Hey guys, welcome back to the channel!
Today we are going to be talking about the future of rapid transit in Toronto. We made
a similar video over a year ago and since our production quality and insights have improved
we thought it was time for a remake!
In addition to rapid transit lines, this video is also going to discuss the locations of
the primary railyards in the cities transit network as well as do an in-depth look at
the exciting expansions coming to the streetcar network!
[Music]
Before we get started I’ve gotta give a shoutout to our latest Patrons, Danya and Benjamin!
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Now, let's start by taking a look at the TTC’s existing rapid transit lines.
First off we have Line 1, which is, of course, Toronto’s primary subway line. It connects
downtown Toronto to the suburbs of North York and Vaughan along a 38 stop route. In addition,
since the line is U shaped it covers two north-south corridors within the city.
Line 1 carries more than 700,000 riders every day, which is more than the entire rapid transit
networks of Vancouver and Calgary combined.
Second, we have Line 2, which serves the East-West Bloor Danforth corridor, Toronto's primary
East-West Link. Line 2 connects downtown Toronto to the suburbs of Etobicoke and Scarborough
along a 31 station route. Since we are talking ridership for existing lines Line 2 carries
over 500,000 riders every day which is more than LA’s entire Metro System.
Third, we have Line 3 or the Scarborough RT. This relatively short 6km line connects 6
stations between Kennedy Station and McCowan station in central Scarborough. The Scarborough
RT is on its final legs and will be removed once Line 2 can be extended to Scarborough Centre.
Next up is Line 4 which is the TTC’s least used rapid transit line. This 5 stop line
is also 6km long and connects the Yonge Subway at Sheppard avenue with Don Mills station
in Eastern North York. Line 4 carries less people than the King Streetcar line and most
other respectable transit systems.
Finally, as a bonus, we’ve added the Queens Quay tunnel and Queens Quay station. While
some might argue that this is not a true rapid transit route, we think it deserves to be
here. This short tunnel runs about half a km and serves a nice underground station,
which connects Union station conveniently with office buildings at Queen's Quay as well
as the waterfront. Better still this is technically also the only “subway” in Toronto
that runs 24 hours a day.
To start getting into the future or at least the under-construction projects we need to
mention GO RER. We won’t get into specifics besides to show how great the coverage of
this network is but, we really believe it plays an integral part in Toronto’s future
transit network. To find out more consider checking out our video on the future of the
GO network.
Next up we will discuss two under construction rapid transit lines. We’ll also mention
the new interchange points, the extensions, and new lines from this point on.
First up is the Eglinton Crosstown or TTC Line 5 which opens in 2021. This 25 station
Light Rail Line will transform transportation from the Eastern Suburb of Scarborough through
to midtown Toronto. In addition Line 5 will finally connect Line 1’s east and west legs
north of Bloor providing critical redundancies. Line 5 will have a ton of new interchange
stations including Kennedy, Eglinton, Eglinton West, Caledonia, and Mt. Dennis.
Finally the last under-construction line is the Finch West LRT or TTC Line 6, which opens
in 2023. Line 6 is an 18 station Light Rail line which will connect Northern Etobicoke
from Finch West Subway Station to Humber College. This light rail line will provide critical
relief for one of the city' s most congested bus routes as well as provide connections
to regional transit operators at Humber College’s large bus terminal. This Line will be hugely
beneficial to the numerous students at this Humber College Campus, which has been growing
significantly in recent years.
Now for this next section, we won’t go into too many specific details since the planned
lines in Toronto have unfortunately long been under flux. We think the current Provincial
Government's plans are relatively strong overall and are relatively optimistic that they will
be able to deliver the lines they have proposed.
So first up we have the flagship Ontario Line. This line connects Exhibition GO Station to
Osgoode and Queen on Line 1, following this the line connects to the future East Harbour
GO Station (which by the way is not in Hamilton) as well as the future Gerrard GO Station while
traveling alone the Lakeshore East GO Corridor. After this, the Line goes underground at Pape
Avenue to serve Pape Station on Line 2, before continuing North to serve the transit deserts
of Flemington and Thorncliffe park before terminating at Science Centre Station on Line 5.
We particularly love the routing decisions on the Ontario Line with all the GO and TTC connections,
particularly at Exhibition and East Harbour to potentially relieve Union station in the future.
We also like the choice of automated metro technology similar to Sydney Metro.
Next up we have the Scarborough Subway extension. This extension will replace Line 3 (whose
Number will likely be taken by the Ontario Line) extending Line 2 from Kennedy to Sheppard
Avenue via Scarborough Centre.
Following that we will see an underground Western extension of Line 5 from Mt. Dennis
West along Eglinton to Renforth Gateway on the Mississauga transitway and then North
to Pearson where it will meet the UP Express.
Of course, we will also see the Yonge Line extended from Finch Station to Richmond Hill centre.
This extension already makes a ton of sense given the massive number of buses
using the corridor, however the extension will overload the Yonge subway if the Ontario or
Relief Line is not built first so this extension is currently waiting for significant work
to start on that line before it proceeds with construction.
