Niagara Falls station (Ontario)
Niagara Falls station is a railway station in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It is served by the Maple Leaf train between Toronto and New York City and is the terminus of GO Transit's Lakeshore West line towards Toronto. The Gothic Revival station building, which was built in 1879 by the Great Western Railway, is a designated heritage railway station.[1] It is also listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.[2]
Niagara Falls, ON | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Niagara Falls station in 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 4267 Bridge Street Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°06′32″N 79°03′48″W / 43.1088°N 79.0634°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Regional Municipality of Niagara | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform, 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections | Niagara Falls Transit Terminal  | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade; heritage building | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Free; long and short term | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Unstaffed station | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IATA code | XLV | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 84 (GO Transit) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1879 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1980–1990s | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Official name | VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designated | 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designated | 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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History
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The Victorian Gothic Revival style station was built as the terminus for Great Western Railway (1879–1882) and Grand Trunk Railway (1882–1923).[3] During the period, it was the busiest and the grandest station owned by the railway.[4] The station was renovated in 1951, and the east wing, once housing a restaurant, was partially demolished in 1967.[4] It was acquired by CN Rail for passenger service from 1923 until the 1970s, since when it has been used by Via Rail Canada and more recently by GO Transit since 2009.
In 2012, as a result of federal funding cuts Via Rail Corridor trips between Toronto and Niagara Falls were discontinued, leaving only the single daily Via/Amtrak Maple Leaf service between Toronto and New York. In October 2012, the ticket agent was eliminated, replaced by an automated kiosk.[5]
GO Transit operated summer 'excursion' trains to Niagara Falls on weekends and holidays in 2009 and 2010, making them permanently recurring in 2011. Starting in January 2019, it also began operating a single weekday train trip to and from Niagara Falls. In September 2019, the formerly summer-only weekend train service was extended year-round.
GO Transit was expected to expand full-time rail service along the Niagara Branch to Niagara Falls by 2023 and with it upgrades to the station.[6]
Services
editOn weekdays as of May 2023[update], the station is served by three daily round trips on the GO Transit Lakeshore West line, departing toward Toronto in the morning, afternoon and evening. On weekends the station is served by three daily trains in each direction, departing toward Toronto in the afternoon and evening. At all times, GO Transit bus route 12 operates hourly to Burlington GO Station, where it connects to regular train service to Toronto.[7]
Amtrak and Via Rail Canada jointly operate the Maple Leaf train service between Toronto and New York City. The service uses Amtrak rolling stock, but ticketing is shared, and Via crew operates the train along all Canadian stops until it reaches the station where Amtrak crew takes over the operation. The station was served once daily in each direction until March 2020, when Maple Leaf service within Canada was suspended indefinitely as part of a closure of the Canada–United States border to non-essential travel in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trains from New York City were truncated to Niagara Falls, New York.[8][9] Full service between New York City and Toronto resumed on July 27, 2022.[10]
Customs
editThere are no US preclearance facilities at the station for the Maple Leaf train since both it and its sister station in Niagara Falls, New York, are located along the Canada-US border. Therefore, passengers arriving from the US will be inspected by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at the station. Passengers leaving for the US will be processed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Niagara Falls, New York, station on the other side of the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge.
In January 2020, US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York urged the CBSA to open a preclearance facility in the newer Niagara Falls, New York station as one of Canada’s first preclearance operations to improve what he described as an "unpleasant" Canadian inspection experience in the current open-air and uncovered location. In response, the CBSA said it would not commit to a timeline to open any preclearance facilities in the US.[11]
Niagara Falls Transit Terminal
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The Niagara Falls Transit Terminal is located directly across Bridge Street from the railway station and serves as the main local, regional and intercity bus terminal for the area. Unlike the train station, the transit terminal is owned and operated by the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario.
References
edit- ^ "Directory of Designated Heritage Railway Stations in Ontario". Parks Canada. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ Via Railway Station [Niagara Falls]. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "Heritage Walking Tour". City of Niagara Falls. Archived from the original on April 21, 2007.
- ^ a b "Via Railway Station - Heritage Property". City of Niagara Falls. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ Ricciuto, Tony (October 24, 2012). "Niagara Falls Review:End of the line for Via staff". Niagara Falls Review. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
- ^ "GO Transit service to expand to Grimsby by 2021, Niagara Falls by 2023". CTV News Toronto. June 28, 2016. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- ^ "Niagara Falls/Toronto GO Train and Bus Schedule" (PDF). GO Transit. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ "Service Adjustments Due to Coronavirus" (Press release). Amtrak. March 24, 2020. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
- ^ Dickson, Jane (March 18, 2020). "Canada-U.S. border to close except for essential supply chains". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "Amtrak resumes service from New York to Toronto on Monday". 27 June 2022.
- ^ Reilly, Ed (January 13, 2020). "Schumer to Canada: Implement pre-clearance for Amtrak trains". WKBW. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
External links
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