University of Waterloo Station is a bus terminal and light rail station located at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The site initially opened as a light rail station on Grand River Transit's ION light rail line in 2019, and the bus terminal for GRT buses was subsequently opened in 2022. The bus terminal is shared with GO Transit, which uses the easternmost eastbound platforms as its University of Waterloo Terminal for its intercity bus service.
History Before construction of the light rail station, GRT and intercity bus services had been slowly intensifying at a set of stops along the east end of the University of Waterloo's Ring Road near the Davis Centre building, most significantly Grand River Transit (including the 200 iXpress bus which was the predecessor of the Ion light rail system), GO Transit's 25 Waterloo–Mississauga intercity bus route, and the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association's Fed Bus service. Half of the bus slips and shelters on Ring Road were removed during the construction of the Light Rail line, but the other half on the west side remain, used only by the Fed Bus service.
In 2016, with light rail infrastructure under construction, an adjacent dedicated bus station was announced. It would be east of the rail line and accessed from Phillip Street, shifting some buses off Ring Road and onto public roadways. Later, in 2020, it was announced that over $3 million in additional provincial, federal, and regional funding had been granted for amenities at the new bus station. This would include several heated waiting shelters and bike storage facilities.
The bus terminal partially opened on January 3, 2022, and then fully opened three weeks later, serving Grand River Transit routes; GO Transit buses switched over on March 15.
Overview Located on the campus of the University of Waterloo, the station primarily serves students and employees of the university. The main campus is on the west side of the station, with three engineering buildings to the south and administration buildings to the north.
The bus terminal was constructed on an existing access road between Phillip Street on the east and the University's Ring Road on the west, with a level crossing for the ION light rail line and the Laurel Trail at its western end. The Bus Terminal's road continues westward onto the campus grounds as William Tutte Way, named after University of Waterloo mathematician W.T. Tutte.
Freight Train Usage From 11 PM-5 AM, freight trains are permitted to use the tracks used by the light rail line, as the line was built along a portion of track shared with the Waterloo Spur Line, which serves industrial locations in Elmira. To protect the station structure (and the trains themselves), a gauntlet track is in place alongside Platform 1 of the station that offsets the freight track a small distance.
Services
Grand River Transit Light Rail +PlatformRouteNameNotes1301ION ExpressNorthbound to Conestoga Station2Southbound to Fairway Station
Buses PlatformRouteNameNotes330Ring RoadTo University of Waterloo Station Via Ring Road331ColumbiaEastbound to Columbia/Sundew4Westbound to Conestoga Station3201iXpress Fischer HallmanEastbound to Conestoga College4Westbound to Conestoga Station419Hazel19A to St. Jacob's Market19B to Northfield station (Waterloo)5301RION Replacement ShuttleRail replacement bus service during 301 service disruptions.69LakeshoreTo Conestoga Station613LaurelwoodTo The Boardwalk Station
GO Transit All GO Transit buses load at Platform 6 and unload at Platform 7. PlatformRouteNameNotes6C17Waterloo / HamiltonTo Hamilton GO Centre via:
Wilfrid Laurier University Guelph Central Station University of Guelph Aldershot GO Station McMaster University17BWaterloo / HamiltonTo Burlington GO via:
Wilfrid Laurier University Kitchener GO6B25Waterloo / MississaugaTo Square One GO Terminal via:
Wilfrid Laurier University Cambridge Smartcentre Milton Carpool Winston Churchill Transitway Station Erin Mills Transitway Station25ATo Square One GO Terminal via: Wilfrid Laurier University Milton Carpool25CTo Square One GO Terminal via: Wilfrid Laurier University25KTo Kipling GO via:
Wilfrid Laurier University Cambridge Smartcentre Milton Carpool Toronto Premium Outlets Winston Churchill Transitway Station Erin Mills Transitway Station Square One GO Terminal Dixie Transitway Station Renforth Transitway Station25LTo Square One GO Terminal via:
Wilfrid Laurier University Cambridge Smartcentre Milton Carpool Toronto Premium Outlets Winston Churchill Transitway Station Erin Mills Transitway Station6A30KitchenerTo Highway 407 via:
Bramalea GO Station Meadowvale Business Park Kitchener GO station Wilfrid Laurier University30ATo Bramalea GO Station via:
Kitchener GO station Wilfrid Laurier University30ETo Bramalea GO Station via:
Wilfrid Laurier University30FTo Highway 407 via:
Bramalea GO Station Wilfrid Laurier University30GTo Highway 407 via:
Bramalea GO Station Meadowvale Business Park Wilfrid Laurier University
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