Toronto streetcar system

Toronto streetcar system

Overview
Locale	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Transit type	Streetcar
Number of lines	10[1]
Number of stations	685 stops,[2] including 8 shared with the subway (all others but one are street-level stops)
Daily ridership	291,000 (avg. weekday, Q2 2014)[3]
Annual ridership	100,037,500 (2013)[4]
Operation
Began operation	1861 (electric lines since 1892)[1]
Operator(s)	Toronto Transit Commission
Character	Street running
Technical
System length	82 km (51 mi)[1][2]
Track gauge	4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm) Toronto gauge
Minimum radius of curvature	36 ft 0 in (10,973 mm)[5]
Electrification	Overhead lines, 600 V DC

The Toronto streetcar system comprises ten streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates to the 19th century. Most of Toronto's streetcar routes operate on street trackage shared with car traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses. Some routes operate wholly or partly within their own rights-of-way, and stop on demand at frequent stops.

There are underground connections between streetcars and the subway at St. Clair West, Spadina, and Union stations, and streetcars enter St. Clair, Dundas West, Bathurst, Broadview, and Main Street stations at street level. At the eight downtown stations, excepting Union, from Queen's Park to College on Line 1 Yonge–University, streetcars stop on the street outside the station entrances.

Toronto’s streetcars provide most of the downtown core’s surface transit service. Four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. In 2013, ridership on the streetcar system totalled more than 100 million.^[4]

History

Early history (1861–1945)

In 1861, the city of Toronto issued a thirty-year transit franchise (Resolution 14, By-law 353) for a horse-drawn street railway, after the Williams Omnibus Bus Line had become heavily loaded. Alexander Easton's Toronto Street Railway (TSR) opened the first street railway line in Canada on September 11, 1861, operating from Yorkville Town Hall to the St. Lawrence Market. At the end of the TSR franchise, the city ran the railway for eight months, but ended up granting a new thirty-year franchise to the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) in 1891. The TRC was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto. The first electric car ran on August 15, 1892, and the last horse car ran on August 31, 1894, to meet franchise requirements.

There came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms, for the city. By 1912, the city limits had extended significantly, with the annexation of communities to the north (1912: North Toronto) and the east (1908: Town of East Toronto) and the west (1909: the City of West Toronto—The Junction). After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the city created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways to do so, and built several routes. Repeated court battles forced the TRC to build new cars, but they were of old design. When the TRC franchise ended in 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was created, combining the city-operated Toronto Civic Railways lines into its new network.

The TTC began in 1921 as solely a streetcar operation, with the bulk of the routes acquired from the private TRC and merged with the publicly operated Toronto Civic Railways. In 1925, routes were operated on behalf of the Township of York (as Township of York Railway), but the TTC was contracted to operate them.

Abandonment plans (1945–1989)

After the Second World War, many cities across North America and Europe^[6] began to eliminate their streetcar systems in favour of buses. During the 1950s, the TTC continued to invest in streetcars and the TTC took advantage of other cities' streetcar removals by purchasing extra PCC cars from Cleveland, Birmingham, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.

In 1966, the TTC announced plans to eliminate all streetcar routes by 1980. Streetcars were considered out of date, and their elimination in almost all other cities made it hard to buy new vehicles and maintain the existing ones. Metro Toronto chair William Allen claimed in 1966 that "streetcars are as obsolete as the horse and buggy".^[7] Many streetcars were removed from service when Line 2 Bloor–Danforth opened in February 1966.

The plan to abolish the streetcar system was strongly opposed by many in the city, and a group named "Streetcars for Toronto" was formed to work against the plan. The group was led by professor Andrew Biemiller and transit advocate Steve Munro. It had the support of city councillors William Kilbourn and Paul Pickett, and urban advocate Jane Jacobs. Streetcars for Toronto presented the TTC board with a report that found retaining the streetcar fleet would in the long run be cheaper than converting to buses. This combined with a strong public preference for streetcars over buses changed the decision of the TTC board.^[8]

The TTC then maintained most of its existing network, purchasing new custom-designed Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (CLRV) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (ALRV). It also continued to rebuild and maintain the existing fleet of PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) streetcars until they were no longer roadworthy.

The busiest north–south and east-west routes were replaced respectively by Yonge–University and Bloor–Danforth subway lines, and the northernmost streetcar lines, including the North Yonge and Oakwood routes, were replaced by trolley buses (and later by diesel buses).

Two other lines that operated north of St. Clair Avenue were abandoned for other reasons: the Rogers Road route was abandoned to free up streetcars for expanded service on other routes, and the Mount Pleasant route was removed because of complaints from drivers that streetcars slowed their cars down and because the track was aging and would have needed to be replaced.

