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 northwest from the line's previous terminus at Sheppard West station serving six new stations and terminating at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station near Highway 7 and Jane Street in Vaughan in York Region. The TYSSE was the first expansion of the Toronto subway system since the opening of Line 4 Sheppard in 2002 and the first to extend outside the present limits of the City of Toronto.
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 time for the 2015 Pan American Games, the extension went overbudget and opened two years after originally planned. The new stations were among the first to eliminate collector booths and Toronto Transit Commission (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.
Background
Line 1 Yonge–University (initially running almost exclusively along Yonge Street) opened in 1954 and has been extended several times. The first section of the line's western branch dates back to 1963 when an extension, named the University Subway, was built to curve north from Union station below University Avenue and Queen's Park to near Bloor Street, where it turned west to terminate at St. George station at St. George and Bloor Streets. This extension opened on February 28 of that year. In 1978, a further eight-stop extension opened, called the Spadina subway, bringing the western leg to Wilson station in North York (then a borough separate from Toronto) primarily along Allen Road.
Yonge–Spadina loop plans After the line reached Wilson, there were several proposals to extend it farther. An extension into Vaughan had been suggested as early as 1988, when Vaughan mayor Lorna Jackson campaigned during the Vaughan municipal elections to extend the line to the proposed Highway 407 corridor. In 1989, a proposal was put forward as part of the Network 2011 plan to construct a loop to join the Spadina and Yonge branches along the hydro corridor north of Finch Avenue to Finch station, the northern terminus of the Yonge branch, which opened in 1974 when it was extended north from . However, officials from York University and York Region lobbied for the loop to run through the university campus and along Steeles Avenue instead as they felt it would better suit commuters. In the early 1990s, the loop plan, known as the Yonge–Spadina Subway Loop Project, was discussed, with the option through York's campus being favoured. The western leg of the line would have been extended by four stations to York University in the first phase of the project while the portion east along Steeles Avenue and back south down Yonge Street to Finch station to close the loop would have been built in later phases.
In 1992, as an interim project, construction began on a one-stop extension to Downsview station (renamed Sheppard West in May 2017), which opened in 1996. In 1994, an environmental assessment for the next phase of the loop project was completed, but that extension was not built due to lack of funding. Despite this, lobbying by politicians to extend the line continued.
Change of plans to an extension to Vaughan
In 2000, the City of Vaughan again lobbied for a subway extension to their municipality as they planned to build a new city core (today's Vaughan Metropolitan Centre at Highway 7 and Jane Street, north of Steeles Avenue. This second lobbying effort was ultimately successful and led to the abandonment of the loop proposal. During the proposal stage of this plan, 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 of the subway system. The preferred alignment and placement for four stations for the extension beyond Downsview station to Steeles (one station farther than what was planned in 1994) via York University were finalized in September 2005. 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. At the time, the area around the mostly vacant Vaughan Metropolitan Centre site was occupied by big-box stores and freeways, and lacked the dense development that surrounds most other subway stations. The preferred alignment and placement for the two stations in York Region was finalized in 2008.
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. Consultations on the detailed design of stations took place in 2009 and 2010.
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". 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 $670million for more subway infrastructure, regardless of where it went."
Temporary busway
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, with a short section of the busway opened on September 6, 2009 and the remainder opened on November 20, 2009.
Construction
The estimated cost was $2.09billion in 2006, which have been escalated to $2.63billion considering costs at the year of occurrence. The Province of Ontario deposited $870million into the Move Ontario Trust. The federal government committed $697million. The City of Toronto and York Region committed to fund one-third of total project costs, with Toronto contributing $526million and York Region contributing $352million.
The first construction contract was awarded on February 27, 2008. Construction commenced in July 2008 with the relocation of sewers. The official ground breaking ceremony was held on November 27, 2009, with a planned opening date of 2015. The TTC purchased two tunnel boring machines (TBM's) in late 2010 from LOVAT Inc. (since acquired by Caterpillar Inc.) for $58.4million to dig tunnels for the extension, with two more being delivered in early 2011. Tunnelling work was divided into two sections split at the Finch West station site, with two TBM's nicknamed Holey and Moley boring the southern section, and the other two, nicknamed Yorkie and Torkie boring the northern. Tunnelling began with Holey boring from a launch shaft at the Downsview Park station site on June 17, 2011, and was completed on November 8, 2013, when Torkie broke through the wall of the excavated Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station box."Tunnel boring for Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension begins" TTC. June 17, 2011 Roughly of material had been excavated, with over 54,000 concrete tunnel segments installed.
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. 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. Toronto City Council approved an additional $150million in funding, with $90million from Toronto and $60million from York Region. The TTC subsequently signed a contract with Bechtel, worth up to $80million, to assume management of the last third of the construction. This bypassed the tendering process usually used to hire contractors. The extension would open two years later than originally planned, in 2017. In January 2016, it was announced that the project was $400 million over budget, to a total cost of $3.2 billion.
In June 2016, trackwork was completed, with a ceremony attended by Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and other dignitaries. In spring 2017, the third rail which provides power to trains was turned on for the first time, with the first test train running on the extension in April. In May 2017, Downsview station was renamed Sheppard West in preparation for the opening of the new Downsview Park station. In September 2017, Byford announced that the extension would open for revenue service in December 2017, with the TTC running "ghost trains" (continuing from revenue service runs) along the unopened extension to test it from November.
The extension opened on December 17, 2017, with an opening ceremony attended by Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and Mayor of Toronto John Tory.
Connecting infrastructure
In addition to the subway line, other transit infrastructure was built as part of the TYSSE project. Downsview Park station is an interchange between the subway and the Barrie line, a commuter rail line in the GO Transit system. The station is fully integrated between the two modes. Integrated TTC fare-paid bus terminals typical of many existing stations were built at and stations, and York Region Transit (YRT) bus terminals were constructed at Pioneer Village and ; however, these are located outside of the fare-paid areas, adjacent to but outside the stations. A GO Transit bus terminal (also used by YRT buses and Ontario Northland intercity coaches)https://www.ontarionorthland.ca/en/station/vaughan-hwy-407-terminal was built at Highway 407 station, again outside the paid area, but within the main station building. This station was also designed to connect with the proposed future 407 Transitway. Finch West was built with a knock-out panel that would allow for easier future construction of the connection to Line 6 Finch West, which was then being planned. Construction of this light rail line began in 2019, and it opened on December 7, 2025.
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is also an interchange between the subway and the Highway 7 Rapidway, used by YRT's Viva and Brampton Transit's Züm services. The bus rapid transit dedicated on-street right-of-way opened in conjunction with the subway, and there is direct escalator and elevator access connecting the station concourse with the covered rapidway stop.
Paid commuter parking lots were built at Finch West (358 spaces), Pioneer Village (1,950 spaces) and Highway 407 (560 spaces) – parking was initially free until April 2018 as ridership grew on the line. Passenger pick-up and drop-off facilities were also built at Finch West (10 spaces), Pioneer Village (11 spaces) and Highway 407 (30 spaces). These are owned by the TTC and operated by the Toronto Parking Authority. At Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, SmartCentres built a 900-space parking lot.
Fares Fare policy within Vaughan