TTC swapping 510 Spadina streetcars for buses until December

Buses will replace the 510 Spadina Streetcar until December, the TTC says. (David Donnelly/CBC - image credit)

Riders on one of Toronto's busiest streetcar routes will instead be boarding buses for the next several months.

In a news release issued this week, the TTC announced that starting on June 23, the 510 Spadina Streetcar will be replaced with buses for track repairs and for the "modernization" of overhead power lines. The change will be in effect until December.

"I know many people rely on the Spadina streetcar and construction can be challenging. This is important work that will ensure a safe and reliable TTC service for many years to come," Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement.

The TTC said workers will be upgrading the overhead electrical system along the streetcar right-of-way between King Street and Queens Quay, and from College Street to Spadina Station.

Track work will take place at Spadina Station, alongside enabling "future platform extension."

The transit agency said that effective June 23, buses will replace the 510 streetcar going both ways on Spadina between Spadina Station and Queens Quay W.

There will be no 510 streetcar service to or from Union Station, so riders heading to or leaving the city's central transit hub will be able to transfer between replacement buses and 509 Harbourfront streetcars at Queens Quay W.

The TTC also said it will increase 509 streetcar service.

"The modernization of the overhead power network on Spadina Ave. is part of our commitment to ensuring a safe and reliable transit system for all TTC riders," said TTC Chair Jamaal Myers in a statement.

"While temporary bus replacements may cause inconvenience, dedicated TTC teams will be working hard to ensure the upgrades are finished on time or ahead of schedule by the end of this year."