Toronto streetcar system

Toronto streetcar system
Overview
Locale	Toronto, Ontario
Transit type	Streetcar
Number of lines	11
Number of stations	>100, including 8 shared with the subway (all others but one are on-street stops)
Daily ridership	276,000
Operation
Began operation	1861 (electric lines since 1891)
Operator(s)	Toronto Transit Commission
Technical
System length	75 kilometres (47 mi)
Track gauge	1495
Minimum radius of curvature	36 ft 0 in (10,973 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines, 600 V DC

A typical streetcar stop indicator sign

The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar (tram) routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the municipal public transit operator. The network is concentrated downtown and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates back to the 19th century. Unlike newer light rail transit (LRT) systems, most of Toronto's streetcar routes operate in the classic style on street trackage shared with car traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses. Some routes do operate wholly or partly within their own rights-of-way, but they still stop on demand at frequent stops.

Before the TTC came into operation in 1921, there were seven distinct transit systems in the city. There were no transfers allowed between them, and so the free transfer has always been a sensitive issue for the TTC. The goal of ease in changing routes has affected the design of the system.

There are underground connections between streetcars and the subway at Union, Spadina, and St. Clair West stations, and streetcars enter St. Clair, Bathurst, Broadview, Dundas West, and Main Street stations at street level. At these stations, no proof of payment is required to transfer to or from the subway, as the streetcars stop within the stations' fare-paid areas. At the eight downtown stations, excepting Union, from Queen's Park to College on the Yonge–University–Spadina subway line, streetcars stop on the street outside the station entrances, and proof of payment is required to transfer to or from the subway.

Despite the use of techniques long removed in the streetcar networks of other North American cities, Toronto’s streetcars are not heritage streetcars run for tourism or nostalgic purposes; they provide most of the downtown core’s surface transit service, and four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. In 2006, ridership on the streetcar system totaled more than 52 million.

History

Early history

Streetcars at Bay and Queen in 1923

This Peter Witt streetcar, preserved at the Halton County Radial Railway, has been restored into the TTC’s original 1921 livery.

From 1921 as the Toronto Transportation Commission, the TTC began as solely a streetcar operator, with the bulk of the routes acquired from the private Toronto Railway Company 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.

After World War II, in keeping with the trend in many other developed nations worldwide, the TTC began plans to eliminate all streetcar routes, in part because subway development was thought to eliminate the need for them. At the time of major curtailments in streetcar service in 1966 coinciding with the opening of the Bloor–Danforth subway, the TTC foresaw the end of streetcars by 1980. This policy of eliminating streetcar routes was dropped in 1972 in the face of widespread community opposition by citizens' groups who succeeded in persuading the TTC of the advantages of streetcars over buses on heavily travelled main routes. The fear amongst supporters of streetcar system was the eventual shift to bus-based transit (see also Great American streetcar scandal).

The TTC then maintained most of their existing network, purchasing new custom-designed CLRV and ALRV streetcars. They also continued to rebuild and maintain the existing fleet of PCC streetcars until they were longer road worthy.

The previous policy of eliminating streetcars and using buses for new routes (added as the city developed northward) accounts for the concentration of streetcar lines within five kilometres of the waterfront. The busiest north-south and east-west routes were replaced respectively by the Yonge–University–Spadina 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 owing to complaints from drivers that streetcars slowed their cars down, and because the track was aging and needed to be replaced.

Expansion period (1989-2000)

The TTC returned to building new streetcar routes in 1989. The first new line was a short one 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 originally designated 604 Harbourfront, but was later renumbered 510 to fit with the numbering scheme of the other streetcar routes. This route was later 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. This new streetcar service, renamed the 510 Spadina, replaced the former route 77 Spadina bus, and since 1997 has provided the main north-south transit service through Toronto's Chinatown. 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 newly refurbished Exhibition Loop at the Exhibition grounds.

Scarborough RT

Main article: Scarborough RT

The Scarborough RT line was originally proposed to operate with streetcars on a private right-of-way, but the plans were changed when the Ontario government convinced the TTC and the borough of Scarborough to use its then-new 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.

Current and future expansion (2007-)

Route 512 St. Clair is now being rebuilt to have a separated right-of-way similar to that of the route 510 on Spadina Avenue, to increase service reliability.

On March 16, 2007, Toronto Mayor David Miller and the TTC announced Transit City, a major proposal for a 120-kilometre, $6.1-billion network of new LRT lines that would provide rail transit to underserved suburban areas of the city. As of July 2008, environmental assessments are underway for LRTs on Sheppard Avenue East and Don Mills Road, and for the harbourfront route, including an extension of the route from Exhibition Place to Queen Street West at Roncesvalles Avenue.