Scarborough RT (1985–present)

Early proposals for Scarborough Rapid Transit (RT) line (now Line 3 Scarborough) were for operation with streetcars on a private right-of-way, but the plans were changed when the Ontario government persuaded the TTC and the borough of Scarborough to buy its Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS) rapid transit trains instead. Another proposed streetcar/rapid transit line from Kipling station was abandoned, but the ghost platform at the bus level is a hint of a streetcar line.

Expansion period (1989–2000)

The TTC returned to building new streetcar routes in 1989. The first new line was route 604 Harbourfront, starting from Union Station, travelling underneath Bay Street and rising to a dedicated centre median on Queen's Quay (along the edge of Lake Ontario) to the foot of Spadina Avenue. This route was lengthened northward along Spadina Avenue in 1997, continuing to travel in a dedicated right-of-way in the centre of the street, and ending in an underground terminal at Spadina Station. At this time, the route was renamed 510 Spadina to fit with the numbering scheme of the other streetcar routes. This new streetcar service replaced the former route 77 Spadina bus, and since 1997 has provided the main north-south transit service through Toronto's Chinatown and the western boundary of University of Toronto's main campus. The tracks along Queen's Quay were extended to Bathurst Street in 2000 to connect to the existing Bathurst route, providing for a new 509 Harbourfront route from Union Station to the refurbished Exhibition Loop at the Exhibition grounds, where the Canadian National Exhibition is held.

21st century (2001–present)

By 2003, two-thirds of the city's streetcar tracks were in poor condition as the older track was poorly built using unwelded rail attached to untreated wooden ties lying on loose gravel. The result was street trackage falling apart quickly requiring digging up everything after 10–15 years. Thus, the TTC started to rebuild tracks using a different technique. With the new technique, concrete is poured over compacted gravel, and the ties are placed in another bed of concrete, which is topped by more concrete to embed rail clips and rubber-encased rails. The resulting rail is more stable and quieter with less vibration. The new tracks are expected to last 25 years after which only the top concrete layer needs to be removed in order to replace worn rails.^{[9] [10]}

Route 512 St. Clair was rebuilt to restore a separated right-of-way similar to that of the route 510 on Spadina Avenue, to increase service reliability and was completed on June 30, 2010.^[11]

On December 19, 2010, 504 King streetcar service returned to Roncesvalles Avenue after the street was rebuilt to a new design which provided a widened sidewalk "bumpout" at each stop to allow riders to board a streetcar directly from the curb. When no streetcar is present, cyclists may ride over the bumpout as it is doubles as part of a bike lane.^[12][13]

In April 2012, construction began on the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Cherry Street streetcar line, which will run in a dedicated right-of-way on Sumach and Cherry Streets from King Street to the railway corridor south of Mill Street, serving West Don Lands and the Distillery District.^[14][15][16]

On October 12, 2014, streetcar service resumed on 509 Harbourfront route after the street was rebuilt to a new design that replaced the eastbound auto lanes with parkland from Spadina Avenue to York Street. Thus, streetcars since then run on a roadside right-of-way immediately adjacent to a park on its southern edge.^[17]

The Toronto Transit Commission eliminated all Sunday stops on June 7, 2015, as these stops slowed down streetcars making it more difficult to meet scheduled stops. Sunday stops, which served Christian churches, were deemed unfair to non-Christian places of worship, which never had the equivalent of a Sunday stop. Toronto created Sunday stops in the 1920s along its streetcar routes to help worshippers get to church on Sunday.^[18]

On November 22, 2015, the TTC started to operate Flexity streetcars from its new Leslie Barns maintenance and storage facility.^[19]

On December 14, 2015, the TTC introduced Presto, proof-of-payment and all door loading for all streetcars on all routes.^[20]

With the January 3, 2016 service changes, 510 Spadina becomes the first wheelchair-accessible streetcar route with the withdrawal of all CLRV streetcars on that route, leaving only Flexity streetcars to operate with ALRV streetcars as backup in the event of an insufficient availability of Flexity streetcars.^[21]

Incidents

On December 16, 2010, the TTC suffered its worst accident since the Russell Hill subway crash in 1995. Up to 17 people, including four schoolchildren, were sent to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after a 505 Dundas streetcar heading eastbound collided with a Greyhound Canada bus at River Street.^[22]

Routes

The TTC streetcar network from 2005 to 2015, in relation to the subway; all eleven regular routes appear red; route 508 Lake Shore became defunct in 2015.

