MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS COMING TO BRAMALEA GO STATION
“With over 6000 daily boardings prior to COVID, Bramalea GO is one of the busiest stations on the Kitchener Line,” says Nitish Bissonauth, Spokesperson for Metrolinx. As one of the busiest stations on the Kitchener Line, and as part of Metrolinx’s goal to have two-way, all-day service to Bramalea, Metrolinx has undertaken a renovation and revitalization of the station to continue to service customers and riders in the best fashion.
“The Bramalea station revitalization project is an integral part of plans for the GO Expansion program,” says Bissonauth. “The work we’ve completed will allow the station to serve more passengers on a daily basis, as well as facilitate the introduction of all-day, two-way GO train service to Bramalea and beyond in the coming years.”
The scope of the Bramalea multi-level parking structure project consists of construction of: a new station building, multi-level parking garage, dedicated GO and Brampton Transit (Züm) bus loops, a direct access to Bramalea Road, new and upgraded pedestrian tunnels, accessible island and side platforms, upgrades to support future electrification, and a temporary offset parking lot to facilitate construction of the parking structure. The total construction value is $135 million.
The pandemic has provided an opportunity for construction crews to accelerate some work while many Bramalea GO customers took a pause on transit. As customers start to come back to GO, they’ll notice a lot has changed at their home station. Bramalea GO riders can soon expect updated parking, amenities, enhancing accessibility and creating more connections. Starting on November 12, 2021, construction crews are working to prepare the south platform to be widened at Bramalea GO station.
“This transformation will make it easier to access your station and bring you more service,” says Bissonauth. Included in the upgrades are a new station building, over 2,000 new parking spaces, new passenger pick-up and drop-off area (Kiss & Ride), improved bus platforms for GO Transit and Brampton Transit, with a dedicated Züm bus loop, and New accessible pedestrian tunnel at the west end of the station and a new accessible pedestrian tunnel linked to the new station building. The platforms will also be expanded to accommodate 12-car trains.
The completion of the new parking garage and opening of the station building marks the beginning of the next stage of work in the continuing efforts on the Bramalea GO Station rehabilitation project.
Customers can now directly access the train platforms from the station building using the accessible underground station building pedestrian tunnel. The newly designed building, with large windows and high ceilings means customers at one of the busiest stations on the Kitchener line will have a bright, open, and airy space to wait for their trains and buses to pull in.
“Customers using Bramalea GO now have access to a new, open-air parking garage that can accommodate 2,059 vehicles,” says Bissonauth. “The parking structure has a brand-new car counting system that identifies which levels have vacant spots—blue for accessibility, green for all other vacancies, red for occupied. In addition, each level of the garage will be colour coded to help customers remember where they parked. The new garage also has two fully accessible elevators and over 100 security cameras.”
The completion of the open-air garage marks an important milestone for the ongoing revitalization work at the station, says Bissonauth. “With the work done at the station itself, customers can now directly access the train platforms from the station building using the accessible underground station building pedestrian tunnel,” he says. “The newly designed building, with large windows and high ceilings means customers at one of the busiest stations on the Kitchener line will have a bright, open, and airy space to wait for their trains and buses to pull in.”
Over the next few months, customers at Bramalea GO can anticipate a new bus loop with canopies to protect customers from the elements, dedicated accesses for buses from Bramalea Road, covered bike parking, emergency call systems, and retail space inside the new station building.
As ridership returns to pre-pandemic levels, Metrolinx is adjusting its service accordingly to ensure that customers can get where they need to go at all times. In September, Metrolinx reintroduced weekday rush hour express options and added more off-peak trips throughout the day, offering hourly service or better to and from Bramalea GO for most of the day on weekdays.
The project was procured as a Design-Build through a competitive procurement process. The successful proponent, Kenaidan Contracting Limited, demonstrated the required technical capabilities and value for money in their bid.
You can read more about the revitalization of Bramalea GO as well as the GO Expansion program here.
www.metrolinx.com