Routes

The current TTC streetcar network, in relation to the subway; all eleven regular routes appear red.

The TTC operates 304.3 kilometres (189.1 mi) of routes on 75 kilometres (47 mi) streetcar network (double or single track) throughout Toronto. There are currently 11 streetcar routes:

#	Name	Length (km)	Notes
501	Queen	24.43	Part of Blue Night Network as 301 Queen
502	Downtowner	9.38
503	Kingston Road	8.97	Rush hour service only
504	King	13.97
505	Dundas	10.74
506	Carlton	14.82	Part of Blue Night Network as 306 Carlton
508	Lake Shore	9.40	Rush hour service only
509	Harbourfront	4.65
510	Spadina	6.17
511	Bathurst	6.47
512	St. Clair	7.01	Portion currently under reconstruction, building a reserved right-of-way similar to the 510 Spadina

Route numbers

The TTC has used route numbers in the 500 series for streetcar routes since 1980; before then, streetcar routes were not numbered, but the destination signs on the new CLRVs were not large enough to display both the route name and destination, according to the TTC. The only exceptions today to this numbering scheme are the 301 Queen and 306 Carlton Blue Night Network routes, which correspond to the regular 501 and 506 routes; there were similarly a 312 St. Clair and a 304 King streetcar, but the St. Clair Blue Night service is now a bus route, while the King service was removed and partially replaced with extensions of other night bus routes.

The one 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 subway/RT routes (although these have no numbers in public use) instead of the other streetcars. In 1996 the TTC stopped trying to market the route as 'rapid transit' and changed the number to 510; the tracks were later extended in two directions to form the 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront routes.

During times when streetcar service on all or a portion of a route has been replaced temporarily by buses (e.g., for track reconstruction), the replacement bus service is typically identified by the same route number as the corresponding streetcar line. Shorter-term replacement or supplementary shuttle bus service (e.g., due to a track blockage or short-term street closure) is usually marked simply as 'SPECIAL' on the bus destination sign.

Dedicated rights-of-way

King & Yonge Streets

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 and former Long Branch cars have operated on such a right-of-way along the Queensway between Humber and Sunnyside loops since 1957. More recently, dedicated rights-of-way have been opened downtown along Queen's 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 0.7 km long, includes one intermediate underground station at Bay Street and Queens Quay.

The TTC is reinstating a separated right-of-way — removed between 1928 and 1935 — on St. Clair Avenue, from Yonge Street to just past Keele Street. 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 St.) 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 20th 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 St.) is scheduled to be completed in spring 2010.

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 lighthouse.

Future expansion

Main article: Transit City

The City of Toronto's and the TTC’s Transit City report released on March 16, 2007, proposes creating new Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines and Rights-of-Way (ROW) including:

• Don Mills LRT (along Don Mills Road from Steeles Avenue to Overlea Boulevard, and continuing to Pape Station along a possible alignment of Overlea Boulevard from Don Mills Road to Millwood Road , continuing adjacent to the Leaside Bridge from Overlea Boulevard to Pape Avenue and along Pape Avenue from Millwood Road to Danforth Avenue)
• Eglinton Crosstown LRT (along Eglinton Avenue from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Kennedy Station, with underground operation from approximately Keele Street to approximately Leslie Street)
• Etobicoke-Finch West LRT (along Finch Avenue West from Yonge Street to Highway 27)
• Jane LRT (along Jane Street from Bloor Street to Steeles Avenue and continuing along Steeles Avenue from Jane Street to Steeles West on the Spadina extension. This line also includes a stub extension of the St. Clair ROW from Gunns Loop to Jane Street)
• Scarborough Malvern LRT (along Eglinton Avenue from Kennedy Station to Kingston Road, continuing along Kingston Road from Eglinton Avenue to Morningside Avenue and along Morningside Avenue from Kingston Road to Finch Avenue)
• Sheppard East LRT (along Sheppard Avenue from Don Mills station to Morningside Avenue, with a connection to an extended Scarborough RT near Markham Road)
• Waterfront West LRT (along Lakeshore Boulevard from Long Branch Loop to near the South Kingsway, continuing along the Queensway to King Street, and adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway to Exhibition Loop; from Exhibition it will continue to Union station in either its own as yet to be determined alignment, or in the Harborfront West LRT alignment)

The Ontario government has in its MoveOntario 2020 plan, proposed funding approximately 2/3 of the $5.5 billion of the seven Transit City lines, with the expectation that the federal government would fund the remaining 1/3.

