History UsefulNotes / TorontoSubway

The first subway in Canada (opened in 1954), the Toronto Subway is one of the most heavily used on the North American continent. Operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (who also operates Toronto's streetcar and bus systems), the system covers 75 stations with about 77 kilometers of track since the Line 1 extension to Vaughan in 2017.

* '''Line 3 Scarborough''': Unlike the other currently built lines, the Scarborough Line is an above-ground light rail system rather than a true heavy-rail subway. It was opened in 1986 and runs through the district of (you guessed it) Scarborough. The line, unlike the rest of the system, uses different rolling stock, different track gauge and different means of propulsion. Coloured blue on the map. It was originally going to be a streetcar line, but politics turned it into what it is today. Still often referred to by locals by its original name: "Scarborough RT" (Rapid Transit). As noted, in September 2013, Toronto City Council under Mayor Rob Ford (yes that Rob Ford) voted to replace it with an extension to the Bloor-Danforth Line. However in 2015, after concerns were raised by the City Planner about how well a new subway would work in conjunction with new mayor John Tory's "[=SmartTrack=]" surface rail plan, the plan was again changed to extending the Bloor Line by three stops and building an eastern extension to the Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown currently under construction (see below).

** Perhaps the UrExample for Toronto is the infamous "Downtown Relief Line". Also part of the 1985 "Network 2011" plan, the goal of the U-shaped DRL was to reduce pressure on existing downtown transit routes and stations, particularly the congested Bloor-Yonge interchange station between Lines 1 and 2. After the province hesitated to fund the expensive project, it disappeared from the official plan for two decades, returning in 2008 as part of "The Big Move", a new 25-year plan for regional transit commissioned by Metrolinx. A study was completed in 2012, proposing a reverse L-shaped line from the suburban neighbourhood of Don Mills to City Hall along Queen Street[[note]]following the route of the aborted Queen Street streetcar-subway, first proposed over ''a century'' earlier[[/note]], intersecting with Line 2 along the way. In 2016, the provincial government announced funding to plan the design of the line, in partnership with the city, with a further 120-day project assessment taking place in 2018. This ultimately came to an end in 2019, when the provincial government under Doug Ford announced the "Ontario Line", intended to replace the in-progress Relief Line study. This line will run from the Ontario Science Centre in Don Mills, through the under-redevelopment East Harbour near the mouth of the Don River, along Queen, and down to Exhibition Place[[note]]changed from the closed and provincially-owned Ontario Place directly to the south, which the Ford government had proposed redeveloping as a casino[[/note]] in the west end of the waterfront. Unlike the Relief Line, the Ontario Line would include significant sections of at-grade or elevated track, Many of these changes came as a surprise to the city, but eventually the two governments came to an agreement later in 2019. Federal government funding was chipped in early in 2021, and the current schedule projects a 2031 opening. Till then, Toronto waits...

* Toronto is one of only five cities in North America[[note]]The others being Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh[[/note]] to retain its original '''streetcar''' network for transportation purposes.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch or the likes of New Orleans, which retained them for historical tourism purposes.[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay, a turnaround loop at Union Station, another turnaround loop at Spadina Station, and a through loop at St. Clair West Station, these lines operate at street level. The streetcars mostly operate in mixed traffic, but certain lines have dedicated rights-of-way (e.g. the 510 Spadina, which mostly runs in dedicated tracks in the median of Spadina Avenue).

* Toronto is one of only five cities in North America[[note]]The others being Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh[[/note]] to retain its original '''streetcar''' network for transportation purposes.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch or the likes of New Orleans, which retained them for historical tourism purposes.[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay, a turnaround loop at Union Station, another turnaround loop at Spadina Station, and a through loop at St. Clair West Station, these lines operate at street level.

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network for transportation purposes.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch; cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, or San Francisco, whose systems were rebuilt as light rail; or the likes of New Orleans, which retained them for historical tourism purposes.[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay, a turnaround loop at Union Station, another turnaround loop at Spadina Station, and a through loop at St. Clair West Station, these lines operate at street level.

