Innisfil GO Station

Innisfil GO Station is a planned GO Transit train station to be built by Metrolinx on the Barrie line in Innisfil, Ontario as part of its GO Expansion program. A parking lot, a bus loop and a park and ride area will be provided.^[1] In 2016, Metrolinx rated the station location highly for affordability of construction but low for ridership,^[2] which is expected to be 2,800 per day in 2031.^[3] In 2020, the cost to build the station was estimated to be CA$29 million.^[4] The town of Innisfil wanted construction to begin in 2022 and the station open by September 2022, but construction was later delayed to 2023.^[5][6][7] As of 2023, it is unknown when construction will begin.^[8]

Innisfil
General information
Location	6th Line Innisfil, Ontario^[1]
Coordinates	44°17′22″N 79°33′32″W / 44.28944°N 79.55889°W / 44.28944; -79.55889
Owned by	Metrolinx
Platforms	Side platforms^[1]
Tracks	2 + 1 bypass^[1]
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Services
Preceding station GO Transit Following station Barrie South towards Allandale Waterfront Barrie Planned expansion Bradford towards Union Station

A station in Innisfil had first been proposed in a 2010 GO Transit system electrification study.^[9] In 2015, Metrolinx proposed it again as part of a larger list of potential future station sites,^[10] and it was ultimately included in the list of stations to be built within the RER program.^[11] In 2016, there were 2 potential sites for a station in Innisfil: 5th Line and 6th Line. The location of the station had been controversial among residents and developers in the area.^[2] Innisfil Town Council supported the 6th line location and it was ultimately chosen by Metrolinx.^[1][12]

In 2019, Cortel Group proposed a long-term transit-oriented development, dubbed The Orbit, around the station with the goal of 30,000 people living in the area in the near future. Initially, the long-term goal after the development's completion was for 150,000 residents, though this has since been reduced to 90,000 residents and 20,000 jobs. That November, Innisfil Town Council approved The Orbit as Cortel committed to funding the station.^{[5][13][14][15]} In 2020, the provincial government issued a minister's zoning order (MZO) to expedite The Orbit.^[7]

References

1. "Innisfil GO Station - Public Meeting Slides" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
2. Vanderlinde, Rick (30 March 2016). "Two sites in running for Innisfil GO station". Simcoe.com. Torstar. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
3. "GO Expansion RER New Stations Business Case Analysis" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. March 2018. pp. 35–37. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
4. King, Miriam (October 25, 2020). "Innisfil residents polled on what they would like Orbit GO train station to include". Barrie Today. Village Media. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
5. MacDonald, Shane (28 November 2019). "Innisfil GO station gets funding commitment, council endorses development vision". Simcoe.com. Torstar. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
6. King, Miriam (July 16, 2020). "Innisfil Council endorses futuristic GO station design, for 2022 construction start". Innisfil Today. Village Media. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
7. MacDonald, Shane (May 10, 2022). "Innisfil Go Transit station construction expected to start in 2023 after delay". Simcoe.com. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
8. Bales, Patrick (May 28, 2023). "No timeline for new GO station in Innisfil". Bradford Today. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
9. (PDF). gotransit.com. GO Transit. 30 July 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
10. Woo, Leslie (22 September 2015). "New Stations Analysis: Methodology and Process" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
11. "GO Regional Express Rail 10-Year Program: New Stations Analysis" (PDF). metrolinx.com. Metrolinx. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
12. "Innisfil town council selects preferred location for GO train station". CTV News. Bell Media. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
13. Goldfinger, Daina (3 December 2019). "Innisfil has plans for a futuristic development". Global News. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
14. MacDonald, Shane (January 5, 2022). "Massive development centred around new GO train station in Innisfil expected to get rolling in 2022". Innisfil Journal. Torstar. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
15. Cerneiro, Alessandra (March 16, 2023). "New Orbit development plans for Innisfil, Ont. revealed". CTV News. Retrieved December 1, 2023.