TTC Subway From Toronto To Richmond Hill Just Got Closer & Here's When It Could Be Ready

The Ontario government has announced a major step forward in its plans to eventually bring the TTC subway north of Toronto all the out to Richmond Hill.

Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney confirmed on Thursday the government has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for contacts to design and build the underground tunnels needed for the eight-kilometre-long Yonge North Subway Extension.

Tunnelling is the first step in the process, to be followed by separate contracts to build the new subway stations, rails, and other systems.

In all, the Yonge North Subway Extension is set to include five new subway stations from north of Finch Station to just north of Highway 7.

The government claims it will put 26,000 people within a 10-minute of public transit and save people up to 22 minutes on their daily commute.

An estimated 94,000 people are expected to use this subway extension every day.

"The Yonge North Subway Extension is a critical project for York Region that will provide much-needed access to reliable public transit and connect more people to major employment centres in Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill," said Mulroney in a statement.

Early-stage construction work began at Finch Station in late February, but the end date for this subway extension is still quite a way off.

With several transit projects on the go, including the new Ontario Line and the delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT, the government has said the Yonge North Subway Extension will go into service, "after the Ontario Line is complete."

The city of Toronto's latest update on Ontario Line construction said that the transit project is planned for completion in 2031, so it won't be after that until you can ride the TTC up to Markham or Richmond Hill.

At Thursday's news conference, Mulroney and other officials were peppered with questions about the construction delays of ongoing public transit projects and asked why Toronto residents should trust that they'll be able to complete these new ambitious plans on time, a question which they didn't have much of an answer to.