Toronto Transit Commission Sheppard East LRT
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Sheppard East LRT
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| Number of Branches | |||
| Distance | 14km (Don Mills Station - Meadowvale Rd.) | ||
| Blue Night | |||
| Types of vehicles used | Bombardier Flexity Outlook 
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| Division | Sheppard East LRV MSF | ||
| Ridership (2023) | NA | ||
The Sheppard East LRT is a planned light rail transit line that will eventually run from Don Mills Station to Meadowvale Road. The line will connect to Line 4 and GO Transit Stouffville line.[1]
History
As originally planned, construction of the Sheppard East LRT line was expected to begin in July 2009 and finish in 2013. The government of Ontario would fund two-thirds of the expected $950 million cost with the federal government funding the remainder.[2]
At the end of the March 2011, Mayor Rob Ford unveiled a plan to extend the Sheppard subway line at a cost of $4.2-billion. The money would have to be raised separately, and the project would need to be approved by both the Commission and City Council. This subway extension plan effectively cancelled the Sheppard East LRT. The grade separation project at Agincourt GO Station, already underway, continued as it was required for GO Transit expansion.
TTC Chair Karen Stintz filed a petition for a special meeting February 8, 2012 asking council to renew their support for the Transit City plan. Her petition had the support of 23 other councilors.[3] Council voted 26-18 in favour of Stintz' proposal, which was amended to deffer the Sheppard corridor to a panel of experts.[4] The expert panel endorsed light rail transit in the form of the Transit City Sheppard East LRT plan. The other two options discussed were a $3.7 billion extension of the Sheppard subway to Scarborough Centre and a $1.8 billion hybrid plan with a Sheppard subway extension to Victoria Park Avenue and LRT to Morningside Avenue. A final decision would be voted on at a March 21 meeting.[5] The vote was deferred to March 22, where city council voted 24-19 in favour of LRT on Sheppard Avenue East.[6] Metrolinx approved going ahead with the Shepard East LRT, Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown, Finch West LRT, and Scarborough RT replacement and extension. Construction on the Sheppard East LRT would begin in 2014, and the line completed by 2018.[7]
In 2015, it was announced that the start of construction would need to be delayed until after the Finch West LRT was complete (expected in 2021), as Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario would be unable to coordinate the number of large construction projects underway simultaneously. The project was indefinitely shelved in 2016, with federal funding for the Sheppard East LRT moved instead to the Finch West LRT in June 2017.[8]
Route details
The first phase of the route would run on Sheppard Avenue between Don Mills Station and Morningside Avenue with tracks extending east to a maintenance facility at Conlins Road.
There were two final options for connecting the LRT to Don Mills Station: extend the subway to Consumers Road with a surface connection or run the LRT in tunnel from Don Mills Station to Consumers and have a platform level connection at Don Mills Station. The second option was selected.
Stops
| Station name | Date opened | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Don Mills Station | Transfer to Sheppard line and potential transfer to Don Mills LRT | |
| Consumers Rd | ||
| Victoria Park Ave | ||
| Pharmacy Ave | ||
| Palmdale Dr | ||
| Warden Ave | ||
| Bay Mills Blvd | ||
| Birchmount Rd | ||
| Allanford Rd | ||
| Kennedy Rd | ||
| Agincourt GO Station | Transfer to GO Transit Stouffville Line | |
| Midland Ave | ||
| Brimley Rd | ||
| Brownspring Rd | ||
| McCowan Rd | ||
| White Haven | ||
| Shorting Rd | ||
| Massie St | ||
| Markham Rd | ||
| Sheppard East Station | Future transfer to Scarborough RT | |
| Washburn Way | ||
| Burrows Hall | ||
| Neilson Rd | ||
| Murison Blvd | ||
| Brenyon Way | ||
| Morningside Ave | Potential transfer to Scarborough Malvern LRT | |
| Dean Park Rd | ||
| Idagrove Gate | ||
| Meadowvale Rd |
References
- ↑ Transit City Light Rail Plan: Status Update for February 2009, ttc.ca, retrieved on 2009-03-02
- ↑ Toronto To Get New Light Rail Transit Line, citynews.ca, retrieved on 2009-05-25
- ↑ (6 February 2012) Toronto council to debate transit future. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Toronto). Retrieved on 2012-02-06
- ↑ Kalinowski, Tess; Rider, David (8 February 2012). Special transit meeting: Council approves plan put forward by Karen Stintz. Toronto Star (Toronto). Retrieved on 2012-02-08
- ↑ McKeown, Shawne (16 March 2012). Expert panel endorses LRT for Sheppard. CityNews (Toronto). Retrieved on 2012-03-16
- ↑ Crige, Erin; McKeown, Shawne (22 March 2012) Ford's transit plan dies as council approves Sheppard LRT. CityNews (Toronto). Retrieved on 2012-03-22
- ↑ Chen, Marcia (25 April 2012) Metrolinx approves 4 LRT lines for Toronto. CityNews (Toronto). Retrieved on 26 April 2012
- ↑ Spurr, Ben (23 June 2017) Federal funding shuffle casts doubt on Sheppard LRT. Toronto Star (Toronto). Retrieved on 2018-02-18.
