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510 Spadina

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510 Spadina
Flexity Outlook streetcar on Spadina Avenue
Overview
LocaleToronto, Ontario
Termini
Stations Spadina
Union
WebsiteOfficial route page
Service
TypeStreetcar route
SystemToronto streetcar system
Route number510 (310 overnight)
Operator(s)Toronto Transit Commission
Depot(s)Leslie Barns
Rolling stockFlexity Outlook
Daily ridership31,487 (2022, weekdays)[1]
Technical
Line length5.4 km (3.36 mi)[2]
Track gauge4 ft 10+78 in (1,495 mm)
Electrification600 V DC overhead
Route map

Route: Connection  00  Terminus  00 
Spadina station
Sussex Avenue
Harbord Street
Willcocks Street
College Street
 506 
Nassau Street
Dundas Street West
 505 
Sullivan Street
Queen Street West
 501 
Richmond Street West
Adelaide Street West
Charlotte Street
King Street West
 504 
Front Street West
CN Oakville sub.
CP MacTier sub.
Bremner Boulevard
Queens Quay Loop
Lower Spadina Avenue
 509 
Rees Street
Harbourfront Centre
Queens Quay station
Toronto Island ferries
Union
 509 
Union Station
Amtrak

510 Spadina (310 Spadina during overnight periods) is a Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The line started operating in 1990 and was extended in 1997; overnight service was reinstated in 2015.

History

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Earlier routes

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A double-ended streetcar on the original Spadina line, beside the Spadina Hotel on King Street

Streetcar service on Spadina Avenue began in 1878 as a horsecar line operated by the Toronto Street Railway. In 1891, the Toronto Railway Company created a route called the Belt Line that ran as a loop along Spadina Avenue, Bloor Street, Sherbourne Street, and King Street.[3] In 1923, the Toronto Transportation Commission reconfigured the streetcar network, discontinuing the Belt Line and creating Spadina as a separate streetcar route. The Spadina route operated until 1948, when it was replaced by buses.[4] The tracks on Spadina between Dundas Street and Harbord Street were used by the Harbord streetcar route until its discontinuation in 1966,[4] after which, only the tracks between King and College streets were retained for diversions along Spadina Avenue.[5]

Modern route

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A CLRV car travels south on Spadina, south of College Street

The modern 510 Spadina route began as the 604 Harbourfront LRT route along Queens Quay in 1990, using CLRV and ALRV streetcars. The route was later renamed the 510 Harbourfront. It became the 510 Spadina and replaced the 77 Spadina bus when a new dedicated right-of-way was opened in 1997. The right-of-way extended the track north along Spadina Avenue from Queens Quay to Spadina station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth.

The term "light-rail transit" (LRT), which had been adopted to project an image of modernity, was dropped when it led to residents and newspaper reporters imagining elevated guideways like those of the Scarborough RT running through their streets. It was found that the project was much easier to sell to the public and politicians when it was described as an improvement to the speed and reliability of traditional streetcar service.

In 2000, when the Queens Quay streetcar tracks were extended west to Bathurst and Fleet Streets, the name Harbourfront reappeared for a 509 Harbourfront route between Union station and Exhibition Loop. The 509 and 510 routes share the trackage that had been used by the 604.

A CLRV streetcar on a winter day on the 510 Spadina line

In 2005, The Globe and Mail newspaper published an article that criticized the switch to a dedicated right-of-way streetcar as being less beneficial than promised. Based on TTC documents, the author argued that service is about one minute slower (from Queens Quay to Bloor) during afternoon rush hour than in 1990. The author also cited TTC documents which show that the cost-to-revenue ratio of the route has fallen with the switch from buses to streetcars.[6] Mitch Stambler, the TTC's manager of service planning, responded by pointing out that streetcars offer a smoother and quieter ride, zero emissions, and economic development.[6]

Ridership increased from 26,000 per day on the 77 bus route to 35,000 per day on the Spadina streetcar in 2004 and to over 45,000 per day between 2005 and 2006.[7] Streetcars on the Spadina portion run every 2 to 3 minutes every day.

