The TTC is about to upgrade many of its busiest stations

Some of Toronto's busiest subway stations will soon be modernized as the TTC continues its Presto roll out across the system. While the paddle-style fare gates have already been installed at 44 stations, right now there remain 25 stations and 50 entrances that still rely on old school turnstiles.

For the remainder of the year, the TTC will focus on installing the new gates at these stations, many of which are from the early years of the subway in Toronto. 

The higher the traffic at a given station, the greater the benefit of the new fare gates to the flow of passengers in and out. When it's all said and done, the TTC will eventually do away with fare collectors altogether in favour of roaming customer service agents.

The bad news is that the installation of the new fare gates is going to result in some weekend and evening closures at downtown stations where there's not as much physical space to move riders during construction. 

All told, eight stations will be subject to a variety of closures to accommodate the modernization efforts. 

Dundas Station:
11 p.m. nightly, Sept. 10 to 14
Weekend closure from 11 p.m. Sept. 15 until 6 a.m. Sept. 18  
11 p.m. nightly, from Sept. 18 until the middle of October

King Station:
10 p.m. nightly, Sept. 19 to 23

Queen Station:
11 p.m. nightly, Oct. 18 and 19
Weekend closure from 11 p.m. Oct. 20 until 6 a.m. Oct. 23
11 p.m. nightly, Oct. 23 until the end of November

Museum Station:
10 p.m. nightly, Nov. 1-2 and 6-7

St Andrew Station:
Weekend closure from 10 p.m. Nov. 10 until 6 a.m. Nov. 13

College Station:
10 p.m. nightly, Nov. 14 to 16, and Nov. 20

Osgoode Station:
Weekend closure from 10 p.m. Nov. 17 until 6 a.m. Nov. 20

Queen's Park Station:
10 p.m. nightly, Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 11-12

New Presto fare gates might not be something to get wildly excited about, but it's all part of the TTC's ongoing quest to bring our transit system into the 21st century. The final fare gate roll out also signals that the system is creeping closer to full Presto capability. 

by Derek Flack via blogTO