SmartTrack is a municipal proposal to enhance GO Transit rail service within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It takes advantage of the province's existing GO Transit Regional Express Rail plans. SmartTrack has evolved since it was originally proposed by Toronto mayor John Tory as the centrepiece of his 2014 mayoral election campaign.
Originally, SmartTrack was to be a new rapid transit service with 22 stations (of which 14 would be new) along the inner portions of the Kitchener, Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO commuter train corridors. In 2021, the project evolved into the SmartTrack Stations Program – a proposal to construct five new GO stations along the existing Kitchener, Lakeshore East, Stouffville and Barrie services. As of October 2025, two of the five stations are under construction.
Proposals Original (2014) SmartTrack was first proposed during John Tory's 2014 campaign for mayor. It had been changed with proposals made by city staff after Tory assumed office.
The SmartTrack line as originally proposed would be long and run along Eglinton Avenue from Matheson/Airport Corporate Centre in Mississauga to Mount Dennis before turning downtown to Union Station. It would then run northeast through Scarborough to Unionville in Markham. In total, 22 stations and interchanges with the Union Pearson Express, Line 1 Yonge–University, Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, Line 5 Eglinton, and GO Transit were proposed. Tory estimated ridership would be 200,000 passengers a day, would cost $8billion and be in service by 2021. No costing or ridership studies had been undertaken by Metrolinx, the TTC or the City of Toronto.
On December 5 the executive committee voted unanimously to commence feasibility studies regarding the project with Toronto City Council to vote on it in January. On February 10, 2015, the Toronto City Council voted to spend $1.65million more to study SmartTrack.
SmartTrack is the latest in a series of proposed solutions to provide relief for the overcrowded Yonge–University line, particularly at the Bloor–Yonge station transfer point with the Bloor–Danforth line. As proposed, it would service the shoulder areas of downtown such as Liberty Village, CityPlace, and the proposed East Don Lands development. It would also connect Toronto to major employment centres in Mississauga and Markham. It would run above ground north along Eglinton using the Richview Expressway right of way and along the Kitchener line, Lakeshore East line, and Stouffville line. By building above ground and using existing infrastructure Tory stated that SmartTrack would be built far faster than the Downtown Relief Line (since replaced by the Ontario Line), in 7 years opposed to 17.
SmartTrack would complement the Government of Ontario's plan to electrify the entire GO Transit network over the next 10 years to provide regional express rail (RER) to the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Using electric multiple units SmartTrack would provide all day service throughout Toronto approximately every 15 minutes. Tory claims that at Kennedy station a rider would get to Union Station in less than 30 minutes using SmartTrack’s service instead of 40 minutes along TTC's Line 2 and Line 1 subways.
SmartTrack is also the latest proposal to bring rapid transit along Eglinton West to Pearson International Airport after the Eglinton West Subway was cancelled. By connecting to the Eglinton line at Mount Dennis there would be rapid transportation along Eglinton from Pearson International Airport to Kennedy Road.
Tory estimated the cost of SmartTrack to be $8billion, although no detailed studies were undertaken. As proposed by Tory, Toronto's share would be paid for by using tax increment financing. It was expected that the provincial and federal government would each contribute a third of the cost. Mississauga and Markham would also pay their 1/3 share for their portions of the SmartTrack Line, although they made no commitments.
SmartTrack would likely lead to an overhaul of TTC bus routes. Residents of Etobicoke and Scarborough would take an express bus to their closest SmartTrack station instead of the distant terminuses of Line 1 and 2. By diverting these passengers SmartTrack would also benefit North York commuters on the current overcapacity feeder bus routes to the Line 1 subway.
Scope reduction (2016–2021) By January 2016, City and Metrolinx staff developed a draft proposal to integrate SmartTrack with expanded GO Transit rail service that would make SmartTrack smaller, cheaper and possibly more frequent. The proposal would add $2billion to $3.5billion to existing GO expansion plans.
Under the staff proposal, SmartTrack would be shortened to run from Mount Dennis in the west to Kennedy station in the east and have only four or five new stations. Staff would replace SmartTrack's western branch along Eglinton Avenue West to Pearson Airport by an expansion of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. There would be 6–17 LRT stops instead of three SmartTrack stops. SmartTrack's eastern branch from Kennedy Station to Markham would be deferred indefinitely.
SmartTrack was to run trains every 15 minutes. However, ridership modelling showed that such a frequency would not attract a sufficient number of passengers. Thus, staff are looking at frequencies of at least every 10 minutes, and as high as every five minutes during peak periods in some areas – almost as frequent as a subway.
