Smiths Falls station explained

Smiths Falls
Style:Via Rail
Coordinates:44.9125°N -76.0239°W
Structure:Unstaffed station
Tracks:1
Parking:22 spaces (surface lot)
Opened:c. 2010
Accessible:Yes
Website:Smiths Falls train station
Embedded:
Stroke-Colour:
  1. C60C30
Stroke-Width:3
Marker:rail
Marker-Colour:
  1. 009D58
Zoom:13
Map Type:Canada Southern Ontario#Canada Ontario#Canada
Map Dot Label:Smiths Falls station

Smiths Falls railway station in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada is served by Via Rail Corridor trains running between Toronto and Ottawa. It is unstaffed, with outdoor parking, telephones and washrooms.[1] Accessible parking, automatic doors and wheelchair access is available to the platform. However, as of June 2020 no wheelchair lift is available for boarding or disembarking trains at the station.[2]

22 surface lot parking spaces are managed by Indigo Parking. A pay meter is located inside the station; hourly, daily and monthly rates are available.[3]

History

CPR station

The original passenger station building was built by Canadian Pacific Railway in 1887. In 1999, the Smiths Falls Community Theatre began renovations on the station, installing the 140 seat Station Theatre into the old restaurant area. A small waiting area in the building was used by Via Rail until 2010 when the new Via Rail station opened.[4]

CNoR station

As Smiths Falls is a junction between multiple rail lines, it once had multiple active passenger stations. A 191 Canadian Northern Ontario Railway station on a now-abandoned line (Canadian National embargoed their Smiths Falls Subdivision between Smiths Falls and Strathcona in 1979) is now a National Historic Site which houses the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario.[5]

New Via Rail station

On March 8, 2010, Via Rail announced plans to build and relocate to a new station located just north of downtown. The new station would have a distinctive tower. The new station would reduce scheduling conflicts between passenger and freight trains as the old station is located in the middle of a junction between two busy Canadian Pacific Railway lines and both the Via Rail's Smiths Falls and Brockville Subdivisions.[6] The new station consists of 400square feet and was constructed with a budget of $750,000.[7]

Services

Smiths Falls station is served by trains on Via Rail's Toronto-Ottawa route, though some express trains pass through the station without stopping.

As of October 2023, the station is served by four to six trains per day toward Ottawa, and two to four trains per day toward Toronto.[8]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.viarail.ca/en/stations/ontario/smiths-falls Smiths Falls train station
  2. Web site: Disabled visitor to Smiths Falls disappointed with lack of accessibility at VIA Rail train station . Weir . Laurie . InsideOttawaValley.com . 18 July 2020.
  3. Web site: OT511 - VIA Rail Smiths Falls . Indigo Parking . 1 September 2020.
  4. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/smiths-falls-rail-station-gets-2nd-act-1.958061 Smiths Falls rail station gets 2nd act
  5. Web site: Smiths Falls Railway Station . Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario . 6 September 2020 . The museum is housed in the Smiths Falls Canadian Northern (CNoR) / Canadian National Railways (CNR) railway station. RMEO station building, is a National Historic Site..
  6. http://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/media-room/latest-news/1477/08-march-2010-government-of-canada-and-via-rail-announce-new-station-for-smiths-falls Government of Canada and Via Rail announce new station for Smiths Falls Press Release
  7. Web site: Via Rail building new Smiths Falls station, Ottawa Business Journal, March 15, 2010 . 2011-01-29 . 2012-03-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120305014538/http://www.obj.ca/Real-Estate/Construction/2010-03-15/article-905007/VIA-Rail-building-new-Smiths-Falls-station/1 . dead .
  8. Web site: Timetables. Via Rail Canada. 19 October 2023.