TTC free to ride on Sunday to mark opening of Line 1 extension

The entire TTC network will be free to ride on Sunday to celebrate the official opening of the Line 1 extension into York Region.

"I encourage everyone to take the TTCtomorrowto see the city and to come up to this impressive six-stop extension. We want to celebrate this rapid transit expansion," Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a news release.

Tory, along with TTCChair Josh Colle and Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, announced the free service on December 17 at Sheppard West station earlier Saturday.

The trio touted the expansion as one of the largest in North America "in recent decades." The 8.6 kilometres of new track and six new stations will add an estimated 36 million transit trips annually, according to the city, with the its terminus at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

The six new stations include:

• Downsview Park
• Finch West
• York University
• Pioneer Village
• Highway 407
• Vaughan Metropolitan Centre

"The opening of the Toronto-York subway extension is the single greatest transit achievement for this region in my lifetime," Del Duca said in the news release.

The project came with a $3.2-billion price tag, with costs shared unequally between the provincial government, the city, York Region and the federal government.