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Announced by the Province of Ontario in 2019, the proposed Ontario Line is one of four priority transit projects Metrolinx is leading for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). The line will be the largest single expansion in Toronto’s subway history, helping to ease congestion on existing transit lines throughout the city and bring transit to underserviced neighbourhoods.
The Ontario Line will bring 15.6 kilometres of much-needed subway service to Toronto to make it faster and easier for hundreds of thousands of people to get where they need to be each day.
The line will stretch across the city, from the Ontario Science Centre in the northeast to Exhibition Place in the southwest.
Current plans for the Ontario Line include 15 stations, including six interchange stations and over 40 new connections to GO train lines and existing subway, streetcar, and bus lines.
Attend the Ontario Line virtual live meeting happening on April 15, 2021 at 6:30 PM and submit your questions for the Q&A now.
More Transit for More Communities - Sooner
The Ontario Line will bring more transit to more in-need communities sooner than previously thought by using a mix of at-grade (surface) track, elevated guideways and underground tunnels. This type of approach comes with many benefits, including:
Shorter construction timelines – Limiting the amount of tunneling and excavation needed for the project reduces its complexity, which in turn helps reduce construction timelines and property impacts. This will be done by aligning Ontario Line operations within sections of existing above-ground rail corridors in the western and eastern segments of the line, and along elevated structures in the northern segment. In communities like Leslieville, we are also able to streamline our work with existing GO Expansion plans along the rail corridor, which reduces the number of construction zones and related impacts in the surrounding community.
Faster and more convenient transfers – Customers using at-grade stations will be able to get where they need to go sooner by avoiding lengthy journeys underground and by taking advantage of faster transfers to other surface transit routes. For instance, an underground East Harbour station would have needed to be built nearly 40 metres underground to reach under the Don River. This very deep station would have added 4.5 minutes to each transfer, adding significant time to people’s commutes.
More rapid transit for more communities – The Ontario Line is able to reach transit-deprived communities sooner than previously thought. These include the growing and vibrant neighbourhoods of Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, Liberty Village and Fort York.
Running along a mix of above-ground and underground tracks is not a new approach --- the TTC has done this with Line 1, Line 2 and Line 3, and many other transit systems have adopted it to deliver superior rapid transit within impressive timeframes. For example, the majority of stations and tracks for world-class transit services like Vancouver’s SkyTrain network and London, England’s Docklands Light Railway system are above ground. Since those systems began in the 80s, the SkyTrain has become the longest rapid transit system in Canada and the Docklands Light Railway system has grown to nearly 40 kilometres’ worth of track.
The Ontario Line will take you across the city – all the way from Exhibition Place to the Ontario Science Centre – in 30 minutes or less, with zero transfers.
That’s 40 minutes faster than today’s transit option, which requires getting on and off three separate vehicles.
From Thorncliffe Park, a commute to the heart of downtown would be 25 minutes instead of the 40 minutes it takes today.
Key Facts
Proposed stations
15
End-to-end journey time
30 minutes or less
Proposed connections to other transit options
Over 40, including:
Connections to Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, and Stouffville GO train services
Connections to the TTC’s Line 1 and Line 2 subways
Connection to Line 5 (Eglinton Crosstown LRT)
Connections to streetcar lines at 10 Ontario Line stations
Connections to bus services at 12 Ontario Line Stations
Route length
15.6 km
Ridership
388,000 daily boardings
Frequency
As frequent as every 90 seconds during rush hour
Improved access to transit
255,000 more people within walking distance to transit
Improved access to jobs
Up to 57,000 more jobs accessible in 45 minutes or less
Reductions in rush hour crowding
Up to 22 per cent at Bloor/Yonge Station, or 14,000 fewer people, during the busiest hour
Up to 16 per cent at Eglinton Station, or 5,000 fewer people, during the busiest hour
Up to 14 per cent at Union Station, or 14,000 fewer people, during the busiest hour
Daily reductions in traffic congestion
28,000 fewer cars on the road
Yearly reductions in fuel consumption
7.2 million litres
Our Commitment to You
We are committed to continuing public engagement to keep you informed and collect your feedback. During this time, all engagement activities will remain online to follow public health advice and protect the community and our staff.
Learn more about the project and how you can get involved.
