Ontario Line

The Ontario Line is a proposed rapid transit line in the City of Toronto. The new line is intended to relieve crowding on the Yonge subway and serve neighbourhoods east of the Don River. It will run between the Ontario Science Centre and Ontario Place/Exhibition Place.

History

Network 2011

In 1985, the TTC unveiled a plan known as Network 2011, which outlined planned improvements to the transit system, including three new subway lines. One of these lines was the Downtown Relief Line which would ease projected overcrowding of the Yonge subway. The line, however was not built after the government withdrew its support.

The Big Move

In April 2008, then TTC chair Adam Giambrone outlined the need for the Relief Line to be built. It was proposed to start at Pape Station and dip towards Union Station and then back up to Dundas West Station. This would help ease congestion at Bloor-Yonge and St. George Stations, but would not happen until at least 2018. Later that year, Metrolinx unveiled their regional transportation plan known as The Big Move. The Relief Line was included in the list of 62 projects that should be pursued to meet the future transportation needs of the province.

The TTC began a study in 2009 on the Relief Line called the Downtown Rapid Transit Expansion Study—completed in 2012. The study projected that significant capacity issues would remain on the Yonge Line by 2031, even with planned improvements such as newer trains and automated train operations. The report identified four alternative Downtown Relief Line configurations: Pape to St. Andrew, Pape to Dundas West via St. Andrew, Don Mills/Eglinton to St. Andrew via Pape, and Don Mills/Eglinton to Dundas West via Pape and St. Andrew.

At the same time, Metrolinx completed the Relief Line Preliminary Benefits Case Analysis, which studied alternatives to congestion relief on the Yonge-University-Spadina Line, as well as the Barrie and Lakeshore GO lines. In addition to the Downtown Relief Line, Metrolinx recommended a subway line from Pape Station to Exhibition GO Station via King Street, and better transfers between Main Street Station and Danforth GO Station.

Four corridors have been developed for consideration: Broadview to Queen/Richmond, Pape to Queen/Richmond, Broadview to King/Wellington, and Pape to King/Wellington. City Council approved the Pape to Queen corridor in March 2016. Six alignments were devised for the route:

1. South on Pape Avenue from Pape Station, turning west to Queen Street through Leslieville. New stations at Gerrard Street, Broadview Avenue, Sumach Street, and Sherbourne Street.
2. South on Pape Avenue from Pape Station, then following the GO Transit rail corridor to Queen Street. New stations at Gerrard Street, Broadview Avenue, Sumach Street, and Sherbourne Street.
3. South on Pape Avenue from Pape Station, turning west at Eastern Avenue towards King Street, and then diagonally to Queen Street. New stations at Gerrard Street, Queen Street, Broadview Avenue, Sumach Street, and Sherbourne Street.
4. South on Pape Avenue from Pape Station, turning west to Queen Street through Leslieville, then along Richmond Street. New stations at Gerrard Street, Broadview Avenue, and Sherbourne Street.
5. South on Pape Avenue from Pape Station, then following the GO Transit rail corridor to Queen Street, then along Richmond Street.
6. South on Pape Avenue from Pape Station, turning west at Eastern Avenue towards Richmond Street. New stations at Gerrard Street, Queen Street, Broadview Avenue, Sumach Street, and Sherbourne Street.

The approved alignment is as follows: Beginning at Pape Station on the Bloor-Danforth line, the line would head south under Pape Avenue, turn west before Riverdale Avenue towards Carlaw Avenue, continue south to Queen Street East, curve west under Eastern Avenue, continue to Sumach Street and King Street East, then shift toward Queen Street and terminate at Osgoode Station.

Ontario Line

On April 10, 2019, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario announced changes to the Relief Line as part of a $28.5-billion transit plan. The longer line (now called the Ontario Line) will begin at Science Centre Station on the Eglinton Crosstown line, travel through Thorncliffe Park and across the Don River, head south to Pape Station on the Bloor-Danforth line, continue on a similar alignment to the one approved by the City of Toronto, head past Queen Station and Osgoode Station on the Yonge-University line, and dip south to Ontario Place. The trains that are proposed to be used on the Ontario Line are smaller and lighter than the TTC's existing subway trains. The $10.9-billion line is expected to be completed by 2027.

In the Ontario Line Initial Business Case, Metrolinx presented a route that differed from the one that was part of the April 2019 announcement. From Science Centre Station, the line would be elevated along Don Mills Road with a station in Flemingdon Park near Gateway Boulevard and continue along Overlea Boulevard, with a station in Thorncliffe Park near Beth Nealson Drive, to just past the Don River. On the cliff side above the Don Valley Parkway, west of the existing Leaside (Millwood) Bridge, the line would travel under Pape Avenue to Pape Station. There would be a station at Cosburn Avenue. It would continue under Pape Avenue towards the GO Transit Lakeshore East line. Just before a new GO Station at Gerrard Street, the line would head above ground and follow the Lakeshore East rail corridor to the new East Harbour GO Station. A station would be located along the way near Carlaw Avenue, called Leslieville. East of Cherry Street, the line would go underground through the West Don Lands and Corktown, with a station west of Parliament Street and King Street, to Queen Street and Sherbourne Street. A station here would be named Moss Park. Continuing under Queen Street, like the initial proposal, there would be stations just west of Yonge Street, just east of University Avenue, and at Spadina Avenue. The line would head south under Bathurst Street toward the Lakeshore West rail corridor. A station would be located at King Street. Just west of Strachan Avenueu, the line proceeds at-grade to Exhibition GO Station.

In June 2020, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx issued two Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for the Ontario Line. The project is being delivered as three separate public-private partnership (P3) procurement contracts: one rolling stock, systems, operations and maintenance contract for the entire line and two separate civil, stations and tunnel contracts (one for the southern segment and one for the northern segment). One of the first two RFQs issued has to do with rolling stock, systems, operations and maintenance. The other has to do with the southern segment civil, stations and tunnel contract.