The Queen Street subway line was a proposed subway line for the city of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada. It was one of many subway lines planned for, but has yet to be built by the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...

History

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

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

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. The Yonge line was built first and subsequently, it was decided to build an east–west subway line along

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Park ...

and

Danforth Avenue Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edward ...

instead of Queen due to changes in traffic and population patterns. The existing Queen Street streetcar line is the longest and most heavily used. 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 station. 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-Urban GO-Urban was a planned mass transit project for Greater Toronto to be operated 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 ...

route using railway corridors - from Eglinton and Kennedy to Don Valley; Don Valley to Union; Union to Dundas West * 2016 - Yonge/City hall along Queen to Carlaw, then North to Pape Station, with potential for future northward extension * 2019 - Exhibition to Queen; Queen from Lakeshore rail corridor; Lakeshore rail corridor to Pape; Pape to Overlea; Overlea to Don Mills; Don Mills north to Science Centre Station The Queen route was not removed from plans until 1975, but a portion of Lower Queen station now contains an elevator shaft due to elevator construction in Queen station in the 1990s.

References

Plans that reviewed and proposed the Queen line: * Rapid Transit Subways - ''Department of Railways and Bridges of the City of Toronto Engineers '' 1911 * Rapid Transit for Toronto - ''TTC'' 1944 * Draft Official Plan of the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Area - ''Metropolitan Toronto Planning Board'' 1960 * Metropolitan Toronto Transportation Plan - ''Metropolitan Toronto Planning Board'' 1964 * Draft Official Plan for Metropolitan Toronto - ''Metropolitan Toronto Planning Board'' 1959 * Metropolitan Toronto and Region Transportation Study - mid-1960s * Transit Facility in the Downtown section of Queen Street - ''TTC'' 1966 * Report on Rapid Transit Priorities in Metropolitan Toronto - ''Metropolitan Toronto Planning Board'' 1969 * A Concept for Integrated Rapid Transit and Commuter Rail Systems in Metropolitan Toronto - ''TTC'' 1969 * GO-Urban concept - ''Province of Ontario'' 1972 * Choices For The Future - ''Metropolitan Toronto Transportation Plan Review'' 1972

External links

Downtown Relief Line

DRL Now! - A website dedicated to promotion of the Downtown Relief Line
{{TTC Abandoned rapid transit stations Proposed Toronto rapid transit projects Toronto streetcar system Cancelled rapid transit lines and systems Cancelled projects in Canada