University of Waterloo station

University of Waterloo
Station structurally complete, November 2017
General information
Location	Waterloo, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°28′23″N 80°32′28″W / 43.47312°N 80.54107°W / 43.47312; -80.54107
Platforms	Centre platform (Rail Platforms 1/2)
Tracks	2
Train operators	Grand River Transit
Bus routes	GRT buses  9  Lakeshore  13  Laurelwood  19  Hazel  30  Ring Road  31  Columbia  201 iXpress  Fischer-Hallman GO buses  17  Waterloo / Hamilton  25  Waterloo / Mississauga  30  Kitchener
Bus stands	5 (Platforms 3-7)
Bus operators	Grand River Transit GO Transit
Connections	Laurel Trail / Trans Canada Trail
History
Opened	2019 (2019) (Light Rail Platform) 2022 (2022) (Bus Platforms)
Services
Preceding station Grand River Transit Following station Research and Technology toward Conestoga Ion Laurier–Waterloo Park toward Fairway

University of Waterloo Station is a bus terminal and light rail station located at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.^[1] The site initially opened as a light rain station on Grand River Transit's ION light rail line in 2019, and the bus terminal for GRT buses was subsequently opened in 2022. The bus terminal is shared with GO Transit, which uses the easternmost eastbound platforms as its University of Waterloo Terminal for its intercity bus service.

Before construction of the light rail station, GRT and intercity bus services had been slowly intensifying at a set of stops along the east end of the University of Waterloo's Ring Road near the Davis Centre building, most significantly Grand River Transit (including the 200 iXpress bus which was the predecessor of the Ion light rail system), GO Transit's 25 Waterloo–Mississauga intercity bus route,^[2] and the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association's Fed Bus service.^[3] Half of the bus slips and shelters on Ring Road were removed during the construction of the Light Rail line, but the other half on the west side remain, used only by the Fed Bus service.

In 2016, with light rail infrastructure under construction, an adjacent dedicated bus station was announced. It would be east of the rail line and accessed from Phillip Street, shifting some buses off Ring Road and onto public roadways.^[4] Later, in 2020, it was announced that over $3 million in additional provincial, federal, and regional funding had been granted for amenities at the new bus station.^[5] This would include several heated waiting shelters and bike storage facilities.^[6]

The bus terminal partially opened on January 3, 2022, and then fully opened three weeks later, serving Grand River Transit routes; GO Transit buses switched over on March 15.

Located on the campus of the University of Waterloo, the station primarily serves students and employees of the university. The main campus is on the west side of the station, with three engineering buildings to the south and administration buildings to the north.

The bus terminal was constructed on an existing access road between Phillip Street on the east and the University's Ring Road on the west, with a level crossing for the ION light rail line and the Laurel Trail at its western end. The Bus Terminal's road continues westward onto the campus grounds as William Tutte Way, named after University of Waterloo mathematician W.T. Tutte.

From 11 PM-5 AM, freight trains are permitted to use the tracks used by the light rail line, as the line was built along a portion of track shared with the Waterloo Spur Line, which serves industrial locations in Elmira. To protect the station structure (and the trains themselves), a gauntlet track is in place alongside Platform 1 of the station that offsets the freight track a small distance.

Light Rail

Buses

All GO Transit buses load at Platform 6 and unload at Platform 7.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Waterloo station.

• University of Waterloo station on GRT website