The expansion of rapid transit in Toronto’s eastern (former) borough of Scarborough reached a significant milestone on September 5 when major work started on Scarborough Centre station<\/a>, the first of three new subway stations under construction on a 7.8 km extension of Danforth Line 2<\/a> to the north and east of the current terminus at Kennedy Road. This marks the first expansion of the cross-city Bloor-Danforth subway line since Kipling and Kennedy stations opened in 1980, nearly half a century ago. The new tracks will run primarily under Danforth Road and McCowan Road, replacing the service formerly provided by the now-defunct Scarborough RT.<\/p>\n Amid towering cranes and excavators, dozens of representatives from the construction industry, the Province of Ontario, and the City of Toronto gathered as Mayor Chow and Premier Ford announced the start of work on Scarborough Centre station. Located east of the Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall, surrounded by vast parking lots and residential high-rises, the announcement signalled a new era for Toronto\u2019s most suburban former borough.<\/p>\n The question of how to deliver higher-order transit to Scarborough was among Toronto\u2019s most contentious political debates of the 2010s. On one side were advocates of \u201cSubways, Subways, Subways,\u201d led most prominently by the late Rob Ford, then mayor of Toronto (and brother of current Premier Doug Ford), who supported extending Danforth Line 2 to Scarborough Town Centre. In opposition were mostly progressive members of City Council, who backed ‘Transit City,’ a light rail network envisioned by Ford\u2019s predecessor, David Miller. Within that plan, several options were floated to serve Scarborough Town Centre directly, some proposing to extend Eglinton Line 5 <\/a>along the Scarborough RT\u2019s right-of-way, others calling for a full rehabilitation and extension of the now-defunct ‘medium-capacity rapid transit’ line.<\/p>\n After years of debate, a patchwork transit build-out\u2014part subway, part LRT\u2014ultimately took shape. On Eglinton and Finch West, Miller\u2019s vision of extending streetcar-style transit into the suburbs materialized, promoted as a faster and more affordable alternative to new subway construction. Yet, nearly two decades after Transit City was first announced, neither line has had an opening date announced, even as questions are already being raised about whether the Eglinton LRT will have sufficient capacity on day one of service.<\/p>\n Although Rob Ford did not seek re-election after his turbulent single term as mayor due to health issues, Premier Doug Ford has since carried forward much of his vision for subway expansion. The fully tunnelled extension of Eglinton Line 5 through Etobicoke<\/a>, the replacement of the proposed Don Mills LRT with Ontario Line 3<\/a>, and the extension of Danforth Line 2 to Scarborough Town Centre all stem from the subway expansion agenda championed by the Fords in the 2010s.<\/p>\n Initial plans would have seen the station box and bus terminal stretch across the southern face of Scarborough Town Centre, similar to the current bus hubs configuration. However, recent revisions have shifted the station site to the east of McCowan Road, and it will now span nearly an entire city block between Progress Avenue and Bushby Drive on a currently vacant lot. With the exception of two renderings of the interior of the station, no new renderings have been provided to inform the public of what this new station will look like on opening day.\u00a0<\/p>\n The future Scarborough Centre station will serve as a true multimodal transit hub, as even with the subway extension in place, most local service will continue to be delivered by bus. TTC routes from across Scarborough will keep converging on the station, while plans for expanded regional bus connections aim to strengthen Scarborough Town Centre\u2019s role as a gateway for the wider GTA. GO Transit already operates several region-spanning bus routes through Scarborough Centre station, using the relatively uncongested Highway 407 as a high-speed corridor to connect suburban hubs and post-secondary institutions across the GTA. Service on these routes has grown steadily in response to strong ridership demand, and the arrival of subway service will likely drive even greater demand for connections to Scarborough Town Centre.<\/p>\n The first new transit service expected to reach Scarborough Town Centre, aside from the subway extension, will be the Durham\u2013Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. Beginning at Scarborough Town Centre station, the rapid service will run in dedicated lanes along major arterials through Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, and Whitby, before terminating at Simcoe Street in Oshawa. Although still in the planning phase, the Durham\u2013Scarborough BRT promises fast and reliable intercity travel across the eastern GTA once complete.<\/p>\n For riders traveling to Toronto\u2019s downtown core, the projected time savings are significant. In its Scarborough Subway Extension Preliminary Design Business Case<\/em>, published in February 2020, Metrolinx estimated that a trip from Scarborough Centre to Bloor\u2013Yonge would take just 36 minutes, down from the current 55 minutes cited in the report. Notably, these figures have not been publicized on Metrolinx\u2019s project page, which does not provide specific details on time savings or overall trip length.<\/p>\n Years of work still remain before direct subway service reaches the heart of Scarborough, with completion expected in the mid-2030s. Once finished, however, the project will provide enhanced mobility and better integrate Toronto\u2019s under-served eastern borough into the rest of the city.<\/p>\n UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro<\/a>, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe \u2014 from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports<\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider<\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n
September 17, 2025 by Nolan Xuereb<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0
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\u00a0190\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\nMajor Work Underway on Scarborough Centre Station<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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