Ranking Every GO Station, Part 5 (The Last One!)

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Finally! In this blog post, I will be ranking my top ten GO stations. Frankly, the top ten was quite easy to decide, but the order was a bit more difficult. Additionally, at the end of this post, there will also be a bonus ranking!

#10: Hamilton GO Centre

Despite its name, this station acts more secondary within Hamilton, since train service is limited to rush hours. However, bus service is extensive: GO operates routes 16, 17, 18, 40, 41, and 47 from here, to numerous destinations. The 18K is the only route that operates from here down the peninsula. In addition, HSR service here is heavy: routes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 20 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 33, 35 and 51 serve this station (either directly or on James), meaning that transfers to much of Hamilton, most notably on the Mountain, are easy and convenient. The area around downtown Hamilton is dense, with a lot of cool stores and places to check out. Even the station building is cool! Overall, the station works well, but particularly so as the city's less important station for rail.

#9: Stouffville

While not all Stouffville Line service reaches here, the station itself ranks highly. Downtown Stouffville's walkable strip is located on both sides of the station, and the station itself is housed in a historic building. Additionally, since most parking demand is accommodated at Old Elm, Stouffville's lots are not as extensive as many other GO stations, fitting it into the surrounding environment cleanly.

Café shoutout: Red Bulb!

The historic train station.

#8: Port Credit

This station stands out amongst many of the suburban GO stations: the immediate neighbourhood has high-density towers, meaning many people are within walking distance to the frequent train service. Bus connections here travel across Mississauga, and the historic village of Port Credit is a really nice place to spend some time. Eventually, the Hurontario LRT was operate from here, improving travel across Peel.

Café shoutout: Archtop!

#7: Kitchener

Kitchener's station is, fittingly, the last on the Kitchener Line. This station is located close to downtown Kitchener, and is a short five minute walk to the ION LRT. Eventually, the plan is to relocate the station from this historic building to a new site at King, immediately atop the ION station, allowing for quick and easy transfers. There are bus connections too: both for Grand River Transit and the PC Connect service.

Café shoutout: Smile Tiger!

A rendering of the new Kitchener GO station.

#6: West Harbour

This is the more important of the two Hamilton GO stations, despite being a bit further away from downtown. That said, it is located on the James high street, with numerous cool places to check out as you walk closer to the central parts of downtown. While this station has far less bus connections than Hamilton GO Centre, there are a few decent ones, and eventually this station will be the location of a major transit hub for numerous HSR routes.

Café shoutout: Mulberry!

#5: Danforth

This GO station is located a short walk from Main Street subway station, which is a super convenient link that I regularly take advantage of. Main Street is also a major bus hub, allowing a number of destinations to be easily accessed from the GO train. There is also a decent bit of density in the Main Square complex, again, providing convenient trips downtown for many people.

#4: Bloor

This station is the west-end equivalent of Danforth, serving Dundas West subway station on the Kitchener Line and UP Express. The transfer here is a bit more inconvenient than Danforth, but will eventually be connected with a tunnel under the Crossways. The surface connections here, notably the 504 and 505 streetcars, are great because they allow access to destinations downtown that are not just in the core.

#3: Brampton

Brampton GO station, located right downtown, benefits from being at the city's four corners. Because of this, bus connections within Brampton area great, including three ZUM routes. GO also has bus service from here in a number of directions, including the only connection to Orangeville, via route 37. Downtown Brampton is walkable, and has slowly been growing to become an innovation district and education center. With GO train service seven days a week as of April, downtown Brampton has become an important part of the region.

Café shoutout: Segovia!

A view of downtown Brampton, with the GO station located adjacent to the open construction site towards the back.

#2: Guelph Central

Four of the top ten stations are on the Kitchener Line, which runs through numerous historic downtowns. Guelph Central is no exception. Despite rail service not yet being amazing, GO offers a large number of bus connections here that travel around the region, including Kitchener, Hamilton, Mississauga, and Vaughan. All Guelph Transit routes north of the river operate from here, including the 99 Mainline route, which runs at ten minute frequencies. This route also serves UC, allowing connections to every Guelph Transit route with only one transfer. GOST operates their transit service from here to, to Owen Sound, meaning that you can take transit from here in every direction. Downtown Guelph is quite cute, and the station is pretty central. Overall, this station is top tier, and when the frequent service arrives 'soon', it will transform Guelph's position in the region.

#1: Union

Well, this should be no surprise. Union Station has connections to all eight GO lines, GO bus routes the TTC subway, TTC streetcar routes, TTC bus routes, VIA Rail, and motorcoaches. It is located near the region's economic driver, and is a short walk to numerous entertainment venues and tourist attractions. The station itself has numerous food and shopping options, and the building is impressive. It should come as no surprise that this is the busiest transit hub in the country. 

Maybe one day we will be able to take a train to all the cities listed on the wall...

BONUS!

I decided, as a bonus, I would briefly rank all GO stations that are currently under construction, or are planned. I did not include the Bolton Line, since the line and its stations seem shrouded in secrecy. Obviously, things could change as more details are revealed, but this is my preliminary ranking, from best to worst:
  1. Mount Dennis
  2. Front-Spadina
  3. Bloor-Lansdowne
  4. Thornton's Corners East
  5. Park Lawn
  6. Caledonia
  7. Concord
  8. Bowmanville
  9. Ritson
  10. Confederation
  11. Woodbine
  12. Mulock
  13. Kirby
  14. Beamsville
  15. Grimsby (Casablanca)
  16. Breslau
  17. Innisfil
  18. Courtice
Thank you for reading (and putting up with this series for the past few weeks). I will now be returning to regular programming (my ramblings).

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