London station (Ontario)

London station (French: Gare de London, IATA: XDQ)[1] in London, Ontario, Canada is a major interchange for Via Rail trains running from Toronto west to Sarnia and Windsor. The station is a large, modern, wheelchair accessible building on the south end of the city centre, and connects to local public transit bus services.

London
A Via train at the station in London, Ontario
General information
Location205 York Street, London, ON
Canada
Coordinates42.9819°N 81.2464°W / 42.9819; -81.2464
Owned byVia Rail
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks5
ConnectionsLondon Transit London Transit
Construction
Structure typeStaffed station
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeGO Transit: LN
IATA codeXDQ
WebsiteLondon train station
History
Opened1963
Rebuilt2001
Services
Preceding station Via Rail Following station
Strathroy
toward Sarnia
 Sarnia–Toronto St. Marys
toward Toronto
Glencoe
toward Windsor
 Windsor–Toronto Ingersoll
toward Toronto
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Strathroy
toward Chicago
 International St. Marys
1990–2004
toward Toronto
Ingersoll
1982–1990
toward Toronto
Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station
Hyde Park
toward Sarnia
 Grand Trunk Railway
Main Line		 Dorchester
toward Montreal
Hyde Park
toward Goderich
 Goderich – London Terminus
Terminus London – Stratford Pottersburg
toward Stratford
Hyde Park
toward Detroit
 London – Detroit Terminus
Preceding station GO Transit Following station
Terminus Kitchener
(express)
 St. Marys
towards Union Station
Location
London station is located in Southern Ontario
London station
London station
Location in Southern Ontario
London station is located in Ontario
London station
London station
Location in Ontario
London station is located in Canada
London station
London station
Location in Canada

On October 18, 2021, GO Transit started weekday service between Toronto and London on the Kitchener line. The pilot service does not offer Presto access and riders will need to purchase digital tickets. This service was discontinued in October 2023.[2]

History
Former CN station in 1966

The first passenger station at this site was completed by Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1853. The station continued to serve the London area for the Grand Trunk Railway after the two companies amalgamated in 1882.[3] The original building survived until 1935 when it was torn down to make way for a new station built by the Canadian National Railway.[4]

The first CN station was demolished and gave way to two structures, a three-storey building at 205 York Street (now home to the CN Credit Union) completed in 1963[5] and the 10-storey CN Tower Building at 197 York Street built in 1969.[6] The latter building, an International-style structure was closed in 2000 as CN staff dwindled and was imploded at 9:15 a.m., on February 4, 2001.[7] During demolition of the 1969 structure and construction of the present station, train services temporarily reverted to the 1963 station. The old credit union building was incorporated into the current station structure after 2001 and remaining site of the old station became a parking lot. The platform area from the previous stations were retained in the new station.

The International Limited was operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak between Chicago and Toronto. The service operated from 1982–2004.[8] The current Corridor service maintains the Canadian section of the International route.

See also

References
  1. "Airport codes London Railway Station in London, Ontario, Canada (CA) | ICAO, IATA international codes, location, coordinates". Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  2. "GO Transit to end Toronto-London, Ontario, commuter train". Trains. 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  3. N6a 6h9, On. "Grand Trunk Railway Depot, London, Ontario". images.ourontario.ca.
  4. "C.N.Rys. in Ontario; Information Sources". www.cnr-in-ontario.com.
  5. "Event Highlights for the City of London 1960 to 1969". www.london.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-12-18.
  6. "CN (London) Credit Union". Archived from the original on 2002-10-12.
  7. "Rail - VIA Unveils Design Of New London, Ontario Station". Archived from the original on 2011-11-12.
  8. Melzer, Matt (23 April 2004). "Final Run of the Amtrak / VIA International". TrainWeb.org. Retrieved 4 August 2015. From 1982, Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada had jointly operated the International train between Chicago and Toronto
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.