Scarborough Centre station

Scarborough Centre is a bus terminal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving multiple bus routes of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and one Durham Regional Transit (DRT) bus route. It was also a rapid transit station serving Line 3 Scarborough of the Toronto subway system until Line 3's closure on July 24, 2023. It is located north of Ellesmere Road between Brimley and McCowan Roads, just south of Highway 401. It was adjacent to the former Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal, which was a station for GO Transit buses and other intercity coach services until the TTC modified the facility for TTC buses.

Scarborough Centre
Scarborough Centre station platform in 2018
General information
Location	290 Borough Drive, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°46′28″N 79°15′28″W
Platforms	Side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses  9  Bellamy  16  McCowan  21  Brimley  38  Highland Creek  43B  Kennedy  129  McCowan North  130  Middlefield  131  Nugget  132  Milner  133  Neilson  134  Progress  169  Huntingwood  903  Kennedy Station – Scarborough Express  904  Sheppard Kennedy Express  938  Highland Creek Express  939AB  Finch Express  996  Wilson Express DRT Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Website	Official station page
History
Opened	March 22, 1985; 39 years ago (1985-03-22)
Closed	July 24, 2023; 14 months ago (2023-07-24) (Line 3)
Passengers
2019[1]	24,399
Rank	39 of 75 (2019)
Former services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Midland towards Kennedy Line 3 Scarborough McCowan Terminus
Location

A new Scarborough Centre station is planned to be built along the Line 2 extension east of the existing station, which is set to open circa 2030.^[2]

History

Scarborough Centre station was opened in 1985 along with the rest of Line 3. The station replaced transit access to the Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall's south side (at ground level along roadway).

In 2000, this station became accessible with elevators.

The Toronto Transit Commission had planned to extend Line 4 Sheppard southeast from its current terminus at Don Mills to Scarborough Centre. The 985A Sheppard East Express bus currently links the two stations, making limited stops along Sheppard Avenue. In March 2007, however, the TTC dropped this plan when it announced its Transit City proposal to build the Sheppard East LRT. The LRT proposal was later replaced by a plan to extend Line 4 eastwards from Don Mills station to McCowan Road.^[2]

Around 2011, there was a proposal to convert Line 3 to light-rail with an extension of the Eglinton Crosstown line (Line 5 Eglinton) over the Line 3 right-of-way.^[3][4]

In 2013, the proposal was changed to abandon the Line 3 right-of-way and build an underground extension of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth along McCowan Road. This would result in the decommissioning of all Line 3 stations beyond Kennedy station. A new Scarborough Centre station would be built east of the current station and would be oriented on a north–south alignment rather than the east–west alignment of the current station. Between 2013 and 2016, the new Scarborough Centre station was planned as a through-station.^[5] In order to save money for another transit project, the plan was revised in 2016 to make it a terminal station.^[6] However, in 2019 the plan was revised again to make the new Scarborough Centre station a through-station.^[7][2]

In February 2021, the TTC recommended the closure of Line 3 in November 2023 and its replacement by bus service until the completion of the Scarborough extension of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth.^[8] However, the rail portion of this station permanently closed following a derailment on July 24, 2023, after which the TTC decided not to reopen Line 3.^[9]

Station description

Existing station

Station entrance

Bus bays with the concourse and train platform levels above

The existing station is located north of Ellesmere Road, between Brimley and McCowan Roads on the south of the Scarborough Town Centre. The station was built on three levels: Line 3 used to operate through the upper level; the mezzanine, passenger entry from the mall, and an automatic entrance from Brian Harrison Way are on the middle level; and two bus terminals were located at ground level, one for TTC buses connected by an automatic entrance to the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal for intercity buses. (In October 2022, the intercity terminal was relocated so that the TTC bus terminal could expand into its space.^[10]) There is elevator access for TTC services, making this station fully accessible to anyone with disabilities.

East of the current station, the Line 3 continued travelling east on an elevated bridge until McCowan station. West of the station, the Line 3 ran on an elevated bridge which descended after passing over Brimley Road. It continued to descend until reaching Midland station.

The TTC permanently closed the Line 3 portion of the existing station after a derailment on July 24, 2023;^[9] however, the adjacent bus facilities will be kept in operation until 2030 with its bus bays reconfigured.^[10]

Future station

Lawrence East
General information
Location	Mississauga, Ontario Canada
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Proposed
History
Opening	2030 (6 years' time) (2030)[8]
Future services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Lawrence East (future) towards Kipling Scarborough extension (opens 2030) McCowan/​Sheppard Terminus

The provincial transit agency Metrolinx plans to build a new underground Scarborough Centre station parallel to McCowan Road along a planned extension of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. The new station will be on a north–south alignment to the east of Scarborough Town Centre. The new station will have a new Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal serving TTC and GO Transit buses as well as the Durham Region Transit bus rapid transit line.^[2] The new station will be located 500 metres (1,600 ft) east of the current station, on the east side of McCowan Road north of the Line 3 right-of-way next to the site of McCowan station.^{[11]: 00:15:54–00:21:00} The new station and bus terminal are expected to open in 2030.^[8]

Nearby landmarks

Located in Scarborough City Centre, nearby landmarks include the Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall, Scarborough Civic Centre, Albert Campbell Square, Canada Centre government offices, and Scarborough YMCA.

