What to know
- Tunnelling on the 7.8-kilometre Scarborough Subway Extension is now more than 75 per cent complete.
- Major construction has begun at the future Lawrence and McCowan Station, the second of three new stations.
- The extension is expected to support 105,000 daily trips and improve transit access for thousands of residents and jobs.
- Despite construction progress, Metrolinx has not announced an opening date, while reports suggest the project may not open until 2033.
The Scarborough Subway Extension has reached another major milestone, with tunnelling now more than 75 per cent complete as construction ramps up on one of the project’s new stations.
Metrolinx and the Ontario government announced last week that significant progress has been made on the 7.8-kilometre extension of TTC Line 2, bringing the long-awaited transit project another step closer to completion.
The transit agency also confirmed that major construction is now underway at the future Lawrence and McCowan Station, located near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue East and McCowan Road, just steps from Scarborough General Hospital.
According to Metrolinx, crews have begun piling and excavation work at the site, marking the start of major construction for the second of the extension’s three new stations.
Once complete, the Scarborough Subway Extension will add three stations to Line 2: Lawrence and McCowan, Scarborough Centre, and Sheppard and McCowan, which will serve as the line’s new eastern terminus.
Lawrence and McCowan is the latest station to enter major construction after work began last year at Scarborough Centre Station, adjacent to Scarborough Town Centre.
Metrolinx says the new Lawrence and McCowan Station is expected to serve more than 5,000 riders and accommodate more than 4,000 transfers during rush hour. The station will also feature a bus terminal connecting riders to express bus routes along Lawrence Avenue.
Once the extension is complete, the province estimates it will support approximately 105,000 daily trips while placing an additional 38,000 residents and 34,000 jobs within a 10-minute walk of rapid transit.
Despite the construction progress, there is still no official opening date for the project. Tunnelling began in 2023, but Metrolinx has yet to announce when passengers can expect to ride the new extension.
In May, the Toronto Star reported that internal TTC emails indicated the project’s anticipated opening had slipped from 2030 to 2033, although neither Metrolinx nor the provincial government has officially confirmed that revised timeline.
Transit riders in Scarborough have been waiting for a permanent rapid transit replacement since the Scarborough RT permanently closed in 2023 following a derailment.
Since then, riders have relied on replacement TTC express buses operating in dedicated lanes. Those buses are expected to move onto a new dedicated busway along the former RT corridor when it opens in 2027, providing faster service until the subway extension is completed.
