Toronto streetcar system loops

Current loops

Loops have various shapes according to the space available. For example, the "loop" track may actually be mostly straight, using on-street trackage to complete the looping motion (as at Bingham Loop or Oakwood Loop), or there may be a single sharp curve through almost three-quarters of a circle (as at Union Station Loop or Wolseley Loop).

Some loops consist only of a single track and are blocked when occupied by a stopped streetcar. Others have a side track or dead-end "tail track" where a streetcar can wait, or a track that allows a streetcar on the loop to make a complete circle (or equivalent) and reenter the loop.

Bathurst Station Loop

Anticlockwise loop, northern terminus of the 511 Bathurst route, on the east side of Bathurst St. north of Bloor St. The tracks continue north of the station to connect to the Hillcrest Complex and St. Clair Ave. Streetcars can enter or leave the station from/onto Bathurst either northbound or southbound.

Broadview Station Loop

Anticlockwise loop, eastern terminus of the 504 King and 505 Dundas routes, on the east side of Broadview Ave. north of Danforth Ave. The loop track splits into two, one for each route. All streetcars enter the station from Broadview northbound, and exit onto Erindale Ave. westbound, leading to Broadview southbound.

Dundas West Station Loop

Clockwise loop, western terminus of the 504 King and 505 Dundas routes, on the west (nominally south) side of Dundas St. north of Bloor St. The loop track splits into two, one for each route. All streetcars enter the station from Dundas northbound (nominally westbound), and exit onto Edna Ave. eastbound, leading to Dundas southbound.

Main Street Station Loop

Clockwise loop, eastern terminus of the 506 Carlton route, on the east side of Main St. north of Danforth Ave. All streetcars enter the station from Main northbound, and exit onto Main southbound.

Spadina Station Loop

Anticlockwise underground loop, northern terminus of the 510 Spadina route, on the east side of Spadina Rd. north of Bloor St. A tunnel runs from Spadina Ave. and Washington Ave. to the station. All streetcars enter the tunnel northbound on Spadina, turn eastbound under Bloor, northbound under Madison Ave., and westbound into the station; they exit southbound under Spadina Rd. and Ave.

St. Clair Station Loop

Anticlockwise loop, eastern terminus of the 512 St. Clair route, on the south side of St. Clair Ave. east of Yonge St. All streetcars enter the station from St. Clair eastbound, and exit onto St. Clair westbound.

St. Clair West Station Loop

Clockwise underground loop, an intermediate stop and possible turnback point on the 512 St. Clair route, on the north side of St. Clair Ave. two blocks east of Bathurst St. There are separate eastbound and westbound loading stops on the same loop track. A tunnel runs under St. Clair from Wells Hill Ave. halfway to Tweedsmuir Ave. Streetcars can enter or leave the station from/into this tunnel either eastbound or westbound.

Union Station Loop

Anticlockwise underground loop, eastern terminus of the 509 Harbourfront and southern terminus of the 510 Spadina route. A tunnel runs under Bay St. from Queens Quay station. All streetcars enter the station from the tunnel northbound and exit into the tunnel southbound.

Roncesvalles Loop

Clockwise loop through the Roncesvalles Carhouse trackage, at Roncesvalles Ave. and the Queensway, 43°38′21.5″N 79°26′48.0″W, a possible turnback point for westbound 501 Queen and for 504 King in either direction. Streetcars on King or Queen westbound or Roncesvalles southbound can run onto the Queensway westbound, then turn northbound to enter the loop. They can exit the loop onto Roncesvalles Ave. northbound or southbound, with the latter leading onto the Queensway westbound or King or Queen eastbound.

No passenger access, no use by buses.

Bingham Loop

Anticlockwise loop northwest of Kingston Road and Victoria Park Avenue, eastern terminus for 502 Downtowner and 503 Kingston Road streetcars. Prior to summer 2013, it had the possibility for operators to loop-the-loop. Westbound 12 Kingston Road buses enter the loop as an intermediate stop, and when the streetcars are not running, 22A Coxwell or 322 Coxwell Blue Night buses use it as a terminus.

Distillery Loop

Anticlockwise loop, southern terminus of the 514 Cherry route, on the east side of Cherry St. opposite Distillery Lane in the Distillery District. The Distillery Loop is at the southern end of the Cherry Street streetcar line, which has a junction with the King Street line at its northern end. With the junction, the Distillery Loop can turn cars coming from either direction along King Street. The loop opened on June 19, 2016.

Dufferin Gate Loop

Anticlockwise loop northwest of Dufferin Street and the Gardiner Expressway, with it possible to loop-the-loop. During the Canadian National Exhibition this loop is an access to the west end of Exhibition Place via the Dufferin Gates, and is the terminus of the 514 Cherry streetcars.

