TTC confirms Line 3 Scarborough RT will permanently shut down on Nov. 19
Posted June 22, 2023 11:11 am.
Last Updated June 22, 2023 6:32 pm.
After years of discussion and debate, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has confirmed the Line 3 Scarborough RT will be closed for good as of Nov. 19.
TTC staff installed signage at various spots along the six-stop rapid transit line in recent days while noting replacement bus service will be in place until 2030, which is the estimated time when the three-stop Line 2 subway extension to McCowan Road and Sheppard Avenue East will open.
For the past two years, TTC staff said their aim was to shutter the RT sometime in 2023. The recommendation to close the 38-year-old line was attributed to increasing difficulty maintaining the trains and the associated systems.
Beginning on Nov. 19, shuttle buses will operate northbound on Kennedy Road and east on Ellesmere Road to Scarborough Town Centre, while southbound buses would go west on Ellesmere Road and south on Midland Avenue until the subway extension construction is completed. Changes are being made at Scarborough Centre station to facilitate the increase in buses.
RELATED: TTC board approves shutting down Scarborough RT in 2023
TTC staff also recommended converting the existing Line 3 Scarborough RT corridor between Kennedy and Ellesmere stations into a busway in an effort to help speed up trip times.
There would be stops at Tara Avenue (halfway between Eglinton Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue East), Lawrence Avenue East and Ellesmere Road. Buses would then head east along Ellesmere Road and north on Brimley Road before ending at Scarborough Town Centre.
A 2022 report to the transit agency’s board said the project could be finished by 2025. It was estimated to cost $49.5 million to remove the tracks and related infrastructure, construct a road and add passenger amenities.
However, full funding to build the busway still hasn’t been confirmed.
In 2022, TTC staff said discussions were underway with the City of Toronto on ways to potentially reuse the rest of the Line 3 Scarborough RT infrastructure.
