TTC subway closures planned for 2019

Yorkregion.com
April 5, 2019
Claire Floody

The TTC has released a report outlining the different types of subway closures planned for 2019.

The TTC currently implements four different types of subway closures.

Subway upgrade work has closed parts of the system on weekends for several years.

Weeknight Early Closure: A section of the line is closed early, at 11 p.m. on weeknights, Monday to Thursday.

One Day Weekend Closure: A section of the line is closed for one day from end of service the previous night to start of service the following morning.

Full Weekend Closure: A section of the line is closed for two days from end of service Friday night to start of service Monday morning. “One full weekend closure is equivalent to five weeks of night work,” the TTC said.

One Day Late Opening: A section of the line is closed, usually on a Sunday, for roughly four hours and regular scheduled service begins after 12 p.m.

For six days of the week the subway opens at 6 a.m. and on Sundays service starts at 8 a.m., with a closing time between 2 and 3 a.m. every night.

“These operating hours result in a small window of opportunity to carry out required maintenance work,” the TTC said in the report.

“Typically less than two hours of work can be achieved each night.”

Two major projects currently happening on Line 1 Yonge-University are the ATC Resignalling project and the Eglinton Crosstown project. They are the main reason for full weekend closures as the complexity involved in these projects doesn’t allow for work to be done during the regular nightly maintenance window.

The TTC also said that fewer passengers travel on weekends in comparison to weekdays, therefore weekend closures minimize the disruption.

For 2019, the TTC already has 73 closures planned.

Total of 31 Full Weekend Closures planned for 2019:
Line 1: 27
Line 2: 3
Line 3: 1

Total of six Single Day Closures planned for 2019:
Line 1: 2
Line 2: 2
Line 3: 2

Total of eight Late Sunday Openings planned for 2019:
Line 1: 2
Line 2: 6

Total of 28 Early Weeknight Closures planned for 2019:
Line 1: 21
Line 2: 7

Early weeknight closures will only be used from March to June and September to November to limit disruptions during the summer months.

For a full list of closure dates check out the TTC’s “Subway Closures -- 2018 Review and 2019 Forecast” report available on ttc.ca.

In 2018, there were 23 full weekend closures, three single day closures and six late openings.