A city staff report presented to Toronto's executive council in March 2016 says that in order to accommodate a “separate and parallel” SmartTrack service, as Tory had promised, would require two additional tracks along the entire length of the existing GO corridor necessitating the demolition of many houses and residential highrise buildings. Also, two new platforms would be required at Union Station. This would not be possible to implement within seven years and for $8billion. Instead of the 22 new stops promised by Tory, staff are proposing only four to eight additional stops. As of March 2016, the issues of fare, frequency of trains and total cost are unresolved.
By June 2016, City planning staff were recommending seven new stations for SmartTrack service in addition to combined SmartTrack/GO RER service at Union Station, one future GO station (Mount Dennis) plus six existing GO stations. The six new SmartTrack stations would be , (Liberty Village at King Street), (Unilever site), , , and . A proposed SmartTrack station near Ellesmere SRT station was cancelled. Another proposed station at between Liberty Village and Union Station was considered but was rejected as it would not fit with the track density at that location. Staff had estimated that SmartTrack would put 24,100 residents and 19,000 jobs within 500 metres of a station, and would carry 27,600 riders daily in addition to GO Regional Express Rail, and would divert 3,900 riders from the Yonge subway south of Bloor Street during the morning rush hours.
Metrolinx estimated that the six new SmartTrack stations would cost $1.25billion, of which the City would pay $835million, with the federal government paying the balance. Approvals for the financing were still to be secured as of November 3, 2016. Separately, the province was to spend $3.7billion on GO Regional Express Rail which is a prerequisite for SmartTrack. Completion is expected by 2026.
In September 2018, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment approved the environmental assessment for the six new SmartTrack stations.
By January 2021, the number of new SmartTrack stations had been further reduced from six to four. The proposed Gerrard–Carlaw and Lawrence–Kennedy stations were dropped due to their proximity to new proposed subway lines, respectively the Ontario Line and the Scarborough subway extension. The four new stations remaining under consideration were St. Clair–Old Weston, King–Liberty (Liberty Village at King Street), East Harbour, and Finch–Kennedy.
Five-station proposal (2021–2024) On August 17, 2021, the province and the City of Toronto signed an agreement in principle to build five "SmartTrack" stations under the new SmartTrack Stations Program. One station, , is classified as a SmartTrack station even though it is located on the Barrie line and not on the originally conceived SmartTrack corridor. The new stations will be jointly funded by the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and the federal government. At the time, all five stations were expected to open by 2026.
The SmartTrack stations are in addition to four other proposed new GO stations (, , and ) that are not part of SmartTrack. Another original SmartTrack station, Mount Dennis, opened on November 16, 2025.
As of March 2023, the costs to deliver the five SmartTrack stations was confirmed by city staff to have increased to $1.697billion, an increase of $234million from the original $1.463-billion budget, due to supply chain pressures and increases in contractor bids from initial cost estimates. City staff requested the city council seek the province’s financial commitment to cover the cost increases. City staff also provided a program update which advised that the entirety of the SmartTrack program will enter revenue service by March 2029.
On June 14, 2023, the deputy mayor advised the council that negotiations led to the province providing a funding subsidy such that the revised program budget was now $1.689 billion, with $878 million from the City of Toronto, $585 million from the Government of Canada, and $226 million from the Province of Ontario. The difference in program budgets between March and June 2023 is due to a reduction in the project contingency amount. The city's financial contribution is being provided through the city's building fund, tax increment financing and development charges. The province's financial commitment was conditional upon a number of terms, some of which stated that the original program budget must be fully utilized before tapping into the province's funding and that the city and province will manage the revised program budget by implementing cost mitigation measures as required (e.g. value engineering, reductions in scope, along with station-specific and program contingencies) to keep the SmartTrack Program on time and on budget. The respective in-service dates for the five stations are as follows: +StationGO lineConstruction start dateTargeted in-service start dateJanuary 2024March 2029February 2024November 2027January 2024March 2028March 2023August 2028October 2023August 2027
Three-station proposal (since 2024) In December 2024, city staff presented an update to city council regarding Metrolinx's communication of cost pressures and, as such, an inability to deliver the five-station proposal within the allotted program budget ($1.689 billion). In the letter from the Ontario minister of transportation to the mayor of Toronto, cost pressures included escalating prices for materials and labour. The province offered limited additional funding support, contingent on increased funding from federal and municipal partners. City staff did not recommend increasing the program budget but instead recommended prioritizing three stations: East Harbour, Bloor–Lansdowne (later renamed Junction Triangle), and St. Clair–Old Weston (later renamed Stockyards).