Text by Daniel Garcia and James Bow

See Also:

• Off Site Resource: A History of CNR's Newmarket Subdivision.
• Station Walkthrough Videos: Downsview Park | York University | Rutherford | Maple | King City | Aurora | Newmarket | East Gwillimbury | Bradford | Barrie South | Allandale Waterfront
• Transit B-Roll Video: Barrie GO Train at Crossing, October 2017

Service Today

As of October 18, 2021, the Barrie GO train offers eight Toronto-bound runs from Allandale Waterfront GO station in Barrie during the morning rush hour, with two additional morning runs originating from Bradford GO station. These are complemented by seven return runs back to Barrie in the afternoon rush hour plus two additional runs back to Bradford. An additional train leaves Barrie at 1:08 in the afternoon, and again at 9:08 in the evening. Returning, a Barrie GO Train departs Union at 9:53 a.m. and at 1:53 p.m. before six trains return to Barrie during the afternoon rush hour, and another two return to Bradford. Two more trains return to Barrie in the late evening. Weekend service includes six trains departing Barrie for Union throughout the day and evening, all returning (plus one extra to Bradford). In between these times, hourly service is provided between Union and Aurora stations, save four southbound runs during the afternoon rush hour, with GO Train-buses between Union and Barrie filling the gap. Buses also connect trains terminating at Aurora to destinations north to Barrie and returning.

Barrie GO trains start service at Allandale Waterfront station, near the shores of Lake Simcoe and travel south to stop at Barrie South, Bradford, East Gwillimbury, Newmarket, Aurora, King City, Maple, Rutherford, and Downsview Park before running south through Toronto to Union Station. In 2014, the Barrie GO line served 17,000 passengers per day, up from just 7,500 passengers per day in 2012.

Early History

Rails first extended north from Toronto towards Barrie in 1852, when construction began on the Ontario, Simcoe & Northern Railway. Passenger train operation between Toronto and Aurora (then known as Machell's Corners) started on May 16, 1853. On October 11, 1853, service extended north to Barrie. The line would continue north to Collingwood.

Grand Trunk Railway took over operations of the line in 1888 and was itself absorbed by Canadian National in 1923. Passenger service on the line was primarily long-distance and not commuter-related, with Barrie a stop on the way between Toronto and points north, like Collingwood, North Bay and Sudbury. It was only on April 1, 1972, that Canadian National introduced a dedicated commuter service between Barrie and Toronto -- at the orders of the Canadian Transportation Commission. When the federal government transferred the nation's rail passenger operations to VIA Rail, VIA trains took over the commuter run in 1978.

When a recession hit Canada in 1981, the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau looked at cutting VIA Rail's subsidy. The Pepin cuts eliminated 20% of VIA's network, including the complete abandonment of the VIA Rail runs to Barrie, Stouffville and Peterborough. As a result of public pressure, and because these commuter-related services matched GO Transit's mandate, the provincial government stepped in. While the Ontario Ministry of Transportation opted not to have GO Transit take over the Toronto-Peterborough train, it did have GO Transit incorporate the Barrie and Stouffville services into the GO Train network. On September 7th, 1982, GO trains rolled for the first time, connecting Union Station to Bradford. Connecting buses took passengers the rest of the way to Barrie.

The Slow Expansion North

At first, GO Transit ran one round trip on weekdays (morning inbound, afternoon outbound), stopping at Maple, King City, Aurora, Newmarket and Bradford. On September 17, 1990, the Liberal provincial government of David Petersen announced an extension of train service north to Barrie, with a possible further extension to Orillia. Unfortunately, the new service was not popular enough to survive the coming recession and, on July 5, 1993, budget cuts by the New Democratic government forced GO to cut the single train back to Bradford.

For years, the Bradford corridor had the lowest ridership of the GO train network, but development and growth in the Greater Toronto Area caught up with the service, increasing demands for commuter rail north of the City of Toronto. A second Bradford train was added on September 8, 1998, which resulted in a 45% increase in ridership within a few months. GO also added stations on the route, starting with Rutherford Road on January 7, 2001, York University on September 6, 2002, and East Gwillimbury on November 1, 2004.

