Queen Street subway
Encyclopedia
The Queen Street subway line was one of many subway lines planned for Toronto
, Canada
, but never built by the Toronto Transit Commission
.
on January 1, 1946 brought the Queen subway line back to life. The line called for an open-cut with right of way and built to the north of the existing Queen streetcar line.
This plan was abandoned because of World War II and not revisited until the 1960s. By the 1960s, the TTC had already built the Yonge subway line and was in the process of building the Bloor-Danforth line.
The existing Queen Street streetcar line remains one of the longest and most heavily-used, running double-length ALRV streetcars (one of only two lines that does so) at six-minute intervals. However, the volume of riders did not justify a subway line in the 1960s.
.
Stations on the proposed Queen line:
The Queen route was not removed from plans until 1975, but the Lower Queen station was renovated in the 1990s due to elevator construction in Queen.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, but never built by the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
.
1911 proposal
It began with a streetcar subway line proposal by the Department of Railways and Bridges of the City of Toronto Engineers in 1911, but it was not until the 1940s that the line re-emerged.Post-World War II plans
The 1944 TTC Rapid Transit Proposals for a Queen Street route and a referendumReferendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on January 1, 1946 brought the Queen subway line back to life. The line called for an open-cut with right of way and built to the north of the existing Queen streetcar line.
This plan was abandoned because of World War II and not revisited until the 1960s. By the 1960s, the TTC had already built the Yonge subway line and was in the process of building the Bloor-Danforth line.
The existing Queen Street streetcar line remains one of the longest and most heavily-used, running double-length ALRV streetcars (one of only two lines that does so) at six-minute intervals. However, the volume of riders did not justify a subway line in the 1960s.
Stations
A rough platform, partial station is all that remains of a station and the proposed Queen subway line with access from a door from the existing Queen stationQueen (TTC)
Queen is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada subway. It is located at 171 Yonge Street at Queen Street West/East.-Entrances:The main entrances are at the intersection of Yonge and Queen streets...
.
Stations on the proposed Queen line:
- Trinity Park
- Bathurst
- Spadina
- Grange
- York
- City Hall
- Yonge (Lower Queen)
- Church
- Sherbourne
- Parliament
- Don
- Broadview
- Logan
Proposed routes
Later changes to the line would have extended the subway to the Humber Loop in the west and Eglinton-Don Mills to the north-east end:- 1960 - subway from Sunnyside to Greenwood, then from Greenwood to O'Connor Drive and connect with the Bloor-Danforth subway at either Greenwood or Donlands stations
- 1964 - an underground streetcar line from Greenwood to McCaul to replace the existing surface route.
- 1964 - a route was to have the underground section from Jarvis (Sherbourne in 1968 plan) to Spadina. The route re-surfaces between Spadina to Humber Loop and from Jarvis to either Broadview or Pape.
- 1968 - Queen from Humber to Victoria Park
- 1968 - Greenwood and O'Connor to Queen; Queen from Dufferin; Dufferin north to Weston rail corridor to Islington
- 1968 - Greenwood and O'Connor to Queen; Queen from Dufferin; Dufferin north to Weston rail corridor to Eglinton; Eglinton to Martin Grove
- 1968 - Greenwood and Danforth to Queen; Queen from Dufferin; Dufferin north to Weston rail corridor and Eglinton
- 1972 - GO-UrbanGO-UrbanGO-Urban was a major mass transit project planned for the Toronto area which would have been run by GO Transit. The system envisioned the use of automated guideway transit vehicles set up in hydro corridors and other unused parcels of land to provide rapid transit services without the expense of...
route using railway corridors - from Eglinton and Kennedy to Don Valley; Don Valley to Union; Union to Dundas West
The Queen route was not removed from plans until 1975, but the Lower Queen station was renovated in the 1990s due to elevator construction in Queen.
See also
- Downtown Relief LineDowntown Relief LineThe Downtown Relief subway line is a subway line planned for Toronto, Canada, but not yet constructed. Various plans along the basic right-of-way have been proposed since the earliest history of the Toronto subway system, which are collected in the Queen Street subway article.-History:The Downtown...
- Queen (TTC)Queen (TTC)Queen is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada subway. It is located at 171 Yonge Street at Queen Street West/East.-Entrances:The main entrances are at the intersection of Yonge and Queen streets...
- Toronto Transit CommissionToronto Transit Commission-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
- Toronto Transportation CommissionToronto Transportation CommissionBefore 1954, the Toronto Transit Commission was called the Toronto Transportation Commission.-History:Toronto's first public transportation company was the Williams Omnibus Bus Line and owned by undertaker Burt Williams. The franchise carried passengers in horse-drawn stagecoaches along Yonge...
- Eglinton West subwayEglinton West subwayThe Eglinton West subway was a proposed east-west subway line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was to start from the existing Eglinton West station on the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge-University-Spadina line. Work began in 1994, but was halted in 1995 when the newly-elected Government of...