Service Analysis

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TTC Announces More Streetcar Diversions

In addition to the Queen West diversion I wrote about yesterday, the TTC has announced other changes affecting streetcar routes. These are hidden on the “Construction Notices” page which does not automatically link articles to the route schedule pages. Riders used to looking under “Service Changes” would not find these.

501 Queen Update

While the Queen cars are diverted to King for Hydro work in Parkdale, track repairs will occur on Queen at Brock and at Sorauren during the week of September 21 to 28.

Effective November 1, 501/301 Queen cars will divert both ways via Coxwell, Gerrard and Broadview for rail and water main reconstruction on Queen between Leslie and Vancouver (west end of Russell Carhouse, east of Greenwood).

512 St. Clair Update

The Metrolinx work on the rail bridge at Keele Street is complete, streetcar overhead restoration is in progress.

Track repairs on St. Clair between Bathurst and Vaughan will require a complete replacement of streetcar service for the period from September 28 to October 3.

From September 28, buses will operate on 512/312 St. Clair from Gunn’s Loop to St. Clair Station streetcar platform.

Streetcar service over the full route will resume on October 3.

The 512B shuttle from Gunn’s Loop to Lansdowne Station, and the extension of 340 Junction to Oakwood Loop will continue to October 31.

506 Carlton Update

Track repairs on the Gerrard Street bridge at the Don Valley will run from 11pm on Thursday, October 8 for about 10 days (to the weekend of October 17/18).

506/306 Carlton shuttle buses will continue to run on Gerrard.

This effectively extends the Carlton diversion around work between Yonge and Church east from Parliament to Broadview via Dundas.

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TTC 501/301 Queen Diversion Sept. 21 to Oct. 15

The TTC has announced a diversion of 501/301 Queen streetcar service between Shaw and Roncesvalles for work by Toronto Hydro. This will begin at 9pm on September 21 and run until 4am on October 15.

I checked with TTC Media Relations that this is an all-day diversion for over three weeks, not the more common overnight diversion for smaller scale repairs.

Streetcars will run both ways via Shaw and King to the Queen/Roncesvalles intersection and then via their normal route west to Humber Loop. Buses will run on Queen between Bathurst (Wolseley Loop) and Roncesvalles (Sunnyside Loop).

This announcement appears only on the TTC’s Service Changes page, and is not linked from the schedule pages for routes 501 or 301 as of 3:15pm on September 21.

It is not yet clear how the eastbound transfer connection at Roncesvalles will work as the streetcar stop is farside and there is no stop on the west side of the intersection, only a small curb between the streetcar tracks and three eastbound traffic lanes.

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TTC Service Changes Effective September 30, 2026 — Scarborough Busway Opens

The Scarborough busway using the former Line 3 Scarborough RT right-of-way will open on September 30. Most routes now using Midland and Kennedy to reach Kennedy Station will switch to the new busway. Affected routes are 38 Highland Creek, 129 McCowan North, 131 Nugget, 133 Neilson, 154 Curran Hall, 903 Kennedy Stn-Scarborough Express, 904 Sheppard-Kennedy Express, 938 Highland Creek Express & 939 Finch Express.

Buses will stop enroute at the former Ellesmere and Lawrence East stations, as well as a new stop at Tara Avenue midway between Lawrence and Eglinton.

Lawrence East Station will also be served by the 54/954 Lawrence East bus services as shown below. The station building will not be open, but riders can transfer via a walkway at the south end of the platform to the busway station.

Scheduled service levels and travel times remain the same on September 30 because this is a mid-board period change. The next board period with an opportunity for changes begins on Sunday, November 1, 2026. The TTC has not yet announced plans for schedule updates to take advantage of faster travel times on the busway.

I have been collecting tracking data on some routes using Midland and Kennedy for historical comparison, and will review actual operations in November once the October data are available.

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TTC Service Changes Effective Sunday September 6, 2026 (Part I)

Two sets of route changes have been announced by the TTC to take effect on September 6, 2026.

This is a preliminary version of the September 6, 2026 changes. Full service change details will be published in a separate article when they are available.

Updated September 12, 2026: A map of the temporary extension of 72 Pape at the south end of the route has been added.

St. Clair West Rail Bridge Reconstruction

The rail bridge over St. Clair Avenue West between Keele Street and Old Weston Road will be rebuilt to accommodate the new St. Clair West GO station.

During this work, 512/312 St. Clair streetcars will turn back from Earlscourt Loop at Lansdowne, and a 512B shuttle bus will operate from Gunn’s Loop (west of Keele) east to Lansdowne and south to Lansdowne Station.

Night service on 340 Junction will be extended east to Oakwood Loop.

Partial Reopening of Pape Station Loop

Ontario Line construction at Pape Station has progressed to the point that a partial re-opening of the bus loop is possible. The following routes are affected:

  • 100 Flemingdon Park will now terminate at Pape Station rather than at Broadview Station.
  • 8 Broadview and 62 Mortimer will resume use of Broadview Station as their western terminus and they will no longer run south to Gerrard & Broadview.
  • 72 Pape buses will loop through the station southbound, but will continue to load on the street outside the station northbound.

25/925 Don Mills and 87 Cosburn services will continue to operate to Broadview Station.

Updated September 12, 2026:

The 72 Pape route has been extended at the south end “to operate via Don Roadway,
Lake Shore Blvd E, and Saulter St instead of Saulter St, Lake Shore Blvd E, and Bouchette St to
provide an accessible connection to the 114 Queens Quay East”.

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How Slow Is My Streetcar: 512 St. Clair

This article compares travel times for the 512 St. Clair streetcar for June 2026 and June 2019. It is part of a series setting out the changes in operating speed of streetcar routes since the introduction of the new Flexity streetcars in the past decade.

