Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension
York University station has the highest ridership on the extension
Overview
Status	Open
Locale	Toronto and Vaughan, Ontario
Stations	6
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Toronto subway
Operator(s)	Toronto Transit Commission
History
Opened	December 17, 2017; 6 years ago (2017-12-17)
Technical
Line length	8.6 km (5.3 mi)
Character	Underground
Track gauge	4 ft 10+7⁄8 in (1,495 mm) Toronto gauge
Route map Legend Highway 7 Rapidway Vaughan Highway 407 Highway 407 CN York Subdivision York Region Toronto Pioneer Village York University Finch West Downsview Park Barrie line to Finch via Union All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk

The Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) is an extension of the Toronto subway's Line 1 Yonge–University which opened on December 17, 2017. It runs 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi) northwest from the line's previous terminus at Sheppard West station serving six new stations and terminating at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station near Jane Street and Highway 7 in Vaughan. ^{[1] [2]} The TYSSE was the first new section of a Toronto subway line to be opened since the opening of Line 4 Sheppard in 2002. ^[3]

The extension was first envisioned in the 1980s, though the route of an extension to York University was not finalized until 2005. Despite the lack of development there at the time, an extension to Vaughan was added and construction began in 2008. Initially expected to open in 2015, the extension went overbudget and opened two years after the originally planned opening. The new stations were among the first to eliminate collector booths and Toronto TTC fares are charged at the Vaughan stations. Upon opening, most stations on the extension saw below average ridership compared to the rest of the subway system.

Line 1 Yonge–University opened in 1954 and has since been extended several times. In 1978, an eight-stop extension opened, bringing the western leg to Wilson station in the Borough of North York. Since then, there have been several proposals to extend the line further. An extension into Vaughan had been suggested as early as 1988, when Lorna Jackson campaigned during the Vaughan municipal elections to extend the subway system to the proposed Highway 407 corridor. ^[4]

In the early 1990s, a plan known as the Yonge–Spadina Subway Loop Project was discussed. The plan proposed connecting the eastern and western legs of the Line 1 subway (then known as the Yonge–University–Spadina line) to form a complete loop. The western leg of the line would have been extended by three stations to York University in the first phase of the project while the portion along Steeles Avenue to Finch station would have been built in future phases. ^[5] In 1992, construction began on a short 2 km (1.2 mi) extension of Line 1 to Downsview station, as an interim project – which opened in 1996. ^{[6] [7]} In 1994, an environmental assessment for the first phase of the project was approved but the extension was not built due to lack of funding. ^[8] Despite this, lobbying by politicians to extend the line continued to occur. ^[9]

During the proposal stage of the project, the TTC had concluded there were insufficient projected population densities to justify the line north of Steeles Avenue, with some of the new stations projected to be among those with the lowest ridership in the subway system. ^[10] The preferred alignment and placement for four stations for the extension beyond Sheppard West station to serve York University were finalized in September 2005. ^[11] In March 2006, the provincial government announced $670 million in funding for the extension, with the caveat that the line would also be extended to serve the future Vaughan Metropolitan Centre in York Region. ^[12] At the time, the area around Vaughan Metropolitan Centre was occupied by big-box stores and freeways, and lacked the dense development that surrounds most other subway stations. ^[13] The preferred alignment and placement for the two stations in York Region was completed in 2008. ^[14]

The TTC Board approved design principles for stations in 2006, before approving a station design philosophy in 2009. This included integrated design by architects, public art and stations to meet Toronto Green Standards. ^[15] Consultations on the detailed design of stations took place in 2009 and 2010. ^{[16] [17]}

Greg Sorbara, former deputy premier of Ontario and finance minister, was a key promoter of the TYSSE to York University and into York Region, in which his riding was based. In his memoirs, he said that "it would not only be great for the people in the region, but also for my political prospects." ^[18] In 2015, Sorbara indicated that, while David Miller was mayor of Toronto, Miller was initially not enthusiastic about the extension. Sorbara said, "He should have been thrilled at the prospect of the province providing $670 million for more subway infrastructure, regardless of where it went." ^[18]

In 2003, a temporary busway was planned between Downsview (now Sheppard West) station and the campus, but was opposed by the university, which felt it would lessen government willingness to extend the subway. After numerous delays, construction on the York University Busway started on July 25, 2008, ^[19] with a short section of the busway opened on September 6, 2009 ^[20] and the remainder opened on November 20, 2009. ^[21]

