Toronto subway and RT
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- This article is about the subway system in Toronto. For the organization that operates the system along with the city's buses and streetcars, see Toronto Transit Commission.
The Toronto subway and RT is the main rapid transit railway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since the original line following Yonge Street opened in 1954, the network has expanded to encompass four lines and 69 stations. Run by Toronto Transit Commission, the subway system is a very popular mode of public transport in Toronto, with an average of 878,800 passenger trips each day (as of 2004).
The TTC sometimes uses the term "rapid transit" internally to describe all four lines, but in general public usage there is no collective term. They are called the three "subway" lines and "the (Scarborough) RT".
A current focus for the TTC's rapid-transit expansion is an extension bringing the western branch of the Yonge-University-Spadina Line north to York University, Steeles Avenue and Vaughan Corporate Centre in York Region. The Government of Ontario announced on March 23, 2006 that it will provide $670 million for this extension, about one-third of the expected cost. If built, the extension would be approximately 6.2 km long and would likely be built with six new stations: Sheppard West, Finch West, York University, Steeles West, Highway 407 Transitway and Vaughan Corporate Centre. It is expected to cost approximately $2 billion. An environmental assessment has been completed to Steeles Avenue.
Contents |
Train network
| Template:Yonge-University-Spadina Between Finch and Downsview via Union | Template:Bloor-Danforth Between Kipling and Kennedy |
| Template:Scarborough RT Between Kennedy and McCowan | Template:Sheppard Between Sheppard-Yonge and Don Mills |
History
Yonge-University line (1954-1963)
The first segment of the subway, which replaced a heavily-used streetcar route, ran under and next to Yonge Street from Eglinton Avenue to King Street. The route then turned west, to the southernmost station, at Front and Bay, underneath to the city's main railway terminus, Union Station. This line was completed in 1954. It was 6.5 km long.
In 1963, an extension was added, north from Union Station, below University Avenue, to just south of Bloor Street, where it turned west to terminate at St George and Bloor. Template:Main
Bloor-Danforth line (1966-1968)
The very existence of the Danforth line, opened in 1966, is thanks to a decision made more than forty years earlier. When the Bloor Street Viaduct was built in 1919, its designer insisted on building twin decks below the roadway to allow for future rail traffic. Thanks to that decision, the subway is able to cross the Don River ravine to Danforth Avenue on the east side. Template:Main
Yonge line extension (1973-1974)
The Yonge-University line was extended north 8 km from Eglinton and Yonge to Finch Avenue and Yonge in 1973 and 1974.
Spadina extension (1978)
A further 12 km was added to the Yonge-University Line at St George and Bloor, running north-west to Eglinton and William R. Allen Road, where it turned north to run down the centre of the Allen Road, to Wilson Avenue and the Allen Road.
Bloor-Danforth extension (1980)
Extensions were added at the west and east end of the Bloor-Danforth Line. These extensions each added a single station, and much needed bus bays to connect to surface routes, and, on the eastern end, room to connect to the Scarborough RT.
Scarborough RT (1985)
The Scarborough RT is an intermediate-capacity line built almost entirely above ground, which has no direct track connections to the other lines and uses a separate fleet of ICTS trains based on dramatically different technology (similar to those of the Vancouver SkyTrain). Nevertheless, its operating practices are the same as those of the other three lines. The route is fully isolated from road traffic and pedestrians, the stations are fully covered, and the trains are boarded through many doors from high platforms within a fare-paid zone set off by a barrier. The TTC therefore includes it with the other rapid transit lines for mapping and administrative purposes. Template:Main
Spadina extension (1996)
An additional kilometre was added to the north end of the Spadina arm of the Yonge-University-Spadina line, adding a station with bus-bays for connections to surface routes. At the time, a newly elected provincial Progressive Conservative government cancelled their share of funding that would have extended this route northward to York University and Steeles Avenue. This extension is again under serious consideration (see Future expansion).
Sheppard line (2002)
The Sheppard line, opened in 2002, runs 5.5 km east, from Sheppard Station on the Yonge line (now renamed Sheppard-Yonge), near the north end of the Yonge-University-Spadina Line. Template:Main
Future expansion
The TTC has placed a lower priority on rapid-transit expansion, contingent upon additional funding: maintenance of the present system, increasing the present system's capacity, and fare initiatives are currently considered higher funding priorities. Image:TTCsubwayRTmap-2015.png
Through its Rapid Transit Expansion Strategy (RTES), the TTC has identified two major subway expansion projects until 2015. One is the eventual eastward extension of the Sheppard line from Don Mills station to Scarborough Centre station (see the Sheppard line article for more details).
