Scarborough Line

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TTC - Line 3 - Scarborough RT line.svg Scarborough
Train near Lawrence East station
Train near Lawrence East station
Route length: 6.4 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system : side busbar 600 V  =
   
 Eglinton Line (under construction)
BSicon .svgBSicon uxKRZt.svgBSicon utSTR + r.svg
Bloor Danforth Line
BSicon STR + r.svgBSicon uexSTR.svgBSicon utSTR.svg
GO Transit (from Union Station)
BSicon XBHF-L.svgBSicon uKXBHFxa-M.svgBSicon utKXBHFe-R.svg
kennedy
BSicon STR.svgBSicon uHST.svgBSicon .svg
Lawrence East
BSicon STR.svgBSicon uHST.svgBSicon .svg
Ellesmere
BSicon STRl.svgBSicon umKRZu.svgBSicon .svg
GO Transit (Stouffville Line)
   
 Midland
   
 Scarborough Center
   
 McCowan
   
 McCowan Yard

The Scarborough Line (officially called Line 3 Scarborough ) is a light rail line in the Canadian city ​​of Toronto . Until March 2014, their name was Scarborough RT (where RT stands for Rapid Transit ). It is part of the Toronto Subway and is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The line is 6.4 km long and has six stations, the gauge is 1435 mm ( standard gauge ). It is used by an average of 38,570 passengers every day (2015).

Opened in 1985, the line forms the eastern continuation of the Bloor-Danforth Line and leads into the center of the Scarborough borough . It is a special feature of the city's public transport network in various ways. Its tracks are laid in standard gauge and are therefore 60 millimeters narrower than the tracks of the other subway lines. The vehicles run automatically and have a linear motor .

history

Unused turning loop in the Kennedy terminus

In 1973 the shopping center Scarborough Town Center was opened, which subsequently developed into the core of the then still independent city of Scarborough . After the commissioning of the last section of the Bloor-Danforth Line in 1980, there was still a gap of several kilometers between the Kennedy terminus on the outskirts and the center. The City of Scarborough requested an extension of the subway, but the TTC declined to do so in view of the high costs and suggested a more cost-effective solution. Trams should run on an intersection-free route ; with the option of extending the route to the neighboring town of Pickering later .

Scarborough RT route with an extension never built (turquoise)

In the 1970s the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC), a company owned by the Province of Ontario , worked with Krauss-Maffei to develop a new type of rail transport. The Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS) had linear motors and was designed for automatic operation on routes with medium capacity. The provincial government was looking for an area of ​​application for the new system. In 1981 she convinced the TTC and the City of Scarborough to use ICTS trains instead of trams on the route that was already under construction, and assumed all additional costs.

In March 1984 the first test drives took place on the route, in July and August 1984 on the section Kennedy - Lawrence East also with passengers. The official opening was on March 22, 1985, two days later the scheduled service began. Right from the start, Scarborough RT was a bad star. The estimated cost of 103 million dollars had almost doubled during the construction period. A year and a half after it went live, it incurred additional costs of $ 27 million to fix technical problems. Around half of this was used to rebuild the turning loop at the Kennedy terminus, which was originally built for the tram and which was actually unnecessary for ICTS trains, as trains were derailed several times there. During the renovation in the summer of 1988, operations were inactive for three months. Since then, the loop has only been used for parking. Due to the unexpectedly high follow-up costs, Scarborough RT had the reputation of being a “ white elephant ” early on .

After opening in 1985, the plan was to extend the route in a second step beyond McCowan by a further 3.2 km to the Malvern district. A corridor along a disused railway line was ready for this purpose. In 1992 the route and stations were planned in detail. The project would have cost $ 430 million, more than twice the cost of the existing section. In 1995 there was a change of government in Ontario and the new Prime Minister Mike Harris ordered the suspension of all planning.

Route and stations

Viaduct between Scarborough Center and McCowan

The 6.4 km long route is almost L-shaped and runs almost exclusively above ground. It begins at Kennedy station , where the single track of the Scarborough line lies between the two tracks of the Bloor-Danforth line, creating optimal transfer conditions ( Spanish solution ). Immediately after leaving the station, the route swings in a northerly direction. For the next 4.2 kilometers, it follows a stretch of the Canadian National Railway , which is also used by GO Transit local trains.

