Islington station (Toronto)

Islington
Location	1226 Islington Avenue Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°38′43″N 79°31′28″W / 43.64528°N 79.52444°W / 43.64528; -79.52444Coordinates: 43°38′43″N 79°31′28″W / 43.64528°N 79.52444°W / 43.64528; -79.52444
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses  37  Islington  50  Burnhamthorpe  110  Islington South  300   Bloor–Danforth  337   Islington  937  Islington Express  26  Burnhamthorpe
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Parking	977 spaces
Disabled access	No
History
Opened	May 10, 1968 (1968-05-10)
Passengers
2018[1]	41,270
Rank	17 of 75
Services
Preceding station   TTC   Following station Kipling Terminus Bloor–Danforth Royal York toward Kennedy

Islington is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north side of Bloor Street West on the west side of Islington Avenue. A central platform serves trains running in both directions.

History[]

Islington station opened in 1968 in what was then the Borough of Etobicoke as the western terminus of the Bloor–Danforth line,^[2] and became a through station in 1980 when the line was extended to Kipling.^[3]

Until 1973, TTC buses and subway trains serving the station were in separate fare zones^[4] and so turnstiles and collector booths were placed between the bus bays and the subway platforms. The fare barrier was reconfigured after the zones were abolished to put the bus bays inside the fare-paid zone, and its layout was simplified in a later renovation.

However, the bus bays have also been used by non-TTC buses. In the early years, some Gray Coach long-distance services called at Islington, and the Airport Express, also then operated by Gray Coach, had an Islington station route. Greyhound eventually took over this Gray Coach route in 1992 and transferred to Pacific Western Europe n 1993. MiWay buses from Mississauga, which at first stopped outside the station, began using several of the bus bays in 1980 after they were no longer needed for TTC buses once Kipling station opened. On January 4, 2021, MiWay moved its operations from this station to a new regional bus terminal at Kipling station.^[5]

Station description[]

The station is located on the northwest side of Bloor Street West and Islington Avenue, and is built on three levels. Street level is where all three parking lots, all three entrances, as well as where the bus platform is located. The entrances to the station can be found at the main parking, and at the east and west sides of Islington Avenue respectively.^[6]

Below street level is the concourse and collector, which provides stair access to the bus platforms above it. The subway platforms are underneath the concourse and collector level. There are no elevators in this station, which it is not accessible for persons with physical disabilities.

Parking[]

Three parking lots serve Islington station, providing a total of 977 spaces: The main lot beside the station northwest of Bloor Street at Islington has 534 spaces; the lot at the north end of Lomond Drive has 283 spaces; and the newest lot beside the railway tracks on the south side of Bloor Street off Fieldway Road has 160 spaces.^[7]

Subway infrastructure in the vicinity[]

Signal at the east end of the platform

There is a both a crossover (used mainly back when the station was a terminus, but still used occasionally to short turn trains) and a centre storage track east of the station, with the crossover being situated directly adjacent to it. The centre track is immediately east of the crossover and is partially underground and on the surface, creating a triple portal unique to the subway system: the Montgomery Portal. The line then crosses Mimico Creek on a bridge and then returns underground at the Aberfoyle Portal, en route to Royal York station.

Nearby landmarks[]

Sun Life Financial Centre, at 3300 Bloor St. West, has direct access to the station^[8] on the east side of Islington Avenue and the neighbourhood of Islington Village is short distance north of the station at Dundas Street West.

Surface connections[]

The outdated covered bus terminal at Islington station is similar to that of Warden station and the original structure at Victoria Park station.

The station is served by several TTC bus routes and one MiWay route. All but one of the MiWay system's Toronto-bound bus routes which used to connect at this station were moved to serve a new regional bus terminal which opened on January 4, 2021, at Kipling station. As MiWay has separate fares from the TTC, there are no free transfers between MiWay buses and TTC services.

Toronto Transit Commission[]

Buses are accessed via the bus terminal. During overnight hours when the subway is not running, an on-street transfer between buses is required. TTC routes serving the station include:

MiWay[]

Mississauga Transit (now MiWay) buses waiting at Islington station in 2008

MiWay's 26 Burnhamthorpe to South Common Centre route continues to serve this station, and is boarded on-street.^[5]

Station modernization[]

The TTC had plans to renovate this station as part of their station improvement project in 2008. The key improvements listed as part of the project included the demolition of the current bus terminal and construction of a new, wheelchair-accessible one on the north side of the station, easier access plans, a new entrance with public art, a new passenger pick-up and drop-off area, and overall modernization. An open house was held on April 22, 2008, and the project was given a stated completion time between 2011 and 2012.^[9] The project had not completed by 2014 and its completion date was being pushed further into the future at that time.^[10]

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Islington station at Wikimedia Commons

• Islington station at the Toronto Transit Commission