Eglinton station

Eglinton is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway. It is central to the Yonge–Eglinton neighbourhood in Midtown Toronto. Eglinton station is the seventh busiest station of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).[4]

This article is about the subway station. For the railway station in Toronto, see Eglinton GO Station. For other uses, see Eglinton station (disambiguation).

Eglinton
Location2190 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates43°42′21″N 79°23′54″W
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Disabled accessYes[1]
History
OpenedLine 1: March 30, 1954 (1954-03-30)
OpeningLine 5: 2022 (2022)[2]
Passengers
2018[3]68,520
Rank8 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station
toward Vaughan
 Yonge–University
toward Finch
  Future services  
toward Mount Dennis
 Eglinton
(opens 2022)
toward Kennedy

Line 5 Eglinton will serve Eglinton station upon completion of the line, which is scheduled for 2022.[2] Eglinton will then become an interchange station for the two lines.[5]

Description

Line 1 station

The current station is on three levels, with entrances scattered throughout the street level in the surrounding area of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue. The concourse, fare gates and bus terminal as well as several shops are on the second level, and the Line 1 platform is on the lower level.[1]

Eglinton station is the only one of the original 1954 subway stations (Eglinton to Union on Line 1) to retain its original vitreous marble wall tiles. The other 1954 subway stations used similar wall tiles with variations in colour schemes, but at the other stations, the tiles were replaced because of deterioration.[6]

The Line 1 tracks approach the station from the south in an open cut before going underground at the Berwick Portal immediately before the station. Here the tracks divide sharply to go either side of the island platform. There is a crossover at this location, from when the station was the terminus of the line to reverse trains. North of the station, the line swings to the east, to run directly under Yonge Street in a bored tunnel.

Line 5 station

The Line 5 station structure (under construction) will cross the structure for Line 1 and have 5 levels:[7]

  • The street level, with an entrance near the southwest corner of Eglinton Avenue and Yonge Street
  • The concourse level of the existing station
  • The LRT upper concourse level, which will be slightly lower than the Line 1 platform level, and be split into east and west sections by the Line 1 tracks and platform
  • The LRT lower concourse level, which will run under the Line 1 tracks and platform
  • The LRT platform level, which will be the deepest level of the station complex upon completion of Line 5

Bus terminal

The Eglinton station bus terminal is located at the south side of the station. The terminal's platforms and bus loop lie mostly within the building of a former bus garage. There is a station entrance and waiting room at the northeast corner of the bus terminal. From this entrance, passengers can descend to the Line 1 platform, and from the waiting room passengers can walk along a passageway connecting the bus terminal to the main concourse above the Line 1 platforms. Platforms on the south side of the terminal serve eastbound bus routes while those on the northside serve westbound routes. Buses can enter the terminal from either Berwick Avenue or Duplex Avenue.[8]

Entrances

There are six entrances to the station in the surrounding area:[1]

Current
  • An entrance at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue (Canada Square)
  • An accessible, automatic entrance at Yonge Street, north of Berwick Avenue, which leads directly to the subway platform level

Temporarily closed

The following entrances were temporarily closed to accommodate Line 5 construction at Eglinton station:[9]

  • An entrance at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, at the CIBC
  • An entrance on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue
  • An entrance at 2300 Yonge Street via the food court level of the Yonge Eglinton Centre
  • An entrance at the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, at the TD Bank

Public art

As part of a program to install artworks at six of the stations along Line 5 Eglinton, Eglinton station will feature an artwork titled Light from Within by artists Rodney LaTourelle and Louise Witthoeft. The artwork will be installed above the escalators leading down to the Line 5 platform. The 13-ton panel will be made of mirrored glass tiles and is inspired by minerals, crystals and gemstones evoking the "subterranean nature of rapid transit", according to the artists.[10]

Crosstown construction
Machine boring holes for Line 5 station sidewalls at existing station entrance

Twenty-four weekend closures of Line 1 Yonge–University at Eglinton station were scheduled for 2018 alone for construction activities related to the Crosstown (Line 5 Eglinton). The first closure was scheduled for February 10–11, 2018.[4]

Structures to be constructed at Eglinton station as part of the Crosstown project are:

