TTC updates map of future lines and transit will look very different by 2034

The GTA is in the midst of a historic expansion of its public transportation system, with three revolutionary subway projects, two LRT lines (plus extensions on either end of one of those lines), a large-scale GO overhaul, and more in the works within the bounds of Toronto alone.

With so much in various stages of progress, it can be hard to envision what the city’s transit map will look like in a future where work on all of these ambitious initiatives — one of which has been under active construction for well over a decade — is wrapped up, and the network has grown to accommodate our acutely increasing population.

The TTC Board published the most recent vision of the network in an update this past week, highlighting everything currently on the go and making for what commuters years ago may have considered somewhat of a fantasy map of what could (and now soon will) be.

This includes, of course, the Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown LRT and its east and west extensions, the Line 6 Finch West LRT, the Line 3 Ontario subway, the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension, but also two non-TTC regional BRTs (Dundas West and Durham-Scarborough), the SRT busway and the Waterfront East LRT.

Presently, debut dates for these range from as soon as this year (for the Crosstown) to as far out as 2034 (for the Eglinton East LRT). Some still have launch dates listed as “TBD.”

TTC Board

Also identified on the blueprint are the ongoing capacity improvements at the city’s busiest station, Bloor-Yonge, and the forthcoming Exhibition-Dufferin Gate streetcar link.

Missing are all of the GO lines under the jurisdiction of Metrolinx, which is widening rail corridors and building new stops and lines to tackle congestion and bring faster, more frequent service in and around the city.

This is a lot to wrap one’s head around, even if some of the routes are just concepts in their earliest stages (like the Dundas BRT) or in the preliminary design phase (Waterfront line, Durham-Scarborough BRT, Eglinton East LRT and others).

Though it will be many years yet before this latest map becomes a reality, it is undeniably pretty darn exciting to look forward to the city’s transit future.

Plus, with vehicle operators now deployed for training along some of these lines, and (yes, admittedly very delayed) opening dates approaching in just a few months, parts of this new-and-improved network are almost ready.