The addition of five new SmartTrack stations will give Toronto residents a new way to travel.

With GO Train tracks already laid across the city, the SmartTrack plan would see new stations added to existing lines to give Torontonians more opportunities to jump on a train and move through the city faster.

SmartTrack stations are projected to bring 110,000 new daily riders to the GO rail network by 2031, becoming an example of how making transit easier to use creates a network effect that will result in better and faster service, encouraging more people to use it.

The five stations are:

King-Liberty

Located near Liberty Village on the Kitchener GO Line

King-Liberty Station will deliver a new transit option in one of the most densely populated sections of Toronto.

Instead of boarding the King streetcar, Liberty Village residents will be one quick stop away from Union Station on GO’s Kitchener Line.  Airport-bound riders will be able to go north and connect to UP Express at Bloor or in future, at Mount Dennis.

Bloor-Lansdowne

In Toronto’s west end on the Barrie GO Line

West end residents will benefit from the Bloor-Lansdowne Station which will give them a shortcut to downtown on the Barrie Line and options to travel north to Downsview (York University), Vaughan and beyond. 

Located between the Lansdowne and Dundas West stations – just west of St. Helen’s Avenue – it will provide easy transfers to the Bloor-Danforth subway line and UP Express.

Pedestrians will enjoy scenic walks on the way in, from the Davenport Diamond greenway and the West Toronto Railpath.

St. Clair-Old Weston

In Toronto’s Stockyards area along the Kitchener Line

On the Kitchener Line, St. Clair-Old Weston will bring a new, faster transit choice to a part of the city that currently has no rapid transit.

The station is being designed as a bus hub with easy transfers for people coming in from surrounding neighbourhoods.

Finch-Kennedy

In Scarborough along the Stouffville GO Line

Finch-Kennedy Station will improve Stouffville Line service from Scarborough. On Finch Avenue East between Milliken Boulevard and Midland Avenue, it will offer passengers seamless access to frequent TTC bus connections on Finch.

East Harbour

A new transit hub just east of the Don River with stops for both Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO Trains

This will be a major hub with stops on both the Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO Lines, offering seamless connectivity to the Ontario Line subway and the extension of TTC streetcar service further south along Broadview Avenue.

Transfers at East Harbour will enable people to bypass Union Station, reducing crowding there too.

SmartTrack transit connections

Another key part of the SmartTrack plan is the many transit connections these stations will unlock.

The five stations will help connect to existing lines like the Bloor-Danforth subway and UP Express, as well as future routes including the Finch West LRT, Eglinton Crosstown LRT and the Ontario Line subway project.

Connections will make them important hubs, giving people shortcuts across the city, reducing the need to go all the way to Union Station for connections.

What progress has been made on the SmartTrack Stations program?

Metrolinx and the City of Toronto signed the SmartTrack Main Agreement on September 20, 2023.

Metrolinx entered into an Alliance Development Agreement for the East Harbour Transit Hub with Rail Connect Partners (Project Management and Construction) and Hatch (Design) in Nov. 2022, and early works for the project have already commenced.

Early works have also started at the future site of Finch-Kennedy GO Station, with early works at King-Liberty GO Station anticipated to begin later this year.

The contract for Bloor-Lansdowne GO Station was awarded to Grascan Construction Ltd. in July 2023 with work anticipated to also begin later this year.

Stay tuned for more signs of progress in the coming months.