Another is the extension of the Yonge-University-Spadina line from Downsview station through York University to Steeles Avenue and up to the proposed Vaughan Corporate Centre in the city's northern neighbour, the City of Vaughan, which is part of the Regional Municipality of York. Receiving increased attention recently, this extension to Steeles Avenue has passed the third phase of Environmental Assessment and an alignment has been established. The proposed stations, north of Downsview station, are likely to be named Sheppard West, Finch West, York University, Steeles West and Vaughan Corporate Centre.
The current provincial Liberal government will provide $670 million to a trust fund earmarked for the Spadina subway extension. With no obstacles and full funding commitments from senior government, the $2 billion expansion would be operational by 2013 at the earliest.
In addition, the TTC is currently considering options for revitalizing the Scarborough RT line, since its fleet of trains are approaching the end of their lifespan and the line is already overcrowded. Replacing the trains is complicated by the fact that the original ICTS vehicles used by the line are no longer produced, and their newer counterparts are longer and so would require expensive upgrades to the existing track. As a result, the TTC is also considering other options including an extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway along a different alignment, converting the Scarborough RT to a dedicated right-of-way for streetcars (as was originally planned), and replacing it with a bus rapid transit line. The Government of Ontario has provided $1 million for an environmental assessment relating to the future of "the Scarborough subway".
Subway facts
Image:Toronto ttc car subway.jpg Like most metros, the Toronto subway/RT trains collect their electric power from a third rail mounted beside the tracks. 'Paddles' mounted on the bogeys are located on both sides of each coach for the required contact. The power is supplied at 600 V DC.
Scarborough RT trains cannot switch directions except at the ends of the line. There are no turnback switches between the two termini, meaning that trains can only be switched to the opposite track there.
In August 1995, the TTC suffered its worst subway accident in what the TTC refers to as the Russell Hill accident on the Yonge-University-Spadina line. Three women died and 100 people were injured, a few seriously. This led to a major shake-up at the TTC, since contributing to maintaining a "state of good repair" (i.e., an increased emphasis on safety and maintenance of existing TTC capital/services) and less so on expansion.
GO Transit's commuter trains stop at or near the Kipling, Dundas West (GO's Bloor station), Main Street (GO's Danforth station), Leslie (GO's Oriole station), and Kennedy subway stations. The TTC's Union subway station connects with Union Station, Toronto's main railway station, which serves not only GO trains, but also VIA, Amtrak, and Ontario Northland. GO's buses connect with the TTC at a number of stations, and some other GO stations, while not connected to the subway, are served by buses or streetcars.
Suicide on the subway system is not rare in Toronto, but not a common problem on the system. Some have suggested the installation of barrier doors to prevent suicides and others who accidentally fall into the tracks. Suicides usually occur during rush hour/peak time. Information on these suicides is hard to come by, as they are not publicized.
The only baby to be born on the subway is Mary Kim of Scarborough, Ontario. On February 6, 2006, her mother, Sun Hee Paik, took the subway with her family to St. Michael's Hospital from their Scarborough home. She did not make it to the downtown hospital and gave birth at Wellesley subway station. Her husband delivered the baby and Toronto EMS arrived later to help finish the birth and send the mother and child to St. Michael's. TTC officials later promised to provide Mary with lifetime transit access.
The Subways notifies passengers that they are about to leave the station with a three note chime (C# A# F#).
Stations
For complete lists and details of stations, lines, and their locations in the Toronto subway/RT system, see "Train network" above and associated links.
Current stations
Most stations are named for the nearest major road crossed by the line in question. A few are named for major landmarks, such as shopping centres or transportation hubs, served by the station. The University Avenue section of the Yonge-University-Spadina line, in particular, is named entirely for landmarks (public institutions and major churches).
All trains stop at every station along their route and run the entire length of their line from terminus to terminus, with the exception of every other train on the Yonge-University-Spadina line during rush hour—these trains terminate at St. Clair West.
Closed stations
Image:TTCSubwayInterlined1966.svg
The TTC has one closed subway station: the lower level of Bay subway station. This subway station was briefly used for interlining between two of Toronto's lines in 1966, producing an effect similar to the "branching" lines of metro systems in some other cities. Interlining worked in that one would not have to switch trains to go from one line to another. The experiment, which lasted six months, proved to be impractical. A problem could hold up much of the system. It is said that chaos ensued as passengers at Bay did not know which platform their next train might end up on, causing people to wait on the stairs. Switching trains also did not significantly lengthen a commute, since at the point of departure one would have to wait anyhow for an interlined train heading to the desired destination. Today, Lower Bay is best known for its use in movie shoots and special events. The station has been modified several times to make it look like a "common" American subway station, and the TTC owns a pre-built set to disguise it as a New York City Subway station.