Additional proposals include:

• Extending 512 St. Clair to Jane subway station
• A route eastward along Queen's Quay, into new developments on the port lands
• A route running east along Finch Avenue from Yonge Street to Don Mills Road, then turning south along Don Mills Road and continuing to Sheppard Avenue at Don Mills subway station, linking the Etobicoke-Finch West LRT and the Sheppard East LRT.

Abandoned streetcar routes

507 Long Branch (1928–1995 – merged with 501 Queen in 1996) 512L Earlscourt (1954–1976) 521 King Exhibition (1980–2000) 522 Dundas Exhibition (1980–1986), also operated for a single year in 1995 604 Harbourfront LRT (1990–2000 – forms part of the present 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina routes) Belt Line (1891–1923 – original and Tour Tram along Spadina and Sherbourne ) Bloor, including Danforth Tripper (1890–1966) (replaced by the Bloor–Danforth subway line) Coxwell (1921–1966)

Dupont/Bay (single line 1926–1965) Fort (1931–1966 merged with 511 Bathurst) Harbord (1911–1966) Oakwood (1922–1960) Parliament (1910–1966); one small section forms part of the present 506 Carlton Winchester (1910–1924) Mount Pleasant (1954–1976) Rogers Road (1922–1974) Yonge (1873–1954) (replaced by the Yonge subway line)

Toronto Street Railway routes

• St Lawrence Hall-Yorkville (1873–1891)
• Yonge (1873–1891)
• Queen (1873–1891)
• Front (1873–1891)
• Sherbourne (1873–1891)
• Carlton (1873–1891)
• St Lawrence Market-Woodbine (1873–1891)
• Dovercourt-McCaul (1873–1891)
• North Toronto-Union Station (1873–1891)
• King (1873–1891)
• Bloor (1873–1891)
• Spadina (1873–1891)

Toronto Railway routes

• Queen-High Park (1891–1921)
• Church (1891–1921)
• Carlton-College (1891–1921)
• Yonge (1891–1921)
• Belt Line (1891–1921)
• Bloor-McCaul (1891–1921)
• Avenue Road (1891–1921)
• Dundas (1891–1921)
• College-Yonge (1891–1921)
• Bathurst (1891–1921)
• Wincester (1891–1921)
• Parliament (1891–1921)
• Broadview (1891–1921)

Toronto Civic Railway routes

• Danforth Division (1913–1921)
• Gerrard (1912–1921)
• Bloor West Division (1915–1921)
• St. Clair Division (1913–1921)
• Lansdowne (1917–1921)

See also abandoned streetcar routes [2]

Vehicles

Note: Hundreds of cars were acquired from the TTCs predecessor companies, the Toronto Railway, and Toronto Civic Railways, among others. The current fleet operates with 248 vehicles.

Product list and details (date information from TTC)

Make/Model	Description	Fleet size	Year acquired	Year retired	Notes
Preston Car Company (ex TCR)	streetcar DE-ST	8	1915–1917	1976	Numbered 2200-2214 (even numbers only). Formerly ex-TCR 50-57. 52(Currently RT-7), 55, 57 (Currently W-28) at Halton County Radial Railway
Preston Car Company (ex TCR)	streetcar DE-DT	4	1912	1933, last car retired 1950	Numbered 2120-2126 (even numbers only). Formerly ex-TCR 120-123.
Niles Car and Manufacturing Company (ex TCR)	streetcar DE-DT	19	1913	4 Retired in 1933, rest retired in 1948	Numbered 2128-2144 2148-2166 (even numbers only). Formerly ex-TCR 110-119. Car 109 (2146) burnt in fire and never rebuilt.
Preston Car Company (ex TCR)	streetcar DE-DT	13	1918	1948	Numbered 2168-2192 (even numbers only). Formerly ex-TCR 200-212.
Birney Car - ex Toronto Civic Railways / J. G. Brill and Company	street car DE-ST	20	1920	1940–1941	ex TCR 60-84. Sold as operating cars to Cornwall and Halifax.
Peter Witt - Large / Canada Car and Foundry and J. G. Brill and Company	street car; could pull trailer	525	1921–1923	1963	Numbered 2300-2678, 2900-3018 (even numbers only) 2580-2678 are Brills. Car 2424 and 2984 is at Halton County Radial Railway museum. 2300 is owned by the Canadian Railroad Historical Association and is currently at the Canadian National Railway Museum in St. Constance, Quebec. The entire TTC streetcar system was designed to accommodate cars of this size.
Peter Witt - Small / Ottawa Car Company	street car	50	1923	1963	Numbered 2700 - 2898 (even numbers only). Car 2898 preserved at Shore Line Trolley Museum, East Haven, Connecticut. 1 retained by TTC for tour service. 2 cars (2894 and 2786) are at Halton Radial Railway in Rockwood, Ontario.
St. Louis Car Company / Canada Car and Foundry President's Conference Car Air Electric cars class A1-A5	street car	300	1938	1968	1 car (4000) at Halton County Radial Railway in Rockwood, Ontario.
St. Louis Car Company/Pullman Standard President's Conference Car	street car	445	1947 and on	1996	New cars were A6-8; 205 acquired as second hand units were A9-10 - Cincinnati Street Railway, A11 - Cleveland Railway, A12 - Louisville Railway, A13 - Birmingham Railway and Electric Company, A14 - ex-Kansas City Public Service Company; A15 were A8 rebuilds 2 St. Louis Car Company PCC streetcar A-8 (used only for private charters and parades; 4500 and 4549); St. Louis Car Company W30-W31 Rail Grinder - ex-PCC streetcar at the HCRY.
SIG CLRV L1	street car	6	1977		Designed by Urban Transportation Development Corporation, built in Switzerland. These 6 streetcars were the prototypes for the CLRV. There were originally supposed to be 10 numbered 4000–4009 but they were reduced to 6.
Urban Transportation Development Corporation CLRV L2	street car	190	1977–1982?		Designed by Urban Transportation Development Corporation and manufactured by Hawker Siddeley Canada; air conditioning added to car #4041 in 2006, order was placed for 99 other cars to have air conditioning installed but was cancelled due to the confirmed new streetcar order. Cars #4030 and #4165 had an automated stop announcer tested in 2006 (mainly in use on the 511 line only). Now all streetcars have the automated announcer.
Urban Transportation Development Corporation ALRV L3	articulated street car	52	1983–1988		Designed by Urban Transportation Development Corporation and manufactured by Hawker Siddeley Canada. Demo car 4900 owned by UTDC and destroyed at test facility in Kingston, Ontario. Used mainly on 501 Queen and 511 Bathurst routes.

