The Ontario government has formally begun building a new GO Transit station on the Kitchener line at Woodbine Racetrack as the property undergoes a massive transformation.
Officials held a ground-breaking ceremony at Woodbine Racetrack, located near Highway 27 and Rexdale Boulevard, on Thursday afternoon. The new station will replace Etobicoke North station beside Kipling Avenue and Highway 409, arguing in a statement that it “lacks the capacity to accommodate future growth along the line.”
It details that the future station is set to become one of the busiest across the GO Transit train network and “allow for increased capacity and future expansion improvements on the Kitchener Line.”
The region is desperate for two-way, all-day trains on the line, something that the municipalities and residents have been advocating as a solution to congestion and further improvements economically.
“This new station will provide better access to jobs and the community in a rapidly growing area as we deliver two-way, all-day GO service across the region,” Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, said in a press release.
Provincial officials said that the station will feature new platforms, pedestrian bridges, parking facilities, and other amenities.
Links to UP (Union-Pearson) Express trains along with TTC, MiWay, York Regional Transit and Brampton Transit buses will also be available.
The statement said Woodbine Racetrack will be providing up to $170 million toward the construction.
The plan to move the GO Transit stations was first unveiled in 2019.