After years of closing early for subway tunnel repairs, the TTC says the stretch of Line 1 between Eglinton and Finch stations will now operate at regular hours.

The subway closures, which ran from 12:30 a.m. to close from Sunday to Friday, began in June 2008 so workers could repair the subway tunnel's concrete liner. Late night commuters were forced to take a shuttle bus in place of the subway.

"While this critical project has inconvenienced our patient customers, the TTC is taking decisive action to do important repair and maintenance work that has been neglected for years in order to ensure we have reliable service for the future," said TTC Chair Josh Colle in a news release.

The TTC said the closures were necessary because the normal repair windows were insufficient.