Tunnel connecting UP Express to TTC's Dundas West station under construction after long delay

Metrolinx has begun construction on a pedestrian tunnel linking UP Express Bloor Station to the nearby Dundas West subway station, nearly a decade after it was announced.

The project was originally announced soon after the UP Express – the train linking Union Station and Pearson Airport – first opened in 2015. 

Cameron MacLeod, executive director of transit advocacy organization CodeRedTO, told CBC Toronto 10 years is not a reasonable time frame to build a relatively short tunnel. 

"Years ago, Metrolinx said that the tunnel connection was moving forward," he said. "They were going to get started. It's only about 50 metres of tunnel, so that's probably the slowest tunneling speed we've ever had in Toronto."

Currently, the fastest way for UP Express riders to transfer to the TTC is to exit the station and walk along Bloor and Dundas streets to Dundas West Station. On its website, Metrolinx says that walk takes around five to eight minutes, depending on street traffic and weather conditions. Add to that, many travellers coming from Pearson Airport are new to the city and carrying luggage. 

In an email to CBC Toronto, Metrolinx said it doesn't have a set opening date for the tunnel yet, but "construction continues to move forward, with such work as elevator shafts and staircases well underway, and major excavation to begin in the coming months." The new tunnel will allow travellers to make the transfer in around two minutes, it added.

On Monday, several travellers at UP Express Bloor Station told CBC Toronto that transfer signage was unclear.

"It's kind of confusing getting out," said Joshua Jose, a Brampton resident using the station for the first time. "So I mean, if there's an underground tunnel? Yeah, that'll be super convenient. You don't [have] to worry about the traffic or whatever. And in the winter, it would be really nice too because you can stay warm."

That sense of confusion is a common complaint about the current set-up, MacLeod said.

"It's very challenging. It's not clear if you're unfamiliar with the neighborhood," he said. "You're competing with all sorts of road traffic and other sidewalk users, and you're not really sure where you're going if you haven't done it before."

But the overall timing of the project is his biggest concern. 

"It's really unfortunate because it should be something that we are able to pull off in a little less than 10 years," MacLeod said. 

Part of the delay is due to ongoing negotiations with the Crossways retail and residential complex that sits between the two stations, he said. 

Now that those negotiations are settled, MacLeod said the last he heard about the tunnel is that it was set to be completed in spring or summer of 2026, but no official announcements have been made.