Based on 2013 statistics, the TTC operated 304.6 kilometres (189.3 mi)^[2] of routes on 82 kilometres (51 mi) streetcar network (double or single track) throughout Toronto.^[1][2] There are 10 regular streetcar routes:^[2]

Nº	Name	Length	Notes
501	Queen	24.4324.43 km (15.18 mi)	Part of Blue Night Network as 301 Queen
502	Downtowner	09.389.38 km (5.83 mi)
503	Kingston Road	08.978.97 km (5.57 mi)	Rush hour service only
504	King	13.9713.97 km (8.68 mi)	Includes Cherry Street streetcar line, part of the Blue Night Network service as 304 King since September 6, 2015.
505	Dundas	10.7410.74 km (6.67 mi)
506	Carlton	14.8214.82 km (9.21 mi)	Part of Blue Night Network as 306 Carlton
509	Harbourfront	04.654.65 km (2.89 mi)	Route operates on a dedicated right-of-way
510	Spadina	06.176.17 km (3.83 mi)	Route operates on a dedicated right-of-way, part of the Blue Night Network service as 317 Spadina since September 6, 2015.
511	Bathurst	06.476.47 km (4.02 mi)
512	St. Clair	07.017.01 km (4.36 mi)	Route reconstructed to a dedicated right-of-way (completed on June 30, 2010)

Route numbers

Until 1980, streetcar routes did not have numbers. When the CLRVs were introduced, the TTC assigned route numbers in the 500 series because the signs on the front of the new vehicles were not large enough to display both the route name and destination. Streetcar-replacement bus services also do not indicate the route name.

The four streetcar-operated Blue Night Network routes have been assigned 300-series route numbers. The other exception to the 500 series numbering was the Harbourfront LRT streetcar. When introduced in 1990, this route was numbered 604, which was intended to group it with the old numbering scheme for rapid transit routes. In 1996, the TTC overhauled its rapid transit route numbers and stopped trying to market the Harbourfront route as 'rapid transit'. The number was changed to 510. The tracks were later extended in two directions to form the 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront routes.^[23]

During times when streetcar service on all or a portion of a route has been replaced temporarily by buses (e.g., for track reconstruction, major fire, special event), the replacement bus service is typically identified by the same route number as the corresponding streetcar line.

Dedicated rights-of-way

The majority of streetcar routes operate in mixed traffic, generally reflecting the original track configurations dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, newer trackage has largely been established within dedicated rights-of-way, in order to allow streetcars to operate with fewer disruptions due to delays caused by automobile traffic. Most of the system's dedicated rights-of-way operate within the median of existing streets, separated from general traffic by raised curbs and controlled by specialized traffic signals at intersections. Queen streetcars have operated on such a right-of-way along the Queensway between Humber and Sunnyside loops since 1957. Since the 1990s, dedicated rights-of-way have been opened downtown along Queens Quay, Spadina Avenue, St. Clair Avenue West, and Fleet Street.

Short sections of track also operate in tunnel (to connect with Spadina, Union, and St. Clair West subway stations). The most significant section of underground streetcar trackage is a tunnel underneath Bay Street connecting Queens Quay with Union Station; this section, which is approximately 700 m (2,300 ft) long, includes one intermediate underground station at Bay Street and Queens Quay.

During the late 2000s, the TTC reinstated a separated right-of-way — removed between 1928 and 1935^[24] — on St. Clair Avenue, for the entire 512 St. Clair route. A court decision obtained by local merchants in October 2005 had brought construction to a halt and put the project in doubt; the judicial panel then recused themselves, and the delay for a new decision adversely affected the construction schedule. A new judicial panel decided in February 2006 in favour of the city, and construction resumed in summer 2006. One-third of the St. Clair right-of-way was completed by the end of 2006 and streetcars began using it on February 18, 2007. The portion finished was from St. Clair Station (Yonge Street) to Vaughan Road. The second phase started construction in the summer of 2007 from Dufferin Street to Caledonia Road. Service resumed utilizing the second and third phases on December 20, 2009 extending streetcar service from St. Clair to Earlscourt Loop located just south and west of Lansdowne Avenue. The fourth and final phase from Caledonia to Gunns Loop (just west of Keele Street) is completed and full streetcar service over the entire route was finally restored on June 30, 2010.^[25][26]

In 2008, the tracks on Fleet Street between Bathurst Street and the Exhibition Loop were converted to a dedicated right-of-way and opened for the 511 Bathurst and the 509 Harbourfront streetcars. Streetcar track and overhead power line were also installed at the Fleet loop, which is located at the Queen's Wharf Lighthouse.^[27]

Future expansion

Transit City

The City of Toronto's and the TTC’s Transit City report^[28] released on March 16, 2007, proposed creating new light rail lines. These are mainly separate from the streetcar network as the track gauge and vehicle specifications are quite different. Much of the original proposal has since been cancelled, and those that are proceeding are to be included in the rapid transit part of the network.

