Metrolinx introduces new GO Transit Concourse in Union Station

Metrolinx on Monday opened a new York GO Transit Concourse in Toronto's Union Station.

At 62,000 square feet, the new facility is double the size of the current Bay Concourse and will enable faster access to GO Transit train platforms, Metrolinx officials said in a statement. It also prepares for the growth that will accompany the planned Regional Express Rail, they said.

The York GO Transit Concourse features new staircases and elevators, a new customer service counter, new ticket vending machines for self-service and more departure boards.

The Bay Concourse, the current GO Transit facility in the station, will remain open until after the Pan Am Games are held in July. Construction to that concourse will then begin, slated to finish in 2017, according to GO Transit's website.

When both concourses are completed, the total concourse area will triple from its current size.

The new York GO Concourse is part of an ongoing Union Station revitalization plan to improve access to and from Toronto's downtown core, Metrolinx officials said. The agency partnered with the city of Toronto on the project.