Earlscourt Loop

Clockwise loop southwest of St. Clair Ave. and Lansdowne Ave., 43°40′32.5″N 79°27′03.4″W, possible turnback point for westbound 512 St. Clair streetcars and former terminus for 512L St. Clair streetcars. Streetcars from St. Clair in either direction can turn southbound on Lansdowne to enter the loop, and exit onto St. Clair eastbound.

A cabin is provided for drivers. Northbound 47A Lansdowne buses use the loop as a regularly scheduled turnback point.

Exhibition Loop

Anticlockwise loop northeast of Manitoba Dr. and Nova Scotia Ave., western terminus of the 509 Harbourfront and southern terminus of the 511 Bathurst route. Private right-of-way runs along the north side of Manitoba from Fleet St. at Strachan Ave. to the loop. From Fleet westbound, all streetcars continue west along the private right-of-way to the loop, where they cross north under the elevated Gardiner Expressway, run west, and cross back south under the expressway before returning eastbound to Fleet.

During the Ex, this loop is an access to Exhibition Place and is operated as a fare-paid area with ticket booths and turnstiles. At other times these are closed and it is operated as an ordinary stop. Storage tracks are provided so that extra streetcars can be rapidly dispatched for peak traffic, as well as a passing track allowing the two routes to have separate stopping points without conflict.

Exhibition GO Station is adjacent to the loop. Overnight the 307 Bathurst Blue Night and 363 Ossington Blue Night buses use the loop as their southern terminus.

The loop opened in 1996, replacing a previous Exhibition Loop that could not be used by buses and was on land about to be redeveloped.

Fleet Loop

Anticlockwise loop on the south side of Fleet Street west of Bathurst Street, in the angle with Lake Shore Blvd., and surrounding the Queen's Wharf Lighthouse. There is no passenger access and no bus access.

Gunns Loop

Anticlockwise loop northwest of St. Clair Avenue and at Gunns Road, western terminus for the 512 St. Clair route. All streetcars westbound on St. Clair turn northbound on Gunns, enter the loop westbound, and exit onto St. Clair eastbound.

High Park Loop

Anticlockwise loop west of Parkside Drive, opposite Howard Park Avenue, on the east edge of High Park, which is the western terminus for the 506 Carlton route. All streetcars enter the loop from Howard Park westbound and exit onto Howard Park eastbound.

Humber Loop

Anticlockwise loop forming a short-turn point for the 501 Queen route, located south of The Queensway, just west of the Humber River. The loop is on a section of a private right-of-way that connects tracks on the Queensway to the east and Lake Shore Blvd. to the west; streetcars can enter it from the private right-of-way westbound and turn back eastbound.

Kipling Loop

Anticlockwise loop on the west side of Kipling Ave., north of Lake Shore Blvd., 43°35′55.8″N 79°31′03.3″W, a possible turnback point for westbound 501 Queen streetcars. Streetcars can turn from Lake Shore either eastbound or westbound onto Kipling northbound to enter the loop, and exit onto Kipling southbound, leading to Lake Shore eastbound. The loop was once known as New Toronto Loop.

No bus access in this loop although the 44 Kipling South previously looped until it was extended to the former Lakeshore Asylum. The loop is used by the 145 Humber Bay Express, however.

Long Branch Loop

Anticlockwise loop northwest of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Brown's Line is the western terminus for 501 Queen routes.

McCaul Loop

Anticlockwise loop northeast of McCaul Street and Stephanie Street, western terminus of the 502 Downtowner and a turnback point for the 501 Queen in either direction. Streetcars both ways on Queen can turn north onto McCaul and then can turn into the loop, exiting onto McCaul southbound to return to Queen either eastbound or westbound. The loop was originally in the open air, but was covered when the Village by the Grange mixed-use development was built over it in 1976.

Neville Park Loop

Anticlockwise loop southwest of Queen Street east and Nursewood Road eastern terminus of the 501 Queen route. All streetcars enter the loop from Queen eastbound and exit onto Nursewood northbound to return to Queen westbound. No passenger access. Eastern terminus of 143 Downtown/Beach Express buses.

Oakwood Loop

Anticlockwise loop northeast of St. Clair Ave. and Oakwood Ave., 43°40′50.2″N 79°26′07.8″W, a possible turnback point for route 512 St. Clair in either direction. Streetcars either eastbound or westbound on St. Clair can turn northbound onto Robina Ave., then westbound to enter the loop, exiting onto Oakwood Ave. southbound to return to St. Clair either eastbound or westbound.

No passenger access. Northern terminus of 63B Ossington buses.

Queen–Coxwell Loop

Clockwise loop northeast of Queen St. and Coxwell Ave., 43°40′00.4″N 79°18′59.1″W, a possible turnback point for route 506 Carlton in either direction. Streetcars either eastbound or westbound on Gerrard St. can turn southbound on Coxwell to reach the loop, then eastbound to enter the loop, exiting onto Queen westbound to return to Coxwell northbound and turn eastbound or westbound onto Gerrard. The loop exit track briefly overlaps the westbound track on Queen but does not connect with it, leading only onto Coxwell northbound.