Other proposals

The following are proposals to expand the streetcar system that were under consideration in 2015:

• The Waterfront West LRT would run from Long Branch Loop along Lake Shore Boulevard and the Queensway to King Street, and then adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway to Exhibition Loop and onto Union Station either via Queens Quay or Bremner Boulevard. This line originated from the Transit City proposals. It was shelved in 2013 but recommended for reconsideration in 2015 by city staff.^[29]
• The East Bayfront LRT is planned to run along Queens Quay East from Union Station to complement the 509 Harbourfront line.^[29]
• Waterfront Toronto is recommending the creation or extension of three streetcar lines in the Port Lands. Both the Cherry Street streetcar line and East Bayfront LRT would be extended to Queens Quay and Parliament Street. From there one line would run south on Cherry Street to the Ship Channel and another east along Commissioners Street to Leslie Street. Another line would be built along an extended Broadview Avenue south from Queen Street to Commissioners Street.^[30]

Discontinued streetcar routes

Toronto Street Railway

Routes marked to City were operating on May 20, 1891, when the Toronto Street Railway Company's franchise expired and operations were taken over by the City of Toronto.^[31]

Route	Started	Ended	Notes
Bathurst	00 Sep 1889	7 Dec 1889	to "Seaton Village"
Bloor	29 May 1891	to City
Brockton	4 Sep 1883	00 May 1884	from "Queen & Brockton"; to "Queen & Brockton"
Carlton & College	2 Aug 1886	to City
Church	18 Aug 1881	to City
Danforth	8 Jul 1889	to City
Davenport	18 Aug 1890	to City	from "Seaton Village"
Dovercourt via McCaul	24 Sep 1888	to City	from "McCaul & College"
Front & McCaul	22 Oct 1883	28 Jun 1884	to "McCaul & College"
Front & Parliament	25 Nov 1878	25 Jul 1881	to "Parliament" and "Winchester"
High Park via Queen	00 Apr 1887	to City	by this date; from "Queen & Parkdale"
King	21 Sep 1874	to City	longest continuously operated route in Toronto
King via Strachan	2 Sep 1879	19 Sep 1890	during Toronto Industrial Exhibition only; to "King"
Kingston Rd.	9 Jun 1875	00 Apr 1887	Kingston Road Tramway Co.; by this date; part to "Woodbine"
Lee	15 Jul 1889	to City
McCaul & College	30 Jun 1884	22 Sep 1888	from "Front & McCaul"; to "Dovercourt via McCaul"
McCaul & College	15 Jul 1889	to City	from "Dovercourt via McCaul"
Metropolitan	26 Jan 1885	to City	Metropolitan Street Railway
Parliament	26 Jul 1881	to City	from "Front & Parliament"
Queen	2 Feb 1861	7 Dec 1881	to "Queen & Brockton"
Queen	4 Sep 1883	00 May 1884	from "Queen & Brockton"; to "Queen & Brockton"
Queen & Brockton	8 Dec 1881	3 Sep 1883	from "Queen"; to "Queen & Brockton"
Queen & Brockton	00 May 1884	to City	from "Brockton" and "Queen"
Queen & Parkdale	2 Sep 1879	00 Apr 1887	ended by spring 1887; to "High Park via Queen"
Queen East	11 May 1885	to City	from "Sherbourne"
Seaton Village	27 Jul 1885	to City	from "Spadina & Bathurst"
Sherbourne	1 Dec 1874	to City	may have begun a day or two earlier
Spadina	00 Jun 1879	to City
Spadina & Bathurst	30 Jun 1884	25 Jul 1885	from "Spadina"; to "Seaton Village"
Toronto Industrial Exhibition	13 Sep 1883	19 Sep 1890	first electric route; operated by steam during the 1891 season
Winchester	26 Jul 1881	to City	from "Front & Parliament"
Woodbine	21 May 1887	to City	from "Kingston Rd."
Yonge	9 Nov 1861	to City	first rail transit route in Toronto

Toronto Railway Company

Routes marked to TTC were operating on September 21, 1921, when the Toronto Railway Company's operations were taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission.^[32]

