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.

Oshawa
General information
Location915 Bloor Street West
Oshawa, Ontario
L1J 7E2
Coordinates43°52′14″N 78°53′08″W / 43.87056°N 78.88556°W / 43.87056; -78.88556
Owned byVia Rail and Metrolinx
Platforms1 island platform for GO Train
1 island and 1 side for Via Rail
Tracks5 (2 GO and 5 Via)
Bus stands341 bus bays
Bus operators GO Transit
Connections Durham Region Transit
Construction
Structure typeVia Rail building with staffed ticket counter, public washrooms and waiting room. GO Transit shelters.
Parking2,260 spaces
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeGO Transit: OS
Fare zone94
Passengers
Apr–Dec 2019971,700[1] (GO Transit)
Services
Preceding station Via Rail Following station
Guildwood
toward Toronto
Toronto–Ottawa Port Hope
toward Ottawa
Toronto–Montreal Cobourg
toward Montreal
Preceding station GO Transit Following station
Whitby Lakeshore East Terminus
Lakeshore East
(planned expansion)
Thornton's Corners East
towards Bowmanville
Former services
Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station
Whitby
toward Sarnia
Grand Trunk Railway
Main Line
Bowmanville
toward Montreal
Map
Location
Oshawa GO station is located in Southern Ontario
Oshawa GO station
Oshawa GO station
Location in Southern Ontario
Oshawa GO station is located in Ontario
Oshawa GO station
Oshawa GO station
Location in Ontario
Oshawa GO station is located in Canada
Oshawa GO station
Oshawa GO station
Location in Canada

History

edit
 
Old CNR station

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 CA$14 million 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

edit

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

edit
 
Oshawa GO transit platforms

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

edit

Durham Region Transit

  • 403 to Oshawa Centre Terminal
  • 421 to Courtice
  • 902 to Bowmanville/Trulls Road via Oshawa Centre Terminal

GO Transit

  • 52 - 407 East Bus[13]
  • 56 - Oshawa/Oakville Bus
  • 88 - Peterborough/Oshawa Bus[14]
  • 90 - Lakeshore East Early Morning Bus[15]
  • 92 - Oshawa/Yorkdale Local Bus[13]
  • 96 - Oshawa/Finch Express Bus[16]

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.

References

edit
  1. ^ "GO Transit ridership map updated – Find out how your station or lines are doing". Metrolinx. February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  2. ^ Jeffrey P. Smith. "CNR Oshawa Subdivision". Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  3. ^ Goad, Chas. E. (1904). Oshawa - Fire Insurance Maps (PDF) (Revised March 1911 ed.). Northern Assurance Company.
  4. ^ McNaughton, Graeme. "New train station on the way". Oshawa Express.
  5. ^ "New Oshawa GO VIA station opens doors this weekend and paves way for future extension". Durham Radio News. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Government of Canada and Via Rail announce new station for Oshawa" (PDF). City of Oshawa. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2012.
  7. ^ "Backgrounder: The CN Kingston Subdivision" (PDF). CN Rail. July 16, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  8. ^ "GO Transit's Lakeshore Line". Transit Toronto. Archived from the original on 2011-08-08. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  9. ^ "Welcome to Durham College Oshawa GO". Metrolinx. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "The name of Ontario's first corporately-branded train station makes no sense".
  11. ^ "Oshawa to Bowmanville Rail Service Expansion and Rail Maintenance Facility" (PDF). Metrolinx. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2014.
  12. ^ "– Oshawa to Bowmanville Rail Service Extension" (PDF). Metrolinx. June 7, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 11, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Mackenzie, Robert (September 4, 2020). "GO revises routes and services, September 5". Transit Toronto. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  14. ^ "88 Peterborough/Oshawa GO Bus Schedule" (PDF). GO Transit. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  15. ^ "90-91 Lakeshore East GO Train and Bus Schedule" (PDF). GO Transit. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "96 Oshawa/Finch Express GO Bus Schedule" (PDF). GO Transit. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  17. ^ "About Us". Durham Region Transit. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
edit