The dream of extending rail service back to Barrie continued, with the likelihood increasing as the city experienced explosive growth in the late 1990s. Complicating the plan, however, was CN's decision to abandon the Newmarket sub north of Barrie, ripping up the tracks between Barrie and Washago. CN received permission to abandon the Newmarket subdivision from Barrie to Longford on September 21, 1996. VIA Rail operated its last Canadian to Barrie and Orillia the next day, with it and Ontario Northland forced to relocate onto the Bala sub along the east side of Lake Simcoe. The rails from Barrie north were soon lifted and Barrie and Orillia lost what passenger train service they had to Toronto.

Arrival in Barrie, Finally!

The Town of Orillia tried but failed to save the tracks running through its borders from being ripped up, but the City of Barrie and the Town of Collingwood were able to purchase their tracks and set up a short-line to serve them. The Government of Ontario also stepped in to purchase the Newmarket Subdivision north from the York Sub in order to protect its GO Train services to Bradford. The tracks near Lake Simcoe around Allandale Station were ripped up, however.

GO Transit and then Metrolinx continued to upgrade its service to Bradford, even as it moved slowly on restoring service to Barrie. Work started on installing a rail bridge on the Newmarket Subdivision over the CN's intersecting York Subdivision at the old Snider Diamond. This opened to GO Trains in December 2006. Then, thanks to funding from the Government of Ontario and the Federal Government, rail service was extended north of Bradford to the new Barrie South station at the south end of the city. GO Trains started serving this stop on December 17, 2007, restoring a service that hadn't operated for fourteen years, although passengers still had to transfer to buses to continue the rest of the way into Downtown Barrie.

Finally, at the end of 2009, Metrolinx announced plans to close the gap, improving tracks, grade crossings and signals and re-laying twenty kilometres of track that had been taken up. On December 15, 2009, Metrolin announced a deal to purchase the remainder of the Newmarket Subdivision south of the York Subdivision for $68 million, giving the regional transit authority full control of the line from Union to Barrie. The organization started work building a layover facility and restirubg the historic Allandale station in downtown Barrie, at the shores of Lake Simcoe (though it would not be part of the operational GO station). After delays, a ceremonial first train rolled into the rechristened Allandale Waterfront station on January 29, 2012, with regular service starting the day after.

By the summer of 2012, five GO trains operated weekdays between Barrie and Toronto (five inbound in the morning, five outbound in the afternoon). In addition, in late May GO Transit announced that weekend and holiday train service would operate for the summer, with two trains running to and from Barrie, and four trains operating to and from East Gwillimbury (with bus connections taking passengers the rest of the way to Barrie). Although this weekend ridership was initially low (less than 150 passengers per day), the service was resumed for the summer of 2013, with ridership increasing to over 200 passengers per day.

Weekend service became a year-round venture on December 31, 2016, making Barrie the second GO Train line to offer seven-day-a-week service throughout the service day (third if you count the Lakeshore GO line as two lines). It would be joined by the Stouffville GO Train, although its weekend service to Lincolnville as opposed to Mount Joy only occurs early in the morning or late in the evening and is largely the result of the Lincolnville storage yard supplying the trains.

Tour of the Line

From Union Station to Queen and Dufferin (the site of the old Parkdale station), the line runs on CN's Weston Sub, which also carries the Kitchener line. It also parallels CP's former Galt Sub, which carries the Milton line. At Parkdale, the Bradford line branches off onto the Newmarket Sub, which runs parallel to the Weston sub as far as Lansdowne, before rounding the former Knob Hill Farms store at Lansdowne and Dundas. This area has seen substantial redevelopment over the past few years, turning it from industrial to a more commercial and residential appearance. Work on the Weston subdivision has resulted in changes to the route, including an underpass beneath Strachan Avenue and improved rail through the corridor.

North of the junction, the Barrie GO line follows the Newmarket subdivision as it makes a graceful s-curve before heading due north. This line, the first laid in Toronto in the early 1850s, remarkably well designed, running almost razor straight from St. Clair Avenue north to Highway 7 -- although it was not without vertical curves. At St. Clair, in the middle of an industrial area best known for its wine-making supplies, lies a station (just a platform) last used by the VIA transcontinental trains in 1985.

