Getting to Union Station by TTC From Twelve Toronto Neighbourhoods

The short answer

A Toronto subway commute depends less on distance than on how many lines you ride and whether you change trains. Across the twelve neighbourhoods we cover, the ride to Union station ranges from zero stops, for homes around Union itself, to 20 stops from Islington station in Etobicoke.

Four of the twelve sit on Line 1 Yonge University and reach Union without a transfer. Two more, Leaside and Don Mills, gained rapid transit on February 8, 2026, when the TTC opened Line 5 Eglinton. Bayview Village relies on Line 4 Sheppard, which meets Line 1 at Sheppard-Yonge station.

Every stop count below comes from the commute line in our neighbourhood guides, counted on the TTC network. We do not give minutes. The TTC does not publish station to station running times we can cite. A stop count is a fairer way to compare two addresses than a guess.

The TTC lines that matter for a downtown commute

Four rapid transit lines touch the neighbourhoods in this guide.

• Line 1 Yonge University is the U-shaped line through Union station. Union station is at 55 Front Street West and the TTC page notes a connection to Union Train Station and GO trains through the concourse level.
• Line 2 Bloor Danforth runs east and west. Riders heading to Union change to Line 1 at St George station or Bloor-Yonge station.
• Line 4 Sheppard runs east from Sheppard-Yonge station. The Sheppard-Yonge station page lists it at 20 Sheppard Avenue West, with Line 1 platforms in both directions and an eastbound Line 4 platform, since the line begins there.
• Line 5 Eglinton is the light rail line that opened in February 2026. The TTC describes it as 19 kilometres of light rail along Eglinton Avenue from Mount Dennis to Kennedy, with connections to Line 1 at Cedarvale and Eglinton stations.

Subway stops to Union station, neighbourhood by neighbourhood

The table lists the stations our guides name for each area and the route to Union set out in each guide. Where a guide gives one figure for a trip with a transfer, that figure is the total number of stops on both lines.

Neighbourhood	Stations and lines	Route to Union station	Stops to Union
Downtown waterfront	Union and St Andrew (Line 1)	Union station is in the area	0 from Union, 1 from St Andrew
The Annex	Spadina and St George (Lines 1 and 2), Bathurst and Bay (Line 2), Dupont (Line 1)	Line 1 from Spadina station	7
Riverdale	Broadview, Chester, Pape and Donlands (Line 2)	Line 2 from Broadview to Bloor-Yonge, then Line 1	9 in total
Yonge and Eglinton	Eglinton (Lines 1 and 5), Davisville (Line 1), Mount Pleasant, Avenue and Chaplin (Line 5)	Line 1 from Eglinton station	11
Lawrence Park	Lawrence (Line 1), with Eglinton (Lines 1 and 5) and Avenue (Line 5) at the south edge	Line 1 from Lawrence station	12
Leaside	Leaside, Laird and Sunnybrook Park (Line 5), Mount Pleasant (Line 5) at the west edge	Line 5 from Leaside to Eglinton, then Line 1	2 on Line 5, then 11 on Line 1
Bayview Village	Bayview, Bessarion and Leslie (Line 4), Sheppard-Yonge (Lines 1 and 4) to the west	Line 4 from Bayview to Sheppard-Yonge, then Line 1	1 on Line 4, then 14 on Line 1
High Park	High Park, Keele, Runnymede and Dundas West (Line 2)	Line 2 from High Park to St George, then Line 1	15 in total
Willowdale	Finch, North York Centre and Sheppard-Yonge (Line 1), Line 4 at Sheppard-Yonge	Line 1 from Finch or North York Centre	16 from Finch, 15 from North York Centre
The Beaches	Main Street and Woodbine (Line 2) to the north, plus streetcars	64 Main bus to Main Street, Line 2 to Bloor-Yonge, then Line 1	16 in total
Don Mills	Don Valley, Aga Khan Park & Museum and Wynford (Line 5)	25 Don Mills bus to Don Valley, Line 5 to Eglinton, then Line 1	5 on Line 5, then 11 on Line 1
Islington Village	Islington and Kipling (Line 2)	Line 2 from Islington to St George, then Line 1	20 in total

Stop counts measure the rail portion only. Add the walk or bus to the first station and the walk from Union to your office.

