The TTC Just Proposed That It Will Be Closed More Weekends Than It Will Be Opened In 2020

If commuting is a big part of your day-to-day life, you might want to ask for a bike for Christmas. The TTC revealed this Thursday that it is pushing for more subway closures in 2020, how many you ask? A lot more. The transit agency's reasoning is that the work on the Ellington-Crosstown LRT and the new automated train control system are far too complex to accomplish during the limited hours that the subway shuts down overnight.

The report, which according to iHeartRadio, still needs approval, recommends 34 full weekend closures on parts of the system in 2020.

Global News reported that TTC staff recommended moving forward with 34 full weekend closures, 18 single-day closures, eight late-Sunday openings, and 106 early weeknight closures.

The closures will be spread out across various months throughout the year, with the exceptions of July, August, and December.

To put things into a better perspective, the total number of full weekend closures in 2019 was just 31 with six single-day closures, eight late openings, and 28 weeks of early night closures.

However, TTC staff members did point out that several of those closures were cancelled or pushed back to 2020.

As for its plan to accommodate for the closures, the TTC noted that they would continue to use shuttle buses along subway routes.

It will also employ paid-duty police officers to ensure buses make it through significant intersections with relative ease.

However, staff did note that “shuttle services cannot fully duplicate the carrying capacity of subway trains.”

"We know that weekend closures and bus replacement can be inconvenient for our customers, but much of this work is essential to accommodating Eglinton Crosstown construction and installation of our new signalling system, both of which will bring better public transit in the long run," Stuart Green, TTC spokesperson, told Narcity. 

The TTC experienced significant delays earlier this week after a fire broke out at Dundas West station.

Passengers were forced to evacuate through the tunnels, and service on the line was cancelled, which resulted in massive lineups for shuttle buses as fire services attempted to get the flames under control.

The flames were reported to be about 50 feet from the westbound platform in the Dundas West track.

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