Travellers heading to Toronto Pearson International Airport by train this weekend will need to make other arrangements after UP Express service is suspended for two days.

There will be no UP Express train service today, Oct. 3 or Sunday, Oct. 4, as planned construction takes place along the line.

Instead, GO buses will run directly between the Union Station Bus Terminal and Pearson Airport Terminal 1.

The change could affect travellers who rely on the UP Express for its frequent and relatively quick connection between downtown Toronto and Pearson, particularly those heading to the airport for weekend flights or returning home through Union Station.

There will also be no UP Express service at Bloor, Mount Dennis or Weston stations during the weekend.

Travellers connecting to the airport from those stations will have to use other transit options.

At Bloor Station, passengers travelling east toward Union can take the TTC’s Line 2 and connect to Line 1 at St. George Station. Those heading west toward Pearson can take Line 2 and transfer to the TTC’s 900 Airport Express at Kipling Station.

At Mount Dennis, passengers travelling toward Union can take Line 5 to Cedarvale and transfer to Line 1 for the trip downtown.

Getting from Mount Dennis to Pearson will require several connections, including a walk to Eglinton Avenue West at Weston Road, TTC bus Route 89 and then Route 52A toward Pearson Airport Terminal 1.

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At Weston Station, passengers heading east can take TTC Route 52 and connect to Line 1 at Lawrence West Station. Travellers heading toward Pearson can take Route 52 toward the airport.

GO Transit is warning passengers that the replacement buses may depart at different times than the UP Express trains normally would, so travellers should allow extra time for their journeys.

The weekend shutdown is tied to planned construction on the UP Express line.

Crews will be carrying out track maintenance along the route, as well as utility relocations in Guelph connected to the Kitchener Extension project.

The work is also expected to affect GO Transit service on the Kitchener and Barrie lines over the weekend.

For travellers with flights to catch, the biggest consideration is the loss of the direct rail connection to Pearson.

The UP Express normally provides a direct link between Union Station and Pearson Airport, with stops along the way at Bloor, Weston and Mount Dennis. This weekend, passengers using the service will instead have to take a replacement GO bus from Union or piece together a TTC trip from one of the affected stations.

GO Transit is advising passengers to plan ahead and check schedules before leaving, particularly because replacement buses may not operate at the same times as the trains they are replacing.

For anyone with a flight or other time-sensitive connection, building extra time into the trip could be particularly important this weekend.


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