Downtown Steeltown

The city of Hamilton, incorporated as a city in 1846, is one of the older cities of Canada, only 12 years younger than Toronto which anchors the Greater Golden Horseshoe region.  Like many cities of its age in North America, Hamilton once had a vibrant streetcar network running as far as Westdale in the west to Kenilworth in the east, and there are signs of this transit convenience visible in the way neighbourhoods developed at that time that are still present today.  The current local bus system which has no current streetcar service is still called the Hamilton Street Railway today.

The GTA Transit 2050 Plan builds on the Hamilton LRT project that is in procurement and has preparatory works underway, and calls for this line's extension further to Confederation station allowing for connections to the Lakeshore Line.   The portion of the line currently in procurement will run from McMaster in the west to Eastgate in the east and should open by 2034.    The further connection to  Confederation station on the Lakeshore Line would open in 2038.

Once open, the Hamilton Line 8, which will run along what was once labelled Highway 8, will provide connectivity to McMaster University's 37 thousand students, Gore Park station in the heart of downtown with easy access to Hamilton Arena and the beautiful King William streetfront, the shops and restaurants of International Village, Hamilton Stadium at Scott Park, the expansive Gage Park, Eastgate Square, and Confederation station with bus connections to Confederation Park and rail connections to Niagara and Toronto.