Route	Started	Ended	Notes
Arthur	1902-02-12 12 Feb 1902	1909-00-00 1909	merged with "Dundas"
Ashbridge	1917-11-05 5 Nov 1917	to TTC	replaced by bus service in the 1920s.[33]
Avenue Road	1895-19-02 2 Sep 1895	to TTC
Bathurst	1885-07-27 27 Jul 1885	to TTC
Belt Line	1891-11-16 16 Nov 1891	to TTC
Bloor	1889-00-00 1889	to TTC
Broadview	1892-10-00 Oct 1892	to TTC
Brockton	1882-00-00 1882	1893-10-09 9 Oct 1893	renamed "Dundas"
Carlton	1886-08-00 Aug 1886	to TTC
Church	1881-00-00 1881	to TTC
College	1893-11-00 Nov 1893	to TTC
Danforth	1889-05-00 May 1889	1892-10-00 Oct 1892	renamed "Broadview"
Davenport	1892-12-00 Dec 1892	1891-11-00 Nov 1891	replaced by "Bathurst", "Parliament" and "Winchester"
Dovercourt	1888-11-00 Nov 1888	to TTC
Dufferin	1889-00-00 1889	1891-09-30 30 Sep 1891	merged with "Danforth"
Dundas	1893-10-09 9 Oct 1893	to TTC
Dupont	1906-08-29 29 Aug 1906	to TTC
Harbord	1911-08-29 29 Aug 1911	to TTC
High Park	1886-00-00 1886	1905-00-00 1905
King	1874-00-00 1874	to TTC
Lee Avenue	1889-0--00 1889	1893-05-15 15 May 1893	merged into "King"
McCaul	1883-10-00 Oct 1883	1896-01-01 1 Jan 1896	replaced by "Bloor"
Parkdale	1880-00-00 1880	1886-00-00 1886	renamed "High Park"
Parliament	1881-00-00 1881	1918-03-04 4 Mar 1918	merged into "Queen"
Queen	1861-12-02 2 Dec 1861	to TTC
Queen East	1882-00-00 1882	1891-10-16 16 Oct 1891	merged with "Danforth"
Roncesvalles	1909-00-00 1909	1911-12-20 20 Dec 1911	replaced by "Queen"
Seaton Village	1885-07-27 27 Jul 1885	1891-10-23 23 Oct 1891	replaced by "Davenport", "Parliament" and "Winchester"
Sherbourne	1874-11-00 Nov 1874	1891-11-16 16 Nov 1891	merged into "Belt Line"
Spadina	1878-00-00 1878	1891-11-16 16 Nov 1891	merged into "Belt Line"
Winchester	1874-11-00 Nov 1874	to TTC
Woodbine	1887-05-00 May 1887	1893-04-04 4 Apr 1893	replaced by "King"
Yonge	1861-09-11 11 Sep 1861	to TTC
York	1891-10-00	1891-12-31	in operation in October 1891 and discontinued prior to 31 December 1891

Toronto Civic Railways

All routes transferred to the Toronto Transportation Commission.^[34]

Route	Started	Ended	Notes
Bloor	1914-11-04 4 Nov 1914	to TTC	TCR and TRC Bloor routes merge into Broadview route and later replaced by Bloor–Danforth subway 1966
Danforth	1913-10-30 30 Oct 1913	to TTC	Same name, merged with Bloor route and finally replaced by Bloor-Danforth subway 1966
Gerrard	1912-12-18 18 Dec 1912	to TTC	Merger as Gerrard-Main route and later merged in Carlton route (now 506 Carlton)
Lansdowne	1917-01-16 16 Jan 1917	to TTC	Two streetcar routes: Lansdowne (replaced by trolleybus route 1942) and Lansdowne North (replaced by Lansdowne North bus 1925); now part of 47 Lansdowne bus route
St. Clair	1913-08-25 25 Aug 1913	to TTC	Same route as St. Clair route (now 512 St. Clair)

Toronto Transportation Commission/Toronto Transit Commission

Route	Began	Ended	Number	Notes
Belt Line	1891	1923
Bloor	1890	1966		Ran MU cars 1950 to 1966 and then replaced by Line 2 Bloor–Danforth subway
Coxwell	1921	1966		replaced by 22 Coxwell bus
Dundas Exhibition	1980	1986	522	also operated during the 1995 season and the 2013 Canadian National Exhibition
Dupont/Bay	1926	1963		replaced by 6 Bay bus
Earlscourt	1954	1976		merged into 512 St. Clair; assigned number 512L
Fort	1931	1966		merged into 511 Bathurst
Harbord	1911	1966		replaced by 72 Pape and 94 Wellesley buses
Harbourfront	1990	2000	604	renumbered 509 Harbourfront
King Exhibition	1980	2000	521	reinstated in 2013, and operating as 521 Exhibition East
Lake Shore	1995	2015	508	cancelled due to streetcar shortage
Long Branch	1928	1995	507	merged in 501 Queen
Oakwood	1922	1960		replaced by 63 Ossington trolleycoach
Parliament	1910	1966		replaced by 65 Parliament bus
Spadina	1923	1948		replaced by the 77 Spadina bus; which was replaced by the 510 Spadina streetcar in 1997
Winchester	1910	1924		replaced by Yonge and Parliament streetcars
Mount Pleasant	1975	1976		split from 512 St. Clair; replaced by 74 Mt. Pleasant trolleycoach
Rogers Road	1922	1974		replaced by 63F Ossington via Rogers trolleycoach
Yonge	1873	1954		replaced by Yonge subway, Downtown bus, and Yonge trolleycoach

