Yonge North subway extension
The Yonge North subway extension is an extension of the eastern branch of the Toronto subway's Line 1 Yonge–University north of Finch station to Richmond Hill in York Region, Ontario. The extension will add five new stationsthree underground and two at surface leveland had an estimated cost of $5.6billion as of 2021.
The three underground stations will be located on Yonge Street at Steeles Avenue, Clark Avenue, and Royal Orchard Boulevard, respectively. North of Royal Orchard, the line will curve east then turn back north and emerge above ground to run parallel to GO Transit's Richmond Hill line. The two surface-level stations will be situated along the railway corridor. One of theseBridge station, located underneath adjacent overpasses carrying Highway 7 and Highway 407will serve as a key intermodal hub, connecting with York Region Transit and GO buses and offering direct access to the existing Langstaff GO Station. Preliminary construction work began in 2023, with the tunnelling contract awarded in 2025.
Originally, a extension was conceived with six fully underground stations: Cummer/Drewry, Steeles, Clark, Royal Orchard, Langstaff/Longbridge, and Richmond Hill Centre. While first priced at $5.6 billion in 2017, the cost for this fully underground version had increased to $9.3 billion by 2021, necessitating the reduction in scope that led to the five-station plan.
Expected to take a decade to complete, the YNSE aims to reduce traffic congestion by eliminating an estimated 2,500 daily bus trips along its corridor. It is forecast to serve 94,000 daily riders and, by 2031, carry 58 million annual passengers. York Region anticipates that the extension will generate 31,000 jobs.
Background of Line 1 extensions
Line 1 Yonge–University opened in 1954 and has been extended several times. The first extension, opened in 1963, was the initial leg of the western branch and consisted of six new stations. The branch curved back north from the line's southern terminus at Union station to run below University Avenue and Queen's Park to Bloor Street, where it turned west to terminate at St. George station at St. George and Bloor Streets. In 1973, the Yonge branch itself was extended north from as a two-phase project, reaching in North York that year, and in 1974. In 1978, a further eight-stop extension of the western branch opened, called the Spadina Subway, bringing the line to Wilson in North York, partially along Allen Road.In 1989, a proposal was put forward as part of the Network 2011 plan to construct a loop to join the Yonge and Spadina branches along the hydro corridor north of Finch Avenue to Finch station. However, officials from York University and York Region lobbied for the loop to run through the university campus and along Steeles Avenue instead as they felt it would better suit commuters. As part of this plan, construction started in 1992 on a one-stop extension to Downsview station, which opened in 1996.
However, the loop proposal was ultimately abandoned because, in 2000, the City of Vaughan successfully lobbied for a subway extension to their municipality as they planned to build a new city core at Highway 7 and Jane Street, north of Steeles Avenue. In its place, the Toronto–York Spadina subway extension was built, opening in December 2017 after eight years of construction.
History of YNSE
In 2001, the Toronto Transit Commission completed a rapid transit expansion study, which showed that an extension of the Yonge subway to Highway 7 in Richmond Hill, had "significant long term potential". However, the study also noted that an extension could cause overcrowding on the existing line south of Bloor–Yonge station.In 2002, York Region published a transportation master plan, which included north–south rapid transit on Yonge Street, connecting Newmarket to the Yonge subway. In 2006, work began on the environmental assessment for an extension of the Yonge subway to York Region. In June 2007, the Ontario government pledged funding towards the YNSE as part of its MoveOntario 2020 rapid transit growth network.
In January 2009, Toronto City Council approved the YNSE in principle, provided there were upgrades to support the additional ridership on Line 1 Yonge–University as a result of the extension, such as the construction of the Downtown Relief line and automatic train control. Politicians noted that in the morning rush hours, southbound trains on the Yonge line usually reach capacity between York Mills and Eglinton stations.
In April 2009, the environmental assessment for the extension was approved. The plan was for a extension that was to have six new underground stations, bus terminals at Steeles and Richmond Hill Centre stations, a bus loop at Cummer/Drewry station and commuter parking at Langstaff/Longbridge. The TTC estimated that the extension would cost around $2.4 billion to build. In 2012, a YSNE design report suggested eliminating Royal Orchard station from the project due to low ridership projections. Royal Orchard was estimated to have around two-thirds lower ridership than Bessarion, the least-used station on the subway system at the time.