Surface connections

Toronto Transit Commission Bus Terminal

Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

Bus routes serving the bus terminal include:

Bay number	Route	Name	Additional information
1	920 (DRT)		Eastbound to Harmony Terminal
2	134A	Progress	Northbound to Finch Avenue East via Tapscott Road
	134B		Northbound to McNicoll Avenue via Tapscott Road (Rush hour service)
	134D		Northbound to Finch Avenue East via Centennial College and Tapscott Road
			Northbound to Finch Avenue East via Centennial College and Crow Trail
	903A	Kennedy Station–Scarborough Express	Eastbound to Centennial College
3	131	Nugget	Eastbound to Old Finch Avenue and Morningview Trail
4	939A	Finch Express	Westbound to Finch Station
	939B		Westbound to Finch West Station via Finch Station
5	129A	McCowan North	Northbound to Major Mackenzie Drive
	129B		Northbound to Steeles Avenue East
6	904	Sheppard–Kennedy Express	Westbound to Don Mills Station
7	133	Neilson	Northbound to Morningside Heights via Centenary Hospital
8	38A	Highland Creek	Eastbound to Rouge Hill GO Station
	38B		Eastbound to University of Toronto Scarborough
	938	Highland Creek Express	Eastbound to University of Toronto Scarborough (AM rush hour service)
9 - 13	38	Highland Creek	Southbound to Kennedy Station via Midland Avenue (Line 3 express bus replacement service)
	129	McCowan North
	131	Nugget
	133	Neilson
	903	Kennedy Station–Scarborough Express
	904	Sheppard–Kennedy Express
	938	Highland Creek Express
	939	Finch Express
14	21C	Brimley	Southbound to Kennedy Station
	43B	Kennedy	Southbound to Kennedy Station via Progress Avenue
15	9	Bellamy	Southbound to Warden Station
	130A	Middlefield	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East
	130B		Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Maybrook Drive (Rush hour service)
16	16	McCowan	Southbound to Warden Station
	Wheel-Trans
17	996	Wilson Express	Westbound to Humber College
18	132	Milner	Northbound to McLevin Avenue and Hupfield Trail
	169A	Huntingwood	Westbound to Don Mills Station via Van Horne Avenue
	169A		Westbound to Don Mills Station (Rush hour service)
19	21C	Brimley	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East

Other operators

GO Transit and intercity bus services

Further information: Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal

Scarborough Centre station was also home to the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal, which was located directly east of the TTC bus platform. Until it closed, the former bus terminal was served by GO Transit and interurban buses, which now stop at various on-street locations near Scarborough Centre station.^{[11]: 00:21:00–00:32:30}

Durham Regional Transit

Since September 2023, Durham Region Transit (DRT) route 920 buses serve the TTC Scarborough Centre bus terminal. With the introduction of Ontario's One Fare Program, a GTHA-wide fare integration program introduced on February 26, 2024, customers paying by Presto, credit or debit card are able to transfer between TTC and DRT buses without incurring an additional fare. As the station is located inside the TTC's fare-paid zone and as free card transfers need to be recorded for the province to reimburse participating transit agencies as well as to enforce double fares for customers ineligible for free transfers, passengers heading towards Durham Region board the DRT buses inside the TTC bus terminal, while those heading towards Scarborough Centre alight at nearby on-street stops outside of the station. The DRT buses previously terminated at McCowan station.^[12][13][14]

References

1. "Subway ridership, 2019" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
2. "Search begins for teams interested in building Scarborough Subway Extension stations". Metrolinx. September 17, 2021. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
3. "Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown Presentation Update - Community Meeting (York Civic Centre)" Archived July 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine June 30, 2011
4. "Eglinton LRT ready to launch" Archived October 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine By Tess Kalinowski, Toronto Star. June 29, 2011
5. "Province To Extend Bloor-Danforth Subway Line". MTO. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
6. "Tory's new Scarbourough Transit plan: One subway stop, 17 LRT stops". Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
7. Jennifer Pagliaro (July 6, 2018). "Design changes to Scarborough subway come with unknown costs". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
8. Spurr, Ben; Pagliaro, Jennifer (February 4, 2021). "TTC recommends seven years of shuttle buses on Scarborough RT ahead of 2030 subway opening". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
9. Reporter, Lex Harvey Transportation (August 24, 2023). "TTC ends Scarborough RT service permanently". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
10. "Line 3 Bus Replacement Study Update" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. September 15, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
11. Scarborough Centre GO Bus Platform Relocation - LIVE Event. Metrolinx. October 27, 2021. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
12. "September 7, 2021 service updates". Durham Region Transit. August 19, 2021. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
13. "September 5, 2023 service updates". Durham Region Transit. August 16, 2023. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
14. "Ontario's One Fare Program".

External links

• Media related to Scarborough Centre station at Wikimedia Commons
• Official station page