PCC streetcars

Main article: TTC Presidents' Conference Car

The TTC were among the first to buy the then state-of-the-art PCC streetcar when it was designed by a committee of public transport operators in the 1930s. These cars were bought to replace the Peter Witt cars and also older vehicles inherited from the Toronto Railway. The TTC's first purchase was in the late 1930s, and by the end of the 1970s they had operated a larger fleet of PCCs than any other agency in the world. The early cars were retired and sent to Egypt, and some newer cars were acquired from U.S. operators abandoning streetcar service, including Kansas City, Birmingham, and Cleveland. By the 1970s, the TTC sought to abandon the service as well, but supporters persuaded them to reconsider, and so a new streetcar model was needed to replace some of the ageing PCCs.

Two of the TTC’s PCC streetcars, which operated in regular service until the mid-1990s, are retained for special events such as parades, private charters and special revenue runs, such as holidays in the summer.

Most PCCs were scrapped with a few becoming restaurants, housing and other uses. A few cars were purchased by railway museums:

Relocation	# of cars	TTC fleet #	PCC Class	Builder	Built for	Current use
Kenosha Electric Railway	5	4610 (originally 4541), 4606, 4609, 4615 and 4616	A15 – formerly ex-A8	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	active cars, one at a time on a two-mile downtown loop
San Francisco Municipal Railway	1	N/A – Twin City Rapid Transit car repainted as TTC car 1074 (this number never existed and has 2 trolley poles) and missing bull light	copy of A8	St. Louis Car Company – rebuilt by Brookville Locomotive Company	Twin City Rapid Transit	restored/operational, but not in active service
San Francisco Municipal Railway	11	4752, 4754, 4757, 4758, 4763, 4764, 4769, 4770, 4771, 4775 and 4777	A-14	St. Louis Car Company	Kansas City Public Service Company	operated ex-TTC PCCs during the 1970s – all retired
Halton County Radial Railway	9	4000, 4386, 4426, 4600, 4611, 4618, 4631(W30), 4668(W31), 4684	A1, A6, A7, A15(3), A12	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry / 4684 by St. Louis Car Company	TTC, except 4631, 4668, and 4684 - Cleveland Railway	some restored/operational cars – some waiting for restoration. 4618 used as an ice cream shop in the museum.
SuperBurger in Primrose, Ontario	1	4341	A6	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	non-operational diner car
The Boutique – Thornhill, Ontario	1	4716	A13	St. Louis Car Co	Birmingham Transit Company	non-operational/some damage; former office space for Shylow Farms
Perris, California	1	4460	A7	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	privately owned – static display
Perkinsfield, Ontario	1	4524	A8	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	non-operational car attached to building
A Streetcar Named Dessert, Springville, New York	1	4434	A7	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	non-operational car used as dessert restaurant
La Pentola Ristorante, North York, Ontario	1	4774	A14	body by St. Louis Car Company	Kansas City Public Service Company	static car; removed from restaurant – fate unknown
Langford Restaurant, Langford, Ontario	2	4427, 4560	A7 and A9	St. Louis Car Company	TTC, Cincinnati Transit Commission	static car part of restaurant
Pickering, Ontario	1	4674	A11	Pullman-Standard Car Company	Cleveland Railway	privately owned – ?
Bombardier Transportation- Thunder Bay, Ontario	2	4359, 4456	A6 and A7	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	The 2 Cars were on display on tracks outside the plant from the early 1990s until 2007 when they were relocated to behind the facility and ultimately removed and sold for scrap
Edmonton Radial Railway	3	4349, 4367, 4612	A6 (2), A15	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	restored/operational museum roster cars
Static Outdoor Exhibit in Kansas City, MO (moved from Western Railway Museum)	1	4752	A14	St. Louis Car Company	Kansas City Public Service Company	unrestored car/heavily damaged; served as SF Muni 1190
Tahoe Airport Generic Railway, Lake Tahoe, California	2	4404 and 4472	A7	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	stored for later use for future line in area
Valley Metro, Phoenix, Arizona	1	4607	A15	St. Louis Car Company	Cleveland Railway	static outdoor exhibit
