505 Dundas

505 Dundas
A westbound 505 Dundas streetcar at the intersection of Dundas and Dufferin Street
Overview
Locale	Toronto, Ontario
Termini	Broadview station (east) Dundas West station (west)
Stations	Dundas, St. Patrick, Dundas West, Broadview
Service
Type	Streetcar route
Route number	505
Operator(s)	Toronto Transit Commission
Depot(s)	Leslie Barns[1]
Rolling stock	Flexity Outlook
Daily ridership	32,410 (2014)[2]
Technical
Line length	10.92 km (6.79 mi)[1]
Track gauge	4 ft 10+7⁄8 in (1,495 mm)
Electrification	600 V DC overhead
Route map Legend Transfer stop Intermediate stop Route: Connection  00  Terminus  00  Bloor–Danforth to Kipling Station Dundas West Station  40   168   504  Edna Avenue Bloor Street  504  Roncesvalles Avenue 504 to Broadview Station  504  ↓ Howard Park Avenue/Morrow Avenue ↑ 506 to High Park  506  Sorauren Avenue Metrolinx Galt Subdivision Metrolinx Weston Subdivision Sterling Road Metrolinx Newmarket Subdivision College Street 506 to Main Station Lansdowne Avenue  47  Brock Avenue Sheridan Avenue Dufferin Street  29   929  Gladstone Avenue ↓ Lisgar Street/Rusholme Road ↑ Dovercourt Road Ossington Avenue  63  Shaw Street Grace Street Manning Avenue Bathurst Street  145   511  Denison Avenue Spadina Avenue  510  Huron Street Beverley Street McCaul Street University Avenue - St. Patrick Station  142  Chestnut Street Bay Street  6  Yonge Street - Dundas Station  97  Church Street Jarvis Street  141  Sherbourne Street  75  Ontario Street Parliament Street  65  Sackville Street Sumach Street River Street Metrolinx Bala Subdivision Don River Don Valley Parkway Munro Street 504 to Dundas West Station Dundas Street & Broadview Avenue  504  Mt. Stephen Street Gerrard Street East  506  Jack Layton Way - Bridgepoint Active Healthcare Langley Avenue Withrow Avenue Millbrook Crescent Wolfrey Avenue Broadview Avenue Broadview Station  8   62   87   100   504  Bloor–Danforth to Kennedy Station This diagram: view talk

The 505 Dundas is a streetcar route run by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The route is roughly U-shaped running mainly along Dundas Street between Dundas West and Broadview stations along subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth.

Route[]

The route starts at Dundas West station on subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth and goes south along Dundas Street West. The street curves southeast and passes Howard Park. Here it briefly merges with the 506 Carlton line as it passes over a bridge for the main Canadian National Railways line that runs down to Union Station. To the east of the bridge past Lansdowne Avenue it continues on its own again in a roughly south-east direction before turning eastward at Ossington Avenue. Downtown, the route passes subway Line 1 Yonge–University at two stations: St. Patrick station at University Avenue and Dundas station at Yonge Street. It continues east towards Broadview Avenue where it turns north and merges with the 504 King streetcar line. Both streetcar routes end their journey at Broadview station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth.

The route operates seven days a week from early morning to after midnight. During weekday rush hours, day time and early evenings, average service frequency is 5–7 minutes. Saturday daytime services have an average frequency of 5–7 minutes with Sunday daytime service frequency averaging 6–8 minutes.

History[]

Just prior to 1966, the east and west ends of Dundas Street were covered by separate streetcar routes. Dundas Street West was served by the pre-1966 Dundas streetcar route running from the Runnymede Loop at Runnymede Road to the City Hall Loop south of Bay and Dundas streets. Dundas Street East was served by part of the now-defunct Harbord streetcar line between Broadview Avenue and Spadina Avenue. The two routes overlapped between Bay Street and Spadina Avenue.^[3]

When subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth opened in 1966, the Harbord streetcar route was abandoned, and the Dundas streetcar route was extended eastward onto Dundas Street East and then north on Broadview Avenue to terminate at Broadview station.^[4] At the west end of the line, the Dundas streetcar still operated to the Runnymede Loop passing through Dundas West station in both directions. There was still a branch to the City Hall Loop where every second eastbound Dundas streetcar used to terminate and turn back.^[5]

In 1968, the section of the Dundas streetcar line between Dundas West station and the Runnymede Loop was replaced by the 40 Junction bus.^[5] Now, except for the branch to the City Hall Loop, the Dundas route became the same as today's 505 Dundas route.

On January 6, 1975, the City Hall Loop was closed due to construction of the Eaton Centre. Any downtown short-turning of eastbound Dundas streetcars was around an on-street loop: south on Church Street, west on Queen Street, north on Victoria Street then west on Dundas Street.^[5]

On February 18, 2018, the route began being operated with buses instead of streetcars due to a streetcar shortage^[6] and to reassign streetcars in order to address crowding on other routes.^[7] Streetcar service was originally expected to return on March 29, 2020, but was delayed to complete upgrades to the overhead infrastructure for pantograph operation.^[8][9] On April 20, 2020, Flexity Outlook streetcars went into service on 505 Dundas on the same day that streetcars were withdrawn from 511 Bathurst due to construction projects.^[10]

Following controversy over the namesake of Dundas Street, Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, who delayed the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade,^[11] Toronto City Council voted in 2021 to rename Dundas Street and other civic assets named after Dundas – including the 505 Dundas streetcar route.^[12] A new name will be chosen in April 2022.^[12]

Sites along the line[]

From west to east:

• Kensington Market
• Chinatown at Spadina Avenue
• Art Gallery of Ontario
• Yonge–Dundas Square and Toronto Eaton Centre
• East Chinatown at Gerrard Street

See also[]

• Toronto streetcar system
• Toronto Transit Commission

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 505 Dundas.

Route map:

• Toronto Transit Commission official site
• TTC route page for 505 Dundas
• 505 Dundas Route (Transit Toronto)
• Bow, James. "Route 505 - The Dundas Streetcar". Transit Toronto.