Spadina Station

Spadina is a station on the Yonge-University-Spadina and Bloor-Danforth lines of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Out of all the interchange stations, this one is the least-used with approximately 47,210 people using both platforms each day. Lower usage of this station as a transfer point is likely due to the long passageway between the two subway platforms (more to be explained later). It has entrances on Spadina Road at Kendal Avenue (for the Spadina line platform, opened 1978), and at 371 Bloor Street and Spadina Road (for the Bloor line platform, opened 1966). Nearby landmarks include the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, The Annex, University of Toronto Schools, and the northwest side of the University of Toronto. Early proposals for the Bloor-Danforth Subway showed the station name as 'Walmer'. The station structure on the east side of Spadina Rd. just north of Bloor St. which currently serves as the loop for the 127 Davenport bus was built concurrent with the construction of the Spadina Subway to serve as a looping facility for the 77 Spadina bus.

Spadina station consists of two separate sections, one for each line, at the same level and 150 metres apart. The north-south platforms were originally planned as a separate station called Lowther, but the Toronto Transit Commission decided to join it to the existing east-west station with a foot tunnel containing a pair of long moving walkways presumably to eliminate the cost of staffing the north-south station. The cost of the walkways themselves became an issue when they became due for refurbishment or replacement, and they were shut down in 2004 and removed in the latter part of the year leaving the corridor as a simple underground walkway. The former location of the walkways remains visible because the tiles used to cover the walkway sites are noticeably different. Warnings to hold the handrails still hang on the walls where the ends of the walkways were once located.

Because of the length of these walkways, and because the Spadina line platform is not accessible for the disabled, changing trains between the two subway lines here is not recommended. Instead, transferring at neighbouring St. George which is wheelchair accessible via elevator, in addition to the transfer point being merely one floor above, is more convenient.

The Lowther Avenue entrance to the north-south (Spadina line) platforms retains the exterior of the house that was previously on the site. An underground streetcar loop for the 510 Spadina streetcar was added in 1997 near the east-west platforms.

Spadina station has the longest fare-paid walk among the TTC subway stations. [1] Here's how: enter the station through the Walmer Road entrance, walk the length of the Bloor-Danforth platform, up to the mezzanine level, into the corridor walkway, down the steps, then the length of the Spadina platform, up the stairs and out the Kendal Street exit.

Spadina station features two works of art: Barren Ground Caribou by Joyce Wieland and Morning Glory by Louise de Neverville.

On both the Spadina platform and the Bloor-Danforth platform, due to the tunnels being relatively straight and short between stations, adjacent stations are visible if one looks down the tunnel (Dupont north from the Spadina platform and Bathurst west from the Bloor platform).

South of the station the tunnel turns off-street and curves eastward through 90 degrees to run briefly parallel to Bloor Street; the connecting tracks from the Bloor-Danforth subway then rise on each side to meet it. Bay and St. George stations each have four parallel tracks, two above two. Between these stations and Museum is a full double-track, grade-separated wye junction. The tracks to and from Museum connect to the upper St. George and Lower Bay stations, while the tracks along Bloor use lower St. George and upper Bay. From February to September 1966, all three sides of the wye were used in regular service as part of the TTC's brief 'interlining' experiment. For more details see the Bay article.

Surface connections