Ontario Reaches Next Stage of the Scarborough Subway Extension

Province releases Request for Qualifications to advance the delivery of better, faster and more reliable transit

TORONTO – The Ontario government is taking another step forward on the three-stop Scarborough Subway Extension, one of four priority subway projects in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Today, the Province released the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the design and delivery of the new subway stations, rail and systems work.

“The release of this procurement package for the Scarborough Subway Extension marks another milestone reached on Premier Ford’s transit expansion plan for the people of Scarborough and the GTA,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “Each project milestone we achieve demonstrates our government’s unwavering commitment to building a world-class, efficient rapid transit network that will cut through congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and get people to where they need to go faster.”

Following the close of the RFQ, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx will evaluate the submissions and announce a shortlist of qualified proponents in early 2022. The shortlisted proponents will be invited to submit detailed proposals on the design and delivery of this package of work as part of the Request for Proposals process.

“The Scarborough Subway Extension will make it easier to get to jobs, schools and other key destinations throughout Toronto,” said Stan Cho, Associate Minister of Transportation. “As our government continues to make progress on this project, now releasing the Request for Qualifications for the next package of works, we remain laser-focused on delivering this long-awaited transit for the residents and businesses of Scarborough.”

In May, the Government of Canada announced their commitment to fund up to 40 per cent of eligible costs for Ontario’s four priority subway projects in the GTA, including the Ontario Line, the three-stop Scarborough Subway Extension, the Yonge North Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.

Quick Facts

• The three stop Scarborough Subway Extension is one of four priority subway projects in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) being delivered as part of the largest subway expansion in Canadian history. It will extend the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) Bloor-Danforth Line 2 approximately eight kilometres, from Kennedy Station to a new terminus at Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road.
• The Preliminary Design Business Case estimates the Scarborough Subway Extension will provide 38,000 people with walking distance access to rapid transit and see 105,000 daily boardings by 2041.
• In February 2020, Ontario and the City of Toronto announced the signing of the Ontario-Toronto Transit Partnership Preliminary Agreement, confirming their partnership to deliver on the government’s plan and build the four priority subway projects faster.
• In July 2020, the Building Transit Faster Act became law, providing the province with the tools to expedite the planning, design and construction process of the four priority transit projects.
• To expedite work and ensure the Scarborough Subway Extension is delivered successfully, the project has been designed as two separate contracts of work. In May 2021, the province awarded the first contract for advanced tunnelling to Strabag.
• In June 2021, the province announced the official ground breaking for the Scarborough Subway Extension, marking the start of construction on the largest subway expansion in Canadian history.

Source Province of Ontario