The first electric rail service to Paris was the Grand Valley Railroad. Its origins actually started with the Brantford Street Railway built in 1886. In 1902 the Grand Valley RR took over the line to Paris. In 1904 the line reached as far as Galt. The line from Paris to Galt was a constant money loser. In 1916, facing competition from the new Lake Erie and Northern RR, it closed. A new station was built in Paris in 1919. The Grand Valley RR went out of business in 1929, lasting twenty-seven years.

The second electric railway to pass through Paris ran from Galt to Port Dover and was called the Lake Erie and Northern. (Often called the “Late, Early or Never”!) It opened in 1916 and had 14 stations and a total of 35 stops. It differed from other electric lines in that it had freight and passenger service. By 1962 the Port Dover to Simcoe portion had closed. The Brantford to Waterford section shut down in 1965. The Paris Station was built in 1915 and was removed from service in 1955. It was demolished in 1981 and by 1990 the Lake Erie and Northern was totally out of business.