Guelph Central Train Station renovations have begun

Guelph commuters will have noticed a change this week - the city's $2.1millionCentral Train Station renovations have begun.

The upgrades includeimprovements to the main entrance,a ramp to make the station wheelchair accessible,public washroomupgrades, new ticket booths, and the addition of asmall management office and a lunchroom for Guelph Transit drivers.

Renovations are still in the early stages, and the past few days have been focused mostly on the prep work likeputting up site fencing, and separating the public space from the construction zone. Work is scheduled to take 14 months to complete.

Mario Petricevic, the city's general manager of facilities management, said the building is over 100 years old and needs to be freshened up.

"I don't think there has been a lot done to the building in the last 20 or 30 years," he said.

There are many mechanical and electrical systems that are at the end of their lifecycles, and are due for an update to improve energy efficiency.

Although the renovations are scheduled to last 14 months, Petricevic said this is a conservative timeline.

"I think it's easier to plan to have a little bit of a buffer in there and finish early, than try to have a tight timeline and go past the schedule," he said. "I think not delivering on schedule creates some anxiety for the users and also for the operating departments."

The $2.1 million is covers payments tothe general contractor, architects, consultants, and will also go towards other project management costs.

"I think it's a landmark in downtown Guelph, it's a heritage facility, and it's the public transit hub right now," Petricevic said. "So in my view, its money well spent."

GO Transit, VIA Rail and Greyhound Canada will still be able to operate out of the station during renovations, according to a release from the city.

The renovations will be completed in two phases, thefirst of which is scheduled to be completed by September 2016.

By then, the station will have an accessible ramp, better access to the building, as well as a bright, new waiting area, a temporary kiosk, and temporary washrooms.