Appleby GO Station

We discovered the Go Train after a recommendation of a friends when we were attending a Blue Jays game! Taking the Go into downtown Toronto eliminated so much stress from our drive, especially at high volume times.
You can purchase your tickets from the automated machine or from an actual person inside the station. It has always been clean during my visits.
Make sure you check the screens inside that tell you which track your train is arriving on and watch the signs in the tunnel that instruct you where to go!
The Lakeshore West takes you to Exhibition (ideal if you’re checking out a Toronto FC game or concert at Molson Amphitheater) and Union if you’re downtown for the Jays, Leafs or the other fun things Toronto has to offer.

I’m going with a good rating. I grok Randy’s issues. Understand I’ve only been a Go train commuter for the last month and have yet to experience Go Train in winter. That said, the parking is great. Easy to get in and out of. It’s all level parking. No dark parking garage. I’d imagine you can stay in your warm car until about 5 minutes before the train comes. The trains seem to run on time at this end of the line. Also, it’s early enough in the line that you can get a great seat and getting off there’s not the crush of people to make exiting the lot an exercise in frustration.

Doesn’t get any easier or efficient than this place. Huge parking lot, trains a short walk from entrance, easy ticket purchase either via the machine or at the counter. The only way to go to the EX, ACC or ball game in my books.

I’ve been commuting to work in Toronto from the Appleby GO Station for over eight years now.
For the past two years GO customers using this station have had to put up with lots of construction going on but happily most of the renovations are now complete.
My major complaints have been that there was woefully inadequate shelter on the platforms, and there weren’t enough stairs and only one tunnel so it was way too crowded when disembarking from a busy train. Thankfully both of these problems have largely been addressed by the addition of a second tunnel to the east of the original one, and greatly expanded shelters on the south platform.
Parking is becoming a big problem here as over the years the usage has increased to the point where on weekdays you may not be able to find a spot (oddly Tuesdays seem to be the busiest). GO is in the process of building another parking lot on the north side (off of Harvester) but the construction notices at the station indicate that it won’t be ready until December 2011.
The concession stand has moved out of the ticket office area (at ground level) down to the south end of the western tunnel. The coffee’s actually pretty good and they also sell muffins and bagels in case you ran out the door without eating your breakfast.
Some tips when using this station:
— If you plan to park at the station after 9am on a weekday, head to the south parking lot (off of Fairview) because the north lot (off of Harvester) is probably full.
— If you don’t already have tickets, try to be at the station well in advance of the departure time because the ticket line can be long
— Pay close attention to the electronic displays in the ticket area and tunnels because trains can unexpectedly switch to a different track.
— Remember which lot (north or south) you park in! On several occasions I’ve been approached by somebody who couldn’t find their vehicle and assumed it had been stolen because they didn’t know there were actually two parking lots. I always like to see the look of relief on their faces when I tell them about the other parking lot. ;-)

One of my least-​favourite GO stations. The reasons why:
— Practically no shelters on the platform. Annoying in winter wind and summer sun
— Insect problems on said platforms, at least when I was frequenting the place
— Standard washroom and Ticket Vending Machine qualms: TVM is located on the side you could already buy tickets on, washrooms are single-​user
— No vending machine. Important because Burlington Transit has only a tenuous connection with reality, let alone a schedule, so waiting around isn’t a possibility — it’s a fact of life
— Tunnel under the tracks gets very dank and damp
— To get from the heated ticketing area to the tunnel (or vice versa) requires going outside then back inside
«Saving» graces:
— There’s a Timmys and a Wendys across Harvester from the station and down a very little bit. No crosswalk though, and Harvester Road is not a place where pedestrians without life insurance should be crossing
— Parking lots are large but fill up quickly
In the sixteen months I was on Internship, this was part of my daily commute. Maybe not the worst part, but it was definitely low on the list (Burlington Transit running an hour late on my every-​half-​hour bus was the worst part).