Line 1 neighbourhoods with no transfer

Lawrence Park, Yonge and Eglinton, Willowdale and the Annex are the four areas where a single train reaches Union.

Lawrence station is at 3101 Yonge Street and Lawrence Park is 12 stops from Union without a change. Eglinton station is one stop closer at 11. Willowdale has three Line 1 stations along Yonge Street, with Finch 16 stops out and North York Centre 15.

The Annex has the shortest trip of the four at 7 stops from Spadina station. Its streets are also within reach of St George, Bathurst, Bay and Dupont stations, so many addresses have more than one choice of line.

For the downtown waterfront the question is reversed. Union station sits inside the area and St Andrew station is one stop away, so the commute there is mostly on foot.

Line 5 Eglinton: what changed for Leaside and Don Mills

The TTC released departure times for Line 5 ahead of the start of service on Sunday, February 8, 2026. The line has 25 stations and stops between Mount Dennis and Kennedy.

Leaside has three of them: Leaside station at Bayview Avenue, Laird station and Sunnybrook Park station at Leslie Street, with Mount Pleasant station at the west edge. From Leaside station it is 2 stops west to Eglinton station, where Eglinton station at 2190 Yonge Street serves both Line 1 and Line 5. From there it is 11 stops south to Union.

Don Mills has Don Valley, Aga Khan Park & Museum and Wynford stations along Eglinton Avenue East. Our guide routes the commute by the 25 Don Mills bus to Don Valley station, then 5 stops on Line 5 to Eglinton and 11 on Line 1.

Yonge and Eglinton gains the most flexibility, with Line 5 stations at Mount Pleasant, Avenue and Chaplin on either side of Eglinton station. Lawrence Park has Avenue station at its south edge.

Line 4 Sheppard: Bayview Village and Willowdale

Line 4 is short and runs east from Sheppard-Yonge. Bayview Village has three of its stations, Bayview, Bessarion and Leslie, along Sheppard Avenue East. From Bayview station it is one stop to Sheppard-Yonge and then 14 stops on Line 1 to Union. Our Bayview Village guide also notes Oriole GO on the Richmond Hill line near Leslie station.

Willowdale sits on Line 1, with Line 4 meeting it at Sheppard-Yonge. That makes Willowdale one of the few areas in this guide with a subway line in two directions from the same station.

Line 2 neighbourhoods and the transfer

Riverdale, High Park, the Beaches and Islington Village all rely on Line 2 Bloor Danforth and a change to Line 1.

Riverdale is the closest of the four. From Broadview station our guide counts 9 stops in total to Union, changing at Bloor-Yonge. Chester, Pape and Donlands stations serve other parts of the area.

High Park counts 15 stops in total from High Park station with a change at St George. Keele, Runnymede and Dundas West stations serve the rest of the area and the Dundas West station page lists Bloor GO nearby.

The Beaches has no station inside it. Main Street and Woodbine stations are to the north, so our guide routes the trip by the 64 Main bus, then Line 2 to Bloor-Yonge and Line 1, for 16 stops in total. The 501 Queen and 503 Kingston Rd streetcars run through the area and Danforth GO is at 213 Main Street.

Islington Village has the longest rail trip in this guide at 20 stops in total from Islington station. Kipling station connects to Kipling GO.

What to check before you buy for the commute

1. Find the station you would really use and walk or bus from the front door to the platform at the hour you would travel.
2. Count the transfers as well as the stops. A change of line adds walking and waiting that a stop count does not show.
3. Check the TTC service alerts for the station and line, including planned weekend closures.
4. If a GO station is close, compare it with the subway, since several of these areas have both.
5. Read the full neighbourhood guide for prices, housing stock and the bus routes near the address.

If you are moving to the city for a job downtown, our guide to relocating to Toronto covers the rest of the move and our buyer’s guide walks through the purchase itself. You can also compare the areas on our map of Toronto. When you want to talk through stations and streets for your own commute, contact us.