Rapid transit in Canada

Rapid transit was first introduced in Canada with the opening of the Toronto subway in 1954, built by the Toronto Transportation Commission (now the Toronto Transit Commission, or the TTC).^[1] Montreal later introduced the Montreal Metro in 1966, though there were plans to build a rapid transit system since 1902.^[2] The Edmonton Light Rail Transit system was built from 1974 to 1978 for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. It made Edmonton the first city in North America with less than one million people to have a rapid transit system. Calgary followed shortly behind, beginning construction in 1978 on its light rail transit system, called the C-train, opening its first line in 1981, followed by additional lines in 1985 and 1987^[3](in time for the 1988 Winter Olympics). The Vancouver SkyTrain was opened in January 1986 for the Expo 86 world fair.^[4] On June 24, 2009, the regional council voted to approve a light rail line though Kitchener and Waterloo to be completed by 2014.

There are six urban rapid transit systems operating in Canada: The Montreal Metro, the Toronto Subway, the Vancouver SkyTrain, The C-Train in Calgary, the Edmonton Light Rail Transit and the O-Train in Ottawa.

See also

• Transportation in Canada

References