Does anyone know if there is a real time display in the concourse? That would be useful for commuters heading up the central downtown corridor, as many would likely want to grab the first train which comes, regardless as to whether it runs up Yonge or University.
Not as of yet. Would be useful though. I've certainly jumped on a different train than I originally planned if there's been a long delay on one side.

That raises a question though. There's no displays on the platform yet. And I was wondering where they could go, given the ceiling looked a bit lower than usual, and the usual big TV would be hitting peoples heads. I assume there is a plan of some kind.
 
There's no displays on the platform yet. And I was wondering where they could go, given the ceiling looked a bit lower than usual, and the usual big TV would be hitting peoples heads. I assume there is a plan of some kind.
Wall-mounted screens?
 
Looked fine when I went through. There are 20 doors out of the TTC station compared to 6 into the GO station. I can't imagine there will be issues on the TTC side.

It's always going to be crowded. Overall, it looks a lot bigger than it used to.

Looking at the existing and proposed at http://www.ttc.ca/PDF/About_the_TTC..._Station_Presentation_March_4_2011.pdf#page=3 the west bypass fare unpaid area is much wider that the old bottleneck between the stairs, and is now quite separate from most of the people walking to the TTC station. If you stay left (while heading north), you should have a much easier walk through the station than you used to, assuming you come out of those doors from the GO station.

Just so I understand the plan a little better - are there eventually going to be more doors in the GO station side to that concourse where currently there is a chocolate shop, a muffin shop, and a McDonalds? if so then that would be totally fine. Right now there's essentially one set of doors that 90% of people funnel through, and its completely offset from the doors that allow easy access to the path.
 
From a few hours ago...

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And a bonus shot from Front...

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Just a minor quibble - the individual light fixtures are just so slightly off alignment to be noticeable, made worse by the triangular profile (vs. the round prior).

AoD
 
Looks so dull. I miss the original Union station colours.

This was the original appearance. The brown was from the 1979-80 reno, when other stations went brown (King, College, Davisville).

Union Station 1978.JPG


UNION.jpg
 

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Thanks for sharing those old photos, AlbertHWagstaff! The original stations were so wonderfully minimal and clutter-free.

I noticed quite a few details today that could have been better executed... corners that don't fit perfectly, uneven ceiling tiles, etc. The site is still a massive construction zone, however, so hopefully a lot of the little bits will be corrected over time.

Overall a massive improvement from the claustrophobic old station experience. The ceilings are still low and the platform still narrow, but given the overall site constraints, definitely a huge improvement.
 
Wall-mounted screens?
Possibly ... but how would you see them down the platform?

Just so I understand the plan a little better - are there eventually going to be more doors in the GO station side to that concourse where currently there is a chocolate shop, a muffin shop, and a McDonalds? if so then that would be totally fine. Right now there's essentially one set of doors that 90% of people funnel through, and its completely offset from the doors that allow easy access to the path.

Once the new GO western concourse opens (later this year?) - between the existing VIA concourse and York Street, the entire existing GO concourse is going to close for 2-3 years, and be completely rebuilt, including deepening it, so there won't be any stairs at all between the TTC station the GO station. And there'll be a glass roof on the moat. There's a separate thread about that project - http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showth...-Building-Revitalization-(City-of-TO-U-C-NORR)

And a whole City website about the project: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=f50e962c8c3f0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD

The end result is the stairs from the TTC to GO will end up looking like this:
012east_moat.jpg

Looking southwest from new TTC exit near Bay towards GO entrance and York
 
I took a look as well. It was exciting, since kind of feels like a new subway station opening in a way (ha ha).

The signage was great, overall the look of it was great, modern, clean, well lit. The platform itself, some parts were wide, but some were narrower than I would've imagined for a brand new platform. Still a huge improvement over one platform, it's just that I would've thought they would've gone super-wide for the whole platform given it's a new one, but I guess they still had space restrictions.

Reactions from people were confusion and curiosity.

MafaldaBoy, 3rd photo down, that man does not look happy.
 
IMG_20140818_140742.jpg


Visited today. Very impressed with the execution, but at least one minor detail slipped through the cracks.
 

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Passed by the station a short while ago. I like the minimalism of the station. Bright white for now, kind of like the redone Pape.

My only gripe, which I hope is temporary, is the decision of TTC to install more Presto turnstiles... except for the wheelchair gate. The barrier-less Presto-equipped entry point is blocked off as it now heads into the new entrance. The other barrier-less entry is only useful for University-bound trains.

I hope this is only temporary as TTC amps up the Presto rollout - currently to take bikes (which I do often), strollers, or folks in wheelchairs/scooters and use Presto requires a collector to intervene.
 

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