Guelph Central Station

The International at Guelph in 2004

The current station building was built in 1911 by the Grand Trunk Railway, which had been serving Guelph since 1856.[2] In addition to serving regional trains, in the pre-Amtrak era, it served the Grand Trunk Western's Maple Leaf (Chicago - Toronto). The station 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.[3][4] 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.[5]

In 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway was merged into the Canadian National Railway.

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.[6]

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.

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.[7]

The Intermodal Transit Terminal was first proposed in 2002 to consolidate intercity bus, local bus and railway services into one facility.[8] 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.[9]

The name "Guelph Central" was chosen with input from the community and the transit service providers using the new station.[10]

The station opened to the public on May 13, 2012.[11] The project was projected to cost $8 million, of which $5.3 million was from the Provincial and Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Funds.[12]

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.[12]

Additional renovations, with a $2.1 million budget, were completed in 2016–2017. The work also helped to preserve and restore heritage characteristics.[3][13]

On January 1, 2012, all the Guelph Transit routes were changed.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

Via Rail operates one daily train in each direction on the Sarnia - London - Toronto line.[17]

• GO Train service on the Kitchener line to Toronto Union Station.[18]
• Bus service to York Mills Bus Terminal & Union Station Bus Terminal (GO Bus routes 31 and 33).[19]
• Bus service to Square One via Aberfoyle park & ride, Milton Carpool Lot, Winston Churchill Station and Erin Mills Station (GO Bus route 29) [20]

Starting August 31, 2020, the GOST (Guelph Owen Sound Transportation) operates a bus service between Guelph Central Station and Owen Sound Transit Terminal twice a day.[21]