What’s going on subway surfers, we’re back on the surface today for our series, Random
Transiting. For this series, we explore a random bus stop, route or other notable transit
facility, taking a look at some interesting facts about the chosen transit feature. For
this edition, we’re exploring Toronto’s least used GO station at York University.
I’m Zach with Vanishing Underground, and let’s take a look.
York University GO Station is located near the intersection of Keele Street and Steeles
Avenue West in North York, roughly 16 kilometres northwest of downtown Toronto, and 1.5 kilometres
east of the York University campus. The station design is minimal, containing a singular 12
car train platform, equipped with 2 shelters. A raised platform near the entrance to the
station allows for accessible boardings at the stop, and benches along the platform provide
passengers with a place to sit and wait for the train. A next train departure screen, ticket
vending machine, payphone and PRESTO readers are also located on the platform, however
no station building is present at this stop. The station can be accessed by a singular walkway leading
to Canartic Drive, a local roadway in the neighbouring industrial park. Since the opening
of the Spadina Subway Extension and the adjoining Downsview Park station, train service to York
University was reduced to rush hours only, with eight southbound departures in the morning,
and eight northbound departures in the evening on weekdays. As a result, York University
is one of the least used stations on the GO Transit network, with an average of only 138 daily passengers
in 2019. While Metrolinx had initially wanted to close York University station with the opening
of the subway, pressure from the City of Toronto and York University students kept the station
open on a reduced schedule.
Transit connections to the station are limited,
given the isolated location of the stop. The station was initially opened in 2002, at that
time only serviced by the southbound 41B Keele bus a 450m walk west. YRT added rush hour
service to the station in 2004, with the 3B Thornhill-York University route diverting
to service the station. However, this route was discontinued in 2011 due to low ridership.
TTC replaced the 41B with the 107 St Regis bus in late 2017, which offered bi-directional
but ran less frequently. York University also operates a shuttle bus, connecting the GO
station with the main campus of the university.
So what does the future hold for this isolated station?
In light of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, GO Transit discontinued service
to the York University station, with the last train departing the station at 7:28pm on March
17. While no official announcement has been made by GO Transit, the station has been removed
from the September schedules for the Barrie line, as well as from most parts of the GO
Transit website. Given that York University plans to hold most of their classes online
until at least May 2021, it is unlikely that the station will see service in the next year,
and might be permanently closed as originally planned. However, new PRESTO readers were
recently installed at the station, and the stop continues to appear in GO Expansion documents
for the corridor, meaning that service might eventually resume to the station as demand
increases. But given that the station has been sitting abandoned for over six months, the
possibility of service resuming diminishes with each passing month.
Thanks for watching. We hope you enjoyed this video, and perhaps found a new place to check out
on your next adventure. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, and as
always, drop a like if you enjoyed this video. As for us here, we’ll be Vanishing Underground
until the next one.