Agincourt GO Station explained

Agincourt
Style:GO Transit
Address:4100 Sheppard Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario
Country:Canada
Coordinates:43.7861°N -79.2844°W
Structure:Brick station building
Platform:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Parking:342 spaces
Bicycle:Yes
Opened:September 7, 1982 (as a GO station)[1]
Rebuilt:October 2021
Accessible:Yes
Zone:07
Passengers:134,000[2]
Pass Year:2018
Pass Percent:15.2
Other Services Header:Former services at CN station
Other Services Collapsible:yes

Agincourt GO Station is a GO Transit railway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[3] The Stouffville line station serves the Agincourt neighbourhood of the former suburb of Scarborough.

History

The station's track was once used by Toronto and Nipissing Railway and later Grand Trunk Railway and finally by Canadian National Railway. TNR opened a simple wooden station at Agincourt in 1871.[4] The CN station lasted into the 1970s and was demolished to accommodate the first Agincourt GO Station built in 1982. There was also a separate CPR Agincourt station located further east, built in 1884 by the Ontario and Quebec Railway which later merged with the Canadian Pacific Railway; it was demolished in 1962 and replaced by a passenger shelter that in turn was demolished in 1975.[5]

In 2018, EllisDon Transit Infrastructure was awarded a contract to expand the station for increased Regional Express Rail service. The project included construction of a second platform, improved pedestrian and vehicle connections, and a new station building.[6] By February 2021, the old station building built in 1982 was demolished.[7] By October 2021, the new station building was completed; however, at that time work still remained for tracks, platforms and the parking area.[8] By November 2022, two new pedestrian tunnels had opened between the north- and southbound platforms which also allows community members to cross the right-of-way underground; the pedestrian level crossing at Marilyn Avenue had closed. A new parking lot with 74 spaces was added at the north end of the station area along with a pick-up, drop-off area for 24 vehicles.[9] In September 2023, Metrolinx announced that all work had been completed at Agincourt.[10]

Station description

The station has the following features:

Connecting transit

The Toronto Transit Commission's 85 Sheppard East and 985 Sheppard East Express bus routes links Agincourt GO to Don Mills station in the west, the 85 and 985B continues east into Scarborough while the 985A continues express to Scarborough Centre station.

Grade separation

When the Sheppard East LRT was a plan back in 2010, it required a grade separation of Sheppard Avenue East and the GO train tracks.[11] This led contractors from the City of Toronto government and TTC to build a bridge for the GO train tracks, while having Sheppard Avenue move under it, as the light rail vehicles would not have been able to cross the GO tracks at ground level.[12] On July 3, 2012, the underpass was completed and opened to regular traffic, which was five months ahead of schedule.[13] However, in April 2019, Ontario premier Doug Ford announced that the provincial government would extend Line 4 Sheppard to McCowan Road at some unspecified time in the future, replacing the proposed Sheppard East LRT.[14]

The new underpass improves not only the flow of traffic along Sheppard Avenue, as vehicles no longer have to wait at a rail crossing, but also GO train service. The bridge also allows for two-way service on this portion of the line. Building the bridge also meant that the parking capacity of the station could be expanded. Before that project, parking capacity was only 297, but it has now been increased to 342 spaces.

Notes and References

  1. News: GO for a Free Train Ride Tomorrow . April 23, 2024 . . September 6, 1982 . A12. Newspapers.com.
  2. Web site: Drivers of Ridership and Revenue . 4 . February 7, 2019 . . January 31, 2019.
  3. Web site: Agincourt GO Station Information . GO Transit. February 21, 2019.
  4. Web site: C.N.Rys. Agincourt . Jeffrey P. Smith . C.N.Rys. Uxbridge Subdivision . Station: Agincourt, Subdivision: Uxbridge, Mileage: 55.66 . December 17, 2014.
  5. Web site: Agincourt Station (Canadian Pacific Railway) . Toronto Railway Historical Association . 2023-09-27 . mdy-all.
  6. Web site: Mackenzie . Robert . Plans for Expanding Agincourt GO Station Submitted to City . urbantoronto.ca . August 14, 2018.
  7. Web site: As the old Agincourt Station comes down: A new chapter about to be written for important Scarborough transit stop . . February 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210411223651/https://blog.metrolinx.com/2021/02/09/as-the-old-agincourt-station-comes-down-a-new-chapter-about-to-be-written-for-important-scarborough-transit-stop/ . April 11, 2021 . live .
  8. Web site: See video of new Agincourt GO station building . . October 25, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211025223121/https://blog.metrolinx.com/2021/10/25/see-video-of-new-agincourt-go-station-building/ . October 25, 2021 . live .
  9. Web site: New customer amenities now open at Agincourt GO Station . . November 8, 2022 .
  10. Web site: Major improvements complete along Stouffville GO Line . . 2023-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230915142145/https://www.metrolinx.com/en/news/major-improvements-complete-along-stouffville-go-line . 2023-09-15 . live . mdy-all.
  11. Web site: Sheppard East Light Rail Transit (LRT) . Metrolinx . July 7, 2014.
  12. Web site: Mackenzie . Robert . New Access Routes into and out of Agincourt GO Station, Starting July 3. Transit Toronto. July 7, 2014.
  13. Web site: New Access Routes into and out of Agincourt Go Station, Starting July 3 . Transit Toronto . July 3, 2012 .
  14. News: How Doug Ford's $28.5-billion transit overhaul compares with Toronto's existing plans . . April 10, 2019 . October 16, 2019.