Kennedy station

For the commuter rail station, see Kennedy GO Station.

Kennedy is the eastern terminal station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway system. Opened in 1980, it is located east of the Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue intersection. With the adjacent Kennedy GO station on the Stouffville line of GO Transit, Kennedy is an intermodal transit hub and the fifth busiest station in the system, after Bloor–Yonge, St. George, Sheppard–Yonge, and Union, serving a total of approximately 42881 customer trips a day.

Kennedy
Kennedy station exterior
General information
Location	2455 Eglinton Avenue East Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°43′57″N 79°15′49″W
Platforms	Centre platform (Lines 2 and 5) Side platforms (Line 3)
Tracks	2 (Lines 2 and 5) 1 (Line 3)
Connections	TTC buses  12  Kingston Rd  20  Cliffside  21  Brimley  34  Eglinton East  38  Highland Creek  43  Kennedy  57  Midland  86  Scarborough  113  Danforth  116  Morningside  129  McCowan North  131  Nugget  133  Neilson  154  Curran Hall  201  Bluffer's Park  300   Bloor–Danforth  334   Eglinton East  343   Kennedy  903  Kennedy Stn–Scarborough Express  904  Sheppard Kennedy Express  905  Eglinton East Express  938  Highland Creek Express  939  Finch Express  943  Kennedy Express  954  Lawrence East Express  986  Scarborough Express Kennedy GO Station
Construction
Structure type	Underground (Lines 2 and 5) Elevated (Line 3)
Platform levels	4
Parking	729 spaces
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Website	Official station page
History
Opened	Line 2: November 21, 1980 (1980-11-21) Line 3: March 22, 1985 (1985-03-22)
Opening	Line 5: 2024 (2024)
Closed	Line 3: July 24, 2023 (2023-07-24)
Passengers
2023–2024	42,881
Rank	9 of 70
Services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Warden towards Kipling Line 2 Bloor–Danforth Terminus
Future services Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Ionview towards Mount Dennis Line 5 Eglinton (opens 2024) Terminus Warden towards Kipling Scarborough extension (opens 2030) Lawrence East (future) towards McCowan/​Sheppard
Former services Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Terminus Line 3 Scarborough Lawrence East towards McCowan
Location

It was built as part of the extensions east to Kipling and west to this station. The station's main complex consists of four floors with wheelchair accessible entrances. The ground level is the bus terminal surrounded with ten platforms that serve 16 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus routes. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.

Kennedy station was previously the southern terminus of Line 3 Scarborough before it was permanently closed on July 24, 2023. The line was opened in 1985. The station's bus terminal is being expanded to handle replacement buses.

Construction to expand the station began in 2017 to add a platform for the future Line 5 Eglinton, which will terminate at the station when its first phase opens in 2024.

Station complex

Aerial view of Kennedy station and Kennedy GO Station

The station is located south of Eglinton Avenue, east of Kennedy Road. The station complex consists of four levels. Trains of the former Line 3 Scarborough previously ascended via a bridge to the platform located at the top level of the station complex. The ground floor (third floor, but labelled 2 in the elevator) consists of ten bus platforms surrounding the main building. Three satellite pedestrian entrances to the station can be found at the South Parking Lot, next to the Don Montgomery Community Centre, and the passenger pick-up and drop-off roundabout on Transway Crescent. (A fourth entrance, at the service road of Eglinton Avenue, was demolished in 2018 and no longer exists.) Below the ground level is the concourse that spans the length of the station, connecting to all pedestrian entrances. Below the concourse is the platform for subway trains on the Line 2 Bloor–Danforth.

Four park and ride lots, that had a combined total of 729 spaces, used to be located around the station. As of August 21, 2023, these lots no longer exist.

Line 2 Bloor–Danforth

Line 2 Bloor–Danforth was opened on February 25, 1966, and was extended westwards to Warden station on May 10, 1968, and to Kennedy station on November 21, 1980.