From St. Clair to Wilson, the scenery is predominantly industrial. North of Wilson however, the line runs straight through Downsview Park. The north end of the park will be the site of a connection with the extended Spadina subway. Downsview Park station, which essentially replaced York University station further north, will allow GO passengers to transfer to the subway for connections to York University and many other places near the subway network. The station is expected to open with the subway extension in the fall of 2016

North of Sheppard, the view returns to one of industries: there is even an oil refinery just north of Finch Avenue. After crossing a bus-only roadway for TTC services to York University station, Barrie GO trains stopped a few hundred meters north, at York University station. York University's Keele Campus was a few hundred metres walk to the west, but the University offered shuttle service to connect with arriving and departing GO trains. Never the site of significant ridership, the service remained rush hours only even after midday and weekend service launched on the Barrie GO line. This rush hour service to York University station ended abruptly on March 18, 2020, with the provincial lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure was made formal on July 19, 2021, with the entranceway quickly fenced off and the equipment removed. GO needed to tear up the platform space to install a second track along the mainline as part of its service expansion project.

On into York Region

From the former site of York University station, it is a short trip to Snider crossing, where the Newmarket subdivision used to cross CN's York subdivision. If you look to the west, you can actually see the eastern yard throat to the MacMillian yard as it branches off to the north, underneath Keele Street. As late as 2002, the Barrie line north of the Snider diamond wasn't protected by signals, meaning that the second southbound train departing Bradford in the morning could not move until the first train radioed CN Control that it had reached Maple station (north of Snider). Nor could the second afternoon train move north of the diamond until the first arrived in Bradford. Fixing this bottleneck became a priority as GO added trains and extended service north to Barrie.

North of Snider crossing, it's a short trip to the next stop at Rutherford Road. This station, which opened in January 2001, was built to handle increased ridership from the rapidly rising developments of the City of Vaughan, and to provide relief to the overburdened Maple Station parking lot. A single platform on the side of the tracks is connected with a station building and a 9-bay bus terminal. Passengers can also access a parking lot with space for 983 cars.

After a very short trip further north, the Barrie GO Train arrives at Maple station. Once the first stop of the Bradford GO Train north of Toronto, this stop features a station building built in 1903 by the Grand Trunk Railway to replace an earlier station, built in 1853 by the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Union Railroad. Located within walking distance of the old village of Maple, the station still boasts a parking lot with space enough for 1146 cars.

Continuing north, the Barrie GO Train reaches King City, an established village within the Township of King. Also an original stop on the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron railroad, the historic station has long since been moved, leaving GO to build a more modern facility in its place. Although it is well north of the suburban development of Vaughan, its ridership has increased in recent years, from 199 daily boardings in 2005 to 655 daily boardings in 2012.

North of King City, the Newmarket subdivision curves northeast, crossing Yonge Street before entering the Town of Aurora. The station stop here is another historic building, built by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1900. Passengers connect from the single platform on the side of the tracks with a parking lot with space enough for 1,725 cars. A bus loop, opened on August 21, 2012, offers connection with GO bus and York Region Transit services.

Continuing north, the GO Train pulls into the Town of Newmarket. A stop at Davis Street offers connections with York Region Transit, VIVA BRT and GO Bus services. A parking lot has space for 265 cars.

The next stop after Newmarket is East Gwillimbury, located on Green Lane East in a more suburban setting than Newmarket. The station, opened on November 1, 2004, has a seven-bay bus terminal offering connections to GO bus and York Region Transit services. A parking lot offers space for 637 cars.

Beyond East Gwillimbury, the line curves northwest, paralleling Highway 11 before entering the Town of Bradford, 67 kilometres north of Union. The station, located on Holland Street, offers two platforms, and a station building pre-dating GO Train service. A small parking lot offers space for 322 cars.

After Bradford, the line curves north, running past farm fields towards the City of Barrie. At the south end of town, trains stop at Barrie South station. This stop, which opened for the first time on December 17, 2007, has a single platform on the side of the tracks, as well as a five-bay bus terminal and a parking lot for 623 cars. The bus terminal offers connections for a number of GO Bus and Barrie Transit services. Ridership has grown from 350 passengers per day in 2007 to over 700 passengers per day in 2012.

Trains continue north, towards Lake Simcoe and Allandale Waterfront station. Built south of historic Allandale station, Allandale Waterfront is located on Bradford Street in the heart of Barrie. The facility caters more towards walk-in and transit passengers, with a small parking lot offering space for 150 cars. A layover track near the station holds Barrie GO Trains overnight and over the weekend during the non-summer months.

Seven Days a Week, Two-Way

In December 2016, the Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca announced the launch of year-round weekend and holiday train service on the Barrie line. Three trains would operate from Allandale Waterfront station into Union in the morning, one would return in the late afternoon, and the other two would return later in the evening. In addition to this, seven trains would operate between Aurora and Union GO stations during the midday and early evenings on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with buses from Barrie to Newmarket extended south to connect with these trains.

This expansion made the Barrie line the first outside of the GO Lakeshore line to operate train service seven days a week, year-round. Intriguingly, this expansion did not include two-way service during the midday or evenings on weekends, unlike the Kitchener GO line which received such service to and from Mount Pleasant GO station on September 8, 2015. Further track and signalling improvements were needed before the change could occur.

On August 16, 2017, Metrolinx announced further extensions, effective September 2, 2017. A new inbound-outbound rush-hour train pair was added between Bradford and Union, while two rush-hour trains that had departed and terminated at Maple were extended north to Allandale Waterfront. The number of coaches on these trains would be doubled from six to twelve. There were similar increases in train lengths for some mid-afternoon and evening trains as well.

Finally, on Saturday, December 30, 2017, service began to Downsview Park subway station on the TTC's extension to York University and Vaughan. This stop was expected to replace service to York University GO station further north, but rather than force riders to change trains here to complete their journeys to the University, Metrolinx retained rush hour service to York University station, with southbound trains stopping in the morning and northbound trains stopping in the afternoon, until March 18, 2020, when service to the stop shut down suddenly due to the COVID-19 epidemic. On Tuesday, January 2, 2018, hourly weekday service began between Union and Aurora, with the first northbound train leaving Union at 9:40 a.m. and continuing through midday and into the evening until 10:40 p.m. The last northbound trip at 10:40 p.m. continued past Aurora to terminate at Bradford.

The Future

With Metrolinx owning the tracks north of CN's York subdivision, the future of this service is assured, and more trains are likely as passenger loads increase. Plans are underway to add a second track to the line, which could enable all-day two-way service between Toronto and Barrie by 2023, possibly electrified as part of Metrolinx's proposed Regional Express Rail program. Additional stations are possible as well, including one where the line crosses Highway 7 near the community of Concord, in the City of Vaughan. This station would provide a connection to York Region's VIVA bus rapid transit service, not far from Vaughan's planned downtown core. Other planned stops include one near the community of Innisfil, one at Mulock Drive in the Town of Newmarket, and one near the Front-Spadina intersection in Downtown Toronto. Another station may be built at Eglinton Avenue around 2022, to connect with Caledonia station on the TTC's Eglinton-Crosstown LRT, and a further station is planned at Bloor Street, to provide connections with the Bloor subway at Lansdowne station.

Despite proposals in the early 1990s to extend service to Orillia, extensions north of Barrie are unlikely, as the tracks beyond Allandale Waterfront no longer exist. There have been proposals to extend the service to Collingwood, but the rail connections have to be upgraded for this to happen.

Even so, the arrival of GO Trains at Barrie has signalled a significant increase in the importance of what had, just a few years previous, been one of GO's lesser-used corridors. With two-way service, seven days a week, GO's Barrie line is rivalling the Lakeshore line.