* All lines (except for the aforementioned Scarborough RT and the provincially-run Lines 5 and 6) are not standard gauge (4 foot 8 1/2 inches) -- rather, they are slightly wider (4 foot 10 7/8 inches). This is because the subway tracks were designed to match the gauge of Toronto's streetcar system (and part of Toronto's subway system was originally planned to be serviced by existing streetcars). The reason for the non-standard gauge for Toronto's streetcars was long believed to be that the city wanted to make it impossible for the streetcar tracks to be used for freight cars, and excluded them through the use of a wider gauge; a prevailing theory now is that the wider gauge would allow horse-drawn vehicles to ride along the right of way and not get bogged down in the muddy, unpaved roads of the day. Historic Toronto transit equipment must be re-gauged if it is to operate elsewhere.

** Line 5 on Eglinton, first proposed in the "Network 2011" plan in 1985 as a busway, was upgraded to a subway project by the province of Ontario under pressure from city and regional governments, and broke ground in 1994...only to be cancelled in 1995 after a provincial election, and what little excavation had taken place unceremoniously filled back in. Had construction gone through, however, it would only have been a four-stop "stubway" extending west from Eglinton West station, and not the crosstown line built. As mentioned above, it was back on the schedule with the Transit City proposal of the late 2000s, which was then cancelled after the election of Rob Ford as mayor, and then UnCancelled within months. Aside from Line 6 Finch, few other projects from the Transit City plan have survived. As of 2023, the project is still ongoing, to the point that anytime the city posts a completion date, most people assume that it will be delayed. [[labelnote:Note]] Some have accused the contractors and workers of purposely working slow to draw out the contract, which some workers have been reported even admitting. [[//labelnote]]

** Line 5 on Eglinton, first proposed in the "Network 2011" plan in 1985 as a busway, was upgraded to a subway project by the province of Ontario under pressure from city and regional governments, and broke ground in 1994...only to be cancelled in 1995 after a provincial election, and what little excavation had taken place unceremoniously filled back in. Had construction gone through, however, it would only have been a four-stop "stubway" extending west from Eglinton West station, and not the crosstown line built. As mentioned above, it was back on the schedule with the Transit City proposal of the late 2000s, which was then cancelled after the election of Rob Ford as mayor, and then UnCancelled within months. Aside from Line 6 Finch, few other projects from the Transit City plan have survived. As of 2023, the project is still ongoing, to the point that anytime the city posts a completion date, most people assume that it will be delayed. [[labelnote:Note]] Some have accused the contractors and workers of purposely working slow to draw out the contract, which some workers have even admitted.[[\\labelnote]]

** Line 5 on Eglinton, first proposed in the "Network 2011" plan in 1985 as a busway, was upgraded to a subway project by the province of Ontario under pressure from city and regional governments, and broke ground in 1994...only to be cancelled in 1995 after a provincial election, and what little excavation had taken place unceremoniously filled back in. Had construction gone through, however, it would only have been a four-stop "stubway" extending west from Eglinton West station, and not the crosstown line built. As mentioned above, it was back on the schedule with the Transit City proposal of the late 2000s, which was then cancelled after the election of Rob Ford as mayor, and then UnCancelled within months. Aside from Line 6 Finch, few other projects from the Transit City plan have survived.

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network for transportation purposes.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch, or the likes of San Francisco and New Orleans, which retained them for historical tourism purposes[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay, a turnaround loop at Union Station, another turnaround loop at Spadina Station, and a through loop at St. Clair West Station, these lines operate at street level.

* '''Line 6 Finch West''': Another light rail line which began construction in late 2019 and is planned to open in 2023. It will run east-west in the northwestern part of Toronto and will be above ground for almost its entire length except for short tunnel segments near the 2 ends of the line. Was actually cancelled in late 2010 shortly after Rob Ford took office as mayor, but was subsequently restored by city council in early 2012 over his objections. As with Line 5 above, it will be owned by Metrolinx.

** There is another Toronto subway station with an extra level that was never used. When the Queen Street subway station was built, it was originally planned to interchange with an underground streetcar line that would be built along Queen Street downtown, and the station for this line was “roughed in” below the existing Queen Street station on the Yonge line. The subterranean streetcar line was never built, and thus the lower level has never been used by transit vehicles. However, you're walking through it if you use the under-track walkway between the southbound and northbound tracks.

