Brockville station

The Brockville railway station in Brockville, Ontario, Canada is served by Via Rail trains running from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal. It is a staffed railway station, with ticket sales, outdoor parking, telephones, washrooms, and wheelchair access to the platform and trains.

History

File:Brockville station.jpg

Old photo of the original station (early 20th century)

Via Rail announced in November 2009 that it would replace the historic 1872 Brockville station with a new $7-million facility. The initial proposal was scaled back; on November 10, 2010, Via Rail unveiled a second proposed design for a new station building. The building was to cost $4.5 million CDN and would have been wheelchair accessible, with space to accommodate expanded track lines.

Once the proposed development was to have been completed, the old railway station building was planned to be demolished; that move met with local opposition. As passenger volumes remain low, Via returned to the drawing board and proposed a million-dollar renovation of the existing station with a new roof, exterior brick, lighting, doors, and windows. An automatic door and accessibility improvements would be added for people with disabilities, and a building adjacent to the station would be demolished and replaced with a passenger shelter. According to Brockville mayor David Henderson, "It's clearly something that set off some alarm bells in the local community, because we do have a very historical aspect to this old city. What was good is that Via Rail, and the people at Via Rail, they responded." The renovations were completed in July 2015.

Services

All VIA trains that stop in Brockville are bound for one of three cities: Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The first train of the day is Train 641, and the last train of the day is train 48. Much to the chagrin of the people of Brockville, there are but two Montréal bound trains that stop here: Train 64 which departs just before 3:00 p.m., and Train 68 which departs after 8:00 p.m.

While the waiting area inside the station remains open for passengers of all trains, the ticket counter hours are 9:15 to 5:30, 365 days a year. As such, the station is considered staffed during these hours. This also means that from train 643 until train 44, a VIA attendant is on site to meet the trains.