Toronto's Ring Route

The Ontario Line's first phase, from Exhibition to Don Crossing, is under construction now and it will be the first new subway line to serve downtown Toronto since the 1960's.   On its opening day it will connect to Line 1, Line 2, Line 5, multiple GO lines at Exhibition and East Harbour, and most of the streetcar lines that operate downtown.   This line will significantly improve transportation downtown not just by serving new communities but also by providing an alternate route to Line 1.

Unlike many older cities in the world, Toronto and the region around it is a collection of low density single family residential housing and car centric developments, with a collection of urban nodes which are expected to become increasingly the future focus of growth in the GTA.   The GTA Transit 2050 Plan sees the Ontario Line becoming a ring line that connects most of the major urban centres in and around the city and while in many other cities this ring line would be much closer to the city core, this plan is based on Toronto realities.  Due to this, the ring line proposed in this plan for Toronto is not a route many would ride more than one third of in any trip, but which is complimentary to all the other lines, both surface rail for moving quickly and other services for moving locally.

This line would connect the urban centres of Downtown Toronto, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Richmond Hill's Gateway, and Markham, and make more connections to mass transit services than any other line.  It would connect every subway and LRT line in the city, every surface rail route, almost all the streetcar lines, national and international rail service, and Pearson airport.  Locating businesses, attractions, and residences along this line would mean those properties are more connected to the region than ever could have been imagined before.

This plan proposes the Ontario Line be built in six phases:

1. The Downtown Relief Line:  Opening in 2033, this section is already under construction and provides a connection across the whole lower downtown area to the Bloor Line (Line 2), and Crosstown Line (Line 5) taking pressure off the Yonge Line (Line 1).

2. Etobicoke South Extension:  This section, which would be planned to open in 2038, would provide a combination of east-west and north-south connectivity in the southern half of Etobicoke.   It connects to the increasingly dense Etobicoke Humber Bay lakefront, the growing Queensway area, the Etobicoke Centre hub around Dundas and Kipling, the offices and high-rise residential buildings lining Highway 427, and connects to Renforth station.   The connection to Renforth and the improved Airport People Mover is key to allowing the GTAA "Union Station West" project to proceed since it would provide alternate methods of airport access.

3. GTAA "Union Station West":  When the new GTAA ground side opens in 2040, so would Line 3's connection to Pearson station.  At Pearson connections would be available to Sheppard Line 4 bound for Dixon Road, Weston, and North York, Airport Line C bound for London, Kitchener, Guelph, and downtown, Alto high-speed rail, the Airport People Mover between the terminals , and a massive bus terminal servicing inter-city, regional, and local routes.

4. Markham and Employment Districts Extension:  The next extension, planned to open in 2042, is to the east side of the line starting at the Don Crossing (Don Mills & Eglinton) and ending at Markham Centre.   This line would pass through the popular Don Mills outdoor shopping district, the York Mills employment area at Lesmill, and arrive at Parkway Forest station with its high-density residential neighbourhoods and Fairview Mall.   The line would continue northward serving Seneca Hill and its significant college campus,  offices and employment areas at McNicoll, Esna Park, and McNabb, before arriving at Markham Centre, a major urban growth hub for the region.    This extension would provide important connection to Line B at Lesmill with a fast link to Richmond Hill, a major bus terminal serving the employment area at Esna Park, and Line C with connections further out into Markham and to Peterborough.

5. Highway 7 Cores Extension:  Highway 7 is the main non-freeway east-west corridor north of the Toronto city limits connecting Markham, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan.  This extension, which would open in 2044 in this proposed plan, would connect the three primary urban growth hubs in York Region, the Markham Centre, Gateway Centre at Langstaff/Richmond Hill, and Vaughan Centre.   These three cores are expected to become increasingly dense mixed use hubs and some of that transformation is well underway.  In addition, York Region has put in place guidelines that will transform Highway Seven into a much more urban and pedestrian friendly area over time allowing the area to reach its true potential.  In addition to the three primary urban cores there are key stops along the route at Markham Civic serving the urbanizing Town Centre area, Buttonville serving the offices and employment east of Highway 404, and Beaver Creek which is an employment area mixed with hotels and restaurants, Promenade which is a mall district undergoing and urban transformation, Colossus another major urban redevelopment, and Woodbridge a historic town centre.   Connections to Yonge Line 1, Bramalea Line 7, Valley Line B, Bolton Line E, and Ontario Northland services would be added to the network.

6. The Malton Arc:  The final proposed extension of the Ontario Line would complete the loop by connecting the line between Pearson and Vaughan Valley around 2047.    This would enable easy connections from Pearson to all the developing areas along Highway 7, enabled partially through the connection at Vaughan Valley to Bramalea Line 7.   The line would return service to Malton station at Derry Road,  the Malton town core and bus terminal at Westwood, and unlock development potential at Claireville.