Mimico GO Station

Mimico GO Station is a railway station in the GO Transit network located in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a stop on the Lakeshore West line train service, serving the Mimico neighbourhood.

Mimico
General information
Location	315 Royal York Road Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates	43°36′59″N 79°29′50″W
Owned by	Metrolinx
Platforms	1 island platform 1 side platform
Tracks	3
Connections	TTC buses
Construction
Parking	259 spaces (+ 71 temporary)
Bicycle facilities	rack
Other information
Station code	GO Transit: MI
Fare zone	79
History
Opened	May 23, 1967 (as a GO station)[1][2]
Passengers
2019	433,000
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station Long Branch towards West Harbour Lakeshore West Exhibition towards Union Station
Former services Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station Long Branch toward Suspension Bridge Niagara Falls – Toronto Local stops Sunnyside toward Toronto

The small station building is situated north of the tracks on the east side of Royal York Road. The building is connected by a tunnel under the tracks and stairs to the platforms, which are therefore not wheelchair accessible. There is an additional bypass track which runs between the platforms and another two tracks on the south side, which access the Willowbrook Rail Maintenance Facility.

This station and Long Branch are the only two stations on the Lakeshore West line which are not fully accessible.

History

It was the building of the first railway in Ontario in the 1850s between Hamilton and Toronto through what would become the Town of Mimico that led to the first plan for a town at this location. A Mimico Station was built on the north side of the tracks just south of Mimico's Christ Church (the first church in Etobicoke) on the east side of Church St (Royal York) at the end of Windsor Street.^[3] This development meant the name Mimico became more associated with the area where the railway crossed the Mimico Creek to its station on Church St (Royal York) rather than the former Mimico at the Mimico Creek and the early Highway; Dundas. Nevertheless, the 1856 subdivision plan for Mimico largely failed and it was after the more successful 1890 plan for a Town at Mimico the 'old' Mimico Railway Station building, constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway was built in 1916 as well as the Windsor Hotel (Blue Goose Tavern). With the creation of the Government of Ontario's regional train GO service a new station was constructed on the site of the original 1856 Mimico Station, north of the tracks on the east side of Royal York just south of Christ Church. The 1916 Mimico Station deteriorated and was close to demolition when it was saved by community volunteers and moved to a new permanent location in Coronation Park at the northwest corner of Judson St and Royal York Rd in 2007.^[4] The building is now being restored with the intention of converting it into a local museum.

The current GO station was built in 1967 when GO train service first started along the line.^[1] A modernization project began in August 2013 and was completed by 2018. It included the expansion of the platforms to fit 12-car trains, an expanded parking area, a pedestrian tunnel to Manchester Street, and a new station building.^[5]

By April 2022, Metrolinx and Vandyk Properties had signed an agreement to build a new Mimico GO Station along with an adjacent Transit Oriented Community. (However, by January 2024, Vandyk's residential development project near Mimico GO went into receivership.) The new station would have featured:^[1][6]

• A new, accessible main station building
• A new secondary entrance building with tunnel access
• 300 underground parking spaces
• Covered storage space for 96 bicycles
• A plaza with a pick-up and drop-off area
• A new station access path for pedestrians and cyclists

Connecting transit

The Toronto Transit Commission's 76 Royal York South bus route operates along Royal York Road close to the station, linking it to Royal York subway station in the north and the 507 Long Branch streetcar route to the south. On June 25, 2018, the TTC started operating 176 Mimico GO bus service on a one way loop between the Lake Shore bus loop (Park Lawn Road) and Mimico GO Station every 30 minutes, which meets with GO train trips during peak periods.^[7]

References

1. "Mimico GO Station to be transformed as part of Metrolinx and Vandyk Properties signed agreement". Metrolinx. April 13, 2022. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022.
2. "GO celebrates 40 years of success". News Wire. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012.
3. Currell, Harvey (1967). "The Mimico Story", Corporation of the Town of Mimico, Mimico, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Pg 42
4. "Mimico Station Community Organization". Archived from the original on July 7, 2017.
5. "Mimico GO Station Improvements". GO Transit. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
6. "Receivers appointed to last of developer Vandyk's projects". The Globe and Mail. January 31, 2024.
7. "176 Mimico GO bus service". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved February 23, 2019.

External links

• Media related to Mimico GO Station at Wikimedia Commons
• GO Transit station page for Mimico GO Station