Sheppard Line 4 Subway Extension (Proposed)

[Streety McCarface]

Sheppard is our G line; 21 stations, 85 years to build ridership, $1B in upgrades over the last decade alone, and still only 1/3rd the ridership of the Bloor line.

There were few mid-capacity options in 1935 but we can better match infrastructure to demand today.

That's not entirely true, and is not a fair comparison. A completed line from Sheppard West to the STC would be 18 km long at the most, while a completed BD line from the STC to Kipling station would be 32 km long. That completed BD line would have a ridership of 550K PPD, while the range of Sheppard's ridership is much less definitive, it'll likely be between 150-350K PPD, depending on zoning restrictions and connections to surface transit. To put this in perspective, that's:
BD: 17,188 passengers per kilometer per day
Sheppard: 8,330 — 19,400 passengers per kilometer per day
Note that the Sheppard line uses 4 car trains and the existing line sees something line 9,500 passengers per day. This is nowhere near 1/3 the ridership rate of the Bloor-Danforth line.

It's also worth noting that Bloor Danforth never always saw 500K PPD riderships, these are fairly recent upward trends in ridership. Only 30 years ago, ridership was a lot closer to 300K-350K PPD (or 11K-13K P/km). Sure, it's a bit higher than Sheppard is now, but you have to consider that the line goes downtown and has existed 30 years prior. On top of this, the line saw 6 car trains and frequencies greater than that of line 4.

Don't get me wrong, line 2 is actually my favorite line in the system, but we shouldn't dismiss Sheppard as a viable subway corridor despite the lower ridership levels we have recorded. It certainly shouldn't be a priority for the foreseeable future, but we shouldn't dismiss the viability of that section of the city, especially since there is so much development potential in North York. Maybe we've been focussing on the wrong issue, instead of blaming bad ridership on suburbanites, maybe we should blame the poor zoning practices and poor TTC route planning up there that made such a line less sustainable than we anticipated.

 

[M II A II R II K]

It could serve as the only uptown mass transit option if it went all the way to Rouge Hill and west to Downsview Park to connect to the Barrie Line, or even as far west as Malton GO Station in Brampton.

 

[11th]

It could serve as the only uptown mass transit option if it went all the way to Rouge Hill and west to Downsview Park to connect to the Barrie Line, or even as far west as Malton GO Station in Brampton.

Its potential can only be realized if it goes from Agincourt to Sheppard West at the minimum. If they want to take it past Sheppard West, Wilson Av. would be the better route.

 

[M II A II R II K]

So it gets extended to McCowan then.

 

[sixrings]

Plans. No money. No shovels

 

[innsertnamehere]

Plans. No money. No shovels

Lots and lots of money. Just not enough.

 

[sixrings]

My wife said she wanted a Honda with the money she saved. I said don't worry honey I have a better plan. We will wait twenty years, continue to take the bus, and in twenty years we should have enough money for a Ferrari instead. I love making plans that make her happy that I have no intention of ever fulfilling because I'll be long dead by then.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Perhaps it could be extended with the new RT tech that the DRL is getting and have the extensions be mostly above ground.

The six TRs could be converted into four and sent to Line 2.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

So this is happening then. I wonder what design will look like.

 

[OneCity]

Perhaps it could be extended with the new RT tech that the DRL is getting and have the extensions be mostly above ground.

The six TRs could be converted into four and sent to Line 2.

That would have made sense had they run the RL up to Sheppard in one go around. Since its only connecting between the existing Sheppard line and the BDL extension it doesnt make much sense to force transfers in both these locations. Will most likely be an extension on the current Sheppard line

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Wonder whats going to happen between Yonge and University. Finch extension or the subway westbound to Sheppard West?

 

[rbt]

So this is happening then. I wonder what design will look like.

This is not happening. The "Ford Plan" doesn't even start an EA for Sheppard until 2030, which the new alignment would require.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

This is not happening. The "Ford Plan" doesn't even start an EA for Sheppard until 2030, which the new alignment would require.

If they go with the Don Mills to McCowan alignment the EA could be done soon. Obviously crashing everything at STC would allow for them to skip an EA since thats on the books but going to Sheppard is the better option for the Bloor Danforth as many people apparantly feel. Meaning they don't have to spend money to bring Sheppard east down to Progress and STC.

 

[rbt]

If they go with the Don Mills to McCowan alignment the EA could be done soon. Obviously crashing everything at STC would allow for them to skip an EA since thats on the books but going to Sheppard is the better option for the Bloor Danforth as many people apparantly feel. Meaning they don't have to spend money to bring Sheppard east down to Progress and STC.

The main point of my comment is Ford does not intend to provide any funding for Sheppard until after SSE is complete.

It could be done much much faster if funding was available.

 

[Hopkins123]

I wonder, back it the day, if they decided to extend Sheppard to Downsview station, how much extra would it have cost?
Let's assume 1 station at Bathurst, of course a new platform at Sheppard/Dufferin, and with provisions for future station at Senlac.
Now how much would they have saved if they wouldn't have built the giant Spanish Solution station at Yonge-Sheppard, and just tied into the Wilson yard roughly at-grade?

Don't forget Faywood/Wilmington.