Railway Lands, Toronto

Railway Lands is an area in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The former Railway Lands was a large railway switching yard near the Toronto waterfront, including the CNR Spadina Roundhouse and the CPR John Roundhouse, but has since been redeveloped and today is home to mostly mixed-used development, including the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. The lands were owned and maintained by the Canadian National Railway and later transferred to the federal crown corporation Canada Lands Company. The area is bounded by Front Street, Yonge Street, Gardiner Expressway and Bathurst Street. The western portion of the Railway Lands is now part of the CityPlace neighbourhood and the eastern portion is now called South Core.

The first railway, Ontario, Simcoe and Huron (OS&H) arrived in Toronto in 1853 with a station located near the current Union Station. Rivals Grand Trunk Railway and Great Western Railway arrived in Toronto to compete with OS&H. The competition placed a strain on the new station and by 1873 a new Union Station was built by the GTR. In the 1880s Grand Trunk Railway acquired rival railways (GWR in 1882 and OS&H in 1888) and the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in the city in 1888. The competition soon meant the second station was strained as well and by 1900 there was a need for a newer station. Delays on this station resulted in the third Union Station not opening until 1927, by which time the GTR was merged into the Canadian National Railway (1923).

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