Commuting from Markham to Downtown Toronto by GO Train

The short answer

The Markham GO train to Union Station runs on the Stouffville line, which has four stations inside Markham: Mount Joy, Markham, Centennial and Unionville. A fifth, Milliken GO, sits just south of Steeles Avenue in Scarborough.

On the GO Transit Stouffville line timetable effective September 2026, a weekday morning train is scheduled to reach Union Station in 57 minutes from Mount Joy and 41 minutes from Unionville. Heading home in the afternoon the scheduled gap is 15 minutes, so a commuter pays the difference twice a day and it is worth factoring into where you buy.

This guide covers where each station is, how long the scheduled ride takes, what service looks like outside rush hour and which of our neighbourhood guides line up with each station. All times below are scheduled times. Actual trips can take longer.

The GO stations in and near Markham

Stations are listed from north to south, in the order a southbound train reaches them.

Station	Address	Municipality
Mount Joy GO	1801 Bur Oak Avenue	Markham
Markham GO	214 Main Street North	Markham
Centennial GO	320 Bullock Drive	Markham
Unionville GO	155 YMCA Boulevard	Markham
Milliken GO	39 Redlea Avenue	Scarborough, Toronto

North of Mount Joy the line continues to Stouffville GO and Old Elm GO. South of Milliken it stops at Agincourt GO and Kennedy GO before Union Station.

How long the GO train takes from Markham to Union Station

These figures come from the weekday (Monday to Friday, except holidays) section of the September 2026 timetable. The morning column uses the southbound trains arriving at Union between 6:20 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Every one of those trains had the same scheduled time from each station. The afternoon column uses the northbound trains leaving Union at 4:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

Station	Weekday morning to Union	Weekday afternoon from Union
Mount Joy GO	57 minutes	55 minutes
Markham GO	52 minutes	50 minutes
Centennial GO	46 minutes	45 minutes
Unionville GO	41 minutes	40 minutes
Milliken GO	35 minutes	34 minutes

As an example from the timetable, train 7709 is scheduled to leave Mount Joy GO at 7:23 a.m., Markham GO at 7:28 a.m., Centennial GO at 7:34 a.m. and Unionville GO at 7:39 a.m., arriving at Union Station at 8:20 a.m.

The train is only part of the trip. Add the walk, drive or bus to your station and the walk from Union to your office. When you compare two houses, compare the full door to desk time, not the train time alone.

How often trains run

The Stouffville line is not an all day, every 15 minutes service. The shape of the timetable matters as much as the travel time.

Weekday mornings

Southbound trains are scheduled to leave Mount Joy GO at 5:23 a.m., 6:23 a.m., 6:53 a.m., 7:23 a.m., 7:53 a.m., 8:23 a.m. and 9:23 a.m. That works out to a train every 30 minutes from 6:23 a.m. to 8:23 a.m. One extra train, 7209, starts at Unionville GO at 7:59 a.m. and reaches Union at 8:40 a.m.

Weekday middays and evenings

From 10:25 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. southbound trains leave Mount Joy GO once an hour. After that there is no southbound train from Mount Joy until 7:25 p.m., then a last one at 8:25 p.m. One more train, 7129, starts at Unionville GO at 5:39 p.m. Later trips on the timetable are GO buses.

Heading home, trains leave Union for Markham hourly from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., then more often through the afternoon rush, with departures at 3:00 p.m., 3:32 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 4:50 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 5:32 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Evening trains follow at 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. The 3:32 p.m. and 4:50 p.m. trains end at Unionville GO, so check the destination if you live farther north.

Weekends

On Saturdays and Sundays the timetable shows four southbound trains. They leave Mount Joy GO at 3:24 p.m., 5:26 p.m., 7:26 p.m. and 9:26 p.m. Northbound weekend trains leave Union at 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. The rest of the weekend timetable is GO bus service. If you plan to use the line on a weekend, check the timetable and the GO Transit service alerts first, since planned construction sometimes replaces trains with buses.

