Just as residents in one Toronto neighbourhood are celebrating the early return of their streetcar service after having to deal with replacement buses for 10 whole months, another part of the downtown core is bracing for a huge disruption to its streetcar line.

The TTC has just issued a notice to riders warning that the 510 Spadina streetcar, the key route running between Spadina Station and Union via Queens Quay, will be replaced at least in part by buses until the end of the year.

The reasoning is listed as overhead wiring upgrades in certain portions of the dedicated streetcar lane, along with "critical track renewal and enabling works" for the platform extension planned for Spadina Station so that it can finally accommodate more than one streetcar at a time.

Major service disruption on 510 Spadina: Bus-only for the rest of the year, between Queens Quay and Spadina Station
byu/demize95 inTTC

Work on the wiring will start as early as June 23 and will last through to the end of 2024, with buses running in the normal mixed traffic lanes and stopping curbside and at Spadina Station's street-level bus loop in lieu.

Starting on this date, 510 streetcar service will be replaced by buses between the station and Queens Quay, while buses will also take over 310 streetcar service for the whole route between Spadina and Union stations.

This will unfortunately likely mean longer transit trips and more traffic along already-bustling Spadina as the transit priority lane is taken out of commission.

One of the busiest North South streetcar route in the heart of downtown closed for 6 months.

Will buses run on the dedicated streetcar lanes or will they run alongside rest of the car traffic?

Hope dedicated bus lanes will be provided in every case. #TransitTO #TTC

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To expedite the construction, the TTC says work may be conducted throughout the week, day and night, though "additional local rail repairs may be scheduled along the Spadina right-of-way, and will be communicated."

More streetcars will be dispatched to the 509 Harbourfront streetcar to help those looking for an alternative route between Union Station and Spadina Avenue.

While there are already a fair share of complaints from those dreading the impacts of the work, some are expecting that buses could actually end up being a faster alternative to streetcars, even if they aren't in a dedicated lane.