No passenger access. This loop is not currently used by buses, although up to the mid-1980s, it was the southern terminus of the Coxwell 22 bus line.

Queens Quay and Spadina Loop

Anticlockwise loop northeast of Queens Quay and Spadina Ave (entering from the east side of 410 Queens Quay)., 43°38′18.5″N 79°23′28.5″W, a possible turnback point for 509 Harbourfront or 510 Spadina streetcars in either direction. Streetcars southbound on Spadina can turn eastbound on Queens Quay to reach the loop; streetcars eastbound or westbound on Queens Quay can turn northbound into the loop. Streetcars exiting the loop can turn northbound on Spadina, or southbound on Spadina to reach Queens Quay eastbound or westbound. Although not currently used by buses, this loop was the terminus for the former route 77 Spadina bus until 1997. The loop was demolished in 2013 and finished rebuilt in 2015 as part of the Queens Quay Revitalization Project.

Sunnyside Loop

Anticlockwise loop northeast of the Queensway and Sunnyside Avenue.43°38′20.0″N 79°26′53.5″W

Wolseley Loop

Anticlockwise loop northeast of Bathurst St. and Wolseley St., 43°38′53.8″N 79°24′14.6″W, a possible turnback point for westbound route 501 Queen streetcars, and routes 504 King in either direction, as well as an alternate western terminus for the 502 Downtowner route if McCaul Loop is unavailable. Streetcars eastbound or westbound on King St. or westbound on Queen St. can turn northbound on Bathurst, then can turn eastbound on Wolseley to enter the loop northbound, exiting onto Bathurst southbound to return to Queen St. eastbound or King St. eastbound or westbound.

rare bus access, however no passenger access. A cabin for drivers is provided.

Woodbine Loop

Clockwise loop northeast of Queen St. and Kingston Rd., 43°40′04.8″N 79°18′41.5″W, a possible turnback point for eastbound route 501 Queen and for 502 Downtowner and 503 Kingston Road in either direction. Streetcars eastbound on Queen can turn northeast (nominally east) onto Kingston Rd.; streetcars running northeast or southwest on Kingston Rd. can turn eastbound into the loop, exiting onto Queen westbound, and can then turn northeast from Queen onto Kingston Rd.

The name Woodbine refers not to Woodbine Ave., almost 500 metres to the east, but to the former Woodbine Race Course, which was once directly opposite the loop on the south side of Queen. The racetrack was renamed Greenwood Raceway after the New Woodbine Racetrack opened in another part of the city in 1957; Greenwood Raceway was demolished in 1994. Despite this, the "Woodbine Loop" name persists.

No bus access, no passenger access.

Named on-street loops

In addition to these named locations where a streetcar just runs around one or two city blocks to reverse, there are several places on the system where a longer loop around city streets is possible. The western terminus of the 503 Kingston Road, for example, is an on-street loop via Church St. southbound, Wellington St. westbound, York St. northbound, and King St. eastbound.

Charlotte Loop

Clockwise on-street loop via King St. westbound, Spadina Ave. northbound, Adelaide St. eastbound, and Charlotte St. southbound, 43°38′47″N 79°23′38″W, a possible turnback point for routes 504 King, and 510 Spadina in either direction. It is used regularly to short-turn southbound 510 Spadina streetcars. Streetcars can enter and exit the loop from/onto King eastbound or westbound and Spadina northbound or southbound.

College Loop

Anticlockwise on-street loop via Lansdowne Ave. northbound, College St. going southwest (nominally westbound), and Dundas St. going southeast (nominally eastbound), 43°39′02″N 79°26′23.4″W, a possible turnback point for routes 505 Dundas and 506 Carlton in either direction. Streetcars can enter and exit the loop from/onto either Dundas or College in either direction.

Future Loops

A loop near Park Lawn Road and Lake Shore Boulevard had also been proposed but the decision was made to remove it from the TTC budget until 2017-2019. A loop at or near Birchmount Road and Kingston Road (a resurrection of old Birchmount loop) has been proposed and funding allocated, however it has been deferred until 2018-2019. This loop is planned to service the significant increase in population due to redevelopment in the area, allow access to a large number of community centres, sports complexes and schools, and to ease high ridership on local bus routes. Preferred locations on the proposal are; Northeast corner of Birchmount Rd and Kingston Rd (across from where the old loop was located), east of Birchmount Park located in the "Y" of the intersection of Kingston Road and Glen Everest Road, or in the basketweave intersection of Danforth Avenue and Kingston Road

Former wyes

As an alternative to a loop, a streetcar can also be turned using a manoeuvre similar to a three-point turn, involving at least two switches and a suitable layout of connecting tracks. This can be done if necessary at any intersection or other track junction where suitable tracks exist, but the TTC also had a few wye tracks with no other purpose. There are none of these any more; the table shows some of the last ones to be removed.