Old Pueblo Trolley – Tucson, Arizona	1	4608	A15	St. Louis Car Company	Cleveland Railway	static museum piece
Colorado Springs & Interurban Railway, Colorado Springs, Colorado	1	4478	A7	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	static museum piece
Gomaco Trolley Company, Ida Grove, Iowa	1	4476	A7	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	?
McKinney Avenue Transit Authority, Dallas, Texas	2	4613 and 4614	A15	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	static restored car
East Troy Railroad Museum, East Troy, Wisconsin	1	4617	A15	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	static car
Michigan Transit Museum, Mount Clemens, Michigan	1	4601	A15	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	static outdoor display
Northern Ohio Railway Museum – Chippewa Lake, Ohio	2	4655 and 4656	A11	Pullman-Standard Car Company	Cleveland Railway	unrestored/heavily damaged
Trolleyville USA, Olmsted Falls, Ohio (sold to National Capital Trolley Museum in 2009)	1	4602	A15	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	restored and operational car
Buckeye Lake, Ohio	2	4662 and 4663	A12	Pullman-Standard Car Company	Cleveland Railway	unrestored/heavily damaged and stored outdoors
Vintage Electric Streetcar Company, Windber, Pennsylvania	1	4524	A8	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	?
National Capital Trolley Museum, Silver Spring, Maryland	1	4603	A15	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	operational
Alexandria, Egypt	N/A	N/A	N/A	body by St. Louis Car Company/assembled by Canadian Car and Foundry	TTC	sent to Egypt from 1966 to 1968; all retired by 1984

The CLRVs and ALRVs

Toronto streetcars stored in Russell Carhouse.

When the TTC reversed their decision to eliminate streetcars in the 1970s, they were faced with the problem of how to replace their ageing fleet of PCC streetcars given that most cities in North America were switching entirely to buses, and so there were no new mass-market streetcar designs already being built that Toronto could purchase as it had before. While Edmonton and Calgary chose to adapt German stadtbahn (city rail) trains for the new systems they were installing around the same time, the TTC instead had a new streetcar designed in the traditional style, and so the two models of streetcars the TTC uses for revenue service today remain unique to the city. It was hoped that the new models could also be sold to the few other cities that continued streetcar service, such as Boston and Philadelphia, but this strategy proved unsuccessful as the German designs became widely used for the new paradigm of light rail in North America.

The CLRV (Canadian Light Rail Vehicle, ordered 1977 – version L1 and L2) and the one-and-a-half-length ALRV (Articulated Light Rail Vehicle, ordered 1987 – version L3) were designed by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC), an Ontario Crown corporation. The first six cars were built by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (Swiss Industrial Company, or SIG) and the rest by Hawker Siddeley Canada Limited in Thunder Bay, with a propulsion system by Brush of England and bogies by MAN of Germany.

The CLRVs and ALRVs retain many features of traditional streetcar design: they collect their electric power by trolley pole rather than the pantograph more common on modern vehicles, and are unidirectional, with a driving position at only one end and doors on only one side, requiring track loops in order to turn around. Even the ALRVs, which have two body sections connected by an articulation, are not very long compared to some other modern trams, which may have as many as four articulations. This has much to do with the fact that the TTC network is largely a "traditional" streetcar network dating back to as early as the 19th century, and not a modern LRT system dismantled decades ago then rebuilt to modern standards more recently. Loops and trolley-pole infrastructure was already in place when the vehicles were built, and the requirement for compatibility with a large fleet of existing vehicles, meant that the CLRVs and ALRVs were built to fit a traditional system rather than a new LRT system. The TTC has never seen any conclusive reason to upgrade the infrastructure, but the option to buy bidirectional and pantograph trains has been included for the next generation of streetcars.