Three sets of charts here show the operational behaviour of the route from different points of view:

  • Comparisons of travel speeds over segments of the line show broadly how, when and where travel speeds have changed.
  • A fine-grained speed profile of the line compares 2019 and 2026 data showing specific locations of changes, and in particular that speed differences lie across the route.
  • Charts of dwell times show locations and times where streetcars are held for passenger service and traffic signals. Congestion generally does not play a role because almost all of the route is on reserved lanes.

“Double stops” at traffic signals before farside loading islands remain a problem with streetcars not always getting a clear run through intersections. This is often discussed in transit and social media circles, but more work is needed to get true transit priority for streetcars on 512 St. Clair.

St. Clair also has very high terminal recovery times compared to travel time along the route. It is not clear that this time is needed, or if it is a relic of an era when TTC made service run “on time” by padding schedules so that it would never be late.

Continue reading →
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How Slow Is My Streetcar: 511 Bathurst

This article continues a series reviewing the operating speeds of streetcar lines in detail looking at:

  • Evolution of travel times on 511 Bathurst from September 2019 to June 2026 by route segment.
  • Detailed profiles of operating speeds over the full route for the same months.
  • Locations where streetcars spend long dwell times including stops, traffic signals and road congestion.

The two intervals compared here are:

  • June 1-5, 2026: This was just before the upheavals of the World Cup period, but without any construction diversions that would distort the data. At this point, red lanes were installed on Bathurst from Bloor to Nassau (north side of Western Hospital), and from Dundas southward.
  • January 13-17, 2020: This was early in the operation of 511 Bathurst with the new Flexity streetcars, after the holiday period but before traffic conditions changed with the pandemic in March.

Locations of substantial delays lie mainly south and west of Queen and Bathurst, although the focus on priority has been further north. Some benefits of the red lanes are evident, but the south end of the route needs a detailed review to determine why supposed priority areas on Bathurst and on Fleet are locations for delay.

Continue reading →
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How Slow Is My Streetcar: 509 Harbourfront

This article compares travel times for the 509 Harbourfront streetcar for June 2026 and September 2019. It is part of a series setting out the changes in operating speed of streetcar routes since the introduction of the new Flexity streetcars in the past decade.

This article continues a series reviewing the operating speeds of streetcar lines in detail looking at:

  • Evolution of travel times on 509 Harbourfront from September 2019 to June 2026 by route segment.
  • Detailed profiles of operating speeds over the full route for the same months.
  • Dwell time profiles showing locations where streetcars are held by traffic signals, stop service and congestion.

Like many other routes, service on 509 Harbourfront is slower in 2026 than it was in 2020 in parts of the route, although the degree of change varies by route segment, direction and time of day. The lack of meaningful transit priority is evident at intersections, including those with traffic signals but no associated transit stop.

Reductions in travel speed occurred across the operating day and were not confined to periods when passenger and road traffic volumes would typically be heavier. The common excuse of “increased congestion” cannot be used to explain away the changes.

Continue reading →
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How Slow Is My Streetcar: 505 Dundas

This article continues a series reviewing the operating speeds of streetcar lines in detail. Although other routes were compared between 2019/20 and 2026, the analysis for Dundas uses 2023 as the “before” data. For an extended period, 505 Dundas operated with buses due to a shortage of streetcars, and there are no data with Flexity cars on Dundas to use as a 2019/20 comparison.

April 2023 saw Flexity operation over the normal 505 Dundas route with no diversions or extensions. This month also predates transit priority changes made in 2024 and 2025.

  • Evolution of travel times from April 2023 to June 2026 by route segment.
  • Detailed profiles of operating speeds over the full route for the same months.
  • A review of dwell times in June 2026 showing where streetcars are most likely to spend excessive time in the AM and PM peak periods.
Continue reading →
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How Slow Is My Streetcar: 504 King

This article continues a series reviewing the operating speeds of streetcar lines in detail looking at:

  • Evolution of travel times on 504 King from January 2020 to June 2026 by route segment.
  • Detailed profiles of operating speeds over the full route for the same months.
  • Dwell time profiles showing locations where streetcars are held by traffic signals, stop service and congestion.

The analysis covers the main route from Broadview Station to Dundas West Station, but does not include the two stubs south of King to Distillery Loop and Dufferin Loop.

Like many other routes, service on 504 King is slower in 2026 than it was in 2020 in parts of the route, although the degree of change varies by route segment, direction and time of day. The lack of meaningful transit priority is evident at intersections, including those with traffic signals but no associated transit stop.

Reductions in travel speed occurred across the operating day and were not confined to periods when passenger and road traffic volumes would typically be heavier. The common excuse of “increased congestion” cannot be used to explain away the changes.

Continue reading →
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How Slow Is My Streetcar: 501/507 Queen/Long Branch

This article continues a series reviewing the operating speeds of streetcar lines in detail looking at:

  • Evolution of travel times on 501 Queen and 507 Long Branch from January 2020 to June 2026 by route segment.
  • Detailed profiles of operating speeds over the full route for the same months.
  • Locations of long dwell times showing poor/missing transit signal priority, congested areas and times, and delays that are not associated with stop service.

The two intervals compared here are:

  • June 1-5, 2026: This was just before the upheavals of the World Cup period, but without any construction diversions that would distort the data (other than the Ontario Line diversion in the core). Service to Long Branch was provided by 507 streetcars until about 10pm, and thereafter by an extended 501 Queen. Data from both routes are presented here
  • January 13-17, 2020: During this period, service to Long Branch was provided all day by an extended route 501 Queen.
Continue reading →