Humber Loop


Humber Loop is a station and intermediate turning loop for streetcars on the 501 Queen line of the Toronto Transit Commission. It is located between the Gardiner Expressway and The Queensway just west of the Humber River in Toronto. The loop is accessed by a private right-of-way that connects tracks eastbound to The Queensway and westbound to Lake Shore Boulevard. The 501 streetcar is split here; higher capacity streetcars head east from here to Neville Park Loop, and shorter Canadian Light Rail Vehicle streetcars head west from here to Long Branch Loop.

History

Besides the current Humber Loop, there were two previous Humber loops. All three served different locations near the lower Humber River.

First Humber Loop

The first Humber Loop opened on July 26, 1922, along Lake Shore Road east of the Humber River at Jane Street. The loop was the terminus of a streetcar branch line that began at the intersection of Roncesvalles Avenue, King Street and Queen Street, crossed a bridge over the rail corridor and descended downhill through Sunnyside to the loop. At the first Humber Loop, riders could transfer to the Mimico radial line to continue westward to Long Branch and Port Credit.
By 1929, there was reduced traffic around the first Humber Loop, as streetcars of the Lake Shore streetcar route had replaced the radial cars to Long Branch, and most short-turns were handled by Parkside Loop at Parkside Drive further to the east. In 1931, the loop closed for rebuilding, reopening on July 29. The first Humber Loop closed permanently on September 12, 1939, in order to construct a ramp to the Queen Elizabeth Way which then ran to the Humber River.

Second Humber Loop

The second Humber Loop was opened on July 11, 1940, on the north side of then Lakeshore Road intersecting Queen Street. Initially, the second Humber Loop had one east-to-west loop. However, on July 1, 1954, a west-to-east loop was added to split streetcar service at the loop to accommodate a fare zone boundary. Riders had to change streetcars at Humber Loop to travel between downtown and Long Branch. The two loops were nestled between the east- and westbound through-tracks, and all tracks at the loop were located within a central reservation in the middle of Lake Shore Road.
Construction of the Gardiner Expressway required the demolition of the bridge over the railway corridor south of Roncesvalles Avenue. Thus, streetcar tracks from that bridge westwards up to and including the second Humber Loop had to be relocated. This resulted in the closure of the second Humber Loop and the opening of the third, current loop.

Current loop

Because of the construction of the Gardiner Expressway, streetcar tracks were relaid along The Queensway in a centre reservation to the current Humber Loop with a connection to Lake Shore Boulevard via a tunnel under the railway corridor and a highway. The third and current Humber Loop opened on July 20, 1957. Like the previous Humber Loop, the new loop was at a fare zone boundary requiring riders to change streetcars between the Long Branch route and the Queen route.
Between 1967 and early 1977, two-car multiple-unit PCC trains served the Queen streetcar route between Neville Park Loop and Humber Loop. To facilitate the uncoupling of a PCC train at Humber Loop, a passing siding was added to the east-to-west loop.
On January 1, 1973, the fare zone boundary at Humber Loop was eliminated, passengers could transfer between the Long Branch and Queen streetcars at Humber Loop without paying an extra fare.
On March 29, 1996, route 507 Long Branch was merged into 501 Queen, thus creating the longest streetcar line in North America running from Neville Park Loop to Long Branch Loop. It also eliminated the change of streetcars at Humber Loop. In 2012, a ride along the nearly 25-kilometre length of the line took 93 minutes.
On January 3, 2016, the 501 route was temporarily split into two sections at Humber Loop., the section west towards Long Branch Loop operates mainly with shorter Canadian Light Rail Vehicles, while the section east to Neville Park Loop operates using mostly low-floor accessible Flexity Outlook streetcars.
From January 8, 2017, streetcar service west of Roncesvalles Avenue was replaced by buses for about 15 months to accommodate various construction projects, including rebuilding the bridge carrying streetcar tracks over the Humber River. At Humber Loop, there were several construction tasks including replacing track and overhead, building a new substation, making platforms accessible to accommodate Flexity streetcars and replacing the passing siding on the west-to-east loop with a stub siding. On April 1, 2018, streetcars returned to operate between Sunnyside Loop and Humber Loop. On June 24, 2018, streetcar service between Humber Loop and Long Branch Loop returned with riders coming from the east being required to change streetcars at the loop.

Future

The TTC plans to relocate the loop to Park Lawn Road where it will better serve development growth in the Humber Bay Shores area. Although preliminary design work has been done, the project has not been funded due to reductions in the capital program.

Services

An enclosed waiting room is provided for passengers, as are separate facilities for operators. The main streetcar route is 501 Queen, which has frequent westbound short turns here at the Humber Loop. The only major change was the replacement of the old flat roof to the terminal building.
The loop is also the terminus for TTC bus routes 66A Prince Edward from Old Mill station while the 80 Queensway route from Sherway Gardens bypasses the loop going to Keele station.
Currently, 501 Queen service operates in two sections with a split at Humber Loop at most times of the day. Westbound 501 streetcars from Neville Park and eastbound from Long Branch turn back at this loop, requiring customers to transfer between the two sections. However, the TTC provides transfer-free service through Humber Loop for five trips during the morning peak period and for all trips in late evening and overnight.