According to the TTC, one CLRV replaces 60 private cars in the morning rush period or 72 passengers, whereas one ALRV can carry the equivalent of 90 cars or 108 passengers.

Both models of streetcar have high floors, accessed by stairs at each door. TTC staff have explored a number of possible means to make them wheelchair-accessible, including constructing level boarding platforms, lowering the track level, installing wheelchair lifts, and attach wheelchair-accessible trailers, but have concluded that none of these options is practical.

Unlike the TTC's earlier PCC and Peter Witt streetcars, the current models are never run in two-unit trains, or with trailers; the replacement of the two highest-volume routes with subway lines has decreased the number of passengers streetcars must cope with, and a single ALRV is long enough to provide sufficient capacity on today's busiest routes. Notably, the CLRVs originally came with couplers, but these were removed owing to safety concerns.

Since 2008, there has been a few technical additions to the CLRV/ALRV cars. GPS, security camera system and automated stop naming system have been installed on both the CLRV and the ALRV. The additional hardware is located behind the left rear seat of the both types of vehicles.

Next-generation streetcar

The Flexity Outlook (shown in Graz, Austria) is Bombardier’s proposed streetcar for Toronto.

As the original CLRVs will reach the end of their thirty-year service life, the TTC must soon either rebuild or replace them. Until recently, their official plan was to rebuild the CLRVs to extend their useful life by about ten to fifteen years and add new features such as air conditioning, and not purchase any new streetcars until the ALRVs reached the end of their lives. On July 26, 2006 the first streetcar with air conditioning (number 4041) entered revenue service. With new funding from senior governments, however, they now intend to refurbish only one hundred CLRVs to meet Toronto's immediate requirements, and buy new low-floor, higher-capacity trams to replace the current fleet and run planned routes along the waterfront and in the inner suburbs. The remaining 96 streetcars will be rebuilt only if the introduction of new models is delayed.

In June 2007 the TTC launched a public consultation on the design of its new streetcars, including an online survey, and displays at Finch and Scarborough Centre stations, the Albion Centre, and Dundas Square. Mock-ups of the Bombardier Flexity Swift (as used in Minneapolis) and Siemens Combino Plus were on display at the 2007 Canadian National Exhibition in front of the Direct Energy Centre.

On September 19, 2007, the TTC published their specifications for the ‘LF LRV’, as they are calling the proposed new streetcars, which explains what they are seeking beyond that the vehicle be compatible with the TTC’s existing tracks, which require tight turning radii, good hill-climbing ability, and compatibility with single-leaf switches. The tender requests a streetcar of 27–30 m, with multiple points of articulation, and three powered bogies.

Though the document states that the TTC would accept a well-designed 70% low-floor streetcar, they have since decided to seek a 100% low-floor design; folding ramps may be fitted at the doors to allow stepless boarding where platforms are not available. The initial fleet replacing the CLRVs and ALRVs are to remain single-ended with doors on the right only, and to retain current collection by trolley pole, but the TTC also request that provision be made for future conversion to pantograph, and that the option of buying a bi-directional version of the streetcar for new lines be available. Provision will be made for ticket-vending machines on board, rather than have the driver take fares as is current practice.

The TTC are tendering for an initial order of 204 streetcars, with the first prototypes to be delivered in 2010. Current projections for population increases and new lines indicate that by 2026, the TTC will need to extend its fleet to between 350 and 480 streetcars, suggesting that the replacements for the CLRVs and ALRVs will be merely the first of a large fleet.

Bombardier, Siemens, Ansaldobreda, Mytram, Škoda, and Vossloh Kiepe, and Kinki Sharyo all expressed interest in competing to supply the new streetcars, but most dropped out of the bidding at various stages. Siemens gained a great deal of attention for their Combino Plus in 2007, with newspaper advertisements and a web site (now defunct) at www.combinoplus.ca, but eventually decided that ‘it was in our better interest not to bid’; ultimately, only Bombardier and TRAM Power submitted bids.

Bombardier initially displayed a mock-up of the Flexity Swift originally built for the Minneapolis project, but later offered a variant of the Flexity Outlook to meet the 100% low-floor requirement, promoting it with a web site called ‘The Streetcar Redefined’. TRAM Power's product is the City Class Tram, a prototype of which was being tested on the Blackpool tramway until it caught fire on January 24, 2007.