The estimated cost was $2.09 billion in 2006, which have been escalated to $2.63 billion considering costs at the year of occurrence. ^[22] The Province of Ontario deposited $870 million into the Move Ontario Trust. The federal government committed $697 million. ^[23] The City of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York committed to fund one-third of total project costs, with Toronto contributing $526 million and York Region contributing $352 million. ^{[1] [24]}

The first construction contract was awarded on February 27, 2008. ^[25] Construction commenced in July 2008 with the relocation of sewers. ^[26] The official ground breaking ceremony was held on November 27, 2009, with a planned opening date of 2015. ^[24] The TTC purchased two tunnel boring machines in late 2010 from LOVAT Inc. (since acquired by Caterpillar Inc.) for $58.4 million to dig tunnels on this extension, and two more boring machines were delivered in early 2011. ^{[27] [28]} Tunnel boring for the extension began on June 17, 2011 ^[29] and was completed on November 8, 2013. ^[30]

In November 2014, the TTC indicated that the 2016 opening date would likely be missed, following poor performance by some contractors, death of a worker at the York University station site and harsh winter weather. ^{[31] [32]} In March 2015, TTC CEO Andy Byford announced that the project was over budget, and that project management problems had resulted in the dismissal of two TTC managers. ^{[33] [34]} Toronto City Council approved an additional $150 million in funding, with $90 million from Toronto and $60 million from York Region. ^[35] The TTC subsequently signed a contract with Bechtel, worth up to $80 million, to assume management of the last third of the construction. ^[36] This bypassed the tendering process usually used to hire contractors. The extension would open two years later than originally planned, in 2017. ^[37] In January 2016, it was announced that the project was $400 million over budget, to a total cost of $3.2 billion. ^[34]

In June 2016, trackwork was completed, with a ceremony attended by Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and other dignitaries. ^[38] In spring 2017, the third rail which provides power to trains was turned on for the first time, ^[39] with the first test train running on the extension in April. In May 2017, Downsview station (which opened in 1996) was renamed Sheppard West, in preparation for the opening of the new Downsview Park station. ^[6] In September 2017, Byford announced that the extension would open in December 2017, ^[40] with the TTC running "ghost trains" to test the extension from November. ^[41]

The extension opened on December 17, 2017, with an opening ceremony attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and Mayor of Toronto John Tory. ^{[42] [43]}

Stations on the extension (in keeping with the pattern of the original Spadina line) feature distinct station architecture and public art. ^{[15] [44] [45]} TTC and City policy requires one percent of the budget to be spent on public art. ^[46] However, the platform walls have no tiles or other cladding and are simply bare concrete, though structural elements on the platforms themselves are clad, as is the case with much of the Line 4 Sheppard stations. ^[44] The interactive artwork at Pioneer Village has not been turned on due to concerns about profanity, which would violate the 2009 revision of the TTC's by-law. ^[47]

According to a TTC forecast reported by transit advocate Steve Munro in early 2015, the TTC's annual operating costs for the entire TYSSE would be $33.7 million, or $14.2 million net of revenue. This would produce a 58 percent cost recovery compared to 70 percent for the TTC system as a whole. These costs, including those for the portion in Vaughan, will be covered by the TTC and the City of Toronto. ^[48] In 2016, the expected net cost to run the extension was revised to $30 million. ^[49]

According to a 2008 memo of understanding between York Region and the City of Toronto:

The TTC will be responsible for the full operating costs of the Spadina subway extension from Downsview (renamed Sheppard West in May 2017) to the Vaughan Corporate Centre (renamed Vaughan Metropolitan Centre) and receive all revenue from the Project (passenger revenue, commuter parking, advertising, retail leasing), with the exception of the operating costs and revenues for bus terminals and passenger pickup and drop off facilities located within York Region, which shall be maintained and operated by York Region. ^[50]

Although Highway 407 and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stations are located in Vaughan (within York Region) outside Toronto city limits, regular Toronto TTC fares are charged when entering or exiting these stations to simplify fare collection. This practice is in contrast to TTC-operated bus routes that cross the Toronto–York boundary at Steeles Avenue, where a second fare is charged. However, an additional fare is required for those paying by cash when transferring between the subway and suburban transit service providers, such as York Region Transit (YRT), at these stations, as is the case when transferring to other suburban transit services at stations within or bordering Toronto.

