Warden station

Warden
General information
Location	701 Warden Avenue, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Coordinates	43°42′41″N 79°16′47″W / 43.71139°N 79.27972°W / 43.71139; -79.27972
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	TTC buses  8  Broadview  9  Bellamy  16  McCowan  17  Birchmount  68  Warden  69  Warden South  102  Markham Rd  117  Birchmount South  135  Gerrard  902  Markham Road Express  968  Warden Express
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	920 spaces[1]
Accessible	No
Other information
Website	Official station page
History
Opened	May 10, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-05-10)
Passengers
2023–2024[2]	21,843
Rank	27 of 70
Services
Preceding station Toronto Transit Commission Following station Victoria Park towards Kipling Line 2 Bloor–Danforth Kennedy Terminus
Location

Warden is a station on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth of the Toronto subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the southeast corner of St. Clair Avenue East and Warden Avenue. The station is located perpendicular to St. Clair Avenue East, and is the only Line 2 station with a north–south alignment.

The main pedestrian street entrance is on the east side of Warden, with another entrance from St. Clair East along a walkway on the west side of the elevated tracks. Vehicle entry to the passenger pick up and drop off entrance is on the south side of St. Clair east of Warden, exiting on to Warden south of St. Clair East.

The station is on four levels: the subway platform is on the upper floor, the bus concourse to the connecting routes is below it, the two collector entrances and the concourse are found above street level, and the two entrances and the bus platforms are on the lower floor.

920 parking spaces are located at this station for commuter use, all of them in the North Lot on the north side of St. Clair Avenue.^[1][3]

Warden station was opened in 1968 in what was then the Borough of Scarborough, and served as the eastern terminus for Line 2 Bloor–Danforth for 12 years until the extension to Kennedy was completed in 1980.

When the station opened, it had a two-level bus terminal with a concourse on the upper level and nine bus bays at ground level. Each bay had separate stairways for riders to access the concourse, where there would be lighted signs showing the bus route and whether a bus was waiting below on a platform. The concourse had several retail outlets.^[4]

Until 1973, TTC buses and subway trains serving the station were in separate fare zones and so the turnstiles and collector booths were placed between the bus bays and the subway platforms. When the zones were abolished, the layout was reconfigured to bring the buses inside the station's fare-paid area; one collector booth, left isolated inside the fare-paid zone, became an information booth.

Work started in 2022 to rebuild the bus terminal and make the station accessible.^[5][6] The station is one of the last subway stations yet to be made accessible, due to the complexity of the station layout and its multiple levels.^[7] In November 2023, the south parking lot was closed to convert it into a construction site.^[3] A temporary open-air bus terminal will open on January 5, 2025, freeing up the old bus terminal in advance of its demolition and permanent replacement.^[8] Elevators within the station are expected to be in service by mid-2025. A new bus terminal is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.^[9]

A new bus terminal will be built on the site of the original terminal. Designed by Strasman Architects to meet accessibility standards,^[4] the new two-level terminal will have 12 street-level bus bays, two elevators, two escalators and space for retail outlets.^[8]

Both commuter parking lots at the station are proposed to be redeveloped by the city government.^[10] In October 2021, the city announced that agreement had been reached with Tridel to build 600 residential units and a child care centre on the north parking lot.^[11]

After exiting the station eastbound towards Kennedy station, the track returns to a tunnel at the Chestnut Portal, where it continues on its diagonal alignment under the former Canadian National Railway (CNR) spur line.

There is a crossover west of the station from when it was Line 2's eastern terminus which is still used occasionally to short turn trains. There is also a small siding and storage shed west of the crossover on the south side of the above-ground tracks, which continue along the track bed of the former CNR line all the way to Victoria Park station.

Nearby landmarks include the Providence Healthcare, Warden Woods Park, Warden Hilltop Community Centre and Pine Hills Cemetery. It is near much vacant industrial land (including the former site of Centennial College and Warden Woods Mall/Power Centre) where major redevelopment is expected over the coming years, including numerous new housing developments on the former Power Centre property.^[12] It is also near the Toronto District School Board high school WA Porter CI, which brings about 700 students into the station each year.^{[citation needed]}

When the subway is closed, passengers may board or disembark from buses at the intersection of Warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue. None of these routes is accessible to those with disabilities as the only connection between the subway and the bus terminal is via stairs.

TTC routes serving the station include:

Media related to Warden station at Wikimedia Commons

• Official station page