Castle Frank station

Castle Frank is a station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway. It is located at the northwest corner of Bloor Street East and Castle Frank Road. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.[2]

Castle Frank
Location600 Bloor Street East
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°40′25″N 79°22′08″W
PlatformsSide platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Disabled accessNo
History
OpenedFebruary 26, 1966
Passengers
2018[1]9,760
Rank60 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Kipling
 Bloor–Danforth
toward Kennedy

Without any major commercial, industrial or entertainment destinations, the station primarily serves the residents of South Rosedale within walking distance, and St. James Town and Cabbagetown by way of the 65 Parliament and 94 Wellesley bus routes. Nearby landmarks include Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and St. James Cemetery.

Entrances

The entrance to the station is located on the corner of Castle Frank Road and Bloor Street East.

The station was rated as high priority in the requirement for a second exit[3] which, although scheduled to be finished by January 2010,[4] finally opened in December 2012 after many delays.[5] This project still did not make the station accessible although the stairs give subway riders a direct connection to the bus bays. Only an exit is provided through turnstile gates, without any way to get into the station using a pass or token that is available at the secondary entrance to many other stations.

The much delayed second exit, which finally opened in 2012

History
Castle Frank historical marker

Castle Frank station, opened in 1966, is named after the community that it serves. Its streets, and the brook that flows through it, are in turn named after John Graves Simcoe's summer residence in the area overlooking the Don River, which burned down in 1829.[6] The residence was named after his son Francis Simcoe. In 1954 a historical marker was placed in Prince Edward Viaduct Parkette, near the site of the historic Castle Frank residence, on the south side of Bloor Street at Castle Frank Road.

The Parliament streetcar operated to its northerly terminus at the Viaduct Loop until 1966. No consideration was given to construct the short connection, from that location at Bloor Street East and Parliament Street across the Rosedale Ravine, which would have made the streetcar route a genuine feeder line to the subway station.[7] The site of the streetcar loop is now Bloor–Parliament Parkette.[8]

Viaduct Loop in 1926 was a terminus for streetcars
Bloor–Parliament Parkette in 2013 has a bus stop beside it

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity
Covered bridge spanning Rosedale Valley Road

East of the station, the line runs under Bloor Street to use the lower deck of the Prince Edward Viaduct. At the end of the Viaduct it swings to parallel Danforth Avenue on the north side. Immediately west of the station the line crosses the Rosedale Ravine in a covered concrete bridge then continues in a tunnel to Sherbourne station.

Surface connections
Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

When the subway is closed, buses do not enter the station. TTC routes serving the station include:

Route Name Additional Information
65 Parliament Southbound to The Esplanade
94A Wellesley Westbound to Ossington station
94B Westbound to Wellesley station
365 Parliament Blue Night service; Southbound to The Esplanade
(On-street transfer required)

References
  1. "Subway ridership, 2018" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved February 5, 2019. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
  2. "There's now free WiFi at over 40 TTC subway stations". blogTO. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. Richard C. Ducharme (April 14, 2004). "Fire Safety and Second Exits at Subway Stations". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  4. Robert Mackenzie (August 9, 2008). "TTC building new exit at Castle Frank Station". Transit Toronto. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  5. Jack Lakey (September 7, 2011). "No end of delays for Castle Frank TTC project". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  6. Peppiatt, Liam. "Chapter 1B: Castle Frank". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  7. Bow, James. "The Parliament Streetcar (Deceased)". Transit Toronto. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  8. "Bloor–Parliament Parkette". Parks Listing. City of Toronto. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
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