Oshawa GO Station explained

Oshawa
Style:Via Rail
Address:915 Bloor Street West
Oshawa, Ontario
L1J 7E2
Coordinates:43.8706°N -78.8856°W
Other: Durham Region Transit
Structure:Via Rail building with staffed ticket counter, public washrooms and waiting room. GO Transit shelters.
Platform:1 island platform for GO Train
1 island and 1 side for Via Rail
Tracks:5 (2 GO and 5 Via)
Bus Stands:341 bus bays
Bus Operators: GO Transit
Parking:2,260 spaces
Bicycle:Yes
Accessible:Yes
Owned:Via Rail and Metrolinx
Zone:94
Passengers:971,700[1]
Pass Year:Apr–Dec 2019
Pass System:GO Transit
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Embedded:
Stroke-Colour:
  1. C60C30
Stroke-Width:3
Marker:rail
Marker-Colour:
  1. 009D58
Zoom:15
Map Type:Canada Southern Ontario#Canada Ontario#Canada
Map Dot Label:Oshawa GO station

Durham College Oshawa GO station is a station for commuter rail, passenger rail and regional bus services in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the terminal station for the Lakeshore East line of GO Transit and serves Via Rail's Corridor service, which travels from Toronto to both Ottawa and Montreal. The bus terminal is served by bus routes of GO Transit and Durham Region Transit.

History

The Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto was completed in 1856[2] and the first Oshawa station was where Albert Street met the GTR tracks.[3] In 1923, the Grand Trunk was absorbed by the Canadian National Railway who, in the 1960s, built a single-floor station with a flat roof west of the original station where the Canadian National Railway yard is now on the north side of the tracks. The building was expanded and upgraded by Via Rail in the early 1990s and GO Transit's Lakeshore East line was extended to there in 1995.

On November 24, 2017, the modernization of the Oshawa GO Station was completed and opened to the public. It was announced two years earlier as a joint project between Via Rail and Metrolinx, the province's public transit agency.[4] The projects included upgrades to the modern ticketing counter, a waiting area with bigger public washrooms, and a pedestrian bridge to the Via platform which made it easier for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to access the station.[5]

Via Rail services

The station is regularly served by intercity trains on the Corridor routes between Toronto and Montreal or Ottawa. In 2009 Via Rail announced the planned construction of a new fully accessible station adjacent to the existing building[6] as part of major improvements to the Kingston Subdivision,[7] the main line between Toronto and Dorval.

GO Transit services

Oshawa is the eastern terminus of GO's Lakeshore East line train service, operating in its own dedicated trackage east of Pickering.[8] This is one of the only two terminal stations in the GO transit system located at the actual end of line trackage, the other one is West Harbour GO Station located in Hamilton, Ontario. There are eastbound GO bus connections serving Courtice, Bowmanville, and Peterborough to the east, via Highway 2, Highway 115, and/or Highway 401. There are westbound Go Bus connections serving Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Scarborough and Toronto, via Highway 2 and/or Highway 401.

In October 2022, Oshawa GO station became the first Metrolinx station to enter into a naming partnership agreement. The naming rights of the station was sold to Durham College as part of a 10 year agreement. Subsequently, the station was renamed to Durham College Oshawa GO Station, which will take into effect on the station building itself, maps, and other assets owned by Metrolinx. [9] The station is located 30 minutes away by bus from the college's main campus.[10]

In 2014, GO Transit was planning to cease services to the station as part of a project to extend GO train service to Bowmanville, replacing it two new stations within Oshawa.[11] By 2023, Metrolinx had changed plans. GO trains would still serve the station in addition to the proposed new stations in Oshawa. On the east side of the station, a new GO spur branch would be built curving north to connect to the CPKC's Belleville Subdivision corridor.[12]

Connecting bus services

Durham Region Transit

GO Transit

Durham Region Transit serves the city of Oshawa and surrounding cities such as Whitby, Port Perry, Ajax, Pickering and Clarington.[17]

Durham Region Transit tickets, passes, and transfers are accepted on GO buses operating within Durham Region, allowing riders to freely transfer between DRT and GO buses to complete a trip within the region. Passengers transferring to and from GO routes outside of Durham Region can transfer to/from DRT for free.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: GO Transit ridership map updated – Find out how your station or lines are doing . February 13, 2020 . . April 2, 2020.
  2. Web site: CNR Oshawa Subdivision. Jeffrey P. Smith. September 17, 2011.
  3. Book: Goad . Chas. E. . Charles E. Goad . Oshawa - Fire Insurance Maps . 1904 . Northern Assurance Company . Revised March 1911 .
  4. News: McNaughton . Graeme . New train station on the way . Oshawa Express.
  5. News: New Oshawa GO VIA station opens doors this weekend and paves way for future extension . 25 October 2019 . Durham Radio News.
  6. Web site: Government of Canada and Via Rail announce new station for Oshawa. City of Oshawa . November 9, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120223150918/http://www.oshawa.ca/whatsnew/MR091109EOshawa.pdf . February 23, 2012.
  7. Web site: Backgrounder: The CN Kingston Subdivision . . February 21, 2019 . July 16, 2009.
  8. Web site: GO Transit's Lakeshore Line . Transit Toronto . 2010-03-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110808095532/http://transit.toronto.on.ca/gotransit/2101.shtml . 2011-08-08 . dead .
  9. Web site: Welcome to Durham College Oshawa GO . Metrolinx . October 4, 2021.
  10. Web site: The name of Ontario's first corporately-branded train station makes no sense .
  11. Web site: Oshawa to Bowmanville Rail Service Expansion and Rail Maintenance Facility . Metrolinx . https://web.archive.org/web/20140821043805/http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/docs/ea/oshawabowmanville/100110-Optimize-Oshawa_to_Bowmanville.pdf . August 21, 2014.
  12. Web site: – Oshawa to Bowmanville Rail Service Extension . . June 7, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230611201536/https://assets.metrolinx.com/image/upload/v1686168343/Images/Metrolinx/Bowmanville_Extension_-_PIC_Presentation_-_Finalized_-_June_7.pdf . June 11, 2023 . live .
  13. Web site: GO revises routes and services, September 5 . Robert . Mackenzie . September 4, 2020 . Transit Toronto . September 6, 2020.
  14. Web site: 88 Peterborough/Oshawa GO Bus Schedule . GO Transit. February 21, 2019.
  15. Web site: 90-91 Lakeshore East GO Train and Bus Schedule. GO Transit. November 23, 2020.
  16. Web site: 96 Oshawa/Finch Express GO Bus Schedule. GO Transit. February 21, 2019.
  17. Web site: About Us. Durham Region Transit . February 21, 2019.