Finally, the government plans on extending Line 4 Eastward to meet the extended Line
2, forming an Eastern loop in the system finally providing a much better connection between
North York and Scarborough. This line is controversial given the low ridership of the current Sheppard
subway and while we would really like to see the Sheppard subway extended Westward to meet
Line 1 at the Wilson yard (an extension that would make serious logistical improvements
for train deployment), we do think Line 4 needs to be extended as it’s currently in
a vicious cycle of not being attractive to use, and hence having low ridership which
makes it unattractive to extend.
Before closing out this section of the video we’d like to draw your attention to all
the railyards on the TTC rapid transit system.
Currently serving Line 1 we have the Davisville and Wilson yards, an additional yard the Richmond
Hill Yard will be added at the terminus of the Yonge Subway Richmond Hill extension.
This will be the TTC’s first underground railyard, an exciting detail.
Next up serving Line 2 we have the Greenwood yard. With the extension of Line 2 further
into Scarborough as well as ATC the Line will need more trains than ever before. In addition,
newer long open gantry trains such as the Toronto Rockets will require a reconfiguration
of the Greenwood Yard. Necessitating the creation of a long-planned western yard on land the
TTC owns near Kipling Station, named the Obico yard.
Line 3’s relatively small fleet is serviced out of McCowan Yard and along with the SRT
this yard will be removed once the Line 2 extension into Scarborough is complete.
The under-construction Line 5 will have a major yard at the significant Mt. Dennis
interchange station. Line 6 will have a more modest yard due to its shorter length and
lower frequencies at Norfinch and Oakdale near Jane and Finch.
Of course, we can’t forget the Ontario Line, while it’s yard is perhaps the least certain
at present we do know that it will likely go on lands to the Southwest of Science Centre
Station on Line 5 at Don Mills and Eglinton, its northern terminus.
With all the currently planned lines on the map and all these railyards, our network really
starts to look quite impressive. In addition, a lot of what you see here is already underway
which is one thing that gets me very excited.
Now, since we have gotten all the major rapid transit lines out of the way it’s time to
talk streetcars!
The current streetcar network densely covers the old city of Toronto with major routes
along Roncesvalles, Bathurst, Spadina, and Broadview in the North-South direction as
well as major East-West Routes along St. Clair, College, Dundas, Queen, King, and Queens Quay.
When you add in the rapid transit network on top you realize that old Toronto is actually
incredibly well served by streetcars and rail lines many of which will have additional stations
and services added in the future.
Pay particular attention to the thicker streetcar lines which indicate priority operations as
with the King Street Streetcar Project. Note the two-tone lines which indicated LRT-like
streetcar routes with their own lanes.
For Toronto's future streetcar lines which are currently being planned by the city, we
have a lot to look forward to. Note that since Streetcar routings are flexible, we're avoiding
mentioning particular services and will be focusing on the actual infrastructure for this video.
First, the current Queens Quay Line will be reconfigured at Queens Quay, allowing for a streetcar
extension east along Queens Quay serving the rapidly developing Eastern Harbourfront. This
Line stops at Cherry where it meets an extended Cherry streetcar line heading south along
Cherry deep into the newly revitalized and redeveloped Port Lands district.
Also in the Port Lands a new East-West route will be built along Commissioners street connecting
the current streetcar line at Leslie and Commissioners to the Cherry Street Line while serving the
East-West axis of a redeveloped Port Lands district.
Finally, a new North-South Line will connect the current tracks along Broadview avenue,
to the East Harbour development along with its new GO and Ontario Line Station before
terminating on commissioners street in the Port Lands.
All in all these new lines will all feature dedicated lanes and will build off the success
of the Harbourfront streetcar route while developing the Port Lands and Eastern Harbourfront
as transit-oriented communities.
Now, of course, we can’t forget to quickly mention the TTC’s less appreciated railyards
which store and maintain our Streetcars. In particular, we have the Roncesvalles Carhouse,
the Hillcrest Facility, Russell Carhouse and the new Leslie Barns which is the largest
and by far the newest of all the yards, purpose-built to store and maintain the TTC’s new streetcars.
It’s worth noting that the Leslie Barns actually sit at Leslie and Commissioners street
which means the new streetcar line here will provide some nice redundancy for the TTC’s
most important streetcar facility.
When all is said and done, Toronto will have 7 rapid transit lines, 5 regional express
rail lines, and 12 streetcar lines. From the current 75 stations and 8 yards to the 115
stations and 10 yards including current under-construction projects (well past the golden 100 station
marker I might add) to over 140 stations and 13 railyards currently planned. These numbers
excite us immensely and when all of the extensions and expansion projects mentioned in this video
are complete Toronto will undeniably have a world-class transportation network arguably
the best in North America and easily in the same league as the best networks globally
in Europe and Asia!
Thanks for watching! Of course, if you enjoyed this video make sure to leave a comment down
below telling us what project YOU are most excited for and as always follow us on Instagram
and Twitter for the latest. And as always guys, have a good one.