In November 2014, an addendum to the environmental assessment was approved to include an underground train storage facility and surface facilities. The City of Toronto and the TTC expected that the provincial government would pay for construction of the extension, and that the increase in operating costs would "be at no cost to the City of Toronto".
In March 2016, York Region officials stated their belief that SmartTrack, electrified GO service, the Spadina subway extension and automatic train control would be implemented by 2026, sufficient to support the extra ridership of an extension to Richmond Hill. Thus, the deputy mayor of Richmond Hill wanted to start construction of the extension by 2019. On June 2, 2016, the provincial government allocated $55million to Metrolinx in order to work with the TTC and York Region on a detailed plan for the subway extension. In May 2017, Toronto mayor John Tory announced that he would not support planning for the YNSE unless a funding commitment was made for the Relief Line, intended to alleviate overcrowding on Line 1.
In April 2019, Metrolinx announced that they would be proceeding with the YNSE at an estimated cost of $5.6 billion. It was to open after the Ontario Line, which was expected to improve capacity constraints on Line 1 Yonge–University. Work to design the extension began, with $36 million contributed by York Region.
2021 revised plan
In March 2021, Metrolinx initiated a significant revision of the YNSE to reduce its costs, which had increased to an estimated $9.3 billion. Key changes included cutting the number of stations from six to four and relocating the train storage facility from underground to the surface. One of three stationsCummer, Clark, or Royal Orchardwas targeted for elimination, which was expected to save $400–500 million. The two northernmost stations, Langstaff/Longbridge and Richmond Hill Centre, were to be replaced by two surface-level stations, Bridge and High Tech. In May 2021, the federal government announced that $10.4 billion would be invested in rapid transit projects in the Greater Toronto Area, with the YNSE receiving around $2.2 billion in federal funding. Also eliminated was the planned replacement of the Yonge Street bridge over the East Don River, which dips into its valley, with a higher double-deck span that would carry subway trains on its lower deck in the manner the Prince Edward Viaduct carries Line 2 Bloor–Danforth trains over the wider and deeper valley of the Don River proper; the new plan has the line simply being tunnelled under the river and retains the existing bridge.This change also resulted in a revision of the originally planned direct route under Yonge Street to Richmond Hill Centre to one veering east at Royal Orchard Boulevard and then turning back north and surfacing to run along the Canadian National / GO rail corridor to the new Bridge station location. This meant the line would now run underneath homes in the Royal Orchard neighbourhood in Thornhill, a district straddling the limits of the cities of Markham and Vaughan along Yonge Street. This angered residents, who were concerned about noise and vibrations from subway trains passing under their homes. A protestattended by politicians such as Markham's deputy mayor and York Regional councillor Don Hamilton, Markham councillor Keith Irish, and Thornhill MP Peter Kentwas held on September 17, 2021, demanding the subway be routed back under Yonge Street. To address the issue, Metrolinx adjusted the new route by running it under Bay Thorne Drive to reduce the number of houses the line would pass under from 40 to 20 and increased the tunnel depth to a minimum of.
In July 2021 and January 2022 respectively, the province announced that the stations at Clark Avenue and Royal Orchard Boulevard would be retained; Royal Orchard station was to be funded by revenues related to the intensification of the surrounding area as a transit-oriented community.
In February 2023, preliminary works began at Finch station, allowing for easier construction of the extension in future. In August 2025, it was announced that the TTC planned to purchase 70 new subway trains from Alstom, with some of these trains intended for use by the YNSE.
Procurement
The Yonge North subway extension consists of two primary contracts. To expedite construction, tunnelling will begin first, followed by a separate contract to build the stations, rail, and systems.Advance tunnel
On April 27, 2023, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx issued a request for qualifications for the advance tunnel contract, marking the first phase of procurement for the Yonge North subway extension.This contract includes:
- the design and construction of a tunnel from the existing Finch station to a portal south of Highway 407
- the design and construction of launch and extraction shafts, tunnels, as well as headwalls for stations and support of excavation for emergency exit buildings
- the design, procurement, and supply of tunnel-boring machines and tunnel liner segments
- the reinforcement and improvement of soil and works necessary to facilitate tunnelling under and next to the CN Railway tracks and the York–Durham sewage system
- the construction of CN right-of-way separation barriers to expedite safe corridor access and construction