Yet another phase of work starts for Union Station's endless reconstruction

Work recently began for another stage in Union Station's seemingly never-ending construction, and it will be years before there is any hope of a return to normal at Toronto's key transportation hub.

Metrolinx kicked off preliminary construction at Union Station in mid-August for its GO Expansion project, starting with the removal of a section of canopy over two platforms to facilitate platform widening.

Crews are now preparing to remove the canopy over existing tracks 11 and 12, which is set to come down in December. 

It's not a change anyone is going to get super worked up about in the grand scheme of things, but when you zoom out to the broader construction waves the station has endured for the better part of two decades, it would be understandable if people got annoyed about the sight of more construction fencing going up at Union.

The City of Toronto's multi-year revitalization of Union Station, known as the Union Station Revitalization Project, launched in 2010 and, after 11 gruelling years of construction, was finally deemed complete in July 2021, but most people at the time weren't falling for it.

The $824-million upgrade saw Union Station's floor area increase by roughly 14 per cent, more than tripled GO's concourse capacity, added roughly 160,000 square feet of retail and dining, improved PATH connections, and enclosed the station's moats in glass canopies.

However, those were just the City's upgrades to Union Station, and Metrolinx had its own round of changes that have continued pretty much non-stop ever since.

The work now being carried out as part of Metrolinx's similarly named but totally unaffiliated Union Station Enhancement Project is just the latest in a project launched in early 2022 to prepare the rail hub for GO Transit's planned partial electrification by 2036 and two-way, all-day service every 15 minutes or faster.

Once these upgrades are complete, Metrolinx says Union Station will have the capacity to run up to 80 trains per hour during peak periods, which is four times the current level.

As of 2026, it has been 16 years since Union Station was free of construction, and it could be several more until the dust and noise finally settle for good.