Rouge Hill GO Station

Summary

Rouge Hill is a GO Transit train and bus station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. On the Lakeshore East line, the station is located on the shore of Lake Ontario in the West Rouge neighbourhood of the district of Scarborough. It is a major commuter transfer point, with large parking lots and local bus services. Travelling eastwards, it is the last station in Toronto before the trains enter Durham Region.

Rouge Hill
General information
Location6251 Lawrence Ave. E.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°46′49″N 79°07′50″W / 43.78028°N 79.13056°W / 43.78028; -79.13056
Owned byMetrolinx
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections Toronto Transit Commission
Construction
Structure typeStation building
Parking1,041 spaces
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeGO Transit: RO
Fare zone09
History
OpenedMay 23, 1967
Passengers
2018520,000[1]
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station
Guildwood Lakeshore East Pickering
towards Oshawa
Former services at Port Union
Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station
Scarboro
toward Sarnia
Grand Trunk Railway
Main Line
Pickering
toward Montreal

History edit

 
Looking east at Port Union Village and the Grand Trunk Railway station

The earliest Port Union Station was situated at Port Union Road, about half a kilometre west of the current location. The Grand Trunk Railway opened the station in 1856 on its Toronto-Montreal mainline, in what was then the small shipbuilding and fishing village of Port Union.[2]

In the days of the steam locomotive, freight trains needed assistance to climb from lake level over the Scarborough Bluffs. Port Union was the easterly end of this helper service with a siding that ran behind the station for waiting locomotives, and a water tower and fuel tanks to resupply westbound trains. With the advent of diesel-electric power those facilities were no longer required[3] and Canadian National Railway subsequently replaced the station with a utilitarian brick building.

A spur line branched off to service the Johns Manville plant which lay on the west side of Port Union Road on the south side of Lawrence Avenue down to the railway line.

Inspection of the CN station found that insufficient space was available there for parking and vehicle access from Port Union Road was poor. A triangle of land could be obtained 500 metres to the east, on the south side of Lawrence Avenue, that would provide enough space for parking and a bus loop with direct access from the street. When construction of the new GO Train facilities commenced, this was the site chosen for the Premier of Ontario John Robarts to ceremonially turn the first sod.[4]

In 2018, Loblaws signed a deal with Metrolinx to have a PC Express pick-up van at this station for online orders.[5]

Connecting bus routes edit

Toronto Transit Commission

All TTC buses enter the bus loop, with the exception of westbound 54A, 354 and 954 buses.

Route Name Additional Information
38 Highland Creek Westbound to Kennedy station
via University of Toronto Scarborough and Scarborough Centre station
54A Lawrence East Westbound to Eglinton station
Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard
85A Sheppard East Westbound to Don Mills station
85D Westbound to Don Mills station via Toronto Zoo
200 Toronto Zoo Westbound to Toronto Zoo
(Seasonal service)
954 Lawrence East Express Westbound to Kennedy station
Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard
(Rush hour service)
354 Lawrence East Blue Night Westbound to Eglinton station
Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard
Durham Region Transit
  • 103 Glenanna connecting the Altona Forest Neighbourhood, Rosebank Rd and Glenanna Rd. Monday to Friday peak hours.

References edit

  1. ^ "Drivers of Ridership and Revenue" (PDF). Metrolinx. February 7, 2019. p. 4. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "History of Centennial-Port Union". Toronto Neighbourhoods. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2014. In the 1800s, Port Union was a booming waterfront village with thriving shipbuilding and commercial fishing industries, two hotels, a commercial wharf, and a variety of small businesses. In 1856, the Grand Trunk Railway opened a station in Port Union which added to the importance of this waterfront village.
  3. ^ Edward Emery and Edward Helmich (August 1972). "CNs "Brutes"" (PDF). Canadian Rail Vol.No.247. Canadian Railroad Historical Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  4. ^ Wilfred Sergeant (2004). "Building GO-Transit". 8: Locating the stations. HTA Press. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "Metrolinx to roll out grocery pickup service at select GO Transit stations". CTV News Toronto. February 26, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Rouge Hill GO Station at Wikimedia Commons
  • GO Transit station page for Rouge Hill GO Station