The tracks through Lower Bay still exist and are used from time to time to move equipment between lines. The junctions are just north of Museum station northbound and just west of Bloor-Yonge station. A second double-track connection links junctions just east of Spadina (Bloor-Danforth line) and just north (physically west) of St. George on the Yonge-University-Spadina Line.
A lesser known station is Lower Queen. In the plan that produced the original section of the Yonge subway, the TTC planned to build a second subway under Queen Street that would have been used not by dedicated rapid-transit trains but instead by regular streetcars in order to speed up their east-west passage through the downtown section. When the federal government refused to provide funding for the subway project, the TTC deferred the Queen subway, and by the time it came to revisit the east-west question, changing traffic patterns made the route under Bloor Street more sensible. The original Yonge subway's Queen station, however, had been built with a roughed-in streetcar station on a lower level, ready for the second line if it should ever be built. Many people unknowingly pass through this second station every day, as the tunnel that goes under the station so that riders can move between northbound and southbound platforms is a portion of this underground station, with most of the excess infrastructure walled off.
The TTC also planned but did not construct a Lower Osgoode station for the Queen line.
In the 1990s, the TTC began digging Allen Station under Eglinton West for the Eglinton subway project, but it was filled in again when the newly-elected conservative Government of Ontario cancelled the line in 1995.
That year provincial resources were immediately pulled out of the environment ministry, cutting its budget by nearly half and shifting focus away from urban planning. In addition to cancelling the planned subway line along Eglinton West, extension of the Spadina line to York University was also halted. (Moloney, 2002) By 1998, the province completely eliminated subsidies for the Toronto Transit Commission that had amounted to $104 million in 1995. (Theobald, 2003)
Track information
For the most part, the subway system is composed of two parallel three-rail tracks. At most stations, particularly the older ones, the rails enter two separate bays in each station, one for Eastbound, one for Westbound (or North/Southbound). The newer stations, with some exceptions, use a single platform between the tracks. Older stations that were formerly termini also use a single platform between the tracks. Along the lines there are also storage tracks, a third set of rails longer than the length of a train, that can be used for resting or turning around. They are formally known in the TTC as centre tracks.
These exist at the following locations:
- East of Islington Station
- East of Ossington Station
- West of Chester Station
- South of Lawrence West Station
- North of St. Clair West Station
- West of Union Station
- South of York Mills Station
Pocket tracks are also a variation of centre tracks, but can only be accessed from one end. The other end ends in a blocker. They can be found at:
- South of Osgoode Station (accessible from north end only)
- North of Eglinton Station (accessible from north end only)
- North of Finch Station (tail tracks)
Double crossovers, allowing for the switching of tracks exist at the following locations:
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There is also a single crossover north of Union Station on the Yonge line that allows trains to come into Union from the north, enter what is now the platform designated "Northbound - University line", and turn around, heading back north towards Finch on the proper track. This would have been used when Union was the Yonge terminus until the University line was opened in the 1960s.
Other track "anomalies":
- The tracks used for interlining in the late 1960s:
- North of Museum Station the tracks split, one heading for Upper-St. George St, the other for the now abandoned Lower-Bay.
- The track headed to Lower-Bay joins up with the Bloor-Danforth line just before Yonge Station.
- The track headed to Upper-St. George is what is now used for the University line.
- The tracks approaching St. George Station from Spadina split, one heading for Upper, the other for Lower-St. George.
- North of Museum Station the tracks split, one heading for Upper-St. George St, the other for the now abandoned Lower-Bay.
- Single cross-overs, acting as entrances to the Vincent Yards, the Wilson Yards, the Davisville Yards, and the Downsview Yards.
- Between Donlands and Greenwood Stations the track splits in both directions, allowing trains to enter or exit the Greenwood Yards in either direction.
- A maintenance track, accessible from the eastbound Bloor-Danforth line, just west of Warden Station. Trains must back into this track and leave head-first.
- Short tail tracks at Don Mills Station. It is the only terminal station not to have train length tail tracks.
- The tracks used to transfer between the Sheppard and Yonge lines are as follows:
- From Northbound Yonge to Eastbound Sheppard: Simple track split on the Yonge line
- This track meets the Sheppard Line East of Sheppard-Yonge Station, so trains must then back into the station.
- From the Westbound Sheppard track to Southbound Yonge: Trains go west, beyond the Sheppard-Yonge Station, the track then splits, one track onto the Eastbound Sheppard, the other to Southbound Yonge.
