Line 2 Bloor–Danforth

The Bloor-Danforth line is the main east-west subway line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It has 31 stations and is 26.2 km (16.3 miles) in length. It opened in 1966, and extensions at both ends were completed in 1968 and again in 1980. It is also numbered as Route 2 (formerly route 602), but its route number is used only for internal purposes and is not shown on public maps or signs.

History

There was some debate in the 1960s about where the second Toronto subway line would run. There were many advocates for it to run under Queen Street, but many others supported Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. Due to the large amount of growth in that area, and the prophetically available rail deck under the Bloor Street Viaduct, the second option went ahead.

Before the subway, the TTC operated streetcars from Jane Street in the West, to Lutterell Avenue (west of Victoria Park Avenue) using paired PCC streetcars or multiple units (MUs) from 1950 to the subway line openning in 1968.

The original Bloor-Danforth line was built in 1966, going under Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue from Keele station in the west to Woodbine station in the east. Construction was already in progress to extend the Bloor-Danforth line in both directions, and these extensions opened simultaneously in 1968, to Islington Station in the west and Warden Station in the east. Until its abolition in 1973, the 5 stations from Old Mill and Victoria Park outward then formed an anomaly in the TTC's zone fare system, being treated as part of the central Zone 1.

In 1980, the line was extended once again, to the current termini of Kipling station in the west end and Kennedy station in the east.

Stations

The line has its western terminus near Kipling Avenue and Bloor Street West. Going east for twelve kilometers along Bloor, it meets the Yonge-University-Spadina line at Spadina, St. George, and Yonge stations. Two kilometres further on Bloor East, crossing the Bloor Street Viaduct, it continues just north of Danforth Avenue for six more kilometres before turning northeast for the final five kilometres, ending at Kennedy station (near Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue) which is also the southern terminus of the Scarborough RT.

Most of the line is underground, with exceptions noted below; most of the tunnel is cut-and-cover, but some is bored. The line generally does not run under Bloor Street or Danforth Avenue themselves, but is offset to the north: in some areas it runs under a parking alley behind the businesses on the north side of the street, while some other sections run under side streets. All stations except Chester connect to surface TTC bus and/or streetcar routes either by transfer or fare-paid terminal. Other surface and train connections are noted below.

As of October 2005, stations marked have elevators for wheelchair access (note that at Spadina station, only the Bloor line platforms are wheelchair-accessible). By the end of 2005, Jane Station will be equipped with accessible elevators. In addition, by early 2006, Broadview Station will also be accessible.

Bloor-Danforth line thematic map

Bloor-Danforth line thematic map

Name		Opening Year	Interchange
Bloor-Danforth line
Kipling		1980	GO Transit
Islington		1968	Mississauga Transit
Royal York		1968
Old Mill		1968
Jane		1968
Runnymede		1968
High Park		1968
Keele		1966
Dundas West		1966	GO Transit (Bloor), 504 King, 505 Dundas
Lansdowne		1966
Dufferin		1966
Ossington		1966
Christie		1966
Bathurst		1966	511 Bathurst
Spadina		1966	Yonge-University Spadina, 510 Spadina
St. George		1966	Yonge-University Spadina
Bay		1966
Bloor-Yonge		1966	Yonge-University Spadina
Sherbourne		1966
Castle Frank		1966
Broadview		1966	504 King, 505 Dundas
Chester		1966
Pape		1966
Donlands		1966
Greenwood		1966
Coxwell		1966
Woodbine		1966
Main Street		1968	GO Transit (Danforth), 506 Carlton
Victoria Park		1968
Warden		1968
Kennedy		1980	Scarborough RT, GO Transit (Kennedy)

Extension/expansion potential

Bloor Danforth
Between Mississauga City Centre and Kipling

The TTC's Rapid Transit Expansion Study (RTES) identifies the extension of this line as a low priority. As per Exhibits ES-14 and ES-15 in the RTES, possible extensions beyond the current western terminus include:

• East Mall
• Sherway Gardens (or West Mall)
• Dixie GO Station (in Mississauga)
• Cawthra (in Mississauga)
• Milton GO Station (in Mississauga)
• Mississauga City Centre

In October 2005, a number of Toronto politicians began a campaign to expand the line northeastward as an alternative for the Scarborough RT, which is heavily used and under constant repair, and to study the viability of this alternative.

Proposed Scarborough RT integration stations: (From Kennedy Station)

• Lawrence East
• Scarborough Town Centre

• + future undecided extensions eastward

• Markham (Sheppard Ave East/Markham Rd)

See also

• Toronto subway and RT

External links

• Stand Up Scarborough - Volunteer Group Petitioning for the Subway Expansion