The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the City of Toronto have together committed a total of $1.5 billion to expand the capacity of the TTC's key crossroads — Bloor-Yonge Station.

Current conditions on the Line 2 platform at Bloor-Yonge Station, image courtesy of the TTC

The City and TTC will use the funding to rehabilitate the subway station to improve efficiency and capacity and reduce overcrowding during rush hours. Components of the project include:

  • building a second platform for eastbound trains along Bloor-Danforth Line 2;

  • reconfiguring the original Line 2 platform to enhance capacity for westbound passengers;

  • expanding the platforms for both north- and southbound trains along Yonge Line 1;

  • enhancing the concourse level, entrances and exits;

  • building a new accessible entrance and exit on Bloor Street East;

  • installing new elevators, escalators and stairs;

  • installing new public art and station finishes;

  • building an electrical substation to power new and current areas of the station and ventilation systems

  • improving the ventilation system, including building new fan plants ; and

  • upgrading utilities.

Artist’s rendering of the future Bloor-Yonge Station expanded Line 1 southbound platform. Design subject to change, image courtesy of the TTC

According to the TTC, Bloor-Yonge is its busiest station, serving, on average, 220,000 passengers every day. The Yonge Line 1 section of the station opened in 1954 and now requires the transit agency to expand and modernize it so it can accommodate future riders and the increasing population density of the neighbourhood.

Artist’s rendering of the future Bloor-Yonge Station expanded Line 1 northbound platform. Design subject to change, image courtesy of the TTC

The TTC says that Line 1 and 2 passenger platforms are already experiencing overcrowding and queuing during both morning and evening rush hours. Yonge Line 1's average weekly ridership of more than 825,000 passengers (in 2019) make it one of the busiest subway lines in North America. The TTC expects the number of riders to increase significantly due to the rising population of the Greater Toronto Area and from other transit expansion projects, especially the northern extension of Yonge Line 1 to Richmond Hill Centre, but also including the opening of the Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown LRT and the building of the future Ontario Line 3.

At an event Friday, Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Finance, Dominic LeBlanc, [federal] Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, Caroline Mulroney, Ontario's Minister of Transportation and Minister of Francophone Affairs, and Toronto mayor John Tory announced the joint funding.

Artist’s rendering of the new Bloor-Yonge Station Line 2 eastbound platform. Design subject to change, image courtesy of the TTC

Canada is investing as much as $500 million in this project through the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). This represents the Government's formal commitment to the funding it first announced in August, 2019. Ontario is providing as much as $449.2 million and the City is contributing more than $564 million. City Council approved its funding share during the 2020 budget process by allocating $500 million in new funding from the City Building Fund (.pdf) in the TTC’s 2020-2029 approved capital budget and plan. The City’s funding enabled the TTC to begin the necessary planning and preparatory work for this project.

This project is at 30 percent conceptual design or Stage Gate 3. The Toronto Transit Commission — the TTC's board of directors — approved Stage Gate 3 in December, 2021. By approving Stage Gate 3 the Board established the overall project scope, schedule, and cost, and determined the best project-delivery strategy. The TTC plans to start major construction in 2024. It will confirm specific timelines after it has completed engineering and awarded a contract.

Artist’s rendering of the reconfigured Bloor-Yonge Station Line 2 westbound platform. Design subject to change, image courtesy of the TTC

UrbanToronto will continue to cover the Bloor - Yonge Station expansion project as it develops, but in the meantime, you can join in on the conversation in our dedicated Transportation Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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