** Perhaps the UrExample for Toronto is the infamous "Downtown Relief Line". Also part of the 1985 "Network 2011" plan, the goal of the U-shaped DRL was to reduce pressure on existing downtown transit routes and stations, particularly the congested Bloor-Yonge interchange station between Lines 1 and 2. After the province hesitated to fund the expensive project, it disappeared from the official plan for two decades, returning in 2008 as part of "The Big Move", a new 25-year plan for regional transit commissioned by Metrolinx. A study was completed in 2012, proposing a reverse L-shaped line from the suburban neighbourhood of Don Mills to City Hall along Queen Street[[note]]following the route of the aborted Queen Street streetcar-subway, first proposed over ''a century'' earlier[[/note]], intersecting with Line 2 along the way. In 2016, the provincial government announced funding to plan the design of the line, in partnership with the city, with a further 120-day project assessment taking place in 2018. This ultimately came to an end in 2019, when the provincial government under Doug Ford announced the "Ontario Line", intended to replace the in-progress Relief Line study. This line will run from the Ontario Science Centre in Don Mills, through the under-redevelopment East Harbour near the mouth of the Don River, along Queen, and down to Exhibition Place[[note]]changed from the closed and provincially-owned Ontario Place directly to the south, which the Ford government had proposed redeveloping as a casino[[/note]] in the west end of the waterfront. Unlike the Relief Line, the Ontario Line would include significant sections of at-grade or elevated track, Many of these changes came as a surprise to the city, but eventually the two governments came to an agreement later in 2019. Federal government funding was chipped in early in 2021, and the current schedule projects a 2030 opening. Till then, Toronto waits...

* '''GO Transit''' serves the greater Toronto area, operating commuter trains and coach-style buses. Its train lines run from their hub at Union Station as far as Hamilton, Kitchener, Oshawa, and even UsefulNotes/NiagaraFalls. Unlike the Subway and streetcars, GO is operated by Metrolinx, an agency of the Ontario provincial government. Of particular note is that while GO's rail services currently operate like a typical North American commuter rail system, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GO_Transit_Regional_Express_Rail they are in the process]] of slowly transitioning to something akin to [[UsefulNotes/BerlinUAndSBahn a German S-bahn system]], with increased frequency in off-peak hours and eventual electrification of some of their lines, complete with European-style electric multiple units.

* '''GO Transit''' serves the greater Toronto area, operating commuter trains and coach-style buses. Its train lines run from their hub at Union Station as far as Hamilton, Kitchener, Oshawa, and even UsefulNotes/NiagaraFalls. Unlike the Subway and streetcars, GO is operated by Metrolinx, an agency of the Ontario provincial government. Of particular note is that while GO's rail services currently operate like a typical North American commuter rail system, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GO_Transit_Regional_Express_Rail they are in the process]] of slowly transitioning to something akin to a German S-bahn service, with increased frequency in off-peak hours and eventual electrification of some of their lines, complete with European-style electric multiple units.

* The system only has [[SinisterSubway one abandoned station]], which is actually just part of a station. The abandoned station is the lower level of Bay on the Bloor-Danforth Line, which was only in service for a few months as part of a unique (but inefficient) service plan to have all stops served by at least two lines. The station does often appear in film, though, as it commonly doubles for a New York subway station.

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network for transportation purposes.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch, or the likes of San Francisco and New Orleans, which retained them for historical tourism purposes[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay and a turnaround loop at Union Station, these lines operate at street level.

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network for transportation purposes.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch or the likes of San Francisco and New Orleans, which retained them for historical tourism purposes[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay and a turnaround loop at Union Station, these lines operate at street level.

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch[[/note]] Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay and a turnaround loop at Union Station, these lines operate at street level.

The first subway in Canada (opened in 1954), the Toronto Subway is one of the most heavily used on the North American continent. Operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (who also operates Toronto's streetcar and bus systems), the system covers 69 stations with about 68 kilometers of track before the Line 1 extension to Vaughan in 2017.

The first subway in Canada (opened in 1954), the Toronto Subway is one of the most heavily used on the North American continent. Operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (who also operates Toronto's streetcar and bus systems), the system covers 69 stations with about 68 kilometers of track.

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up their streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch[[/note]]. Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay and a turnaround loop at Union Station, these lines operate at street level.