Bicycles

The timetable notes that bicycles are not allowed in Union Station or on trains from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Foldable bicycles are allowed on trains at all times.

Which Markham neighbourhoods each station serves

This is where the timetable meets the house hunt. The notes below match what our neighbourhood guides say about each area.

Unionville GO. In Unionville, the streets closest to Main Street and the Highway 7 corridor are within walking distance. From the northern and eastern edges it is a short drive or a bus. Downtown Markham is a short distance from the station. Angus Glen, Berczy Village and Cathedraltown have no station of their own, so commuters there usually drive to Unionville or Mount Joy.

Mount Joy GO. Greensborough is unusual for north Markham because the station sits inside the community and a good share of the housing is within walking distance. In Wismer, some people on the eastern streets closest to the station walk and most others drive or take a bus.

Markham GO. In Markham Village, a good portion of the older core is walkable to the station. From the newer pockets north and east it is a drive or a bus. Markham GO is a short drive from Cornell and a drive from Box Grove.

Centennial GO. It sits between Markham GO and Unionville GO on the line. Check the drive or bus connection from the specific address you are considering.

Milliken GO. The station is in Scarborough just south of Steeles. It is the practical choice for Milliken Mills. It has the shortest scheduled ride of the five.

Thornhill. There is no Stouffville line station on the Markham side of Thornhill. Most commuters there drive or use YRT and Viva on Yonge Street to reach the TTC.

If you are weighing two of these areas against each other, our comparison of Unionville and Markham Village looks at price, housing stock and the commute side by side.

Parking at Markham GO stations

GO Transit’s station pages say free customer parking is available at all five stations. Capacity varies a lot, which affects how early you need to arrive.

Station	Parking spaces listed by GO Transit	Reserved parking offered
Mount Joy GO	1,325 (East Lot 354, Main Lot 971)	Yes
Markham GO	410 (East Lot 159, Main Lot 84, West Lot 167)	Not listed
Centennial GO	451 (parking garage)	Not listed
Unionville GO	1,614 (Main Lot)	Yes
Milliken GO	661 (Main Lot at Steeles Avenue East and Redlea Avenue)	Yes

Carpool parking is also listed at Mount Joy, Markham, Unionville and Milliken. Space counts and parking options change, so check the station page before you count on a spot.

Getting to the station by YRT or Viva

York Region Transit lists these routes serving the GO stations, most of them from stops on the street close to the station rather than inside it. Routes and stops change, so check the current list on yrt.ca before you plan around a bus.

Station	YRT and connecting routes listed by YRT
Mount Joy GO	18 Bur Oak, 301 Markham Express, 303 Bur Oak Express, 304 Mount Joy Express, On-Request Markham, TTC 102D Markham Rd.
Markham GO	On-Request Markham, TTC 102D Markham Rd.
Centennial GO	40 Unionville Local, On-Request Markham, TTC 129A McCowan North
Unionville GO	8 Kennedy, Viva purple A
Milliken GO	8 Kennedy

YRT also describes a Ride to GO program that lets you ride YRT for free when you are transferring to or from GO Transit and pay with a PRESTO card, PRESTO in mobile wallet or a credit or debit card. It also accepts proof of a valid GO fare. Fare programs change, so confirm the current rules on yrt.ca and gotransit.com.

What to check before you buy for the commute

1. Pick the station you would actually use and time the trip from the front door of the house to the platform, at rush hour.
2. Look up the train you would catch on the current timetable, both ways, including the last train home that suits your schedule.
3. If you plan to drive to the station, check parking capacity and whether reserved parking is offered.
4. If you plan to take the bus, confirm which YRT route stops near the house and the station.
5. Read our neighbourhood guide for the area and our map of Markham to see how the streets relate to the line.
6. Budget for the move itself. Our guide to closing costs when buying a home in Markham covers what to set aside beyond the down payment.

If you are moving to Markham for work downtown, our relocation service is built around exactly this kind of shortlist. When you want to talk through stations and neighbourhoods for your own commute, contact us.