- From Northbound Yonge to Eastbound Sheppard: Simple track split on the Yonge line
- There used to be more crossovers on the Yonge line, but three were removed when the University line was constructed
- The locations of the removed crossovers were: north of King Station, south of College Station (Gerrard Crossover), and south of St. Clair Station.
- The cuts in the tunnels for the King and Gerrard Crossovers still exist to this day.
- The locations of the removed crossovers were: north of King Station, south of College Station (Gerrard Crossover), and south of St. Clair Station.
Track gauge
The tracks of Toronto's streetcars and subways (apart from the Scarborough RT) are built to the unique gauge of 1.495 m (4 feet 10 7/8 inches), 60 mm (3 3/8") wider than the usual standard of 1.435 m (4 feet 8 1/2 inches). One popular albeit false belief is that the City of Toronto feared that the Toronto Railway Company, which held the franchise to run streetcars before the TTC was created, would allow Canadian Pacific Railway to operate steam locomotives through city streets. 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. Due to the cost of converting all the tracks and vehicles (and the lack of any real benefit in doing so), the unique gauge has remained to this day.
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 favour 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 its ICTS vehicles need anything more than basic service (which can be carried out in the RT's own McCowan Yard), they are carried by truck to the Greenwood subway yards.
Vehicles
The Toronto Transit Commission has a fleet of:
- 694 subway cars for the Yonge-University-Spadina, Bloor-Danforth, and Sheppard lines
- 56 subway work cars
- 28 ICTS cars for the Scarborough RT line
- 6 RT work cars
Here is a list of rapid transit vehicles used by the TTC since 1954:
Subway trains
Current
The current subway fleet consists mostly of the new T1 cars and H5 and H6 cars. Some of the H4 cars will be retired as more cars are bought in the future or wear out.
- Hawker-Siddeley Canada RT 75 H4
- Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) RT75 H5
- UTDC RT75 H6 (Will be converted to be wheelchair accessible during maintenance)
- Bombardier Transportation RT75 T1 Image:Wheelchair.png
Image:Wheelchair.png Denotes vehicles specifically designed to be wheelchair-accessible (though level boarding platforms allow a degree of access to all trains).
Retired
All Gloucester and MLW cars have been retired, as well as most early H-series cars (H1-3):
- Gloucester Railway Wagon and Carriage Company G1, G2, G3, and G4
- Montreal Locomotive Works M1
- Hawker-Siddeley Canada RT75 H1 and H2
- Hawker-Siddeley Canada H3 (a modified H2 with chopper control)
Future
For their future fleet, the TTC are considering abandoning their strategy of building their trains from married pairs of identical cars, and purchasing permanent six-segment articulated units similar to the model of Bombardier's Movia metro train used by the Shenzhen Metro. These will have only two driver cabins per train, allow passengers to walk between cars (increasing capacity as a result), reduce noise, and simplify operations immensely. In the new design, seats would all be parallel to the outside wall to ease movement and construction would be welded rather than riveted to reduce building costs and increase aerodynamics. The new design would be introduced around 2009. [1]
Scarborough RT trains
Work vehicles
Current subway work vehicles
- RT1 Rail maintenance car, built 1909
- RT2 Flat car, built 1997
- RT3 Overhead maintenace car, built 1922
- RT4 Track re-insulation car, built 1997
- RT5 Tunnel leak repair (grout) car, built 1997
- RT6 Vacuum cleaning car, built 1922
- RT7 Diesel loco, built 1997
- RT8 Train of 13 rail delivery articulated bogies, built 1997
- RT9 Works Services Car, ex H4 ####, conv. ####
- RT10 Works Services Car (ex-garbage car unit), ex H1 5374, conv. 2000
- RT11 Non motored, built 2000
- RT12 Electric loco, built 1968
- RT13 Centre cab crane, built 1968
- RT16 Tunnel washer, built 1996 – used with RT17
- RT17 Tunnel washer, built 1996 – used with RT16
- RT18 Diesel loco, built 1977
- RT19 Crane, built 1980
