Eglinton West subway

The Eglinton West subway was a proposed east-west subway line in Toronto, Canada. It was to start from the existing Eglinton West station on the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge-University-Spadina line. Work began in 1994, but was halted in 1995 when the newly-elected Government of Ontario under Mike Harris, cancelled the project. The excavation under Eglinton West intended to be Allen Station was subsequently filled in.

Eglinton West
Between Eglinton West and Renforth

Planning history

The initial Network 2011 report stated that the proposed rapid transit line would be a busway, and not a subway. The busway would be the most cost-effective alternative since Eglinton West corridor sits in the vacant Richview Expressway corridor, though in the future it could be expanded to a subway if ridership warranted.

Though the cities of Etobicoke and York strongly supported the concept of an Eglinton Rapid Transit line, as did the Region of Peel, they were unsatisfied with the prospect of a busway. There was some political jealousy over the fact that North York had successfully made the Sheppard Subway a priority (though practically, Sheppard Avenue did not have available right-of-way for a busway), and Etobicoke and York argued that their transportation needs had similar importance. On Metro Council, Etobicoke and York formed an alliance that argued that the Eglinton rapid transit line be built as a subway from the start. In 1994, when Premier Bob Rae agreed to support the subway projects, they decided to spread the funding throughout Metro Toronto to appease residents of both sides, which would have resulted in two truncated subway lines instead of a single complete line.

The Eglinton West subway is no longer a priority of the TTC. Its expansion priorities are instead the extension of the Spadina subway to York University and Steeles Avenue, the replacement of the aging Scarborough RT system, the extension of the Sheppard subway to Victoria Park Avenue and Scarborough City Centre, and improvements to major bus and streetcar routes to create a network of "surface rapid transit" routes (including on Eglinton Avenue).

Proposed stations

* Eglinton West - Allen Station
* Dufferin North Station
* Caledonia Station / GO Station
* Keele North / Trethewey Station
* York Centre Station
* Jane North Station
* Scarlett Station
* Royal York North Station
* Islington North Station
* Kipling North Station
* Martin Grove Station
* Attwell-Skyway Station
* Carlingview Station
* Renforth Station

- The original, cancelled, Eglinton West subway would only have been built as far as York Centre Station.

Allen Station

Also known as Lower Eglinton West, this station was only a partial tunnel that was filled in shortly after the line's cancellation. It would have been linked to Eglinton West station on the Yonge-University-Spadina line and the terminus of William R. Allen Road.

Future

The TTC's recent proposed expansion plan [ [http://transitcity.ca/ Transit City plan 2007] ] includes a light rail transit (LRT or streetcar) line across Eglinton called the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. This line would be built underground between Keele and Laird streets, which would effectively create an Eglinton West "subway", but would use LRT vehicles rather than the subway trains. However a leaked copy of a 'Metrolinx' (the regional body coordinating transit throughout the GTA) has indicated the organization may wish to revive the Eglinton subway line as opposed to the light rail option. [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/09/04/metrolinx-tto.html]

References

* [http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5112.shtml The Eglinton West Subway Line]

ee also

* Eglinton Crosstown LRT
* Queen Street subway
* Blue22 - Possible rail link with Pearson Airport