It’s a sunny Saturday in downtown Toronto on Aug. 6, 1927.  

A large crowd has gathered at Union Station where Edward VIII – the then-Prince of Wales – is the first person to step off a train into Union Station. He uses a pair of gold scissors to cut a ceremonial ribbon, opening the station building for service.  

"You build your stations like we build our cathedrals,” said the Prince of Wales during the opening ceremony.

Union Station opens 

Union Station’s opening 97 years ago was a significant event. The spectacle drew in not only royalty, but numerous members of the Ontario and Canadian governments to celebrate the transit achievement.  

Accompanied by his brother, Prince George, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Ontario Lieutenant Governor William Donald Ross, Edward VIII was presented with a gold key that unlocked the station.  

The Prince of Wales also purchased the first ticket ever issued at Union Station. It was for a trip to Alberta and cost $71.20, which is equivalent to roughly $1,247 today.  

Later that week, the track network was shifted and on August 11, 1927, the first passenger trains dispatched from the station, launching Canada’s busiest multimodal passenger transportation hub. It was later designated a National Historic Site in 1975. 

History of Union Station 

Before its current location, there were two previous Union Stations built in Toronto.  

The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada established a station at the corner of Front and Bay Streets in 1855, which later turned into a shared facility with the Great Western Railway and Northern Railway. This was Toronto’s first Union Station.  

With growing demand, it was replaced by a second Union Station on the same site, opening in 1873 on Front Street between York and Simcoe Streets. The Canadian Pacific Railway began using the facility in 1884. It was expanded to accommodate more tracks, ticket offices, waiting rooms and railway offices, with renovations completed in 1896. 

Even though this second station was nearly double the size of the previous station, demands for an even larger station came soon after its completion. By 1911, the station saw an average 40,000 passengers on more than 130 trains daily.  

Construction on the present Union Station began around 1914 but was delayed for several years due to the First World War. The old Union Station was torn down in 1931, four years after the present station officially opened. 

Looking ahead 

Union Station continues to undergo much needed modernization to meet transit needs now, and into the future. Currently, work at Union Station is underway as part of GO Expansion to deliver two-way, all-day rail service every 15 minutes or better along core segments of the GO network. 

 Once upgrades are complete, Union Station will be able to accommodate up to 80 trains per hour – four times current levels. GO Transit customers will also enjoy a new south concourse that will seamlessly connect Bay and York Streets, provide additional access points to and from the platform levels, and maintain connections into the Bay, York, and VIA concourses, Union Square and Scotiabank Arena. 

With these improvements, GO will better serve the thousands of passengers who move through Union Station each day providing faster, safer, and more accessible transit. 

For more information on the Union Station Enhancement Project, please visit metrolinx.com/ and follow @GOExpansion on X and Instagram.