Monday, July 5 until Thursday, July 8, the TTC is closing Line 1 Yonge - University subway earlier than usually between St Clair West and King stations. Line 1 trains operate only between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and St Clair West stations and between Finch and King stations after 11 p.m. those nights.
Frequent shuttle buses partly replace subway service. The buses drop off or pick up passengers at stops on the street near each of the stations on the closed section of the line.
(Or, consider a shuttle-bus alternative.)
Dupont, Museum, Queen’s Park, St Patrick, Osgoode and St Andrew stations are closed after 11 p.m. However, St. Clair West, Spadina, St George, Union and King stations remain open so you can pay fares or connect with TTC buses and streetcars. Note also that the Kendal Avenue entrance / exit for Spadina Station will also be closed. You can still access Spadina Station through other entrances / exits.
Although shuttle buses are accessible, Wheel-Trans is also available at each station. Since King Station is not yet an accessible station, if you’re travelling southbound on Line 1 and need an accessible connection, exit the train at Queen Station and ask any TTC customer service employee for information.
While this section of Line 1 is closed, TTC crews are maintaining the tracks and subway structure. According to a TTC news release, “While the TTC does most subway maintenance at the conclusion of service each night, it continues to require weekend and early weeknight closures to complete critical infrastructure and state-of-good-repair work as well as… signal upgrades.”
The TTC is closing this section of Line 1 at least once more in July:
- Saturday, July 10 and Sunday, July 11 — Spadina to St George — late-night single-track operation — leak repairs.
Shuttle buses
(We’ve based this part of the post on information available from TransSee during a previous closure of this part of Line 1. TransSee is 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 St. Clair Avenue West beside St Clair West Station, then proceed:
westward along St. Clair Avenue West;
southward along Bathurst Street;
eastward along Davenport Road;
southward along Kendal Avenue;
eastward along Macpherson Avenue;
southward along Spadina Road;
eastward along Bloor Street West;
southward along Queen’s Park, Queen’s Park Crescent West and University Avenue;
eastward along King Street West;
southward along Yonge Street; and then
westward 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 Crescent East and Queen’s Park;
westward along Bloor Street West;
northward along Spadina Road;
westward along Davenport Road;
northward along Walmer Road;
eastward along Austin Terrace;
northward along Spadina Road; and then
westward along St. Clair Avenue West to beside St Clair West Station,
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 westbound 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 route to Finch Station, instead of Finch West Station;
- buses along the 84 Sheppard West route 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 route to Lawrence Station, instead of Lawrence West Station;
- buses along the 14 Glencairn route to Davisville Station, instead of Glencairn Station; or
- buses along the 32 Eglinton West route to Eglinton Station, instead of Eglinton West Station.
At the closed section of the subway, ride:
- 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.
- buses along the 26 Dupont route to St George Station (to connect with Line 2), instead of Dupont Station.
- 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;
- buses along the 501 Queen route to Queen Station, instead of Osgoode Station; or
- streetcars along the 501 Queen and 504 King routes to King Station, instead of St Andrew Station.
You can also ride the Line 2 Bloor - Danforth subway to connect with Line 1 at Yonge Station, instead of St George Station.