For ten days — from Monday, April 12 until Wednesday, April 21 — the TTC is closing Line 1 Yonge - University subway between St George and St Andrew stations. Line 1 trains operate only between Finch and St Andrew stations and between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and St George stations those days.
Shuttle buses partly replace subway service. The buses drop off or pick up passengers on the street near stations on this part of the line. The TTC says that buses operate every minute or better Mondays to Fridays during morning rush hours “to provide safe travel and physical distancing.”
According to the TTC, passengers can expect frequent, “very consistent” bus service to continue throughout the rest of the week. It’s based service levels on current passenger volumes.
(Or, consider a shuttle-bus alternative.)
Museum, Queen’s Park, St Patrick and Osgoode stations are closed. The TTC is closing all entrances / exits at these stations, including connections to hospitals.
Although all shuttle buses are accessible, Wheel-Trans service is also available from all stations. Ask TTC staff in each station for information about Wheel-Trans.
The TTC says it’s “continuing to capitalize on reduced ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying opportunities to carry out vital state-of-good-repair work with minimal inconvenience to [passengers].”
During the closure between St George and St Andrews, crews are:
- removing asbestos;
- repairing electrical cables; and
- rehabilitating the structure.
Crews are working “around-the-clock” — 24 hours a day, every day.
The transit agency says that this ten-day closure eliminates several years’ worth of early access, weekend and platform closures. The TTC successfully used similar closures
- between Finch and Sheppard - Yonge stations in December and
- between St George and St Andrew station in March
to complete more than the equivalent of two years of work in just ten days.
Shuttle buses
(We’ve based this part of the post on information available from TransSee, a web application that provides real-time bus tracking and predicts the location of the next vehicles at a stop.)
Southbound buses start their trips on Bedford Road north of Bloor Street West, beside the entrance / exit for St George Station, then proceed:
southward along Bedford;
eastward along Bloor Street West;
southward along Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent West, Queen’s Park and University Avenue; and then
eastward along Front Street West to Bay Street,
ending their trips.Northbound buses start their trips on Front Street West at Bay Street, then proceed:
northward along Bay;
westward along Wellington Street West;
northward along University Avenue, Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent East and Queen’s Park;
westward along Bloor Street West; and then
northward along St. George Street to beside the exit / entrance for St George Station,
ending their trips.The buses then proceed:
northward along St. George;
eastward along Prince Arthur Avenue; and then
southward along Bedford Road to just north of Bloor Street West,
ending their trips.
Shuttle-bus alternatives
One way that you can reduce the impact of the closure is by planning ahead, leaving earlier than usually and giving yourself more time to get to where you’re going.
Although shuttle buses replacing subway service will be frequent, they may also be crowded.
Regular TTC buses and streetcars provide less frequent, less direct, but, perhaps, less stressful alternatives.
Consider boarding buses and street cars at subway stations on the Yonge branch of the subway line, instead of the University branch. If you’re travelling from the west, keep riding your bus or streetcar until you reach a Yonge-branch station, instead of exiting at a University-branch station. This applies not just to the closed section of the subway, but to stations north and south of the closure, so you can avoid the University branch entirely.
North of the closed section of the subway, ride:
- buses along the 36 Finch West or 339 Finch express routes to Finch Station, instead of Finch West Station;
- buses along the 84 Sheppard West or 984 Sheppard West express routes to Sheppard - Yonge Station, instead of Sheppard West Station;
- buses along the 96 Wilson or 165 Weston Rd North routes to York Mills Station, instead of Wilson Station;
- buses along the 52 Lawrence West or 952 Lawrence West express routes to Lawrence Station, instead of Lawrence West Station;
- buses along the 14 Glencairn route to Davisville Station, instead of Glencairn Station;
- buses along the 32 Eglinton West route to Eglinton Station, instead of Eglinton West Station;
- streetcars along the 512 St Clair route to St Clair Station, instead of St Clair West Station;
- buses along the 127 Davenport route to Spadina Station (to connect with Line 2), instead of Dupont Station; or
- buses along the 26 Dupont route to St George Station (to connect with Line 2), instead of Dupont Station.
At the closed section of the subway, ride:
- subway trains along Line 2 Bloor - Danforth to Yonge Station, instead of St George Station;
- buses and streetcars along the 506 Carlton route to College Station, instead of Queen’s Park Station;
- streetcars along the 505 Dundas route to Dundas Station, instead of St Patrick Station;
- streetcars along the 501 Queen route to Queen Station, instead of Osgoode Station; or
- streetcars along the 503 Kingston Rd and 504A / 504B King routes to King Station, instead of St Andrew Station.
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