There are dozens of jobs to finish, and dozens of people working through the weekend to finish them.

Some walls still need to be tiled. Electricians are racing to connect wires. Construction barriers have to be removed and layers of dust washed from floors, stairs and walls.

But at 5:59 a.m. Monday morning, the TTC assures customers that the second platform at Union Station will be ready for riders.

“The first train will open its doors and our customers will come off and experience something totally new,” said Malcolm MacKay, project manager of Union Station’s second-platform and concourse-improvements project.

MacKay said more than 100 tradesmen were working around the clock to complete — and clean — the platform for Monday’s morning commute.

With more than 100,000 riders flowing through each day, Union Station is the third busiest in the TTC system. It also has one of the narrowest platforms, which has led to rush-hour overcrowding.

Adding a second platform doubles the station’s capacity. “Now, it will feel airier, brighter, less crowded,” MacKay said.

Toronto media were invited to an early look at the second platform on Saturday, getting a quick tour of new stairwells, updated fare lines and the 500-foot long platform itself.

Even amid the clatter and bustle of last-minute construction work, it’s clear the space — large, white subway tiles on the walls, bright overhead lights, wide stairwells, gleaming steel finishes — will help make the subway wait more pleasant.

MacKay called the second platform a “milestone” in Union Station’s $137.5-million renovation, which started three years ago and will wrap up in the spring.

The second platform is for riders heading north on the Yonge line. Riders travelling up the University side of the subway loop will keep using the existing platform to board trains.

“It will change the way riders use Union Station,” said TTC spokesman Brad Ross, adding extra staff will be in the station for several weeks to help people find the proper platform.

“Union Station has been confusing for a lot of people,” Ross said. “Not just because of the centre platform and which way you need to go, but also the fare gates and fare lines. We needed to update and modernize.”

MacKay admits the first day will be awkward for commuters accustomed to a specific route to the subway. Krishna Harini, a weekend TTC rider waiting on the existing platform for a train to take him north on Yonge, is eager for the construction to be completed.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he said, pointing to the gleaming white wall of the second platform visible through a construction barrier.

Jamie Sleath, too, is looking forward to less construction at Union Station.

“Luckily I’m not this far downtown too often,” she says, over the loud rat-tat-tat of a drill. “I’m excited for all this to be done.”

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MacKay said Union Station subway station, built in 1954, has long been in need of repairs.

For him, the next big step in the renovation is the installation of a 500-foot long art wall that he said “will bring colour and vibrance to the platform level.”

He said the project continues at pace, with updates to Union Station’s existing TTC platform beginning Monday, Front St. reopening in December, and the station concourse completed in the spring.

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