From the Star:
Union Station reno to chase away gloom
Heritage train shed, platforms getting $196 million makeover
Tess Kalinowski Transportation Reporter
Published On Sat Jan 09 2010
Most GO commuters hopping a train at Union Station wouldn't recognize the blackened, leaky roof over the platforms as a Canadian architectural jewel.
But on Monday, GO Transit begins the mammoth task of transforming one of the city's gloomiest spaces into a light-filled, 21st-century terminus, while preserving the designated heritage features of the 1929 train shed.
The trick will be getting the work done – including construction of a floating glass atrium and green roof features – while keeping commuters on the move.
The makeover will be carried out in 13 stages, phased over five years – at a time when 25 per cent more commuters are expected to use the station, said Mike Wolczyk, director of Union Station Infrastructure.
In Phase 1, hoarding will be installed along the south end of the 2.8-hectare shed, which stretches from York St. to Bay St., covering GO platform 24 and VIA platform 21.
It will take about a month just to install that much hoarding, but work on that section of the roof should be complete by fall.
Meantime, some GO commuters will see minor changes in their usual platforms. The first to be affected will be those on the five morning trains that arrive on platforms 25 and 26.
Riders will no longer be able to disembark from both sides of the train; they will have to exit through the doors on one side, something passengers who land on platform 27 already do every morning.
Although the platforms are narrow, they have many exits down to the GO teamways and concourse, Wolczyk said.
"We're watching that we don't get conflicts between two trains," he said, noting two trains arriving and unloading at the same time would be "problematic."
What passengers won't see behind the hoarding is the demolition of parts of the existing roof and the assembly of the new roof and atrium.
"Because we're going through (the train shed) one slice at a time, we do all the work that has to happen over those two tracks. The atrium gets completely built (that far), and then we move to the next two tracks and do everything in that section," said Wolczyk.
The $196 million train shed renovation is part of a $640 million makeover of the station that GO is sharing with the city and the TTC.
The three parties are coordinating to try to minimize the inconvenience to the 200,000 people who use the station daily.
The city has already restored the west-side pedestrian bridge. The east side is underway and should be completed by spring.
On the east wing, crews are investigating the condition of the stonework and mortar. But most city construction doesn't start till spring.
The TTC will also start work this summer on a second subway platform at Union and on improvements to the mezzanine level. Those projects are expected to take about three years and cost about $137.5 million, said spokesman Brad Ross.
Later in the year, the south side of Front St. will be dug up in order to build the new subway platform, which will be wider to ease the surge of traffic currently handled by just one.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tra...48483--union-station-reno-to-chase-away-gloom
AoD
I've sure I've been in economy with assigned seating on certain trains.