After Ellesmere station , the previously ground-level Scarborough line crosses under the railway line in a short tunnel and bends in a tight curve to the east. A viaduct follows to the McCowan terminus . There the track descends again and finally ends in the McCowan Yard parking area . The most frequented station behind Kennedy is Scarborough Center , which is located directly at the south entrance of the shopping center of the same name and has a large bus station.

vehicles

Between 1983 and 1985, TTC ordered 28 ITCS Mark I cars from UTDC for Scarborough RT . They are 12.7 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and weigh 15.445 tons. A car offers 30 seats and 55 standing places, so it is relatively small. As a rule, the cars are coupled to form four-car trains and run at a maximum speed of 80 km / h. However, this often excessive speed has a significant disadvantage, namely an enormous volume development. The Bombardier Group took over UTDC in 1991 and developed the ITCS further into the Bombardier Advanced Rapid Transit system .

The ITCS trains were actually developed for automatic operation. However, given numerous software problems after the opening, the public was demanding staff on the trains. Since then, a TTC employee has been present on every train to monitor operations and check the doors. The trains are serviced in the McCowan terminus for small repairs, otherwise in the main subway workshop.

future

The Scarborough Line has a bad rap for a number of reasons. The massive cost overruns and the unreliability in the first few years of operation contributed to this. There are also capacity bottlenecks during peak times. The Mark I series cars delivered by UTDC in the 1980s are approaching their maximum service life and are no longer in production. The successor model Mark II from Bombardier cannot be used because the station systems would have to be converted with high financial and technical effort due to the significantly longer cars. Due to the different technology and the different gauge, integration into the subway network is also ruled out. Even if the route were to be changed, the subway would not be able to use it because of the tight bends.

As part of the Transit City expansion program presented in 2007, ICTS technology was to be completely replaced. Instead, low-floor light rail cars should run on the route . In addition, the planned light rail line should have led beyond McCowan to the Malvern district. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2014 and commissioning in 2019. The new Mayor Rob Ford , who had promised a subway to Scarborough during his election campaign, announced when he took office in December 2010 that he would no longer support the project. The traffic planning authority Metrolinx ignored the wishes of the controversial mayor, but changed the project to the effect that the route of the Scarborough line should be linked to that of the Eglinton line , which is under construction . After the planned closure in 2015, the line to Scarborough should have been reopened in 2020. The Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure launched the tender process in January 2013 .

In June 2013, the Toronto City Council again debated the different options for replacing the Scarborough Line. Metrolinx pointed out that an extension of the Bloor-Danforth line running a little further to the east would cost around 500 to 925 million dollars more than converting the existing route to light rail operations. On October 8, 2013, the city council decided with 24:20 votes in favor of the subway variant, which provides three new stations. It is said to cost around three billion dollars, of which federal and provincial governments together would take on a little more than two thirds.

In 2016 it was proposed to reduce the number of new stations to one in order to extend the Eglinton line by means of the reduced costs. With this solution, the Kennedy tube would go straight to the Scarborough Center. In mid-2016 it was announced that the project costs of this one-station solution would be $ 900 million higher due to topographical features.

Web links

Commons : Scarborough Line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Subway. Toronto Transit Commission , accessed December 7, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Subway ridership, 2015. (PDF; 84 kB) Toronto Transit Commission, accessed December 7, 2017 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c The Scarborough Rapid Transit Line. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed May 14, 2010 .
  4. ^ The Scarborough Rapid Transit Extension. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed May 15, 2010 .
  5. ^ ITCS (S1). transithub.com, 2004, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  6. ^ The TTC's McCowan Yards. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  7. ^ Scarborough route too crowded - More capacity to cost up to $ 1.2B. Toronto Star, April 24, 2006, accessed May 15, 2010 .
  8. ^ Scarborough Malvern Light Rail Transit (LRT). (PDF; 457 KiB) City of Toronto, October 16, 2009, accessed on June 19, 2014 (English).
  9. ^ Request for Qualifications Issued for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Scarborough LRT Lines. (PDF; 84 KB) Infrastructure Ontario, Metrolinx, January 22, 2013, accessed on June 19, 2014 (English).
  10. ^ Metrolinx to Toronto: Subway is yours. The Globe and Mail , July 2, 2013, accessed June 19, 2014 .
  11. ^ Scarborough subway confirmed by Toronto council. Toronto Star , October 8, 2013, accessed June 19, 2014 .
  12. ↑ a b Oliver Moore: Scarborough subway cost rises by $ 900 million. The Globe and Mail, July 17, 2016, accessed July 9, 2016 .