultations were conducted. Construction began in April 2010.^[19]

The station opened to the public on May 13, 2012.^[20] The project was projected to cost $8 million, of which $5.3 million was from the Provincial and Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Funds.^[21]

The opening of the bus portion of the station was delayed from October 2011 to May 2012 to allow time for the renovations of the railway station building to be completed.^[21]

Additional renovations, with a $2.1 million budget, were completed in 2016-2017. The work also helped to preserve and restore heritage characteristics.^[5][22]

The following is an April 2017 summary of the operations:

"Guelph Central Train Station is a busy transit hub that accommodates Guelph Transit, GO Transit, Via Rail and Greyhound Canada operations. Each weekday, more than 5,000 passengers board Guelph Transit, to travel on one of the 15 different routes that operate out of the bus bays adjacent to the train station.^[5]

Services

Guelph Transit

On January 1, 2012, all the Guelph Transit routes were changed.^[23] While it was originally planned to have the new bus routes meeting at the new station on the same date, this change was delayed until May 6, 2012.^[24] In September 2016, Guelph Transit began offering early morning shuttle service for those connecting with early GO Trains. The PRESTO co-fare cards can be used through all of the hours of GO service in Guelph.^[25]

Via Rail

Via Rail operates two daily trains in each direction on the Sarnia - London - Toronto line, one of which operates only between London and Toronto.^[26]

GO Transit

• GO Train service on the Kitchener line to Toronto Union Station weekday peak direction only.^[27][28]
• Bus service to York Mills Bus Terminal & Union Station Bus Terminal (GO Bus routes 31 and 33).^[29]
• Bus service to Cooksville via Aberfoyle park & ride and Square One (GO Bus route 29) ^[30]

The current GO Train service through Guelph Station began on December 19, 2011, when two daily trains in each direction on the then Georgetown line were extended to Kitchener.^[31] $18 million was spent to get this first stage operational, with further upgrades planned.^[32]

Guelph was also served by GO Transit trains between 1990 and 1993, when it served as the terminus of the then Georgetown line. Provincial cutbacks in 1993 caused GO Transit to cut back service to Georgetown.

Greyhound

Greyhound buses use platform 10 for westbound trips and platform 11 for eastbound trips.

• Toronto Quicklink ^[33]
• Kitchener / London (local service) ^[34]

Bus platforms

Guelph Central Station provides an exchange with both local and regional bus services. Bays 1-20 are located on an island bus platform, while bays 21 and 22 are located on the south side of Macdonell Street, immediately adjacent to the island platform. Bus platform allocation are as follows:^[35]

References

External links

• Media related to Guelph railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Guelph Transit

• GO Transit station page for Guelph Central Station
• GO Transit station page for the University of Guelph

• Via Rail station page for Guelph Central Station