Milliken
Second Milliken GO Station
General information
Location39 Redlea Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M1V 4S3
Coordinates43°49′23.5″N 79°18′06″W / 43.823194°N 79.30167°W / 43.823194; -79.30167
Owned byMetrolinx
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections TTC buses
YRT buses
Construction
Structure typeStation building
Parking661 spaces
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeGO Transit: MK
Fare zone70
History
OpenedSeptember 7, 1982 (N of Steeles Ave.)
September 6, 2005 (S side Steeles Ave.)
ClosedSeptember 6, 2005 and relocated
Rebuilt2004–2005
Passengers
2018195,000[1] Increase 18.7%
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station
Agincourt
towards Union Station
 Stouffville Unionville
towards Old Elm
Former services at CN station
Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station
Agincourt
toward Toronto
 Toronto – Belleville via Peterboro Unionville
toward Belleville
Toronto –
Port Hope via Peterboro 		Unionville
toward Port Hope

Milliken GO Station is a GO Transit train station[2] in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the neighbourhood of Milliken which is on the city's northern border with Markham.[3][4]

Description

The station is located south of Steeles Avenue, opposite to the Splendid China Mall shopping centre and is accessed via Redlea Avenue. The station has two tracks, two side platforms and two pedestrian tunnels to connect the east platform to the station next to the west platform.[5] There is also direct access to the platforms from Steeles Avenue.[6] It has a 661-car parking lot, a dedicated passenger pick-up and drop-off area, and a station building with ticket vending machines, a waiting area, and public washrooms.

History

A small shed was built (in latter 19th Century) by the Toronto and Nipissing Railway as a flag stop located on the north side of Steeles Avenue on the east side of the tracks (see postcards)[7] and used by successor railways (Grand Trunk Railway and Canadian National Railways) until it was demolished in the early 1960s. CN continued passenger service on the line (Union to Stouffville from 1971) until 1977 when VIA Rail took over passenger rail service. VIA cut service in 1981.

The first GO station opened on September 7, 1982 and closed on September 2, 2005. It was located on the north side of Steeles in Markham,[8] to the east of the former Market Village Mall. It consisted of a fenced off area with a small ticket booth and 2 large bus shelters. It was one of the most neglected GO railway stations because it was built on a sharp curve, and was much shorter than most GO stations. Because of that, trains could not open all the doors when stopped there. It had no dedicated parking spots and a small kiss-and-ride area. Cars waiting for the trains were parked at Market Village or along Steeles Avenue. There are no traces of the former platform, other than a single sign facing towards Steeles Avenue reading "CN Milliken" which has since been removed after double tracking work. The old station footprint is now on the northbound tracks.

The second GO station opened on September 6, 2005 on the south side of Steeles Avenue and was accessed by a re-aligned Redlea Avenue. The new location allowed the construction of a parking lot for 680 vehicles and an accessible new station.[8]

Milliken GO Station has been undergoing redevelopment since 2019 to support future growth, including two way, all day 15-minute interval service between Union Station and Unionville Station. Once complete, along with the grade-separated crossing and the pedestrian bridge over Steeles Avenue, there will be a longer renovated existing platform, a new second station platform and track, two pedestrian tunnels and elevators, new shelters, and access from both platforms to a covered pedestrian bridge over Steeles Avenue. The redevelopment was planned to be completed by the end of 2022.[9]

On May 8, 2023, the south tunnel and the east-side platform were opened for customer use. On that date, trains started to use the east platform only while the west platform was being upgraded. A north tunnel near Steeles Avenue was also available.[5] In September 2023, Metrolinx announced that all station upgrades at Milliken had been completed including the railway overpass over Steeles Avenue.[6]

Connecting transit

There is a short covered walkway beside the railway tracks from the train platforms to bus stops on Steeles Avenue East.[6]

Toronto Transit Commission's bus routes 53 Steeles East operates along Steeles Avenue East and 43 Kennedy terminates by looping there, as does the 57 Midland.

York Region Transit route 8 Kennedy stops at the nearby Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road intersection.

References

  1. ^ "Drivers of Ridership and Revenue" (PDF). Metrolinx. February 7, 2019. p. 4. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Milliken GO Station Information". Go Transit. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "Milliken's History". Milliken Public School. Toronto District School Board. Retrieved January 25, 2015. The Milliken area was originally called Milliken's Corners. It was a hamlet founded in 1807 by Norman Milliken, a United Empire Loyalist from New Brunswick.
  4. ^ See Isabel Champion, ed., Markham: 1793-1900 (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979), pp. 276f; 74f (Milliken family); 339 (post office). See also the detailed 1878 map, "Township of Markham," Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont. (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878).
  5. ^ a b "Progress for customers at Milliken GO Station". Metrolinx. May 8, 2023. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Major improvements complete along Stouffville GO Line". Metrolinx. September 15, 2023. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "Ontario Stations - M". Charles Cooper's Railway Pages. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "GO Transit's Stouffville Line". Transit Toronto. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  9. ^ "Milliken GO Station Improvements". www.gotransit.com. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

External links


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