VIA Rail Canada is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Ottawa train station this year, starting with an event on June 3rd and 4th. The official anniversary date is July 31st. This coming weekend, the station will welcome the public as part of the annual "Doors Open" event hosted by the Ontario Heritage Trust. Referred to as Doors Open Ontario, the event brings together communities across Ontario to showcase their heritage sites, ranging from commercial buildings to courthouses, places of worship, gardens and other natural heritage sites.

The Ottawa station, owned by VIA, was designated a heritage station under the federal Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act in 1997. It is the youngest station in Canada to be given such a designation, since normally a building such as this must be at least 40 years old to qualify.

Former Union Station

The Bytown Railway Society and Heritage Ottawa are the main organizers of the open doors activity at the station. VIA employees and volunteers will be on hand to give visitors a guided tour, starting with a look at the historical steam locomotive models donated by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, on display at the front of the concourse. Photographs depicting the station's construction and other informative pieces will be displayed throughout the Ottawa station.

The Ottawa train station was designed by John B. Parkin & Associates and was built in 1966. It won the Governor General's Massey Medal for Architecture in 1967. Ottawa's trains once came into downtown Union Station, a short distance from the Parliament buildings, but with the replacement of the railway track beside the Rideau Canal with the Colonel By Drive scenic parkway, built by the National Capital Commission (NCC), the former station was converted into the Government Conference Centre. The NCC was responsible for commissioning the Ottawa train station project 40 years ago.