An extension of Line 2, called the Scarborough Subway Extension, is under construction that will make Kennedy a through-station. From Kennedy station, the three-stop, 7.8-kilometre (4.8 mi) extension will travel east under Eglinton Avenue, then north under Danforth Road and McCowan Road to terminate at Sheppard Avenue.

Line 5 Eglinton

Kennedy is being expanded to become the eastern terminus of Line 5 Eglinton. The Line 5 station will be underground, south of Eglinton Avenue East, and about 30 metres (98 ft) north of the Line 2 platforms.

The main entrance to Kennedy station at the southwest corner of West Service Road and Transway Crescent was demolished and has been replaced by a new entrance to access the Line 5 concourse to be located one level above the Line 5 platforms. Two elevators will connect the Line 5 concourse to the Line 5 platform. Two north–south passages will connect the Line 5 concourse to the existing Line 2 concourse. There will be few changes to the Line 2 concourse. A secondary entrance on the east side of the existing GO rail corridor serves as the main entrance to the GO station.

Line 3 Scarborough

Line 3 train leaving the station, showing the sharp curve that would complicate replacing it with heavy rail

In 1985, Kennedy station was expanded to serve Line 3 Scarborough, an elevated light metro line with six stations. In 2023, Line 3 was decommissioned and is planned to be replaced by a Line 2 extension to Scarborough City Centre.

Although Line 3 trains had bidirectionally operated metro trains, the tracks for Line 3 extended beyond the top-floor platform into an above-ground turning loop, similar to those found on the Toronto streetcar system. This was because Line 3 had been planned as a dedicated right-of-way streetcar line rather than a metro line. As such, the top-floor platform was designed to operate streetcars. Line 3 was later built as a medium-capacity rail transport line to use the Intermediate Capacity Transit System train models built by Bombardier Transportation. The line began using two-car trains, which were able to travel along the turning loop, but was later converted to use four-car trains, which could not be operated along the tight loop. Thus, the use of the loop for reversals was discontinued after 1988, although the loop's elevated structure remains over the passenger pick-up and drop-off building and was occasionally used as a tail track to store trains. The station platform was reduced to a single track and began using the Spanish solution of unloading and boarding passengers at Kennedy. Original floor finishing and platform edge markings for the planned light rail can also be seen along the current tracks.

Line 3 trains originally looped at the west end of the station, which was double-tracked, but was converted to single track with the platforms on both sides now providing access to the reversing trains.

Public art

A Sense of Place. Only the left half remains in 2023, and what remains is behind temporary fencing.

Kennedy station used to feature a mural titled A Sense of Place by artist Frank Perna. The mural was completed in 1997 and used to wrap around the station's main entrance, but when the entrance was demolished in 2018, half of the mural was destroyed.

As part of a program to install artworks at major interchange stations along Line 5 Eglinton, Kennedy station will feature two new artworks when the line opens. A mural titled Reorganization of One Hedge by artist Dagmara Genda will consist of photographs of leaves taken from the same hedge that will be printed on the glass of a skylight. A second artwork, titled Locations of Meaning by artist Joseph Kosuth, will consist of etched tiles with stainless steel inserts, each spelling the word "meaning" in one of 72 languages used in Toronto.

Surface connections

Line 2 platform

New Kennedy station entrance for the eastern terminus of Line 5

Concourse level of the station

Bus platform level of the station

Main article: List of Toronto Transit Commission bus routes

There are two bus platforms at Kennedy station. Platform A, within the fare-paid zone, contains bus bays 1 through 10. Bus platform B, opened on October 8, 2023, is located outside of the station building on the south side of platform A and contains bus bays 11 through 18, primarily serving buses running express to Scarborough Centre station. As of February 18, 2024, bus bays 6 through 10 are closed for construction related to the Scarborough Subway Extension.