On December 15, 2008, the next vehicle arrival notification system was installed for the 510 streetcar in Spadina and Union stations. The next vehicle arrival notification system includes a display screen that shows the location of the streetcars in "real" time with a delay of one minute.[8]

On June 18, 2012, all streetcar service on the line was suspended and replaced by buses.[9] This was to allow major track work to be completed in preparation for the TTC's new low-floor Bombardier Transportation custom-made Flexity Outlook streetcars which were scheduled to enter service on the Spadina line in 2014.[10] The upgrades were completed and full streetcar service was restored two years later on August 31, 2014, including a ceremony at 10:00 am when the first two accessible low-floor Flexity vehicles officially entered revenue service.[11]

On September 6, 2015, after a 13-year absence, the TTC reinstated its overnight service on this route. The night service was designated first as 317 Spadina (based on the overnight equivalent from the 77 Spadina bus era) before being renumbered 310 Spadina on September 3, 2017 (to better align with the current overnight equivalent of the 510 Spadina line), and was part of the expanded Blue Night Network streetcar services resulting from a $95 million investment from Toronto City Council. During overnight periods, streetcars operate approximately every 30 minutes. The TTC had operated an overnight service using buses on Spadina from 1987 until 1992 when it was discontinued due to a series of cutbacks in TTC service.

On May 14, 2018, 510 Spadina became the second streetcar route in Toronto (after 509 Harbourfront) to use a pantograph instead of the trolley pole for electrical pickup.[12]

On May 10, 2021, service was shortened to operate along Spadina Avenue from Spadina station to Queens Quay and Spadina only, to allow for an increase of service along the line. However, the 310 Spadina Blue Night service remains unchanged and continues to operate from Spadina station to Union station.[13] On September 5, 2021, service to Union station resumed.[14]

Route

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Ramp to Queens Quay, connecting underground and surface sections

510 streetcars operate entirely within dedicated streetcar rights-of-way, along Spadina Avenue, Queens Quay Boulevard and in a tunnel under Bay Street. Most stops along the routes are surface stops, with islands separating the regular traffic from the streetcar tracks, and have streetcar traffic signals, partial shelters, and railings to protect patrons from the traffic. Streetcars serve Union and Spadina subway stations from underground streetcar stations, and an additional underground streetcar station exists at Queens Quay on the approach to Union station. As of November 21, 2021, the 510 Spadina route operates as three branches:[15]

Route 310 Spadina runs overnight between Spadina and Union stations, replacing the 510 Spadina service. It is part of the TTC's Blue Night Network, operating from approximately 1 am to 5 am.[2]

Stop list

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A Flexity Outlook on the 510 Spadina route northbound at Dundas Street
Stop Type Connections Nearby points of interest
Spadina station Underground station
  •  127 
Sussex Ave Surface stop
Harbord St Surface stop  94  University of Toronto
Willcocks St Surface stop
College St Surface stop  506 
Nassau St Surface stop Kensington Market
Dundas St Surface stop  505  Chinatown
Sullivan St Surface stop
Queen St Surface stop  501 
Richmond St Surface stop
(northbound only)
King St Surface stop  504  Fashion District
Front St Surface stop
Bremner Blvd Surface stop Rogers Centre
Queens Quay Blvd Surface stop  509 
Rees St Surface stop  509  CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium
Harbourfront Centre Surface stop  509  Harbourfront Centre
Queens Quay Underground station  509  Jack Layton Ferry Terminal
Union station Underground station
Scotiabank Arena, CIBC Square

References

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  1. ^ "Weekday boardings and service information for surface routes (bus and streetcar), 2022" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "TTC Service Summary November 21, 2021 to January 1, 2022" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Filey, Mike (1997). The TTC Story: The First Seventy-five Years. Dundurn Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 9781770700796. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Bromley, John F.; May, Jack (1973). 50 Years of Progressive Transit. Electric Railroaders' Association. pp. 37, 74, 107, and map section.
  5. ^ Bromley, John F (October 15, 1966). "Toronto Track Diagram (1966)". Transit Toronto. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Wickens, Stephen (May 7, 2005). "Rapid Transit? Not on Spadina".
  7. ^ http://www.lightrailnow.org/news/n_newslog001.htm, http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/pdf/ridership_cost_stats_bus_streetcar_05_06.pdf
  8. ^ TTC launches next vehicle arrival notification pilot project Archived December 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Mackenzie, Robert (June 13, 2012). ""Get on the bus, the Spadina bus"..." Transit Toronto. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  10. ^ Kalinowski, Tess (June 18, 2013). "TTC announces Spadina as first line for new streetcars". Thestar.com. Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  11. ^ Munro, Steve (September 5, 2014). "Flexities Debut on Spadina". Transit & Politics. WordPress. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  12. ^ O'Neil, Lauren (May 15, 2018). "The TTC is rolling out a new type of streetcar technology". blogTO. Retrieved May 18, 2018. Pantograph on Spadina, @bradTTC/@TTCStuart ... 1:15 PM - May 14, 2018 · 1 Spadina Crescent
  13. ^ "510 Spadina – Service Change". www.ttc.ca. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Munro, Steve (August 15, 2021). "TTC Service Changes: September 5, 2021". WordPress. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  15. ^ "510 Spadina: Route Information". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
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