Rolling stock

Hundreds of cars were acquired from the TTCs predecessor companies, including the Toronto Railway Company, Toronto Civic Railways, Toronto & York Radial Railway and Toronto Suburban Railway. The current rolling stock is composed of 248 vehicles.

Streetcars purchased by the TTC

Note that not all numbers within a series were used.

Fleet numbers	Type	In service	Notes
2300–2678 2900–3018	Peter Witt	1921–1954	"large" Witts; even numbers only
2700–2898	Peter Witt	1922–1965	"small" Witts; even numbers only
2301–2419	2-door trailer	1921–1938	odd numbers only
2701-3029	3-door trailer	1923–1954	"Harvey" trailers; odd numbers only
4000–4299 4575–4601	PCC	1938–1971	air-electric
4300–4574 4625–4779	PCC	1947–1995	all-electric
4000–4199	CLRV	1977–current	will be phased out as Flexity Outlooks start entering service in 2014
4200–4251	ALRV	1987–current	articulated; will be phased out when Flexity Outlook (Toronto LRT car) start entering service in 2014
4900	ALRV	1982–1983	prototype; never owned by TTC but by UTDC; used on TTC test runs and returned (later scrapped); painted with similar TTC scheme
4400–4411	Flexity	2014–current	2013, testing; 2014, revenue service

Winter operational issues

The fleet of CLRV and ALRV has experienced operational issues during extreme cold temperatures in early 2015 as doors and brakes fail as moisture in the pneumatic lines freezes.^[35] As a result, the TTC will often substitute buses during extreme cold conditions to prevent cars from blocking roads or getting into accidents when brakes fail to deploy. The problem will be resolved with the new Flexity cars which use electronic braking and door operations.^[35]

Track gauge

Track gauge

By transport mode
Tram · Rapid transit Miniature · Scale model
By size (list)
Minimum   Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in) Narrow   600 mm, Two foot 597 mm 600 mm 603 mm 610 mm (1 ft 11 1⁄2 in) (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) (1 ft 11 3⁄4 in) (2 ft)   750 mm, Bosnian, Two foot six inch, 800 mm 750 mm 760 mm 762 mm 800 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) (2 ft 5 15⁄16 in) (2 ft 6 in) (2 ft 7 1⁄2 in)   Swedish three foot, 900 mm, Three foot 891 mm 900 mm 914 mm (2 ft11 3⁄32 in) (2 ft 11 7⁄16) (3 ft)   Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)   Three foot six inch, Cape, CAP, Kyōki 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)   Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)   Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Broad   Russian, Five foot 1,520 mm 1,524 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) (5 ft)   Irish 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)   Iberian 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 21⁄32 in)   Indian 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)   Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)   Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge · Dual gauge · Conversion (list) · Bogie exchange · Variable gauge
By location
North America · South America · Europe

The tracks of Toronto's streetcars and subways are built to the unique track gauge of 4 ft 10 ⁷⁄₈ in (1,495 mm), 2 ³⁄₈ in (60 mm) wider than the usual standard gauge of 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm), which Line 3 Scarborough uses.^[36] According to Steve Munro, an expert on the history of Toronto area transit, TTC gauge is "English carriage gauge".

That the gauge of the said railways shall be such that the ordinary vehicles now in use may travel on the said tracks, and that it shall and may be lawful to and for all and every person and persons whatsoever to travel upon and use the said tracks with their vehicles loaded or empty, when and so often as they may please, provided they do not impede or interfere with the cars of the party of the second part (Toronto Street Railway), running thereon, and subject at all times to the right of the said party of the second part, his executors, and administrators and assigns to keep the said tracks with his and their cars, when meeting or overtaking any other vehicle thereon.^[37]

As wagons were normally built at standard gauge, the streetcar rails were selected to be slightly wider, allowing the wagons to ride on the inside sections of the rail, and the streetcars on the outside. The Williams Omnibus Bus Line changed the gauge of their buses in 1861 to fit this gauge. At the time, track for horsecars was not our modern 'T' rail, but wide and flat, with a raised section on the outside of the rail.

