Video shows off $1.5B overhaul that will transform Toronto's busiest subway station

The bottleneck that is Bloor-Yonge station will soon be transformed through a sizeable expansion designed to ease congestion on the clogged platforms of Toronto's busiest subway stop.

Bloor-Yonge is, without a doubt, Toronto's most crowded subway station, averaging about 220,000 customers per day, or a whopping 67 million passengers in 2019.

And, sure, that number has dipped in the years since 2020, but the TTC is building ahead of the anticipated increases in commuter demand in the years to come, projected to reach 280,000 customers per day or 86,000,000 annually by 2029.

To address this increase in traffic forecast for the already-cramped station, the TTC is embarking on a $1.5 billion overhaul of the station to expand capacity, adding a new platform for the station's Line 2 portion, expanding the existing Line 1 platforms, and improving overall accessibility at the major subway interchange.

Here's a peek at the future of Bloor-Yonge Station! The station will undergo a significant expansion to meet the ever-growing demand of our ridership. Lines 1 and 2 will still run. Learn more here: https://t.co/RQu3pzLjm6 pic.twitter.com/c1dlUz8JsB

— TTC Customer Service (@TTChelps) May 31, 2023

The Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvements Project is expected to improve traffic on both fare-paid levels of the station. On the upper level, both the northbound and southbound Line 1 platforms for the station will be lengthened, which should hopefully alleviate the notoriously-congested upper platforms.

Just down the stairs and escalators from the Line 1 platforms, the existing centre platform serving Line 2 will be reconfigured for added capacity and converted to exclusively serve westbound traffic, while a new second platform will be built for eastbound trains in a process not unlike the 2014-completed capacity upgrade at Union Station.

These are just the most visible elements of the station overhaul, however, it will also bring several other improvements, including a new barrier-free entrance, an added exit to Bloor Street, escalators, elevators and stairs to relieve bottlenecks, and infrastructure like an electrical substation to power the station.

The project has already kicked into gear with the expropriation of local businesses last year. That move followed an earlier 2021 project milestone, when the TTC issued a contract to engineering firm Aecom to design and engineer the capacity upgrades.

In addition to the brief clip shared on social media, the TTC has also shared a longer, more detailed video visualizing the plan for the expanded station.

Advanced utility relocation work on Bloor Street East begins later this summer, paving the way for the start of major construction works in mid-2024.

It's expected that the new Line 2 eastbound platform and portions of the Line 1 platforms would be in service by mid-2029, with the full project completion slated by 2031.