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Form Revised: September 1999
 
  TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION

 REPORT NO.

 

 

 

MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 13, 2006

 

 

SUBJECT:  REVISED WEEKEND SUBWAY SERVICE, FEBRUARY 18 TO MARCH 31, 2007

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

It is recommended that the Commission:

 

1.       Receive this report for information, noting that a revised subway service, as described below, will be operated on the 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway on Saturdays and Sundays from February 18 to March 31, 2007, in order to permit necessary tunnel repairs; and

 

2.       Forward this report to the City of Toronto and all City Councillors, GO Transit, York Region Transit, Mississauga Transit, Durham Region Transit, and the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.

 

 

FUNDING

 

This report has no effect on the TTC’s operating or capital budgets.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

Revised weekend subway service must be operated on Saturdays and Sundays from February 18 to March 31, 2007, to permit necessary major structural repairs to the Bloor-Danforth Subway tunnel roof between St. George and Bay stations. This work, part of the capital budget Bridges/Structure Maintenance Program, involves the demolition of the existing severely-deteriorated tunnel roof at the point where the subway passes under the Park Hyatt Toronto Hotel. The work requires the use of specialized demolition equipment inside the subway tunnels for three weekends, and other related preparatory and clean-up work on the remaining weekends. The tunnels must be removed from service during all of this work.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The revised service has been designed to minimize inconvenience to customers, maintain as much of the normal subway service pattern as possible, and avoid the use of shuttle buses.

 

Saturday and Sunday service on the 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway will be split into two separate services, and will be extended onto the University Subway to terminate at Museum Station. Service will be provided between Kipling Station and Museum Station, and between Kennedy Station and Museum Station. Customers making a through-journey between the east and west portions of the 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway will have to transfer at Museum Station, which has a centre platform and thus allows easy cross-platform transfers. There will be no change to the route of the 1 Yonge-University-Spadina Subway. The attached map shows the revised service.

 

Bay Station will be closed entirely, and 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway trains will not stop at the station. Customers will have to walk to Bloor-Yonge Station or to Museum Station. The walk to Bloor-Yonge Station can be made entirely inside from Bay Street, by way of the PATH walkway through adjacent commercial properties.

 

The lower level of St. George Station will be closed, and 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway trains will serve the upper level of St. George Station, the same platform used by trains on the 1 Yonge-University-Spadina Subway.

 

Trains on both the 1 Yonge-University-Spadina Subway and 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway will be scheduled to operate every six minutes on Saturdays and Sundays, instead of the usual four- to five-minute service. This is necessary in order to allow the operation of an evenly-spaced service over the short section of the University Subway where the two routes will share the same tracks. Some delays to trains are possible, however, and additional staff resources will be used to manage the service and to provide information to customers.

 

This revised service will operate on a total of six Saturdays (February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31) and six Sundays (February 18, 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25). Regular service will resume on Sunday, April 1, 2007. There will be no change to service from Mondays to Fridays, which will continue to operate normally.

 

This revised service is possible because of existing underground track connections between the University Subway and the east and west portions of the Bloor-Danforth Subway. This track connection, or “wye”, was briefly used for passenger service in 1966, and since then, has been in regular use by work trains and not-in-service trains. The wye happens to be located in just the right position to allow trains to avoid the section of tunnel that must be closed for this project. At most other locations on the subway system, the flexibility provided by an alternative routing does not exist.

SUMMARY

 

Revised weekend subway service is necessary because of essential repair work to the subway tunnels. The service that will be operated will minimize the inconvenience to customers.

 

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November 28, 2006

11-55-57

Attachment: Map