!Lines of the Toronto Subway:

!Other facts about the Subway:

!Other Transit in Toronto:

* Toronto is probably the only city in North America to retain its original '''streetcar''' network.[[note]]As opposed to cities like Portland, Seattle, or Oklahoma City, which tore up its streetcar tracks and later started again from scratch[[/note]]. Possibly as a result of this, Toronto's network is the most extensive in the continent. The streetcars also boast an underground station of their own at Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina lines. Aside from Queen's Quay and a turnaround loop at Union Station, these lines operate at street level.
* '''GO Transit''' serves the greater Toronto area, operating commuter trains and coach-style buses. Its train lines run from their hub at Union Station as far as Hamilton, Kitchener, Oshawa, and even UsefulNotes/NiagaraFalls. Of particular note is that while GO's rail services currently operate like a typical North American commuter rail system, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GO_Transit_Regional_Express_Rail they are in the process]] of slowly transitioning to something akin to a German S-bahn service, with increased frequency in off-peak hours and eventual electrification of some of their lines, complete with European-style electric multiple units.
* The '''Union-Pearson Express''' (aka. UP Express or UPX) is a rail link [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin between Union Station and Toronto Pearson Airport]]. For the moment, it uses diesel multiple units, but when the Kitchener Line it shares with GO trains electrifies (see above), so will UPX.

* '''GO Transit''' serves the greater Toronto area, operating commuter trains and coach-style buses. Its train lines run from their hub at Union Station as far as Hamilton, Kitchener, Oshawa, and even [[UsefulNotes/NiagaraFalls]]. Of particular note is that while GO's rail services currently operate like a typical North American commuter rail system, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GO_Transit_Regional_Express_Rail they are in the process]] of slowly transitioning to something akin to a German S-bahn service, with increased frequency in off-peak hours and eventual electrification of some of their lines, complete with European-style electric multiple units.

The lines of the system are as follows:

* One additional underground station is Queen's Quay, used by streetcars of the Harbourfront and Spadina light rail lines. Aside from Queen's Quay and a turnaround loop at Union Station, these lines operate at street level.

Interesting facts about the subway include:

** Perhaps the UrExample for Toronto is the infamous "Downtown Relief Line". Also part of the 1985 "Network 2011" plan, the goal of the U-shaped DRL was to reduce pressure on existing downtown transit routes and stations, particularly the congested Bloor-Yonge interchange station between Lines 1 and 2. After the province hesitated to fund the expensive project, it disappeared from the official plan for two decades, returning in 2008 as part of "The Big Move", a new 25-year plan for regional transit commissioned by Metrolinx. A study was completed in 2012, proposing a reverse L-shaped line from the suburban neighbourhood of Don Mills to City Hall along Queen Street[[note]]following the route of the aborted Queen Street streetcar-subway, first proposed over ''a century'' earlier[[/note]], intersecting with Line 2 along the way. In 2016, the provincial government announced funding to plan the design of the line, in partnership with the city, with a further 120-day project assessment taking place in 2018. This ultimately came to an end in 2019, when the provincial government under Doug Ford announced the "Ontario Line", intended to replace the in-progress Relief Line study. This line will run from the Ontario Science Centre in Don Mills, through the under-redevelopment East Harbour near the mouth of the Don River, along Queen, and down to Exhibition Place[[note]]changed from the closed and provincially-owned Ontario Place directly to the south, which the Ford government had proposed redeveloping as a casino[[/note]] in the west end of the waterfront. Unlike the Relief Line, the Ontario Line would include significant sections of at-grade or elevated track, Many of these changes came as a surprise to the city, but eventually the two governments came to an agreement later in 2019. Federal government funding was chipped in early in 2021, and the current schedule projects a 2030 opening. Till then, Toronto waits...

* '''Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown''': Currently under construction and expected to open in the early 2020s, the Eglinton Crosstown line will run east-west through the middle part of Toronto. Like the Scarborough line it will be a light rail system rather than a true subway, though it will run underground for approximately half of its length. Future extensions of the line east to Scarborough Town Centre and west to the airport have already been approved, but are still in the planning stages. Unlike the above lines, this line and Line 6 below will be operated by Metrolinx, the provincial transit authority for the Greater Toronto Area. This route was cancelled[[note]]not for the first time; more below[[/note]] in late 2010 shortly after Rob Ford took office as mayor, but was restored with some redesigns shortly afterwards. Will be coloured orange on the system map when it opens.

