Ottawa station

It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of downtown Ottawa, adjacent to Tremblay O-Train station in the neighbourhood of Eastway Gardens.

[5] These two hotels are connected to each other by the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre and are located within a short walking distance to the west of the stadium parking lot.

[7] South of the station, across the railroad tracks and Terminal Avenue lies the Ottawa Train Yards power centre shopping complex which includes a number of big-box stores.

There is no direct pedestrian connection south across the railroad tracks to the Ottawa Train Yards, so they may only be accessed by a longer route via Belfast Road (to the east of the station).

[8] Currently, the City of Ottawa is evaluating proposals to create a pedestrian and cycle crossing across the tracks from Tremblay O-Train station to Terminal Avenue.

[11] This station was located on Rideau Street, directly across from the Château Laurier Hotel at Confederation Square and near the Parliament buildings.

The plan was commissioned by Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King, who sought a re-imagining of the city following World War II.

[13] Many of the railroads that crossed the city at the time were originally built in the nineteenth century to serve the lumber industry and were no longer appropriately sited.

Additionally, trains at that time were pulled by steam locomotives, which brought their noise and soot to the downtown Union Station and rail yard.

As Time Magazine noted in 1948: "Ottawa, dominated by the anachronistic Gothic buildings of Parliament, has remained frowzy, a city where trains run through the center of town and chuff smoke into the foyer of the best hotel.

[13] A land swap was arranged between the Federal District Commission (now National Capital Commission) and the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways in which they gave up their downtown railyards east of the Rideau Canal and railway rights of way through Ottawa in exchange for land near Walkley Road, where the Walkley Train Yard would be extended.

The site was chosen because Ottawa's population was moving southward, it offered easy access to the Queensway, and there was ample room for parking.

[24] These decisions helped accelerate the decline in passenger rail popularity further, as direct-to-downtown service was one of the few remaining advantages trains had over airplanes.

[25] In 1985, Via Rail President Pierre Franche estimated that Via lost around 15 to 20 percent of their Ottawa business because of the closing of Union Station.

[24] In addition to its more distant location, public transit service to Ottawa station was absent or minimal for its first 15 years of existence, making it difficult for non-car owners to access.

The station's Track 1 side platform was also raised from the previous low-level to a standard level for faster and easier boarding.

[31][32][33] Following the renovations, Via Rail initiated a pilot project to test electronic systems enabling passengers with visual impairments to navigate autonomously between the station entrance and platforms.

[34] Ottawa station is an international-style building composed of exposed cantilevered Vierendeel trusses and supported by massive concrete piers.

The tracks are bordered on the south by offices of the Canada Revenue Agency, surface parking lots and low-rise commercial buildings located on Terminal Avenue.

[42] Orléans Express services between Gatineau, Kirkland and Montreal run multiple times daily from Ottawa station.

[43][44] Orléans Express schedule as of 13 June 2022: Red Arrow offers daily service from Ottawa station to Toronto via Kingston.

A path located just 250 meters north of Tremblay station connects to the Rideau River Pathway, which provides a slightly longer but easier northbound/westbound route to the city core via Lower Town.

[63] The project is also expected to include a central park and an extensive network of pedestrian and cycling paths to connect the development with Ottawa and Tremblay stations.

Ottawa and Tremblay station area map
Intercity transport hubs in Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa's former Union Station in the 1920s
Interior (1971)
Main entrance (1971)
Interior of Ottawa VIA Rail Station
Station platforms in 2013