London station (Ontario)

London station (French: Gare de London, IATA: XDQ) in London, Ontario, Canada is a major interchange for Via Rail trains running from Toronto west to Sarnia and Windsor. The station is a large, modern, wheelchair accessible building on the south end of the city centre, and connects to local public transit bus services.

London
A Via train at the station in London, Ontario
General information
Location	205 York Street, London, ON Canada
Coordinates	42.9819°N 81.2464°W / 42.9819; -81.2464
Owned by	Via Rail
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	5
Connections	LTC  3  Downtown to Argyle Mall via Hamilton  4  Fanshawe College to White Oaks Mall  5  Byron to Argyle Mall  6  University Hospital to Parkwood Institution  13  Masonville to White Oaks Mall  15  Huron Heights to Westmount Mall  90  Express Route from Masonville to White Oaks Mall
Construction
Structure type	Staffed station
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	GO Transit: LN
IATA code	XDQ
Website	London train station
History
Opened	1963
Rebuilt	2001
Services
Preceding station Via Rail Following station Strathroy toward Sarnia Sarnia–Toronto St. Marys toward Toronto Glencoe toward Windsor Windsor–Toronto Ingersoll toward Toronto
Former services Preceding station GO Transit Following station Terminus Kitchener (express, 2021-2023) St. Marys towards Union Station Preceding station Amtrak Following station Strathroy toward Chicago International St. Marys 1990–2004 toward Toronto Ingersoll 1982–1990 toward Toronto Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station Hyde Park toward Sarnia Grand Trunk Railway Main Line Dorchester toward Montreal Hyde Park toward Goderich Goderich – London Terminus Terminus London – Stratford Pottersburg toward Stratford Hyde Park toward Detroit London – Detroit Terminus
Location London station Location in Southern Ontario London station Location in Ontario London station Location in Canada

History

Former CN station in 1966

The first passenger station at this site was completed by Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1853. The station continued to serve the London area for the Grand Trunk Railway after the two companies amalgamated in 1882. The original building survived until 1935 when it was torn down to make way for a new station built by the Canadian National Railway.

The first CN station was demolished and gave way to two structures, a three-storey building at 205 York Street (now home to the CN Credit Union) completed in 1963 and the 10-storey CN Tower Building at 197 York Street built in 1969. The latter building, an International-style structure was closed in 2000 as CN staff dwindled and was imploded at 9:15 a.m., on February 4, 2001. During demolition of the 1969 structure and construction of the present station, train services temporarily reverted to the 1963 station. The old credit union building was incorporated into the current station structure after 2001 and remaining site of the old station became a parking lot. The platform area from the previous stations were retained in the new station.

The International Limited was operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak between Chicago and Toronto. The service operated from 1982–2004. The current Corridor service maintains the Canadian section of the International route.

From October 18, 2021 until October 2023, GO Transit operated a single daily round trip between Toronto and London on the Kitchener line commuter rail service on weekdays during the peak periods.

See also

• Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (Via Rail) – trans-provincial passenger rail corridor which includes London
• Rail transport in Ontario

External links

• Media related to London, Ontario railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Via Rail station page for London station (Ontario)