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The Yonge subway was an instant success. Within its first five years, more than 360 million passengers rode the line – more than anticipated. Attention now shifted to how best to expand the system.
Subway expansion took place within a new era. On January 1, 1954 legislation went into effect creating the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (Metro Toronto). At the same time, the Toronto Transportation Commission became the Toronto Transit Commission and its jurisdiction grew to include the surrounding suburban areas.
1959
Ground officially broke on the first stage of the Bloor-University-Danforth subway project on November 16, 1959.
1962
The first Canadian-designed subway cars entered service in 1962. Made of aluminum and built by Montreal Locomotive Works, they were the lightest and longest subway cars in the world.
Canadian Car Fort William Division of Hawker Siddely Canada built the second order of Canadian made cars, which were operated on the Bloor-Danforth line.
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Subway Travelling North Between Bloor and Rosedale Stations on Yonge Line, May 1981
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016120
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Davisville TTC Yard, March 1985
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016128
1963
The University line opened on February 28, 1963. This 3.8 kilometre extension completed the first leg of the Bloor-Danforth-University project.
Meanwhile, work on the Bloor-Danforth line had already begun. The TTC’s subway plans of the 1940s had included a Queen Street line, but much of Metro Toronto's growth was taking place further to the north and Bloor street had becoming clogged with traffic.
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Primer John Robarts, Mayor Donald Summerville, Leslie Frost and Lieutenant Governer John Keiller MacKay at subway opening, Toronto, 1963
Premier Leslie M. Frost photographs
RG 3-38-2-17
Archives of Ontario, I0005367
1966-1968
The Bloor-Danforth line opened on February 25, 1966, running between Keele Station and Woodbine Station.
Featuring 18 new stations, the line more than doubled the size of the subway system. With this milestone, the subway replaced the streetcar as the principal means of public transportation in Toronto.
Extensions of the Bloor-Danforth line to Islington Station in the west and Warden Station to the east officially opened on May 11, 1968.
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Bloor Subway Islington Station, November 1984
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016126
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Yonge Bloor Subway Station, November 1, 1984
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016131
1973-1974
The Yonge line was extended north to York Mills Station and then to Finch Station, adding five stations to the line.
1978
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Yorkdale Subway Station Platform, May 1981
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016129
The Spadina line opened between St. George Station and Wilson Station with seven new stops.
1980
The Bloor-Danforth line grew by one station at each end: Kipling Station in the west Kennedy Station to the east.
1985
The Scarborough RT line opened between Kennedy Station and McCowan Station on March 22, 1985.
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Scarborough LRT Scarborough Town Centre, March 1985
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016123
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LRT TTC Scarborough Eglinton Station, September 1985
Ministry of Transportation photographs
RG 14-151
Archives of Ontario, I0016122
1996
The Spadina line was extended one stop north to Downsview Station on March 30, 1996. That same year, Bloor-Yonge Station, Union Station, and Downsview Station (renamed Sheppard West Station in 2017) became the first fully-accessible subway stations.
2002
The Sheppard line opened between Yonge-Sheppard Station and Don Mills Station on November 22, 2002.
2017
On December 17, 2017 six new stations opened on Line 1, including York University Station, just steps from the Archives of Ontario. The 8.6-kilometre Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension marked the first time the subway system operated in the 905 region.
