A sneak peek at TTC's new Downsview Park subway station
Media tour of the new station, which includes conceptual art, new technology, natural light at track level
Downsview Park, one of the six new stations that make up the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE), opened its doors to the media Monday to give riders a sneak peek at what they can expect when it opens almost a year from now.
Just inside the main doors, there's a vantage point from which the big black brush strokes on the floors, walls and ceilings of the station come together as a unified ring.
This is part of Spin, the public art installation by artist Panya Clark Espinal. It also includes a metallic globe that spins between two pillars at the platform level.
Downsview Park globe <a href="https://t.co/5J6mPiTCmy">pic.twitter.com/5J6mPiTCmy</a>
—@trevorjdunn
Downsview Park's architecture allows natural light all the way down to the subway platforms.
There is a small retail space at the ground level of the station. The retailer hasn't been determined.
The GO Barrie line will also stop at Downsview Park and the station will provide "seamless integration" between the two transit modes, according to the TTC.
Located inside Downsview Park, the station is roughly one kilometre from the current Downsview Station, which will be renamed Sheppard West Station.
According to TTC CEO Andy Byford, the 8.6-km TYSSE is now 91 percent complete and "bang on target" for completion in December. The line has been plagued by significant delays and is hundreds of millions of dollar over budget.
Downsview Park will be fully-equipped with the Presto card payment system "from day one", Byford said.
The TYSSE will also be equipped with the TTC's new Automated Train Control signalling system. An upgrade that officials say will greatly improve reliability.
The new system is expected to be installed on the rest of Line 1 by the end of 2019, with Line 2 to follow.
The $3.18 billion dollar TYSSE is jointly funded by the federal government, the province of Ontario, the City of Toronto and York Region.