Downtown Relief Line
The Downtown Relief subway line is a subway line planned for Toronto, Canada, but not yet constructed. Various plans along the basic right-of-way have been proposed since the earliest history of the Toronto subway system, which are collected in the Queen Street subway article.
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[edit] History
The Downtown Relief Line (also known as the Downtown Rapid Transit/DRT) was originally one of the three routes proposed in the Network 2011 plan[1] which the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) released in 1985. Its main purpose was to relieve the forecast overcrowding on the Yonge line, particularly at Bloor-Yonge station. The Downtown Relief Line disappeared from the transit radar soon after the province delayed approving Metropolitan Toronto's Network 2011 plan. The provincial government was alarmed over the construction cost and withdrew political support for the new line.
Former TTC Chair Adam Giambrone had started to support the construction of such a line, saying it will be a necessity after Transit City, sometime from 2018-2020; Metrolinx Chair Rob MacIsaac recently said that the line is unlikely to be brought forward from its projected 2020 start date.[2] Rob MacIsaac also referred to this as the Queen line, and as such it may not follow the 1985 proposed alignment.
[edit] Proposed 1985 routes
- Alignment Proposals[3]
Between Dundas West or Keele and Eglinton East
[edit] Proposed 1985 stations
[edit] Stations on the proposed Downtown line in Phase 1
- South Spadina (or Lower Spadina)
- Skydome (since renamed Rogers Centre)
- Union
- St. Lawrence
- Ataratiri
- Queen East
- Gerrard
- Pape
[edit] Stations proposed for an eastward extension
- Cosburn
- Thorncliffe Park
- Flemingdon Park
- Eglinton East
[edit] Stations proposed for a westward extension
Three possible alignments were considered for the westward extension. The least expensive would follow the railway right-of-way past the Exhibition and up to the Galt-Weston railway corridor, taking it to Dundas West station. Another alternative would go west of Strachan along the Oakville Sub to Roncesvalles, where it would turn north to connect to the Bloor line at Dundas West. The final alignment considered ran along an elevated guideway on Parkside Drive at the edge of High Park to Keele Station.[3]
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Galt-Weston Railway Corridor
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Roncesvalles Avenue Alignment
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Parkside Drive Alignment
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[edit] See also
- Don Mills LRT
- Lower Queen Station
- Toronto Transit Commission
- Toronto Transportation Commission
- Eglinton West subway
- Queen Street subway
[edit] References
- ^ "Network 2011 -- To think of what could have been". Transit Toronto. 2006-11-10. http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5111.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Barry Hertz (2008-09-04). "New subway line still a way's off, Metrolinx head says". National Post. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/09/03/new-subway-line-still-a-way-s-off-metrolinx-head-says.aspx. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ a b Jonathan English (2006-11-10). "The Downtown Relief Line Proposal". Transit Toronto. http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5113.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
[edit] External links
- DRL Now! - A website dedicated to promotion of the Downtown Relief Line
- Downtown Relief Line at Transit Toronto
- An article in The Intrepid on speculative transit maps for Toronto
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