Weekend Roundup

Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler
Skywatch Friday
ABC Wednesday

1. Starts with "U."
2. A Favorite
3. Up

For the letter of the week for this round I am going to go with all things TTC, Toronto Transit Corporation.

Starts with "U"

The iconic Union Station opened in 1954 as one of twelve original stations on the first phase of the Yonge line, the first rapid transit line in Canada.

 It was the southern terminus of the line until the opening of the University line in 1963, and is today the inflection point of the U-shaped line.

Along with Spadina station, it is one of two stations open overnight.

Union station is located on Front Street between the Yonge Street and University Avenue sections of the line. It is named for and directly connects to the railway station and regional bus terminal of the same name, serving all GO Transit train lines and train-bus services as well as Via Rail intercity routes (including Amtrak's Maple Leaf service to New York City). It connects to the Union Pearson Express (UPX), a dedicated rail link to Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is the only subway station with a direct connection to Via services.

In 2003, planning began on a station expansion to address overcrowding in the station. Despite being one of the busiest stations in the system, the station had only one narrow island platform serving both the University and Yonge lines, and a small concourse area.



The resulting plan was to build a new subway platform on the south side of the tracks to serve the Yonge line, leaving the existing island platform to serve only the University line. This new platform would feature a level connection to the streetcar platform. The project also included significantly expanding the concourse level and replacing all finishes.

Preparatory work began in 2006, and construction began in February 2011.The new second platform opened on August 18, 2014.

FAVOURITE

As part of the second platform project, a glass wall was built to block off the southern side of the old platform, since it now only serves the University line. 

It features the art piece "Zones of Immersion" by Stuart Reid, a professor at the OCAD University, The work comprises 166 large glass panels, each measuring more than one by two metres, extending 170-metre (560 ft) along the length of the platform. 

Mostly transparent, it is visible from both the Yonge and University platforms. Each panel contains images or words, many based on sketches that Reid drew while riding the subway.

Up

November 2018 - Toledo Spain