Toronto Train Webcam – Watch GO Trains Pass High Park

The Toronto Train Webcam looks east along the Lakeshore West rail corridor from the Swansea neighborhood in the west end of Toronto, with four tracks running beside the Gardiner Expressway and the wooded slope of High Park rising on the left. The towers of central Toronto line the horizon. GO Transit’s green and white commuter trains pass in both directions through the day, VIA Rail trains run between Union Station and southwestern Ontario, and freight and Amtrak movements share the same rails. Keep an eye on the overhead signal gantry: a change from red to green or yellow usually means a train is on its way. The expressway traffic beside the tracks show the city’s rush hours as clearly as any timetable, and the trees on the hillside track the seasons, deep green in July and bare by December.

About the Lakeshore West Line at Swansea

The camera sits in Swansea, a neighborhood bounded by the Humber River to the west, Bloor Street to the north, High Park to the east and Lake Ontario to the south. It began as the Windermere subdivision in 1889 and took its name from the Swansea Works factory, set up that year by James Worthington, who came from the Welsh city of Swansea. Swansea became a village in 1926 and joined the City of Toronto in 1967. The railway and the Gardiner run along its southern edge, cut through at lake shore level rather than raised on the deck the expressway uses closer to downtown.

The line in frame is the Lakeshore West, the oldest GO Transit service. It opened on May 23, 1967, the first day GO ever ran, when train 946 left Oakville for Toronto at 5:50 am. Today it runs 132 kilometers (82 miles) from Union Station to Hamilton along the Lake Ontario shore, with some trips continuing to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. VIA Rail ended its own Toronto to Niagara Falls service in 2011, but Amtrak trains still reach St. Catharines and Niagara Falls over these rails.

The Gardiner Expressway beside the tracks is 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) long, running from the junction of Highway 427 and the Queen Elizabeth Way into downtown. It was built in stages between 1955 and 1966, with the first section opening on August 8, 1958, and it carries the name of Frederick G. Gardiner, the first chair of Metro Council. Above the corridor, High Park covers 161 hectares (400 acres), making it one of the largest parks in the city.

Weather and Climate in Toronto

Winters are cold. Downtown Toronto averages a January high of -0.3 C (31.5 F) and a low of -6.7 C (19.9 F), and the city collects about 121.5 centimeters (47.8 inches) of snow a year. With the leaves gone, more of the High Park slope opens up on camera, and snow can lie along the embankment between the rails and the road. Spring arrives slowly by the water because Lake Ontario cools the shore on spring afternoons, and April averages a high of 11.7 C (53.1 F) and a low of 3.9 C (39.0 F).

July is the warmest month, with highs around 27.0 C (80.6 F) and lows near 18.1 C (64.6 F), and the canopy turns the left half of the frame into a solid block of green. Autumn is the best season to watch. October averages 14.6 C (58.3 F) by day and 7.7 C (45.9 F) at night, and the first yellows and reds were already showing on the hillside in late September. The operator runs the stream day and night, so after dark the lit trains and the headlights on the Gardiner carry the view.

Things to Do Near High Park and Swansea

High Park is the obvious first stop, and it starts right at the top of the slope in frame. Grenadier Pond, 14.2 hectares (35 acres) of water along the park’s western edge, carries a local legend that British soldiers fell through its ice during the War of 1812, a story historians doubt. Colborne Lodge, built in 1837 by the surveyor and architect John George Howard, is now a museum with its original furnishings and Howard’s own watercolors. The High Park Zoo keeps American bison, capybaras, llamas, reindeer, wallabies and yaks in eleven paddocks. In late April and early May, more than 2,000 Japanese cherry trees, first given by the citizens of Tokyo in 1959, draw thousands of people into the park.

About a third of High Park is rare black oak savannah, with trees more than 150 years old, and it is one of the few examples left in Ontario. High Park and Keele stations on the Bloor to Danforth subway line are the easiest way in from downtown. South of the corridor, the Lake Ontario shoreline runs east toward Sunnyside, while the Humber River on Swansea’s western edge opens into Humber Bay.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of Toronto, the VIA Rail corridor and trains elsewhere, try these next.

• Toronto CN Tower Webcam
• Windsor Webcam
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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Toronto Train Webcam located?

It is in Swansea, a neighborhood in the west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between the Humber River and High Park. The camera overlooks the Lakeshore West rail corridor and the Gardiner Expressway on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, looking east toward central Toronto.

What can you see on the Toronto Train Webcam?

Four tracks of the Lakeshore West line, the Gardiner Expressway alongside them, the wooded southern slope of High Park, and the skyline of central Toronto on the horizon. GO commuter trains, VIA Rail passenger trains, freight trains and Amtrak services all use the corridor.

Which trains run on the Lakeshore West line?

GO Transit runs commuter trains between Union Station and Hamilton, with some trips to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. VIA Rail passenger trains use the corridor toward southwestern Ontario, Amtrak serves St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, and freight trains also share the tracks.

When is the best time to see trains on the Toronto railcam?

Weekday rush hours bring the most GO trains, and the operator notes that trains pass most often at peak times. Look out for a meet, when two trains pass each other in opposite directions on neighboring tracks.

How can you tell a train is coming on the Toronto railcam?

Watch the signal gantry over the tracks, where lights switching from red to green or yellow usually signal an approaching train. The stream also shows an on-screen tracker listing incoming GO trips, built on open data from Metrolinx.

Does the Toronto Train Webcam work at night?

Yes. The operator streams the corridor 24 hours a day, so trains and expressway traffic stay visible after dark by their own lights, although the daytime view shows far more of the park and skyline.

What is the weather like in Toronto?

Summers are warm, with July highs around 27 C (81 F), and winters are cold, with January lows near -6.7 C (19.9 F) and about 121.5 centimeters (47.8 inches) of snow a year.

Source: TorontoLive4k