* '''Line 6 Finch West''': Another light rail line which began construction in late 2019 and is planned to open in 2023. It will run east-west in the northwestern part of Toronto and will be above ground for almost its entire length except for short tunnel segments near the 2 ends of the line. Was actually cancelled in late 2010 shortly after Rob Ford took office as mayor, but was subsequently restored by city council in early 2012 over his objections. As with Line 5 above, it will be run by Metrolinx.

** Line 5 on Eglinton, first proposed in the "Network 2011" plan in 1985 as a busway, was upgraded to a subway project by the province of Ontario under pressure from city and regional governments, and broke ground in 1994...only to be cancelled in 1995 after a provincial election, and what little excavation had taken place unceremoniously filled back in. As mentioned above, it was back on the schedule with the Transit City proposal of the late 2000s, which was then cancelled after the election of Rob Ford as mayor, and then UnCancelled within months. Aside from Line 6 Finch, few other projects from the Transit City plan have survived.
** Perhaps the UrExample for Toronto is the infamous "Downtown Relief Line". Also part of the 1985 "Network 2011" plan, the goal of the U-shaped DRL was to reduce pressure on existing downtown transit routes and stations, particularly the congested Bloor-Yonge interchange station between Lines 1 and 2. After the province hesitated to fund the expensive project, it disappeared from the official plan for two decades, returnin in 2008 as part of "The Big Move", a new 25-year plan for regional transit commissioned by Metrolinx. A study was completed in 2012, proposing a reverse L-shaped line from the suburban neighbourhood of Don Mills to City Hall along Queen Street[[note]]following the route of the aborted Queen Street streetcar-subway, first proposed over ''a century'' earlier[[/note]], intersecting with Line 2 along the way. In 2016, the provincial government announced funding to plan the design of the line, in partnership with the city, with a further 120-day project assessment taking place in 2018. This ultimately came to an end in 2019, when the provincial government under Doug Ford announced the "Ontario Line", intended to replace the in-progress Relief Line study. This line will run from the Ontario Science Centre in Don Mills, through the under-redevelopment East Harbour near the mouth of the Don River, along Queen, and down to Exhibition Place[[note]]changed from the closed and provincially-owned Ontario Place directly to the south, which the Ford government had proposed redeveloping as a casino[[/note]] in the west end of the waterfront. Unlike the Relief Line, the Ontario Line would include significant sections of at-grade or elevated track, Many of these changes came as a surprise to the city, but eventually the two governments came to an agreement later in 2019. Federal government funding was chipped in early in 2021, and the current schedule projects a 2030 opening. Till then, Toronto waits...

* '''Line 3 Scarborough''': Unlike the other currently built lines, the Scarborough Line is an above-ground light rail system rather than a true heavy-rail subway. It was opened in 1986 and runs through the district of (you guessed it) Scarborough. The line, unlike the rest of the system, uses different rolling stock, different track gauge and different means of propulsion. Coloured blue on the map. It was originally going to be a streetcar line, but politics turned it into what it is today. Still often referred to by locals by its original name: "Scarborough RT" (Rapid Transit). As noted, in September 2013, Toronto City Council under Mayor Rob Ford (yes that Rob Ford) voted to replace it with an extension to the Bloor-Danforth Line. However in 2015, after concerns were raised by the City Planner about how well a new subway would work in conjunction with new mayor John Tory's "[=SmartTrack=]" surface rail plan, the plan was again changed to extending the Bloor Line by one stop and building an eastern extension to the Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown currently under construction (see below).

* All lines (except for the aforementioned Scarborough RT and the provincially-run Lines 5 and 6) are not standard gauge (4 foot 8 1/2 inches) -- rather, they are slightly wider (4 foot 10 7/8 inches). This is because the subway tracks were designed to match the gauge of Toronto's streetcar system (and part of Toronto's subway system was originally planned to be serviced by existing streetcars). The reason for the non-standard gauge for Toronto's streetcars appears to be that the city wanted to make it impossible for the streetcar tracks to be used for freight cars, and excluded them through the use of a wider gauge. Historic Toronto transit equipment must be re-gauged if it is to operate elsewhere.

* DevelopmentHell and ExecutiveMeddling to be the default state of any transit projects in Toronto:

* The system only has one abandoned station, which is actually just part of a station. The abandoned station is the lower level of Bay on the Bloor-Danforth Line, which was only in service for a few months as part of a unique (but inefficient) service plan to have all stops served by at least two lines. The station does often appear in film, though, as it commonly doubles for a New York subway station.