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Barrie GO Train Image Archive

	One of the two Bradford GO Trains departs Union Station and heads for the Newmarket Sub. The Skydome and the CN Tower are in the background, circa 2000. Photo by Daniel Garcia.
	A six-car GO Train led by cab car #306 heads northbound into Downsview Park station in midday GO Barrie service to Aurora on February 14, 2018. Photo by James Bow.
	Downsview Park Station, looking north from the main entrance, as the observation car of a late VIA Rail Canadian passes, around noon on February 14, 2018. Photo by James Bow.
	The western entrance to Downsview Park subway station includes a provision for a second GO Train platform once the Barrie GO line is double-tracked. This photo was taken on February 14, 2018 by James Bow.
	The automated ticket vending kiosk and a portion of the platform at York University GO Station in Toronto, Canada. Photographed from the upper level of a Bombardier BiLevel railway car moving southbound through the station on June 30, 2008. Photo by GTD Aquitaine, used in accordance with his Creative Commons License.
	A Bradford GO Train heads towards Snider Crossing. This was in 2002, before the bridge over the York subdivision was built. Photo by Daniel Garcia.
	A Bradford GO Train at Snider Crossing in 2002. Photo by Daniel Garcia.
	Another shot of Snider Crossing in 2002. Photo by Daniel Garcia.
	The Rutherford GO station building in Rutherford, Ontario, Canada. Photographed by GTD Aquitaine on June 28, 2008 from the upper level of a Bombardier BiLevel coach, looking west. This image is used in accordance with his Creative Commons License.
	Historic Maple GO station, busy with cars on October 6, 2009. Photo by AndroidCat, used in accordance with his creative commons license.
	Another view of Maple GO station's historic station building, as seen from a northbound Barrie GO train on the afternoon of July 17, 2014. Photo by James Bow.
	A northbound Barrie GO Train pauses at Maple GO station on the afternoon of October 11, 2016. Photo by James Bow.
	Passengers detrain at Aurora GO station from the first northbound Barrie GO train of the day, on the afternoon of July 17, 2014. Photo by James Bow.
	A view of the station building at Aurora GO station on the afternoon of July 17, 2014. Photo by James Bow.
	Led by GO cab car #228, a 10-car northbound Barrie GO train pulls into Aurora GO station on the afternoon of July 17, 2014. Photo by James Bow.
	The northbound GO Train looms over its departing passengers, as it's stopped on a banked curve at Newmarket GO station on October 11, 2016. Photo by James Bow.
	The photographer SecondaryWaltz snapped this picture of Bradford GO station, including its station building and GO platform, on July 20, 2013. The image is used in accordance with his Creative Commons License.
	Standing next to GO Transit's Bombardier BiLevel car #2029, looking north along the platform at Barrie South GO Station, on June 27, 2008. Photo by GTD Aquitaine, used in accordance with his Creative Commons License.
	Entrance to Barrie South GO station. The signpost is joined by a portable electronic sign that advertises the weekend summer trains are returning to the line the following weekend. This photo was taken by Galen Cussion on June 18, 2016.
	An all new 6-car GO Train heads north on the Barrie line for the last trip of the night through a farmer's field across from Yonge Street in Stroud. This photo was taken on July 7, 2016 by Galen Cussion.
	The shuttered buildings of Allandale Station, at the foot of Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, in 2004. The tracks to the station had to be re-laid in order to restore passenger train service in January 2012. Photo by GTD Aquitaine, used in accordance with his Creative Commons License.
	On June 18, 2016, Galen Cussion attempts to recreate the shot of Allandale Waterfront station taken by GTD Aquitaine above. In his words, "the landscape has changed slightly in addition to the face-lift of the station, with his vantage point now being the middle of a street!"
	A front-facing view of the restored historic Allandale Station, still unopened due to the dispute of a burial ground beneath the station. This photo was taken by Galen Cussion on June 18, 2016.
	Similar to the restored distance markers at the historic building at Maple GO further south on the line, there is an old destination sign for Toronto (62.7 miles), and North Bay (161.5 miles), The paint here is clearly very old. This photo was taken by Galen Cussion on June 18, 2016.
	This shot, taken from the platform of Allandale Waterfront looking southeast, was snapped by Galen Cussion on June 18, 2016. Union Station is 101km down the line from here.
	An official map of Barrie's GO Train and bus operations, effective June 26, 2017.