On July 18, 2008, the TTC announced that both bids had been rejected — according to TTC chair Adam Giambrone, Bombardier's entry "would have derailed on Toronto streets", while TRAM Power's was not "commercially compliant" — and reopened the contract. Bombardier actively disputed this claim, adding that it could either supply a compliant car or pay for $10.4 million of construction to make the TTC's track network compliant. The TTC entered into direct negotiations with three companies (Alstom, Siemens, and Bombardier) following its August 27, 2008 commission meeting.

On April 24, 2009, the TTC selected a customized version of Bombardier's Flexity Outlook for the upgrade, with possible use for the Transit City plan as well.

New streetcars will not appear in Toronto until at least 2010, providing that capital funding is secured. In its most recent capital budget on April 2009, there was no solid commitment to fund the purchase of new streetcars from any level of government. As a result, the TTC is facing a shortage of available streetcars. Because the CLRVs are reaching the end of their usable lifespan, they require more frequent repairs, and of the TTC's 248 streetcars, only 186 are available for service, leaving a deficit of almost 10 vehicles in the morning rush hour. The TTC plans to refurbish 132 CLRVs, and perform scheduled mid-life maintenance on all of its ALRVs, however in the meantime the TTC has considered replacing streetcars on Bathurst Street and Kingston Road (routes 502, 503, and 511) with buses during the morning rush hour on a contingency basis, so that they can increase service on busier routes until new vehicles arrive.

The City of Toronto has committed one third of the necessary funds, as per the usual funding formula for capital projects, ⅓ municipal, ⅓ provincial and ⅓ federal. Federal transport minister John Baird was quoted in private telling the city that they could f*** off [sic], though later apologized while explaining that the Toronto request did not meet the timeline required for funds dispersed under the Canadian government's economic stimulus program. While these words were later recanted, the federal government was unwilling to provide any money before the June 27 deadline approached to finalize the contract with Bombardier. Finally, Toronto City Council voted on June 26 to commit the other ⅓ of the funding by deferring other capital projects, such that the funding formula became ⅔ municipal and ⅓ provincial.

List of past Toronto streetcars

Traffic cars

Product list and details

Make/Model	Description	# of vehicles	Year acquired	Year retired	Notes
Canadian Car and Foundry/Brill Peter Witt streetcar – Large with trailers	streetcars	392	1921–1923	1963	retired
Canadian Car and Foundry/Ottawa Car Company Peter Witts – Small Witts	streetcars	196	1921–1923	1965	retired; 1 refurbished for tours
St. Louis Car Company and Canadian Car and Foundry PCC streetcars	streetcars	total of 745 with 205 second-hand and 540 brand-new; some PCCs became work cars for the streetcar service and some to the subway	1938	1996	retired; 2 refurbished for tours

Work cars

Product list and details

Make/Model	Description	Fleet size;	Year acquired	Year retired	Notes
Birney Car – ex-Toronto Railway (retired)	rail grinder	1	1931	1976	retired
St. Louis Car Company W30-W31	rail grinder	2	1976	1999	ex-PCC streetcar - retired. Now at the Halton County Radial Railway. W30 still operational, W31 has driving motors removed.
St. Louis Car Company W28	rail grinder	1	1931	1976	ex-TRC Preston car - retired
Toronto Railway C1	crane	1	1921	?	sold to Halton Radial Railway
W5	snow plow	1	?	?	?
W16	dump car	1	1920s	?
W26	sand car	1	1950	1967
S-30	snow sweeper	1	1947	1970	New York City's Third Avenue Railway System
Russell Car Company / S-31	snow sweeper	1	1947	1973	Built in 1920 as Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway P-601; to Third Avenue Railway System as 86 in 1935; to TTC as S-31 in 1947; preserved at Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine
S-33	snow sweeper	1	1947	1960s	New York City's Third Avenue Railway System
Russell Car Company / S-36	snow sweeper	1	1947	1973	Built in 1920 as Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway P-607; to Third Avenue Railway System as 89 in 1935; to TTC as S-36 in 1947; preserved at Shore Line Trolley Museum, East Haven, Connecticut
Russell Car Company / S-37	snow sweeper	1	1948	1973	Built in 1920 for the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway; to Third Avenue Railway System 1935; to TTC as S-37 in 1947; preserved at Halton County Railway Museum
Russell Car Company / S-39	snow sweeper	1	1948	1973	Built in 1920 as Trenton & Mercer County 31; to Third Avenue Railway System as 82 in 1935; to TTC as S-39 in 1948; to Public Service of New Jersey as 5246 in 1973; now at Transport of New Jersey in Newark as 5246, semiactive in stub tracks at Newark terminal

Track gauge

Grand union at Spadina Avenue and Queen Street West

Street car track reconstruction at Bathurst Street and Queen Street.