- RT20 Flat car and crane, built 1980
- RT21 Flat car, built 1980
- RT22 Flat car, built 1973
- RT23 Non motored asbestos abatement car, ex H1 5391, conv. 1984
- RT26 Gauge car, built 1980
- RT27 Beam transporter and crane, built 1986
- RT28 Flat car w/ crane, built 2000
- RT29 Flat car, built 2001
- RT30 Non motored grinding truck, built 1988
- RT31 Non motored grinding truck, built 1988
- RT32 Non motored grinding truck, built 1988
- RT33 Non motored grinding truck, built 1988
- RT34 Grinding train, ex G2 5102, conv. 1988
- RT35 Grinding train, ex G2 5103, conv. 1988
- RT36 Grinding train, ex G1 5068, conv. 1991
- RT37 Grinding train, ex G1 5069, conv. 1991
- RT38 Ex-garbage car unit, ex H1 5422, conv. 1997
- RT39 Ex-garbage car unit, ex H1 5423, conv. 1997
- RT40 Ballast car, built 1989
- RT41 Tie tamper car, built 1993
- RT42 Scaffold car, built 1999
- RT43 Asbestos abatement crew car, ex H1 5459, conv. 2000
- RT44 Asbestos abatement crew car, ex H1 5458, conv. 2000
- RT45 Asbestos abatement garbage car, ex H1 5337, conv. 2000
- RT46 Asbestos abatement garbage car, ex H1 5336, conv. 2000
- RT47 Flat car, built 1999
- RT48 Motored snow blower, built 2001
- RT49 Motored snow blower, built 2001
- RT50 Non motored snow blower, built 1999
- RT51 Non motored snow blower, built 1999
- RT52 Non motored snow blower, built 1999
- RT53 Non motored snow blower, built 1999
- RT54 Flat car, built 1973
- RT55
- RT56 Vacuum rodder car, built 2004/2005 by Arva Industries
- RT57 Works Service Car, ex H4 (5612?)
- RT58 Works Service Car, ex H4 (5613?)
- RT60 Works Service Car, ex H4 5636
- RT61 Works Service Car, ex H4 5637
- RT62 Works Service Car, ex H4 5616
- RT63 Works Service Car, ex H4 5617
- RT64 Works Service Car, ex H4 5594
- RT65 Works Service Car, ex H4 5595
- RT66
- RT67
- RT68 Fibre Optics testing, ex H1 5408
- RT69 Fibre Optics testing, ex H1 5409
- RT70 Flat car, built 2005
- 5386 Fibre Optics testing, ex H1 5386
- 5387 Fibre Optics testing, ex H1 5387
Retired subway work vehicles
- RT4: Platform maintenance car, ex Witt 2528, conv. 1954, retired 1974
- RT10: Garbage car unit, Tokyo Rose, built 1967, retired 1999
- RT14: Grinding train, ex PCC 4446, conv. 1970, retired 1989 – used with PCC RT15
- RT14: Tunnel washer, built 1988, retired 1999 – used with RT15 and RT16
- RT15: Grinding train, ex PCC 4410, conv. 1970, retired 1989 – used with PCC RT14
- RT15: Tunnel washer, built 1988, retired 1999 – used with RT14 and RT16
- RT16: Tunnel washer, built 1973, retired 1999 – used with
- RT14 and RT15
- RT38: Garbage car unit, ex G2, conv. 1991, retired 1998
- RT39: Garbage car unit, ex G2, conv. 1991, retired 1998
Scarborough RT work vehicles
- ST1: Diesel loco, built 1984
- ST2: Flat car w/ crane, built 1984
- ST3: Grinding truck, built 1984, used with ST1
- ST4: Non motored snow blower, built 1986, used with ST1
- ST5: Non motored power rail cleaner and de-icer, built 1987, used with ST1
- ST6: Grinding truck, built 1987, used with ST1
Others
A HS H1 car is used to simulate subway scenarios and is located at the Special Operations Training Centre of Toronto Fire Services.
Facilities
Here is a list of subway and RT yards and facilities:
- Davisville Subway Yard - services the Yonge and Sheppard lines
- Greenwood Subway Yard - services the Bloor-Danforth line
- Wilson Subway Yard - services the Spadina and University lines
- McCowan RT Yard - services the Scarborough RT line
- Keele (Vincent) Yard - inactive
Source: TTC Subway Related Properties
Formerly-planned lines
See also
References
- Transit Toronto Subway and RT
- Transit Toronto Lost Subway Stations
- Thirty Years down the line Toronto Star March 1984, M1 and M9
- Welcome Aboard - Tomorrow's Transit Today - UTDC 1985
- TTC Rider - Maps for the quickest route on the system
- TTC Rapid Transit Expansion Study (RTES) and follow-up report (2001-2)
- Spadina Line Extension
- Baby, what a ride! Child born on subway platform
External links
- Official TTC site
- News, history and discussion
- Rider efficiency guide
- CBC Radio and TV archives about the Montreal Metro and Toronto Subway
- The TTC on Freewebs
- The TTC's Official Subway Travel Time Chart
Template:Canadianmetrosde:Subway Toronto fr:Toronto Transit Commission