While the subway is closed, passengers may board buses outside the station near Transway Crescent. TTC routes serving the station include:

Bay number	Route	Name	Additional information
Platform A
1	Unloading only
2	34A	Eglinton East	Westbound to Eglinton station
	34B		Westbound to Don Mills Road and Wynford Drive (Saturday only)
	954	Lawrence East Express	Eastbound to Starspray Boulevard via Kennedy Road
3	12A	Kingston Road	Westbound to Victoria Park station via Brimley and Variety Village
	12B		Westbound to Victoria Park station via Brimley Road
	116	Morningside	Eastbound to Finch Avenue East and Morningside Heights
	201	Bluffer's Park	Southbound to Bluffer's Park (Seasonal service)
4	86A	Scarborough	Eastbound to Toronto Zoo
	86B		Eastbound to Highland Creek (Rush hour service)
	86C		Eastbound to Sheppard Avenue East
	86D		Eastbound to Beechgrove Drive via Lawrence Avenue East
	154	Curran Hall	Eastbound to U of T Scarborough
	Wheel-Trans
5	905A	Eglinton East Express	Eastbound to Conlins Road via Ellesmere Road and U of T Scarborough (Weekdays only)
	905B		Eastbound to U of T Scarborough (Weekends only)
	986	Scarborough Express	Eastbound to Sheppard Avenue East (Rush hour service)
6	Under construction
7
8
9
10
Platform B
11	903A	Kennedy Station–Scarborough Express	Northbound to Centennial College via Scarborough Centre station
	903B		Northbound to Scarborough Centre station
	904	Sheppard–Kennedy Express	Westbound to Don Mills station via Scarborough Centre station
	939A	Finch Express	Westbound to Finch station via Scarborough Centre station
	939B		Westbound to Finch West station via Scarborough Centre station and Finch station
12	38A	Highland Creek	Eastbound to Rouge Hill GO Station via Scarborough Centre station
	38B		Eastbound to U of T Scarborough via Scarborough Centre station
	133	Neilson	Northbound to Morningside Heights via Scarborough Centre station and Centenary Hospital
	938	Highland Creek Express	Eastbound to U of T Scarborough via Scarborough Centre station (AM rush hour service)
	334	Eglinton East	Blue Night service; eastbound to Neilson Road and Finch Avenue East via Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue
13	131	Nugget	Eastbound to Old Finch Avenue and Morningview Trail via Scarborough Centre station
	300B	Bloor–Danforth	Blue Night service; westbound to West Mall
14	57	Midland	Northbound towards Steeles Avenue East
	334	Eglinton East	Blue Night service; westbound to Eglinton station
15	129A	McCowan North	Northbound to Major Mackenzie Drive East via Scarborough Centre station
	129B		Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Scarborough Centre station
	Line 2	Shuttle Bus	Westbound towards Warden station Operates during subway service disruptions
16	43A	Kennedy	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East
	43C		Northbound to Village Green Square (Rush hour service)
	943	Kennedy Express	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East (Rush hour service)
	343	Kennedy	Blue Night service; northbound to Steeles Avenue East
17	21C	Brimley	Northbound to Steeles Avenue East via Scarborough Centre station
	43B	Kennedy	Northbound to Scarborough Centre station via Progress Avenue
18	20	Cliffside	Westbound to Main Street station
	113	Danforth	Westbound to Main Street station
Future: to be implemented upon the opening of Line 5 Eglinton
	34	Eglinton	Westbound to Mount Dennis station To replace all branches of current bus route 34 Eglinton East

See also

• Eglinton East LRT, a proposed surface-level LRT line to run east from Kennedy station via Eglinton Avenue, Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue to Sheppard Avenue
• Toronto Transit Commission bus system § Line 3 Busway, a planned busway to operate along the former Line 3 Scarborough right-of-way between Kennedy station and Ellesmere Road

External links

• Official station page
• Integrated Art - Dagmara Genda on YouTube published by the Crosstown project about an art piece to be installed at Kennedy station