TTC is splitting the King St. streetcar route into two branches to speed up your commute

Thestar.com
September 25, 2018
Jack Hauen

The TTC is changing up its streetcar service along King St. in an attempt to shorten commutes and reduce the number of short turns riders face.

Starting Oct. 7, the 504 King streetcar will run as the 504A between Dundas West station and Distillery, and as the 504B between Broadview station and Dufferin Gate. The 514 Cherry route will be discontinued. It will be serviced by the new 504A King route.

The 514 Cherry route will be discontinued. It will be serviced by the new 504A King route.

The changes are not part of the King St. pilot project but in part stem from lessons learned from the project, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said. For instance, construction-related route closures during the summer meant the 504 was rerouted quite often and shorter routes were created.

“We found that the travel times on those shorter branches of the routes were far more efficient and reliable in terms of scheduled service,” he said.

Currently, delays at any point on the line will impact service across the entire line. With the route changes, the need for short turns is less likely to affect service throughout the entire route.

Streetcars will come every 2-3 minutes during the morning rush hour. From end to end, the 504A will take 108 minutes, and the 504B will take 98 minutes. The current 504 route takes 122 minutes.