According to the TTC, the City of Toronto feared that the street railway franchise operator, first in 1861, the Toronto Street Railway, then in 1891, the Toronto Railway Company, and in 1921, the TTC, would allow the operation of steam locomotives and freight trains through city streets, as was common practice in Hamilton, Ontario (until the 1950s) and in many US cities, such as New York City and Syracuse, New York.^[36]

Standard gauge rails in the streets would have allowed this, but steam railway equipment could not follow the abrupt curves in the streetcar network. Opposition to freight operation in city streets precluded interchange even with adjacent radial lines even after the lines changed to TTC gauge. Electric railway freight cars could negotiate street curves, but freight operations to downtown were still not allowed until the final few years of radial operation by the TTC.

The unique gauge has remained to this day since converting all tracks and vehicles would be expensive and would lack any real benefit anyway. Some proposals for the city's subway system involved using streetcars in the tunnels, possibly having some routes run partially in tunnels and partially on city streets, so the same gauge was used, but the idea was ultimately dropped in the case of dedicated rapid-transit trains. The use of standard-gauge tracks on the Scarborough RT makes it impossible for there to be any track connection between it and the other lines, and so when RT vehicles need anything more than basic service (which is carried out in the RT's own McCowan Yard), they are carried by truck to the Greenwood subway yards.^[38]

The proposed Finch West, Sheppard East and Eglinton LRT lines will be constructed to standard gauge. The projects are receiving a large part of their funding from the Ontario provincial transit authority Metrolinx and, to ensure a better price for purchasing vehicles, it wants to have a degree of commonality with other similar projects within Ontario.^[38]

Properties

Dedicated station

Queens Quay is the one standalone underground station that exclusively serves streetcars. It is located in the tunnel, shared by the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina routes, between Queens Quay West and Union subway station.

Loops

Since all of Toronto's current streetcars are single-ended, turning loops are provided at the normal endpoints of each route and at likely intermediate turnback locations. A routing on-street around one or more city blocks may serve as a loop, but most loops on the system are wholly or partly off-street. Many of these are also interchange points with subway or bus services.

Carhouses

Toronto's streetcars are housed and maintained at various carhouses or "streetcar barns":

Facility details

Yard	Location	Year Open	Notes
Hillcrest Complex	Davenport Road and Bathurst Street	1924	Newly built by TTC on former site of farm and later Toronto Driving Club track; services streetcars and buses, repair facilities
Roncesvalles Carhouse	Queen Street West and Roncesvalles Avenue	1895 (for TRC); rebuilt 1921 (by TTC)	Property acquired Toronto Railway Company, but new carbarn built in 1921 with indoor inspection and repair facility and outdoor streetcar storage tracks
Russell (Connaught Avenue) Carhouse	Connaught Avenue and Queen Street East	1913 (by TRC and 1916 carhouse added); 1924 (rebuilt by TTC)	Built for the Toronto Railway Company as paint shop and 1916 carhouse built to replace King carhouse lost to a fire in 1916; acquired by the TTC in 1921 and rebuilt in 1924 with indoor maintenance facility and outdoor streetcar storage tracks
Leslie Barns	Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East - southeast corner	expected 2015	carhouse opened November 2015 and receiving some of Flexity fleet (100 of the 204 cars)[39] It will be fully opened by early 2016.

Inactive carhouses once part of the TTC's streetcar operations:

Facility details

Yard	Location	Year Open	Year Closed	Notes
Danforth Carhouse	Danforth Avenue and Coxwell Avenue	1915; 1921-22 (additions by TTC)	2002	built for the Toronto Civic Railways in 1915 and additional indoor storage added by TTC in 1921-22; re-purposed as bus garage in 1967; closed in 1921 but still used by TTC for storage and office space
Dundas Carhouse	Dundas Street West and Howard Park Avenue	1907	1936	Original acquired from TRC (built in 1907), but carhouse was demolished in 1921 but retained for storage for 60 cars; wye and runaround loop since disappeared and area re-developed with cars moving to Roncesvalles
Eglinton Carhouse	Eglinton Avenue West and Yonge Street	1922	2002; demolished	Built to replace TRC Yorkville Carhouse and retired as carhouse in 1948 to become bus garage until 2002; most of facility now demolished and remainder used as temporary bus terminal
Harbour Yard	Lakeshore Boulevard between Bay and York Streets	1951	1954	Built as temporary outdoor storage space for Peter Witt cars after Eglinton Carhouse closed to streetcars; tracks removed 1954; now site of parking lot and office towers
Lansdowne Carhouse	Lansdowne Avenue and Paton Avenue	1911	1996; demolished 2003	Built for the Toronto Railway Company and acquired by TTC in 1921; became a trolley bus garage in 1947 and streetcar storage ended 1967; abandoned after 1996 and demolished 2003
St. Clair (Wychwood) Carhouse	Wychwood south of St. Clair Avenue West	1914	1978	Built for the Toronto Civic Railways in 1914 and expanded 1916. Acquired by TTC in 1921 with renovations and renamed as Wychwood Barns; closed in 1978 after cars moved to Roncesvalles but continued to be used for storage until the 1990s; tracks removed and restored as community centre.
Yorkville Carhouse	Between Scollard Street and Yorkville Avenue west of Yonge Street	1861	1922	Built in 1861 for Toronto Street Railway and acquired by TRC in 1891, the two storey carhouse was closed by TTC in 1922; later demolished and now site of condo and Townhall Square Park