  • Main entrance to Line 5 to be located just west of the existing, to-be-retained station entrance at the southwest corner of Eglinton Avenue and Yonge Street.[11][7][12]
  • Replacement entrances at the northwest, northeast and southeast corners of the intersection of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue connecting to underground concourses.[12]
  • LRT platforms with rails laid 22 metres below ground.[4]
  • Separate Line 5 concourse at a lower level than the Line 1 platform.[12]
  • Northward extension of the existing Line 1 platform providing room for escalator/elevator access down to the Line 5 concourse level.[12]
  • Emergency exit and ventilation shaft at 7 Eglinton Avenue East in a four-story structure to also be used as a Salvation Army church.[13]
  • Facility services building to be located over the Line 1 portal at Berwick Avenue, which will house a ventilation capable of emergency smoke extraction.[14]

In November 2013, the TTC originally proposed to shift the current Line 1 platform approximately 70 m northward of its current location. Such a change would have allowed smoother flows of passenger traffic between the platforms for Lines 1 and 5, and avoided a situation where all transferring passengers are bottlenecked by only one transfer path, similar to the busy Bloor–Yonge station. The pocket track at the north end of the station would have had to be abandoned.[15] However, this proposal was modified by March 2018 to shift the Line 1 platform north by only 24 m, allowing the pocket track to be retained. In the new area there will be an elevator and escalators down to the Line 5 concourse. At the south end of the platform, the elevator and stairs to the south station entrance will be retained but the platform edge will be walled off in this area.[12][16]

History

Eglinton station opened in 1954 as the northern terminus of the original Yonge subway line, today a part of Line 1 Yonge–University. In 1954, the Yonge subway ran from Eglinton station to Union station, and replaced the Yonge streetcar line. Eglinton station sits on the site of the former Eglinton Carhouse, a streetcar facility opened in 1922, partly closed in 1951 to construct the subway line, and fully closed in 1954.[17]

When opened in 1954, Eglinton station had a different bus terminal from what exists today. Eglinton's first bus terminal was located at the south side of Eglinton Avenue, just north of the current bus terminal. It initially had nine parallel bays within the fare-paid zone, each with a covered platform and staircases leading down to an east–west, underground concourse. There was also a platform 10 outside the fare-paid zone. In 1963, platforms 11–13 were added on the west side of platform 10 to handle increasing suburban traffic. The bus terminal had its own street entrance facing Eglinton Avenue at the north end of platform 10, about 50 metres east of Duplex Avenue.[8]

With its opening in 1954, Eglinton station hosted trolley bus service serving neighbourhoods north of Eglinton Avenue. One bay was for 97 Yonge trolley buses to Glen Echo Loop, and two bays were for 61 Nortown trolley buses with separate bays for eastbound and westbound trips. The Nortown route was U-shaped serving Mount Pleasant Road east of the station, and Avenue Road to the west. The Eglinton garage, at the site of today's Eglinton station bus terminal, serviced trolley buses as well as diesel buses.[8]

In 1973, Line 1 was extended to York Mills station and Eglinton station ceased to be a terminal station. Along with the extension, a pocket track was installed on the north side of the station to reverse some Line 1 trains.[8] Also with the extension, Glen Echo Loop was closed and the Yonge trolley bus route was converted to diesel. This left Nortown as the only trolley bus route serving Eglinton station.[18]

In 1991, the Nortown trolley bus route was converted to diesel, ending trolley bus service at Eglinton station.[19]

In 2004, the original bus terminal from 1954 was closed because of safety concerns over its aging infrastructure.[11] A replacement bus terminal was opened in the former bus garage just south of the old bus terminal.[8]

Original open air bus platforms were reached by individual stairwells from the concourse
New bus bay area is located at ground level under the Canada Square building

In 2004, this station became accessible with the addition of elevators, and also with the closure of the old bus terminal which had required passengers to use stairs to reach the buses.[8]

In 2016, the original bus terminal from 1954 was demolished to make way for construction of Line 5.[11]

On November 17, 2016, Eglinton became the last station on Line 1 to be Presto enabled.[20]

Nearby landmarks

There are number of high-rise buildings at or near the corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue. Built directly over the station is the Canada Square Complex, which is home to TVOntario studios and the head offices of the Canadian Tire Corporation. Yonge–Eglinton Centre is at the northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton. Further south is the residential Minto Midtown. As of 2017, two other high-rises are under construction near the station.[21] Another nearby destination is Eglinton Park, west of Eglinton station.

