Finance

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College-Carlton Construction Plans Summer-Fall 2026

Phase 2 of the planned reconstruction of sewers and track on College and Carlton requires 506/306 streetcars to divert via Dundas Street between Bay and Parliament Streets. A replacement bus service will operate on College and Carlton. This arrangement begins on July 26 and is expected to continue until the end of 2026.

506B/306B buses will run from Spadina Station to Broadview & Gerrard:

  • Eastbound via Spadina, College, Carlton, Parliament and Gerrard looping near Bridgepoint Hospital.
  • Westbound via Gerrard, Parliament, Carlton, Jarvis, Wellesley, Bay, College and Spadina

Note that there will be no westbound service on Carlton/College between Jarvis and Bay because the street will be closed in that direction in the work zone. One eastbound lane will remain open.

This phase of the work includes:

  • Reconstruction of the sewer and watermain on College between Bay and Yonge, and
  • Reconstruction of the streetcar track on Carlton between Yonge and Church.

In Phase 3 later this year, the work zones will switch with streetcar track replacement west of Yonge.

As with the King Street project described in a separate post, it should be noted that the work by Toronto Water is the lengthier of the two components. As the City upgrades water and sewer infrastructure that is over a century old, there have been many disruptions to streetcar routes, although track and overhead upgrades are scheduled concurrently to take advantage of the streetcar diversions.

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King West Construction Plans: 2026-27

Water main construction, coupled with track repairs, will force the diversion of 504 King streetcars from November 2026 to early Summer 2027.

The map below is taken from a report at Toronto & East York Community Council on July 8-9 (p 4).

Two areas will be affected starting November 2026: Close to Dufferin, and Portland to Spadina. At the end of February 2027 work will begin between Shaw and Bathurst Streets.

The following services will operate over the 504 King corridor:

  • 504 streetcar from Broadview Station to Dundas West Station diverting both ways via Queen between Roncesvalles and Spadina
  • 504 bus service from the Distillery District to Sunnyside Loop
  • 503 Kingston Road bus service from Bingham Loop to Dufferin Loop
  • Not shown in the map is the 508 Lake Shore car whose summer 2026 suspension appears to continue through the construction period.

Night service will be provided by:

  • 304 streetcar over the same route as 504 King car
  • 304C bus over the same route as 504C King bus

Projects planned for 2027 includes watermain work and intersection reconstruction at King and York. This was originally expected in Fall 2026, but has been pushed back into the next construction year. TTC advises that King/York is scheduled to start in late June 2027 with the intention of completion before the film festival in September. Other projects will affect King West in 2027, but details for this work have not been announced.

Traffic regulations will be changed at several locations to assist transit vehicle movement during the construction. Details follow the “more” break.

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Metrolinx Board Meeting – June 25, 2026

The Metrolinx Board met on June 25, and as usual for that secretive organization, most of the agenda was discussed in private session. What they do talk about in public is inevitably “good news”, and there is rarely any indication that the Board might have issues with management.

Items included in this article:

  • Write-Down of GO Transit Assets
  • GO Transit Project Status
  • Update on Line 5 and Line 6 LRT Operations
  • Fare Enforcement Bylaw Update
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Reviewing TTC Surface Delay Data 2025-2026

This article is a followup to a review of subway delay data published here in early June.

Four sets of data are summarized here:

  • Bus data January 2025 through April 2026
  • Streetcar data January 2025 through May 2026
  • Line 6 Finch data December 2025 through May 2026
  • Line 5 Eglinton data February through May 2026

There is no bus data for May 2026 because the TTC’s June 22, 2026 update on the City’s Open Data site did not include it.

The Open Data files include a key translating delay codes to text. However, many codes used in the logs do not appear in the key, and in those cases I have used “?” in the tables. I have asked TTC for an updated code list, but they have not replied.

Among the information shown in these delay logs:

  • “No Operator Available” is a serious problem related to TTC staffing levels.
  • Diversions account for a large number of delays, notably on the bus network, not just streetcars.
  • Collisions involving buses and streetcars are common.
  • Weather related delays including autos blocking tracks peak in winter months for buses and streetcars.
  • Streetcar delays related to switches are reported under various codes, but there is no code for derailment thereby masking the number of the most serious track-related events.
  • The number and length of delays on 6 Finch have fallen by over 50% since the opening months.
  • A common source of delay on 5 Eglinton relates to guideway intrusion.
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TTC Service Changes Effective June 21, 2026

Service changes for the streetcar system were effective on June 7 in anticipation of the World Cup games starting on June 12. See:

The main set of bus and rapid transit changes will occur on June 21.

The seasonal changes are described as coming both from reduced summer demand and limits on operators to drive the service. It is not clear if this is due to a budgetary decision about staffing levels, a difficulty in recruiting new operators, or a mix of both.

The spreadsheet detailing old and new service plans has been added after the “more” break.

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Reviewing Subway Delay Data 2025-2026

The TTC recently updated its delay records for subway, bus, streetcar and LRT on the City’s Open Data Site. These files are raw data, and some slicing and dicing are required to put them in an approachable format.

I have consolidated the data from January 2025 to April 2026 with the full set linked and explained at the end of this post. Extracts of interest are in the main article.