The tracks of Toronto's streetcars and subways (apart from the Scarborough RT) are built to the unique track gauge of 58.875, 60 millimetres (2 3/8 in) wider than the usual standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). In 1861, 'standard gauge' in North America was non-existent, although some railways had chosen what was to become standard. The reason for the choice of TTC gauge is unclear. One belief, sometimes quoted by the TTC themselves, is that the City of Toronto feared that the street railway franchise operator, first in 1861 the Toronto Street Railways, then in 1891 the Toronto Railway, 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 U.S. cities, such as New York, New York (New York Central), and in Syracuse, NY (Erie Railroad).

Standard gauge rails in the streets would have allowed this, but of course 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 still freight operations to downtown were not allowed until the final few years of radial operation by the TTC.

Some suggest the more practical reason is that early tracks were used to pull wagons smoothly in the days before paved roads, and that they fit a different gauge. The Williams Omnibus Bus Line did change the gauge of their buses in 1861 so as to do this.

The unique gauge has remained to this day, since converting all tracks and vehicles would be expensive and would lack any real benefit. Some proposals for the city's subway system involved using streetcars in the tunnels, and possibly having some routes run partially in tunnels and partially on city streets, so the same gauge was used, though 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.

The new lines to be built as part of the Transit City project will be constructed to standard gauge. As the project is receiving a large part of its funding from Metrolinx, the Ontario provincial transit authority, it wants to ensure a degree of commonality with any other proposed LRT projects within Ontario, ensuring a better price for purchasing vehicles.

Properties

Track map of TTC network containing loops, stops, subway and GO Transit stations

Dedicated station

There is one standalone underground station in the network that exclusively serves streetcars, located in the tunnel shared by the 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina routes:

• Queens Quay

Loops

A Peter Witt Car car decked out in holiday fare pauses in at McCaul Loop in 1975

Since all of Toronto's current streetcars are unidirectional, they require on- or off-street track loops in order to change direction.

Main article: Toronto streetcar loops

Carhouses

Streetcars at the Roncesvalles Carhouse

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	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; rebuilt 1921	built for the Toronto Railway; indoor and outdoor streetcar storage
Russell (Connaught) Carhouse	Connaught Avenue and Queen Street East	1913	built for the Toronto Railway; indoor and outdoor streetcar storage

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	2002	built for the Toronto Civic Railways
Dundas Carhouse [3]	Dundas Street West and Howard Park Avenue	1907	1936	storage for 60 cars; wye and runaround loop since disappeared and area re-developed
Eglinton Carhouse	Eglinton Avenue West and Yonge Street	1922	2002; demolished
Lansdowne Carhouse	Lansdowne Avenue and Paton Avenue	1911	1996; demolished 2003	Built for the Toronto Railway
St. Clair (Wychwood) Carhouse	Wychwood south of St. Clair Avenue West	1913	1978	built for the Toronto Civic Railways

Lost carhouse

Facility details

Yard	Location	Year To Open	Notes
Runnymede Carhouse	Runnymede Road	1926	proposed carhouse / never developed and abandoned in 1960s

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 serve due to the differences in length and configuration of the different generations of vehicle. A preliminary report recommends a currently-vacant lot at the southeast corner of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard.

Operator training

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

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

Trivia

• The TTC still has a blacksmith employed to make specialized parts for the overhead wires used by the streetcars.
• The lights, or bullseyes, over the route sign on today's CLRV and ALRV, are holdovers of the past streetcars in Toronto. Before lighted route signs, differently coloured glass lenses were used in various patterns to indicate the route the car was running. The new streetcars may have that feature.
• On some tight curves on older portions of the system, water is piped onto the tracks to help reduce the noise caused by the wheels. Modern flange greasers are being used on newly rebuilt portions.
• Syenite sand is dropped onto the rails ahead of the wheels for extra traction in acceleration and braking. A passenger might notice spilled sand on the streetcar floors near the front of the car; this is where the hoppers are loaded.
• Eglinton West station features an artwork called Summertime Streetcar by Gerald Zeldinwith, which consists of two enamel murals depicting PCC streetcars facing each other, although these streetcars never served this station.

See also

• Toronto buses and trolley buses
• Lower Queen

References

• Gray, Jeff (2005-06-23). "TTC to shop for new streetcars". The Globe and Mail.
• "Future Streetcar Fleet Requirements and Plans". Toronto Transit Commission. 2005-06-22.
• Livett, Christopher. "Toronto's Streetcar System (schematic track map)". Transit Toronto.
• "Opportunities for New Streetcar Routes" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. 1997-01-21.

External links

• 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
• Toronto Star article on the history of Toronto's streetcar system
• Geographically accurate map on Google Maps