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

TTC routes serving the station include:

Route Name Additional Information
5A Avenue Rd Southbound to Queen's Park
5B Southbound to Gerrard Street
32A Eglinton West Westbound to Renforth station
32C Westbound to Lawrence Avenue West at Jane Street via Trethewey Drive
34A Eglinton East Eastbound to Kennedy station
34C Eastbound to Flemingdon Park (Grenoble Drive & Spanbridge Road)
51 Leslie Northbound to Steeles Avenue via Leslie station
54A Lawrence East Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard
54B Eastbound to Orton Park Road
56A Leaside Southbound to Donlands station
61 Avenue Rd North Northbound to Highway 401
97A Yonge Northbound to York Mills station via Yonge Boulevard and southbound to Davisville station
(Northbound and southbound stops are on either side of Yonge Street and do not enter the station)
97B Northbound to York Mills station via Yonge Boulevard and southbound to Queens Quay via Davisville station
(Northbound and southbound routes use stops on either side of Yonge Street and do not enter the station)
97F Northbound to Steeles Avenue and southbound to Davisville station
(Northbound and southbound stops are on either side of Yonge Street and do not enter the station)
320 Yonge Blue Night service; Northbound to Steeles Avenue and southbound to Queens Quay
(Northbound and southbound routes use stops on either side of Yonge Street and do not enter the station)
332 Eglinton West Blue Night service; Westbound to Pearson Airport
334 Eglinton East Blue Night service; Eastbound to Finch Avenue and Neilson Road via Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue
354 Lawrence East Blue Night service; Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard

See also

References
  1. "TTC Eglinton Station (Station Description)". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  2. Spurr, Ben (February 17, 2020). "Eglinton Crosstown faces another setback, delayed until 2022". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  3. "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.
  4. Moore, Oliver (February 4, 2018). "Subway closings aggravate Yonge and Eglinton driving difficulties". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  5. "Eglinton Station". Metrolinx. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  6. Brader, Mark (August 3, 2017). "An Essay On Original Subway Station Design". Transit Toronto. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  7. "Eglinton and Mount Pleasant Stations Open House". Metrolinx. October 17, 2017. pp. 15, 19. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  8. Bow, James. "Eglinton". Transit Toronto. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  9. "Yonge and Eglinton Tunnel Closures". The Crosstown. Metrolinx. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  10. Spurr, Ben (January 15, 2018). "Art installations will enliven Eglinton Crosstown LRT". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  11. "Demolishing the Abandoned TTC Bus Terminal at Yonge and Eglinton". Metrolinx. 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2017. In 2004 the TTC bus terminal at Yonge and Eglinton was abandoned over safety concerns stemming from the 50 year-old infrastructure. ... Demolition of the terminal began in August of [2016] to make way for the new Eglinton Crosstown LRT Station. ... Future developments surrounding the Eglinton Station LRT entrance ... are yet to be determined.
  12. "Eglinton Crosstown LRT Interchange Stations – Final Designs" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. March 20, 2018. pp. 4 & Attachment 2. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  13. Landau, Jack (March 28, 2017). "New Salvation Army Church to House Crosstown LRT Utilities". UrbanToronto. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  14. "Preparation for Facility Services Building Construction at Eglinton Station". Metrolinx. January 30, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  15. Munro, Steve (November 17, 2013). "Crosstown LRT Interchanges with the Yonge-University-Spadina Subway". Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  16. Munro, Steve (May 9, 2018). "TTC Proposes Service Improvements for Fall 2018". Steve Munro. Retrieved May 11, 2018. The design at Eglinton has been changed so that the pocket track will not be lost. The station's shift north is now shorter than originally planned. (Confirmed by the TTC's Brad Ross.)
  17. James Bow (September 7, 2015). "A History Of City Streetcars On Yonge Street". Transit Toronto. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  18. Bow, James (May 7, 2017). "97 Yonge". Transit Toronto. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  19. Bow, James (June 25, 2015). "61 Nortown". Transit Toronto. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  20. PRESTO card [@PRESTOcard] (November 17, 2016). "Eglinton subway station has brand new PRESTO fare gates! All of @TTChelps Line 1 is now PRESTO enabled. #spotPRESTO" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "Eglinton Ave W & Yonge St". Google Maps. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.