Caveats:

  • The accuracy of this information depends on what the TTC chose to log. I have no reason to believe that they omitted any incidents.
  • When a delay period is cited, this is the length of the event, but there is no indication of the pervasiveness on general operations and riders through multi-train delays or service suspensions. This information is not included in the logs.
  • There are many separate codes for events that are reported publicly as “operational” or “mechanical” problems. Getting a handle on these requires a second level of analysis to group related items. I have not done this here in the interest of getting the basic data into an article for discussion.

Much debate about subway delays and safety has focused on two areas:

  • Track level incursions and the benefits of Platform Edge Doors (PEDs)
  • Security of riders

Unauthorized access to track level is far more common than cases where a train strikes a passenger (733 incidents vs 26 over 16 months). Prevention of track level access requires a physical barrier that will dissuade all but the most determined from getting off of the platform. Other related delays involve debris which could be a source of fires. This requires a true barrier.

Security incidents take many forms, but they are quite numerous. Not all of them represent a threat to riders. There has been much hype thanks to Provincial regulations regarding open use of drugs, but other types of security and safety events are far more numerous. New arrest powers will only make a small dent. This is security theatre, not a real response to the broader range of public disturbances, aggressive behaviour, mental and other health problems. The TTC and City recognize this in the recently announced increase in various types of services to be provided on the system.

That said, I do recognize that there are problem areas on surface routes, but security in that part of the network is much less present, and current attention focuses on the subway.

What is very striking about the list is the prevalence of events related to equipment and infrastructure. These are “internal” to the TTC in that any reduction will require improvements in TTC practices. The TTC needs to address areas they can fix on their own rather than, as happens too often, they focus on issues external and beyond their control. This will not eliminate all delays, but should produce real benefits in reliability and quality of service.

Detailed breakdowns follow the “more” break.

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TTC Board Meeting: June 3, 2026

The TTC Board will meet on June 3 with several items on the agenda.

The morning portion of the meeting will deal with various confidential items, and the meeting will move into public session in the afternoon, time to be announced.

Some items are forwarded from the Audit, Finance and Risk Management Committee meeting of May 26 How much debate they will get in the full Board’s public session remains to be seen.

Items of interest include:

  • CEO’s Report
  • Advancing Safety on the TTC: 2026 Focus Areas
  • Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvements Project – Platform Edge Doors and Net Zero
  • Financial and Major Projects Update for the Period Ended April 26, 2026
  • Toronto Transit Commission – 2026 Follow-up – Status of Previous Auditor General’s Recommendations
  • Draft Consolidated Financial Statements of Toronto Transit Commission for the Year Ended December 31, 2025

Four items are administrative inquiries, or member motions including one forwarded from the recent Council meeting:

  • An inquiry about the usage and cost of Community Bus Routes from Chair Jamaal Myers
  • [From Council]: Safer Subways: Making Public Safety a Priority and Restoring Confidence to Toronto Transit Commission Riders Across Toronto
  • Review of Subway Capacity Constraints and Infrastructure Readiness for Protected/Major Transit Station Areas Compliance and Provincial Densification Mandates – by Commissioner Liane Kim, seconded by Commissioner Josh Matlow
  • Requesting a 7 Bathurst Express Bus – by Commissioner Josh Matlow, seconded by Commissioner Dianne Saxe

In this article I have grouped related items together.

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TTC Service Changes Effective May 3, 2026

The TTC will make many changes to its schedules and services on Sunday, May 3. Many of these are seasonal adjustments for reduced traffic to school locations, as well as summer-only routes. Some routes will see service changes, and some construction projects will, at long last, finish. Toronto gets a reprieve for the World Cup period from major road disruptions, but this will not last long.

Other changes include some streetcar stop removals to attempt to speed up service. We will see just how effective these are after a month’s operation.

Updated May 2, 2026: Route description for 329 Night Bus corrected. Note about additional early morning trips added.

Updated May 3, 2026 at 6:30pm: The spreadsheet showing details of changes to service plans is now available.

Updated May 3, 2026 at 11:30pm: There are few destination sign changes, but a list of them has been added.

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TTC To Relax Streetcar Speed Restrictions

According to a bulletin from the TTC’s Safety and Environment Department, effective May 24, 2026 some speed restrictions that hobble streetcar operations will be dropped.

  • At crosswalks and signalized intersections, streetcars are now restricted to entering at 25 km/h. This will change so that cars can operate at up to the posted speed limit.
  • The 10 km/h speed restriction at intersections on The Queensway will be removed, and cars can operate up to the posted speed limit.
  • Intersections with special work, or with other explicit restrictions, continue to be subject to slow orders.
  • Notwithstanding these changes, Operators are expected to drive defensively and adapt to road and weather conditions.

This is a first step in attempting to speed up streetcar routes, but the limits at special work (switches, crossings) remain in place. This will not change, if at all, without a thorough review of factors contributing to that long-standing policy including:

  • Reliability of electric switch controllers,
  • Benefits of double-blade switches for Flexity streetcar movement through turns, and
  • Signaling to provide a positive indication for operators that switches are set and locked to the desired route.

That study is underway, but we are unlikely to see major changes quickly especially if replacement of existing track and controllers is needed. Related issues include:

  • The number of manually operated switches at locations where streetcars regularly turn for diversions and short turns, and
  • The degree, if any, of aggressive transit signal priority provided at existing and future switch locations.
  • Removal of speed restrictions related to trolley pole operation notably at low underpasses.

It is not clear why there is a delay of over three weeks for this change to take effect, but it will be in place before the World Cup games.