The NSR was taken over by the Government of Canada in 1867 as one of the terms of Confederation . In 1877 , a new federal Crown corporation , the Intercolonial Railway ( ICR ) , opened a magnificent new terminal railway station at the foot of North Street , south of Richmond and much closer to the city 's downtown . This impressive Second Empire structure known as the North Street Station was designed by David Stirling , who also designed the Provincial Building and St. David 's Presbyterian Church on Grafton Street . The station was faced by the King Edward Hotel , located immediately west of the station , which stood roughly beneath the present-day Angus L. Macdonald Bridge where it crosses Barrington Street opposite the main gate to HMC Dockyard . The North Street Station and the waterfront terminal trackage leading to it were badly damaged in the Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917 . Passenger trains were temporarily diverted to the unfinished south end terminal tracks for two days . However the North Street Station was quickly repaired to enable it to operate another two years before closing in 1920
Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
Halifax station (Nova Scotia)