Media get look at work under Union Station

There’s a major renovation going on below Toronto’s Union Station.

A year after breaking ground, the media was invited Monday to see the dig down. It’s one of the most significant stages of the station’s revitalization. Workers have excavated about 4 meters below the existing floor level to create space for a new lower-level pedestrian retail space and two new GO Transit concourses.

Project director Paul Noskiewicz says the changes will expand the space by three times its size, making it more convenient for passengers. It means “easier access in and out of the station, to accommodate these significant peak numbers of passengers, both in the morning and in the afternoon during rush hour periods.”

GO carries nearly 44 million passengers a year and that number is expected to double by 2013. The total cost of the revitalization project is approximately $640 million. It’s expected to be done in 4-5 years.