Toronto Union Station to Niagara Falls: Board GO, or Step Into a Waiting Car

Toronto Union Station to Niagara Falls: what you are choosing between

Union Station is the one place in Ontario where the question "how do I get to Niagara Falls?" has a train answer printed on the departures board. GO Transit runs from here to Niagara Falls, so the sensible comparison is not private car versus a faraway coach terminal. It is a train that leaves from this building versus a car that waits at the door.

Who asks this? Three groups, mostly. Visitors who have just arrived in Toronto by train, from Ottawa, Montreal, New York or the Windsor corridor, who now want the Falls the same day. Hotel guests across Front Street who want to be at the water by mid-morning. And families with a toddler, a stroller and several bags who looked at the train and decided to work out the numbers first.

This page is about that decision, and about how the handover works at Union. Everything about the stretch from the road to the Falls is shared with the Toronto to Niagara Falls transfer, which starts from hotels.

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Union Station to Niagara Falls, every option compared

Fares are published by the operators and shown as of 2026 only when we confirmed them on an official page.

Taking GO from Union Station

GO is the natural first choice if you are standing on the platform already. The Niagara service leaves from Union and serves the Lakeshore West line, with stops including Confederation GO in Stoney Creek, which opened on 27 October 2025, and St. Catharines. Niagara Falls Tourism's travel guide explains that GO trains run year-round, seven days a week, with morning commuter service from Niagara Falls into Toronto and one evening return.

That pattern, built for people travelling the other way in the morning, is the catch for visitors. On a weekday there is no mid-morning departure from Union that fits a sightseeing day. On Saturday and Sunday there are eight trips. GO's page for weekend Niagara trips lists a combined GO and WEGO ticket from $22 for a day or $35 for two days, and says children 12 and under ride GO for free.

At the other end you take a bus. WEGO runs year-round, and its routes meet at Table Rock Centre at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, so the transfer does work. But you cannot pretend it is door to door, and a big family with a stroller will feel every boarding step.

How the handover works at Union Station

Union Station is at 65 Front Street West, between Bay and York streets, opposite the Fairmont Royal York. According to VIA Rail's Toronto station page, it opens daily from 05:30 until 00:45, and its curbside pickup zone is at the main entrance on Front Street.

Here is how a pre-booked car meets you. You tell us the train, whether it is a VIA, GO, UP Express or Amtrak arrival, and we track it. Train arrivals are tracked, so a delay on the line moves the pickup, not the other way round. Free waiting on a pickup like this is 15 minutes. If you want a name-board meet, ask when you book and we place the chauffeur where you will find them, with an alias on the board if privacy matters.

Front Street is a congested drop-off zone. The City of Toronto says taxi and rideshare pickup is on Front Street toward York Street, and signs change during street works. A chauffeur is experienced at stopping briefly, loading quickly and moving on. We confirm the exact meeting point in the days before you travel.

The City of Toronto's Union Station transportation page lists the other services you may be arriving on, including UP Express, VIA Rail and Amtrak.

If you arrive from New York by train

The Amtrak Maple Leaf links New York with Toronto, and passengers are inspected at the border in Niagara Falls, Ontario, before the train continues to Union. In other words, a traveller who comes up from Manhattan by rail travels through Niagara Falls on the way to Toronto, and then has to turn around and go back.

If your plan was always Niagara first, it is quicker to leave the train there. If you have already ridden through to Toronto, the car brings you back along the QEW in roughly an hour and a half. Both routes work, and we can plan either. If you also need a return to the United States afterwards, the Toronto to Buffalo airport route and the Buffalo airport to Niagara Falls transfer cover the border side. Cross-border trips run from Toronto.

Luggage, storage and the day-trip option

A common pattern for visitors arriving at Union is to treat the Falls as a day trip on the same day as their arrival. The VIA station page lists a baggage room offering same-day storage for VIA passengers from 07:30 to 19:45, free for Business, Sleeper and Prestige tickets and $6 per bag for Economy as of 2026. It suits someone who wants to leave the heavy bag and go with a daypack.

A private car makes the day simpler in a different way. The bags stay in the vehicle. If your hotel is in Toronto, they are delivered there on the return. If your next stop is a hotel in Niagara, they go straight to the front desk. We can also run it as a one-way trip, ending at the Falls, if you plan to stay.

The road from Union to the Falls

The drive from Front Street starts with a short climb onto the Gardiner Expressway westbound, then the QEW along the lakeshore, across the Burlington Skyway and onto the Niagara Peninsula. The distance is about 130 km, and the usual time is around one and a half hours, according to provincial tourism sources.

Traffic is the variable. On weekday mornings the Gardiner westbound is manageable, and on Friday afternoons it is not. In summer, the QEW toward the Falls can slow on Saturday mornings and the return in the late afternoon is heavy on Sundays. A morning start from Union, before 9 a.m., is the cleanest.

At the Falls, we can drop you at your hotel, at the Table Rock area for the Horseshoe Falls viewpoint, or at the entrance to the attraction you have tickets for. Attraction tickets are bought directly from the attraction operators; our job is the timing and the bags.

When the train wins, and when the car does

Take GO when you are alone or in a pair, travelling on a weekend, with only a small bag, and happy to take a bus for the last part. It is excellent value and the scenery along the lake is pleasant.

Book the car when:

• Your party is three or more. The Luxury SUV takes up to six passengers and five or six large bags; the Executive Sprinter takes up to 12.
• You are travelling on a weekday. GO's weekday timetable will not fit a sightseeing day.
• You have children. Infant carriers, toddler seats and boosters are available; request them when you book.
• Your train is late. We track it. GO departures will not wait for your connection.
• You are on a tight timeline. A chauffeur waiting at Front Street saves 45 minutes or more versus the platform-and-bus route.
• You want privacy. An alias name on the board, discreet chauffeurs and NDAs on request are standard options.

For corporate travellers who arrive at Union for an offsite at the Falls, we can run a group arrival with several vehicles on one booking. See the executive car service page and the Sprinter van with driver for group options.

Booking, vehicles and cancellation

The booker quotes a single fixed all-in fare for your exact pickup, drop-off and vehicle, and you see it before you pay. Vehicles are Executive Sedan, First Class Sedan, Luxury SUV and Executive Sprinter, all "or similar" with the model confirmed at booking; mini-coaches and coaches of 20 to 56 seats can be arranged on request. See the fleet.

Cancellation terms: no charge with more than 72 hours' notice; 10% at 72 hours or less; 50% at 48 hours or less; 100% at 24 hours or less or on a no-show. The clock runs from the scheduled pickup.

Book this transfer

For the station itself, our Union Station rail transfers page explains arrivals, pickup points and onward routes to hotels and Pearson. If you are heading to the airport instead, the Pearson to Union Station transfer covers the other direction. The broader context is in the rail transfers hub and the Toronto and GTA hub.