Editorial Archive

Office of the Chief Executive

Gearing up for Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvement early works

Among the key decisions made by the TTC Board at its meeting last week was the approval to begin the property acquisitions for the early works of the Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvement (BYCI) project.

The BYCI project is a critical prerequisite to enabling increased transit capacity and expansion on Line 1 Yonge-University as well as the overall transit network. The station sits at the centre of a dense and growing downtown neighbourhood and must continue to function properly in the decades ahead in order to handle hundreds of thousands of customers. This is also one of North America’s busiest interchange stations and the work needs to be finished before the Line 1 extension to Richmond Hill enters service in 2030/31.

We’re in the preliminary design and engineering stage of this very exciting and challenging construction project. Our Engineering, Construction and Expansion Group is preparing for early works (utilities relocation and substation construction) in 2022, with major construction commencing in 2024. It’s anticipated that the construction will be complete in 2029.

To give you a better sense of all the work we are undertaking, some the improvements that are planned for the station include:
> Adding a new second platform (eastbound) for Line 2, similar to work completed at Union Station in 2014;
> Expanding both northbound and southbound platforms on Line 1;
> Updating the station to meet fire regulation requirements by installing five new fans; and
> Building a new entrance and fare line, as well as new escalators, elevators and stairs to improve passenger circulation through the station.

This is a major piece of work for the TTC and I’m very happy that it’s continuing to move forward. Bloor-Yonge Station is a critical asset in the TTC network, which all three orders of government have deemed a priority project and committed to fund the $1.5-billion expansion.

I urge everyone to view the excellent presentations made by Bloor-Yonge Project Director Silvano Florindi and Scott Haskill, Head of Project Development and Planning. The October 22 Board Meeting can be viewed at the TTC’s Official YouTube channel.

Stay safe. Stay well. And if you and your family are dressing up on Saturday night, please have a safe and responsible Happy Halloween.

Richard J. Leary
Chief Executive Officer
October 29, 2020