Toronto Transit Commission Sheppard-Yonge Station
Southbound to Union | Sheppard-Yonge | Northbound to Finch | ||
Next Station: York Mills | Next Station: North York Centre |
Sheppard-Yonge | Eastbound to Don Mills | |||
Next Station: Bayview |
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Rapid Transit | Line 1 Yonge-University Line 4 Sheppard | ||||||||||
Surface Routes | 84, 85, 97, 98, 320, 384, 385, 984 | ||||||||||
Presto | Yes | ||||||||||
Opening Date | March 30, 1974 (Line 1) November 24, 2002 (Line 4) | ||||||||||
Platform | Centre (Line 1) Side (Line 4) | ||||||||||
Ridership (2018) | 76,819 (Line 1) 45,746 (Line 4) |
Sheppard-Yonge Station is a rapid transit station operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 20 Sheppard Avenue West, just west of Yonge Street.
Station description
The main section of the station is at the north end. The bus terminal is located on the northwest corner of Sheppard Avenue West and Yonge Street. Stairs, escalators, and an elevator lead down to the passenger concourse level, while more stairs and another elevator connect to the fare concourse level. The fare concourse houses the collector's booth, and the stairs escalators and elevator that lead up to the northeast corner of the intersection. Some retailers are located in both the fare and passenger concourses, and an exit exists through the passenger concourse.
Two ramps lead to what became the westbound platform of the Sheppard line. Trains occasionally stop here to unload passengers before heading into the station's tailtracks. West of the ramp, to the fares concourse, is a staircase connecting the Sheppard platforms to each other in front of the west entrance.
The main Sheppard platform has a set of stairs followed by a set of escalators and a single up escalator (from north to south), all connecting to the Yonge line platform below. The extreme north end of the Yonge platform has a connection with the fares concourse (fitting between the 2 Sheppard ramps), while the extreme southern end leads up to the Poyntz Avenue exit, about 2 blocks south of Sheppard Avenue West.
This station has numerous elevators because of its numerous levels and station entrances. Elevators exist between:
- Street and west entrance
- Street and main entrance
- Bus terminal and passenger concourse
- Passenger and Fare concourses
- North side Sheppard platform and Yonge platforms
- West entrance and North side Sheppard platform
- West entrance and South side Sheppard platform
- South side Sheppard platform and Yonge platforms
The Sheppard subway station platform features a 305 metre mosaic created by artist Stacey Speigel. The 1,500,000 porcelain tiles mosaic depicts a rural scene along Yonge Street.
History
The original name of Sheppard-Yonge was Sheppard station. It opened with the second North Yonge extension and was to be the original terminus of the Yonge subway. The North Yonge subway was to be built in one pass, but opened in stages. Eventually, the subway was extended north to Finch Station.
As the dual fare system existed when the subway was initially extended, the passenger concourse contained a fare barrier so passengers would pay a second fare upon entering the subway or their bus. When the fare system was removed in the 1970's, the connection still remained at Sheppard station because of the location of a street entrance, and the TTC was hesitant to turn it into an automatic entrance.
In 2002, a massive redesign of the station was required for the new Sheppard Subway. The Sheppard platforms had barely any room between street level and the Yonge platform. The new West entrance was also built atop the Sheppard platforms, and originally contained a collector's booth. However, this entrance was underused (the automatic entrance at Poyntz Avenue attracted more passengers), so it was converted to automatic entrance to save resources.
The Sheppard line also allowed the fare barrier at the bus platforms to be removed and an automatic entrance installed inside the second entrance. It also brought elevators into the station. Due to the unique and problematic design of the station, multiple elevators were put in at various locations to facilitate full movement throughout the station for wheelchair patrons.
Since the station name 'Sheppard' for trains on the Sheppard line would be confusing to the passengers, the TTC decided to rename both platforms to Sheppard-Yonge. This was unlike Bloor-Yonge, which retained separate names on each level. One of the original considerations was to rename the station 'Princess' after the late Lady Diana, but this request was turned down by the British Royal Family.
Routes
Rapid Transit
Surface Transit
- 84A,C,D Sheppard West
- 85J Sheppard East
- 97C Yonge
- 98A,C Willowdale-Senlac
- 320 Yonge
- 384 Sheppard West
- 385 Sheppard East
- 984A,B Sheppard West Express
Schedule
Sheppard-Yonge Station | |||
Sheppard | Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
First Train eastbound | 5:42am | 5:58am | 7:54am |
Last Train eastbound | 2:14am | 2:14am | 2:14am |