Why Toronto’s Eglinton west extension needs three kinds of station

The route changes level on both sides of the Humber crossing

The extension runs west from the existing Mount Dennis station to a new surface station at Renforth. Its western tunnels end near Scarlett Road, where the line transitions onto an elevated guideway. The elevated section carries the new line across the Humber area before the line descends toward Mount Dennis. Source 2 Source 3

The four station excavations are on the western tunnelled portion

Metrolinx reported on 13 July 2026 that work had begun at the Martin Grove, Kipling, Islington and Royal York sites. The four locations are all underground stations. Scarlett and Jane require elevated station structures, and Renforth is planned as an open-air station with connections to local and regional buses. Source 1 Source 2

The eastern and western tunnel packages had different lengths

The twin boring machines on the west side completed their 6.3 kilometre journey in 2024. Metrolinx announced completion of the 500 metre twin tunnels between the Jane area and Mount Dennis on 17 August 2026. Each distance describes the route served by the pair of tunnels and should be counted once when discussing alignment length. Source 3

Tunnelling completion is one stage of delivery

An excavated tunnel provides space for track, communications and other systems. The July station update and August tunnelling update cover separate work on the same corridor. The project adds seven stations beyond Mount Dennis. A future airport connection is separate from those seven stations in the project scope. Source 1 Source 3 Source 2

Sources

• Metrolinx construction update on station excavation
• Metrolinx project description and station overview
• Metrolinx tunnelling completion update