York University GO Station was a train station on GO Transit's Barrie line, in North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station served York University but was located in an industrial area 1.6 km (1 mi) away from the York campus; it was connected by a shuttle bus service privately operated by the university. The station was only served on weekdays, southbound during the morning peak period and northbound during the afternoon peak period; its replacement, the nearby Downsview Park station, provides a connection from midday, evening, weekend, and holiday GO trains to the university at all times via a two-stop trip on the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) Line 1 subway.[2] The station was permanently closed on July 19, 2021.[3] It was demolished in April 2022, with only a concrete ledge and some signage remaining.

York University
General information
Location	595-A Canarctic Drive Toronto, Ontario M3J 2P9
Coordinates	43°46′43.8″N 79°29′00.4″W
Owned by	Metrolinx
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	York University shuttle
Construction
Structure type	Shelter on platform
Parking	None
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	GO Transit: YO
Fare zone	19
History
Opened	September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06)
Closed	March 17, 2020 (2020-03-17) (last train) July 19, 2021 (2021-07-19) (announcement)[1] April 2022 (2022-04) (demolished)
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station Rutherford towards Allandale Waterfront Barrie Downsview Park towards Union Station

History

York University GO Station was funded by a provincial investment of $850,000 and completed in 2002.[4] The station officially opened on September 6, 2002, though it had been put into service earlier. The station consisted of a single platform on the west track with passenger shelters and a ticket vending machine.

Downsview Park station was originally planned to entirely replace York University GO station, given that it would be connected to York University by the new namesake interchange station on the TTC's Line 1 subway extension.[5] However, following objection from York University members and a local councillor,[6] the station was not closed following the inauguration of GO train service at Downsview Park on December 30, 2017. As a compromise, service was retained at York University in one direction during the weekday peak periods, but off-peak services would no longer stop at York University GO station.[2]

In 2018, the station was being used by about 105 daily customers, versus 25,700 daily customers accessing York University at the York University and Pioneer Village TTC subway stations.[3]

On March 18, 2020, the station was temporarily closed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting closure of most campus operations at York University.[7][8][1] As of October 2020, the station was no longer listed on schedules or on GO Transit's website, though it had not been officially closed. As of February 12, 2021, York University GO Station was no longer shown on GO Transit's system map.[9] On July 19, 2021, Metrolinx announced that the station had been permanently closed. Metrolinx was in the process of expanding the Barrie line for all-day, two-way service, and it needed to demolish the station in order to lay extra track.[3]

Services

From January 2018 to March 2020, weekday service consisted of 8 trains southbound to Union Station in the morning, 7 trains northbound to Barrie Allandale Station in the afternoon, and 1 train northbound to Bradford GO Station in the evening. From the opening of Downsview Park station in late December 2017, the station had not had any service on weekends.[2]

The station had no connecting public transit services. The only bus route that directly served the station was York University's privately operated shuttle bus, which was only available to York University students and employees.[10]

References

External links

• Media related to York University GO Station at Wikimedia Commons
• GO Transit station page for York University GO Station