Islington station (Toronto)
Islington is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north side of Bloor Street West on the west side of Islington Avenue. A central platform serves trains running in both directions.
History
Islington station opened in 1968 in what was then the Borough of Etobicoke as the western terminus of the Bloor–Danforth line, and became a through station in 1980 when the line was extended to.Until 1973, TTC buses and subway trains serving the station were in separate fare zones and so turnstiles and collector booths were placed between bus bays and subway platforms. The fare barrier was reconfigured after the zones were abolished to put the bus bays inside the fare-paid zone, and its layout was simplified in a later renovation.
However, the bus bays have also been used by non-TTC buses. In the early years some Gray Coach long-distance services called at Islington, and the Airport Express, also then operated by Gray Coach, had an Islington station route. MiWay buses, which at first stopped outside the station, began using several of the bus bays after they were no longer needed for TTC buses once Kipling station opened.
Station description
The station is located on the northwest side of Bloor Street West and Islington Avenue, and is built on three levels. Street level is where all three parking lots, all three entrances, as well as where the bus platform is located. The entrances to the station can be found at the main parking, and at the east and west sides of Islington Avenue respectively.Below street level is the concourse and collector, which provides stair access to the bus platforms above it. The subway platforms are underneath the concourse and collector level. There are no elevators in this station, which it is not accessible for persons with physical disabilities.
Parking
Three parking lots serve Islington station, providing a total of 977 spaces: The main lot beside the station northwest of Bloor Street at Islington has 534 spaces; the lot at the north end of Lomond Drive has 283 spaces; and the newest lot beside the railway tracks on the south side of Bloor Street off Fieldway Road has 160 spaces.Subway infrastructure in the vicinity
There is a both a crossover and a centre storage track east of the station, with the crossover being situated directly adjacent to it. The centre track is immediately east of the crossover and is partially underground and on the surface, creating a triple portal unique to the subway system: the Montgomery Portal. The line then crosses Mimico Creek on a bridge and then returns underground at the Aberfoyle Portal, en route to Royal York station.This is one of only three stations in the subway system where a track signal is publicly accessible. The signal is at the east end of the platform and guards the switches for trains turning back eastbound from the westbound platform.
Nearby landmarks
, at 3300 Bloor St. West, has direct access to the station on the east side of Islington Avenue and the neighbourhood of Islington Village is short distance north of the station at Dundas Street West.Surface connections
The station is served by both TTC and MiWay bus routes. As MiWay buses have separate fares from the TTC, but the bus bays are located inside the fare-paid area, buses unload on-street outside the station entrance, and use the bus bays only for boarding. This is one of only three subway stations, the others being and, where other transit agencies' buses are boarded within the TTC bus terminal rather than at a separate facility.A new regional bus terminal is currently under construction at the adjacent station that will move all MiWay connections from Islington to Kipling station.
Toronto Transit Commission
Buses are accessed via the bus terminal. During the overnight hours when the subway is not running, an on-street transfer between buses is required. TTC routes serving the station include:| Route | Name | Additional Information |
| 37A | Islington | Northbound to Woodbine Centre and Humberwood Boulevard via Rexdale Boulevard |
| 37B | Islington | Northbound to Steeles Avenue West |
| 50 | Burnhamthorpe | Westbound to Mill Road |
| 110A | Islington South | Southbound to Long Branch Loop via Horner Avenue and Browns Line |
| 110B | Islington South | Southbound to Long Branch Loop via Horner Avenue and 30th Street |
| 110C | Islington South | Southbound to Lake Shore Boulevard |
| 937 | Islington Express | Northbound to Steeles Avenue West |
| 337 | Islington | Blue Night service; Northbound to Steeles Avenue West and southbound to Lake Shore Boulevard |
MiWay
All routes are wheelchair-accessible. While Islington station is a TTC facility, it connects to more MiWay bus routes than TTC bus routes. It is the second-busiest terminal for MiWay, and the largest and busiest outside of Mississauga. The following Miway routes serve the terminal:| Route | Name | Additional Information |
| 1 | Dundas | To Vega Boulevard |
| 1C | Dundas | To South Common Centre via University of Toronto Mississauga |
| 3 | Bloor | To Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal |
| 11 | Westwood | To Westwood Square Mall via Highway 427 |
| 20 | Rathburn | To Erindale GO station via Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal |
| 26 | Burnhamthorpe | To South Common Centre via Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal |
| 35 | Eglinton | To Ninth Line |
| 35A | Eglinton | To Tenth Line |
| 70 | Keaton | To Milverton Drive |
| 71 | Sheridan-Subway | To Sheridan Centre |
| 76 | City Centre-Subway | To Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal |
| 101 | Dundas Express | To South Common Centre via University of Toronto at Mississauga |
| 101A | Dundas Express | To Vega Boulevard |
| 108 | Meadowvale Business Express | To Meadowvale Business Park via Highways 427 and 401 |
| 109 | Meadowvale Express | To Meadowvale Town Centre via Highway 427, Mississauga Transitway, and Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal |