Transit Toronto

The TTC is closing Line 1 Yonge - University subway between Finch and St Clair stations Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23. Line 1 subway trains operate only between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and St Clair stations after 11 p.m. those days.

Shuttle buses partially replace subway service. The buses drop off or pick up passengers at stops near each station on the closed section of the line. TTC staff are available in each to station to direct you to the shuttle-bus boarding and offloading locations.

(Or, consider a shuttle-bus alternative.)

Most stations on this section of Line 1 remain open, so you can load PRESTO fare cards, buy PRESTO tickets and connect to TTC buses, streetcars and Line 4 Sheppard subway trains or to GO Transit and York Region Transit buses. However, North York Centre and Lawrence stations are closed.

Since the bus terminal at Lawrence Station is closed, board connecting buses at temporary stops on Lawrence Avenue West, instead of in the station bus terminal:

• westbound at Lorindale Avenue (one block west of Yonge Street); and
• eastbound at Yonge Street.

Finch and St Clair are accessible stations. The TTC is assigning two Wheel-Trans vehicles to operate along Yonge Street between the two stations. Speak to any TTC staff member for directions or help to locate Wheel-Trans stops at or near each station.

While this section of Line 1 is closed, TTC crews are maintaining the tracks and tunnel and installing technology for future 5G connectivity in the subway tunnels. The TTC also likely continues working on the Easier Access elevator project at Lawrence Station. And, Metrolinx contractors continue working on the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit line — the TTC’s future Line 5 Eglinton — at Eglinton Station this weekend.

According to a TTC news release, “While the TTC does most subway maintenance after service each night, it continues to require weekend and early weeknight closures to complete critical infrastructure and state-of-good-repair work.”

The TTC is closing this section of Line 1 twice more during March and early April:

• Monday, March 23 until Friday, March 28 — Finch to Eglinton — close early — track work.
• Monday, March 31 until Friday, April 4 — Finch to Eglinton — close early — track work.

Metrolinx is building the Ontario Line subway between Exhibition Place / Ontario Place and the area near the former Ontario Science Centre, through downtown Toronto.

From late Friday, March 21 until the end of service Sunday, March 23, GO Transit is cancelling train service along the 71 Stouffville line to accommodate construction of the new subway near the future Riverside / Leslieville Station. This construction also affects service along the 09 Lakeshore East line this weekend.

Shuttle buses replace trains along the line Saturday and Sunday, but will not drop off or pick up passengers in Milliken, Agincourt and Kennedy GO stations. Instead, board the TTC to travel to and from those stations. York Region Transit buses also operate near Milliken.

GO is adjusting schedules and connection times this weekend. Replacement GO buses may leave stations at different times than the usual train times. Check schedules and leave earlier than usually to make sure you can board your bus at the correct time.

Friday, March 21

Northbound

• GO is extending the train that starts its trip in Union Station at 10:12 p.m. The train operates to Stouffville and Old Elm GO stations, instead of ending its trip in Mount Joy GO Station, as usually.
• GO is cancelling the train that usually starts in Union at 12:12 a.m. Instead, a GO bus along the 71C branch of the 71 Uxbridge / Stouffville / Toronto route replaces the train. The bus starts in Union Station Bus Terminal and operates express — without stopping — to Unionville GO Station. It then drops off or picks up passengers in Centennial, Markham, and Mount Joy GO stations.
• Passengers waiting to connect with the bus along the 70 Uxbridge / Stouffville / Markham route that leaves Old Elm at 1:32 a.m. must wait seven-to-twelve-minutes (one minute less or four minutes more than usually).

Saturday, March 22
Sunday, March 23

• Buses replace trains all day.
• Replacement buses operate along the 71C or 71E branches of the 71 Uxbridge / Stouffville / Toronto route. Buses operate express between Unionville and Union Station terminal.
• Buses along the 71C branch serve passengers at all stations between Old Elm and Unionville, then operate express between Unionville and Union
• Buses along the 71E branch serve passengers between Mount Joy and Unionville, then operate express.
• Southbound passengers aboard a bus along route 70 have to wait 16 minutes (one minute more than usually) in Old Elm to connect with a train-replacement bus.
• Northbound passengers connecting with a bus along route 70 at Old Elm have to wait six-to-11 minutes (two minutes less or three minutes more than usually).
• Northbound passengers connecting with a route 70 bus at Mount Joy have to wait four-to-19 minutes (four minutes less and six minutes more than usually).

While the line is closed to trains, Metrolinx contractors are relocating the tracks in the rail corridor. They’re shifting the tracks from the east to the west side of the corridor between Jones Avenue and Jimmie Simpson Park. They relocate one set of tracks during this weekend closure and they’ll relocate a second set during another weekend in April.

Crews work 24 hours a day to:

• relocate barriers;
• cut and move tracks; and
• “surface” (compact), excavate and back-fill the ballast (the crushed stone that supports the tracks.)

They can’t complete these tasks while trains are operating and they must work overnight to make sure they have relocated the tracks in time to resume train service Monday morning.

Expect noise and vibration from construction equipment, including excavators, rail-cutting saws, spike pullers, track surfacing equipment, rollers, loaders, dump trucks, and hand tools. Expect to see site lighting at night.

The contractors will schedule disruptive activities, including surfacing, during the daytime, wherever possible. They’ll use noise barriers and coverings to reduce disruption. And, they’ll direct site lighting away from residences.

Trucks enter and exit the work zone at access points on Eastern or Pape avenues.

Metrolinx is building the Ontario Line subway between Exhibition Place / Ontario Place and the area near the former Ontario Science Centre, through downtown Toronto.

From late Friday, March 21 until the end of service Sunday, March 23, GO Transit is cancelling train service along the 09 Lakeshore East line between Pickering GO Station and Union Station. It cancelling train service along this section of the line to accommodate construction of the new subway near the future Riverside / Leslieville Station. This construction also affects service along the 71 Stouffville line this weekend.

Shuttle buses replace trains along the line Saturday and Sunday, but will not drop off or pick up passengers in Rouge Hill, Guildwood, Eglinton, Scarborough, or Danforth GO stations. Instead, board the TTC to travel to and from those stations.

GO is adjusting schedules and connection times this weekend. Replacement GO buses may leave stations at different times than the usual train times. Check schedules and leave earlier than usually to make sure you can board your bus or train at the correct time. GO is also adjusting the schedules for buses along the 88 Peterborough / Oshawa route to make sure passengers can connect with trains.

Depending on your destination, you may wish to use other GO services, including buses along the 92 Oshawa / Yorkdale, 94 Pickering / Mississauga, or 96 Oshawa / Finch express routes to connect with local transit and continue your commute.

Friday, March 21

Eastbound

• GO is cancelling the trains that usually start their trips in Union Station at 11:50 p.m. and 12:20 and 12:53 a.m.
• Instead, GO buses along the 90B branch of the 90 Lakeshore East route replace the trains. They start their trips in Union Station Bus Terminal and operate express — without stopping — to Pickering GO Station. The buses then drop off or pick up passengers in Ajax, Whitby, and Durham College Oshawa GO stations.

Westbound

• GO is cancelling the trains that usually start their trips in Pickering at 11:10 and 11:39 p.m. Buses along branch 90B replace the trains.
• Instead, GO buses along the 90B branch of the 90 Lakeshore East route replace the trains. They start in Oshawa, then serve passengers in Whitby, Ajax, and Pickering. They then operate express to Union Station terminal.

Saturday, March 22
Sunday, March 23

• Buses replace trains west of Pickering all day. Trains continue to operate between Oshawa and Pickering every 30 minutes.
• Late-night / early-morning buses continue to operate along the 90B branch of the 90 Lakeshore East route with regular schedules.
• Replacement buses operate along the 90E branch of the 90 Lakeshore East route. Buses along branch 90E branch operate express between Pickering and Union Station terminal.

Buses along the 88 Peterborough / Oshawa route

Friday, March 21

Northbound

• Passengers aboard train-replacement buses arriving in Oshawa at 12:55 and 1 a.m. have to wait nine or four minutes to connect with the 1:04 a.m. Route 88 bus (one minute more or four minutes less than usually).

Southbound

• Passengers arriving in Oshawa at 11:24 p.m. have to wait 21 minutes to connect with a train-replacement bus leaving at 11:45 pm. (six minutes more than usually).

Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23

Northbound

• Passengers arriving in Oshawa have to wait 26 or 28 minutes to connect with Route 88 buses (16 or 18 minutes more than usually). And, passengers travelling from Union have to arrive as much as 30 minutes earlier than the usual train time to connect with the route 88 bus in Oshawa. They also have an extra transfer from bus to train in Pickering.

While the line is closed to trains, Metrolinx contractors are relocating the tracks in the rail corridor. They’re shifting the tracks from the east to the west side of the corridor between Jones Avenue and Jimmie Simpson Park. They relocate one set of tracks during this weekend closure and they’ll relocate a second set during another weekend in April.

Crews work 24 hours a day to:

• relocate barriers;
• cut and move rail tracks; and
• “surface” (compact), excavate, and back-fill ballast (the crushed stone that supports the tracks.)

They can’t complete these tasks while trains are operating and they must work overnight to make sure they have relocated the tracks in time to resume train service Monday morning.

Expect noise and vibration from construction equipment, including excavators, rail-cutting saws, spike pullers, track surfacing equipment, rollers, loaders, dump trucks, and hand tools. Expect to see site lighting at night.

The contractors will schedule disruptive activities, including surfacing during the daytime, wherever possible. They’ll use noise barriers and coverings to reduce disruption. And, they’ll direct site lighting away from residences.

Trucks enter and exit the work zone at access points on Eastern or Pape avenues.

Starting 11 p.m. Friday, March 21, TTC crews are upgrading the tracks

• in Exhibition Loop.

The work zone blocks bus access to the loop.

The transit agency is detouring buses along these routes, while the loop is closed:

• 509B Harbourfront shuttle buses; and
• 511B Bathurst shuttle buses.

(The buses replace regular streetcar service during construction at the intersection of Bathurst Street with Lake Shore Boulevard West and Fleet Street.)

The construction likely also affects service along the 307 Bathurst overnight route, but the TTC hasn’t announced detour information for buses along that route.

Construction in Exhibition Loop and the resulting TTC detours continue until March 23 (1:30 a.m.)

The TTC is closing Line 1 Yonge - University subway between Finch and St Clair stations earlier than usually, Monday, March 17 until Friday, March 21. Line 1 subway trains operate only between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and St Clair stations after 11 p.m. those evenings.

Shuttle buses partially replace subway service. The buses drop off or pick up passengers at stops near each station on the closed section of the line. TTC staff are available in each to station to direct you to the shuttle-bus boarding and offloading locations.

(Or, consider a shuttle-bus alternative.)

Most stations on this section of Line 1 remain open, so you can load PRESTO fare cards, buy PRESTO tickets and connect to TTC buses, streetcars and Line 4 Sheppard subway trains or to GO Transit and York Region Transit buses. However, North York Centre and Lawrence stations are closed.

Since the bus terminal at Lawrence Station is closed, board connecting buses at temporary stops on Lawrence Avenue West, instead of in the station bus terminal:

• westbound at Lorindale Avenue (one block west of Yonge Street); and
• eastbound at Yonge Street.

Finch and St Clair are accessible stations. The TTC is assigning two Wheel-Trans vehicles to operate along Yonge Street between the two stations. Speak to any TTC staff member for directions or help to locate Wheel-Trans stops at or near each station.

While this section of Line 1 is closed, TTC crews are maintaining the tracks and tunnel and installing technology for future 5G connectivity in the subway tunnels. The TTC also likely continues working on the Easier Access elevator project at Lawrence Station.

According to a TTC news release, “While the TTC does most subway maintenance after service each night, it continues to require weekend and early weeknight closures to complete critical infrastructure and state-of-good-repair work.”

The TTC is closing this section of Line 1 three more times during March and early April:

• Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23 — Finch to St Clair — track work.
• Monday, March 23 until Friday, March 28 — Eglinton to St Clair — close early — track work.
• Monday, March 31 until Friday, April 4 — Finch to St Clair — close early — track work.

TTC transit control continues to ask subway operators to reduce their speed through certain areas of the subway system “as a safety precaution”. It’s also now put in place reduced speed zones (RSZs) on sections of the streetcar network. The TTC explains that the RSZs allow trains and streetcars to operate safely during service hours while minimizing disruptions to [passengers]. According to the TTC, they also protect workers who may work at track level to conduct routine or emergency inspections.

Subways

Here’s where reduced speed zones are in effect on Line 1 Yonge - University and Line 2 Bloor - Danforth:

At reduced speeds, trains are moving at between 15 and 25 kilometres per hour (km/h), instead of normal speeds of 40 to 50 km/h. One reduced speed zone can add about one to three minutes to a subway trip.

TTC staff are making announcements on the trains and sharing information on the screens near the doors on trains along Line 1 to let you know why the train is travelling more slowly than normally in that area. Similar announcements are also playing at stations so you’re aware that your commute may be longer than usually before you board a train.

To address RSZ in the subway system, the TTC says it’s leveraging state-of-good-repair projects and early and weekend closures to complete the track maintenance. These planned closures allow crews to work efficiently and effectively to complete the work, which often involves:

• replacing aging rails, ties and clips with new ones;
• replacing a section of the track; and
• compacting the “ballast” (stones beneath the tracks, which help with draining and stabilizing the rails).

