One of Vaughan’s busiest train stations is getting some major upgrades to help make room for more transit options.

Starting this Monday (Feb. 24), major construction is getting underway at Rutherford GO station to add important new infrastructure such as a new second track and a new platform. Over the next few years, Metrolinx plans to increase GO train service in both directions on the Barrie line and these additions are crucial.

Preliminary construction on the station started in late 2019, but in order to safely continue the work, Metrolinx will close the north half of the existing platform on February 24, so crews can continue to build the new station amenities.

Over the next year, workers will build new elevators and stairways that will connect to the underground pedestrian tunnel that was installed in 2018. Later on, they will also build a new pedestrian bridge that will join the two platforms and ultimately lead to the new station building and parking structure.

Below is a construction map that shows the new station layout once the platform closes in on February 24, 2020.

All of this construction doesn’t come without some growing pains. This massive undertaking means GO customers may have to adjust the way they board and exit their train at Rutherford GO. Boarding restrictions will be in place at the station until the work on the north half of the platform is complete at the end of the year.

In order to help customers adjust to the changes, Metrolinx has created a boarding guide that will help riders board their trains in the correct train car at Union Station.

As noted in the boarding guide, customers can board at the accessible coach (the middle of the train) or any coach towards the east side of the train (closer to Bay St). For safety purposes, it’s also important to avoid crowding coaches when boarding and detraining. Metrolinx suggests spreading out along the platform and boarding all open doors that are available.

At the end of construction, customers will have access to a completely remodelled station with new platforms, parking garage and a pedestrian bridge.

This construction is part of the GO Expansion program, which will transform GO rail from a rush-hour service to a two-way, all-day, pan-regional transportation service. GO Expansion includes more than 400 separate projects across more than 40 municipalities, and is the largest single investment in rapid transit in Canada. The recent addition of all-day train service on the Barrie line is part of the plan to quadruple GO Rail service and improve customer experiences.

For more information on the Rutherford project, just go here.

And to get updates sent directly to your inbox or phone by signing up for Rutherford On the GO alerts, click here.

(Story was updated on February 21, to reflect changes to the construction schedule and the GO train boarding guide).