This is similar to the policy in 1968, when five subway stations opened outside the pre-1998 Toronto city limits in what was the TTC's "Zone 2" area at the time but no extra Zone 2 fare was required to reach those stations, whereas extra fare was charged to connect with suburban TTC bus routes in the boroughs of Metropolitan Toronto. ^{[51] [52]}

Since February 26, 2024, free transfers between the TTC and all other GTA transit services (or discounted transfers with fare-by-distance GO Transit), have been available for customers paying by Presto cards or contactless credit or debit cards. ^[53]

The TYSSE stations were among the first to eliminate staffed fare collector booths, along with the sales of TTC's legacy fare media products – such as tokens – in favour of the Presto card. As a result, these stations opened with roaming customer service attendants, although collector booths had been installed per station plans. ^[54] Collector-booth closures at more stations along the west branch of the line, moving south from the TYSSE stations, followed later. ^{[55] [56]}

Early statistics published by CBC News report ridership numbers for three of six new stations on the TYSSE. In total, "57,100 riders boarded trains at the new stations during a week of service in May [2018]." ^[57] Finch West station pulled the most riders for the month, with approximately 17,000 customers using the station daily (for comparison, Lansdowne station has similar usage). ^[58] It is worth noting that these numbers were recorded during York University's strike, leading to fewer passengers at Pioneer Village and York University. Downsview Park and Highway 407, despite both having direct connections to GO Transit, saw some of the worst ridership numbers in the entire subway system, with 2,000 daily customers at Downsview Park and 2,900 at Highway 407. ^[57] Since the opening of the extension to Vaughan, Downsview Park has replaced Bessarion as the least used subway station on the TTC. ^[58]

Statistics in late 2018 showed that ridership at Downsview Park increased to 2,500 customers per day and Highway 407 increased to 3,400. The busiest station on the extension is now York University, which has about 38,000 daily customers. ^[59] Finch West and Pioneer Village both serve approximately 17,000 customers and the terminus, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, has a daily usage of 14,800. However, the average daily usage of all TTC subway stations is a little more than 34,000, which means that aside from York University station, all stations belonging to the extension are still seeing well below average usage. ^[60]

Vaughan plans to use the subway extension to spur the development of a transit-oriented city centre at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. ^[13] Vaughan Councillor Alan Shefman stated the new city centre will eventually create the density to justify a subway. ^[61] To this end, Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua worked with a developer to build several high-rise buildings near Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station; however, as of December 2017, the area still mainly consisted of big box stores, low rise commercial buildings and parking lots. ^[10] By 2023, however, several high-density residential towers were scheduled to be completed in the area. ^[62] As a precedent, the Sheppard subway shows that while a subway may spur development, that development may not result into a high subway ridership. ^[63] The Toronto Star stated that commuter destinations may be scattered throughout the Greater Toronto Area where public transit is inconvenient to use. ^[64]

Outgoing TTC CEO Andy Byford said: "People say '[build] there and they will come.' I think the most pressing need is to now focus on subway expansion where it's not so much that they will come, it's [that] there's already a demonstrable need." However, Globe and Mail columnists wrote in the context of the TYSSE: "But that advice will have to compete with the growing power of the suburbs, and the eagerness of Queen's Park to court them." Toronto city councillor and TTC commissioner Glenn De Baeremaeker said: "Whether [the subway], quote, merits on a technical sense, the ridership or not, it's a philosophical decision the city has made and society has made. People like subways." ^[10]

York Region, in their 2022 Transportation Master Plan, proposed further extensions of Line 1 on both the Spadina and Yonge legs. ^[65] One proposal was to extend Line 1 along Jane Street from Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station north to Major Mackenzie Drive West (adjacent to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital and Canada's Wonderland amusement park), with possible intermediate stations at Rutherford Road (adjacent to Vaughan Mills shopping mall) and Langstaff Road. The other proposal was to extend Line 1 along Yonge Street from the future High Tech station to Major Mackenzie Drive West (adjacent to Richmond Hill GO Station), with possible intermediate stations at Bantry Avenue and 16th Avenue / Carrville Road).

As of July 2024 ^[update], these plans are not funded and are forecast for implementation in 2051 at the earliest. The York Region Rapid Transit Corporation endorsed these plans in their long-term rapid transit system map. ^[66]