The TTC says, “Crews are working as quickly as possible within the available overnight and weekend windows to complete the track work. Our goal is to minimize the overall number of RSZs so the impact on trip times is minimal. While we anticipate reducing the number of current restrictions significantly over the coming months, ongoing proactive track inspections mean that the TTC will always have some slow orders in place in different locations across the network.”

Streetcars

Five reduced speed zones are in place on the streetcar network. The impact on travel time will be minimal but will vary, especially in cases where streetcars are travelling on a section of road where vehicles operate too. 

*These reduced speed zones are in place during the winter months. 

Note that streetcars along the 511 Bathurst and 512 St Clair routes only travel along the section of track on Bathurst Street at Bridgman Avenue, when entering and leaving service. This part of the streetcar network doesn’t receive regular service.

Streetcars travel at 10 km/h when they travel through an area with a RSZ. Once past the RSZ, cars operate at a safe and legal speed and according to traffic conditions.

Similar to its work to remove RSZs on the subway system, the TTC is also working to reduce the number of reduced speed zones on the streetcar network during closures by:

• replacing aging rails, concrete and overhead infrastructure;
• repairing sections of the track, concrete and overhead wires that are broken, damaged or worn out; and
• continually exploring technical solutions to remove any weather-related speed restrictions and implementing changes where possible.

The TTC is advising passengers that it’s detouring streetcars from 11 p.m. Saturday, March 15 until 4 a.m. Sunday, March 16 along these routes:

• 301 Queen overnight;
• 303 Kingston Rd overnight;
• 304 King overnight;
• 501 Queen;
• 503 Kingston Rd; and
• 504 King.

The transit agency explains that it’s detouring the cars “due to [City] (of Toronto)](http://www.toronto.ca/) road work.” Apparently, the City is working on Queen Street East at Davies Street — just east of the Don Valley Parkway.

Shuttle buses replace the cars between Broadview Avenue and Parliament Street:

• along Queen Street East; and
• along King Street East.

The Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade affects TTC services in downtown Toronto this Sunday, March 16.

The TTC is closing Line 1 Yonge - University subway between Finch and St Clair stations earlier than usually, Monday, March 10 until Thursday, March 14. Line 1 subway trains operate only between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and St Clair stations after 11 p.m. those evenings.

Shuttle buses partially replace subway service. The buses drop off or pick up passengers at stops near each station on the closed section of the line. TTC staff are available in each to station to direct you to the shuttle-bus boarding and offloading locations.

(Or, consider a shuttle-bus alternative.)

Most stations on this section of Line 1 remain open, so you can load PRESTO fare cards, buy PRESTO tickets and connect to TTC buses, streetcars and Line 4 Sheppard subway trains or to GO Transit and York Region Transit buses. However, North York Centre and Lawrence stations are closed.

Since the bus terminal at Lawrence Station is closed, board connecting buses at temporary stops on Lawrence Avenue West, instead of in the station bus terminal:

• westbound at Lorindale Avenue (one block west of Yonge Street); and
• eastbound at Yonge Street.

Finch and St Clair are accessible stations. The TTC is assigning two Wheel-Trans vehicles to operate along Yonge Street between the two stations. Speak to any TTC staff member for directions or help to locate Wheel-Trans stops at or near each station.

While this section of Line 1 is closed, TTC crews are maintaining the tracks and tunnel and installing technology for future 5G connectivity in the subway tunnels. The TTC also likely continues working on the Easier Access elevator project at Lawrence Station.

According to a TTC news release, “While the TTC does most subway maintenance after service each night, it continues to require weekend and early weeknight closures to complete critical infrastructure and state-of-good-repair work.”

The TTC is closing Line 1 Yonge - University subway between St George and St Andrew stations Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9.

Replacement shuttle buses are not operating due to construction downtown. Instead, the TTC is increasing service along surface routes to make sure passengers have frequent, reliable transit options. For travel through downtown Toronto from the Yonge side of Line 1, you can transfer to connecting westbound buses or streetcars at Wellesley Station (94 Wellesley), College Station (506 Carlton), Dundas Station (505 Dundas), Queen Station (501 Queen at Queen Street East and Church Street) or King Station (504 King).

Museum, Queen’s Park and St Patrick stations are closed, while crews upgrade the stations. All other stations on this section of Line 1 are open for passengers to load PRESTO fare cards, buy PRESTO tickets and connect to buses and streetcars.

While the subway is closed, TTC crews are also maintaining the tracks.

The TTC is also closing Line 2 Bloor - Danforth subway between Kennedy and Woodbine stations this weekend.