Source: The TTC's Active Carhouses

A new carhouse is to be constructed for housing and maintaining the new Bombardier Flexity Outlook vehicles; the existing facilities will not accommodate the differences in length and configuration of the different generations of vehicle. A preliminary report recommends a vacant lot at the southeast corner of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard.^[40]

Operator training

A mockup of a CLRV used to train new streetcar operators is located at Hillcrest.^[41] The training simulator consists of an operator cab, front steps and part of the front of a streetcar.

In September 2014, Chris Bateman, writing in the Toronto Life magazine, described being allowed to try out the new simulator designed for the Flexity vehicles.^[41] It provides an accurate mockup of the driver's cab of the Flexity vehicle, with a wrap-around computer screen that provides a convincing simulcra of Toronto streets. Like an aircraft cockpit simulator, this Flexity simulator provides realistic tactile feedback to the driver-trainee. The trainer can alter the simulated weather, the track friction, and can introduce more simulated vehicles on the simulated roadway, and even have badly behaved pedestrians and vehicles unpredictably block the Flexity's path.

Bateman wrote that the analogue simulator for the CLRVs was being retired.^[41]

Operators also train with a real streetcar. Front and rear rollsigns on the vehicle identify it as a training car.

Blacksmith

Given that the TTC's streetcar rolling stock has been ageing, many parts used by the rolling stock are no longer available. The system has a blacksmith who crafts parts and tools used to maintain the fleet.^[42] With the introduction of the new Flexity LRVs, this job may become obsolete.

See also

References

Inline citations

Other references

• Jeff Gray (June 23, 2005). "TTC to shop for new streetcars". The Globe and Mail. 
• "Future Streetcar Fleet Requirements and Plans". Toronto Transit Commission. June 22, 2005. 
• Livett, Christopher. "Toronto's Streetcar System (schematic track map)". Transit Toronto. 
• Tess Kalinowski (April 28, 2009). "A streetcar named Inspire?". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2014-10-04.  – includes a timeline of the history of the Toronto streetcar system
• "Opportunities for New Streetcar Routes" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. January 21, 1997. 
• "North America - Canada - Ontario - Toronto Streetcar (Tram)". UrbanRail.Net. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-26. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trams in Toronto.

• Toronto Transit Commission
• TTC Transit City - LRT expansion proposals
• TTC's web site for its new vehicle procurement program
• Siemens's proposal for Toronto's new streetcar fleet
• Transit Toronto Streetcar Pages
• The Toronto LRT Information Page
• TTC Schedules by Route Name
• Geographically accurate map on Google Maps

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Track gauge (list) Minimum gauge 15 in (381 mm) 400 mm (15 3⁄4 in) 18 in (457 mm) 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) Narrow gauge 2 foot and 600 mm 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) 760 mm (2 ft 5 15⁄16 in) Bosnian gauge 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) 800 mm (2 ft 7 1⁄2 in) 891 mm (2 ft 11 3⁄32 in) Swedish three foot 900 mm (2 ft 11 7⁄16 in) 3 ft (914 mm) 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) Italian metre gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge 3 ft 6 in/​1,067 mm 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm), Scotch gauge List of narrow tram track gauges Standard gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in/​1,435 mm, Stephenson gauge List of standard gauge tram tracks Broad gauge 1445 mm gauge 1,445 mm (4 ft 8 7⁄8 in) 4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm), Toronto 5 ft/​1,524 mm and 1520 mm, Russian gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), Irish gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 21⁄32 in), Iberian gauge 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm), Indian gauge 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), Brunel gauge 3,000 mm (9 ft 10 1⁄8 in), Breitspurbahn List of broad tram track gauges Gauge differences Bogie exchange Break-of-gauge Dual gauge Gauge conversion list Variable gauge Categories by country by imperial units by metric units by name lists of track gauges