Hamilton GO Centre


Hamilton GO Centre is a commuter rail station and bus terminal in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As the terminal stop for evening rush-hour Lakeshore West line trains, it is a major hub for GO Transit bus and train services. The terminal is also served by intercity coach services, including Greyhound Canada and Coach Canada.

History

Hamilton GO Centre is a Streamline Moderne building designed by New York architects Fellheimer & Wagner. It was planned as a large complex, but was reduced in size to that of a 7-storey office block. It opened in 1933 as the head office and the Hamilton station of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway. Passenger service on the TH&B was discontinued on April 26, 1981, and the TH&B merged into the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1987, leaving the facility disused.
In the early 1990s, GO Transit provided service out of two facilities in Hamilton: trains were routed along the CN Grimsby subdivision to the Hamilton CNR Station 1.6 km to the north, and buses operated from an older bus station on the northern edge of Hamilton's Central Business District at John Street North and Rebecca Street. In order to better connect GO Transit service to Hamilton's CBD, improve the interface with the Hamilton Street Railway, and consolidate train and bus services at a single site, renovations were undertaken to convert the TH&B station into the Hamilton GO Centre. The new facility, designed by Garwood-Jones & Hanham Architects, opened on April 30, 1996.

Hamilton Street Railway

On June 28, 2009, downtown bus routes were realigned and new bus platforms inside the GO Centre become the downtown terminus points for routes 1 King, 2 Barton and 3 Cannon. The seasonal route 51 University continued to stop inside the station's bus terminal. Many other Hamilton Street Railway routes stop immediately adjacent to the Hamilton GO Centre, on Hunter, James, and John streets.

GO Transit

The GO station is served by GO's Lakeshore West line during peak hours; bus service to Aldershot Station in neighbouring Burlington is offered off-peak. It serves as the western terminus of GO bus routes 16, 18, 40, and 47. Via Rail trains do not serve Hamilton, but interchange with the GO line at Aldershot.

Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway Museum

A railway museum with an interpretation centre is located on the mezzanine level.

Bus platform assignments