Toronto Tram

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tram
Toronto Tram
image
Basic information
Country Canada
city Toronto
opening September 11, 1861
operator Toronto Transit Commission
Infrastructure
Route length 75 km
Gauge 1495 mm
Power system 600 V DC overhead line
Tunnel stations 4th
Depots 3
business
Lines 10
statistics
Passengers 276,000 per day

The Toronto Tramway comprises eleven tram lines in the Canadian city ​​of Toronto . These are operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) urban transportation company. The 75 km long route network stretches for the most part in the city center and along the shores of Lake Ontario . It is one of the few remaining classic systems in North America with predominantly street-level routes and at the same time the largest tram network on this continent. The history of the "street cars" goes back to 1861 when a horse-drawn tram was opened. Electrification took place from 1892 to 1894, and in 1921 TTC took over the operation of all trams in the city. Four stops are underground, three of which are integrated into the Toronto subway stations . The Toronto tram is the only one in the world with a gauge of 1495 mm.

history

Predecessor companies

TRC car on King Street (1900)

In 1849, the carpenter and undertaker Burt Williams began operating horse-drawn buses . The first, economically successful line, the Williams Omnibus Bus Line on Yonge Street , was followed by others. Williams manufactured the cars in his own workshop. An association of businessmen led by Alex Easton founded the Toronto Street Railway (TSR) company in 1861 , which received the concession for horse-drawn trains from the city . The first line went into operation on September 11th of the same year. In 1862 TSR bought Williams' bus operation and shut it down.

Route network in 1912

From 1884 to 1889 there was a 1.6 km long line to the Exhibition Place exhibition area , on which the TSR tested various electrical operating modes. The TSR concession expired on March 26, 1891, after which the city took over operations for a few months. However, they shied away from the financial outlay for the electrification of the route network, which was demanded by the public, and therefore granted a new company, the Toronto Railway Company (TRC), another 30-year concession. TRC took over operations on September 1, 1891 and opened the first electrically operated line on August 16, 1892. The last horse tram ran on August 31, 1894. In the first few years, the tram was not allowed to run on Sundays. In 1892, the residents voted in favor of continuing the ban, but five years later they allowed Sunday traffic.

The urban area of ​​Toronto grew through several incorporations and the city administration asked the TRC several times to develop the new districts. The company refused, however; a court ruling supported their reasoning, according to which the concession only affects the original urban area. The city then founded its own company in 1912, Toronto Civic Railways (TCR), which operated several lines outside the old city limits. The private TRC planned to move the routes on the main streets of Yonge Street, Bloor Street and Queen Street in tunnels, which the residents of Toronto rejected in a referendum in 1912.

In addition to the TRC and the TCR, there were several small companies with routes to the suburbs ( Interurbans ). These included the Toronto & Mimico Electric Railway (from 1890), the Toronto & Scarboro Electric Railway (1892) and the Metropolitan Street Railway (from 1877). These three merged with the Toronto & York Radial Railway in 1906 . The Toronto Suburban Railway was created in 1894 from the merger of the three years previously founded companies City & Suburban Electric Railway and Davenport Street Railway and was taken over by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1918 .

Toronto Transit Commission

Peter Witt car in the original paintwork from 1921

In a referendum in 1920, a year before the TRC concession expired, the founding of a new municipal company was decided. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC, until 1954 known as the Toronto Transportation Commission ) then took over the tram routes of the TRC and TCR on September 1, 1921, followed by the Toronto & York Radial Railway and in the neighboring city of York by 1927 the Toronto Suburban Railway . The TTC renewed the outdated vehicle fleet until the 1940s, first with Peter Witt cars , later with PCC cars . The route network reached a maximum length of 109 kilometers.

Tram cars in the underground terminus Spadina

After World War II, Toronto followed the trend in other western states and began shutting down routes. The opening of the Yonge University Line (1954) and in particular the Bloor Danforth Line (1966) of the Toronto Subway made the route network shrink considerably. The TTC calculated that the tram would be gone by around 1980. This policy of closure was stopped in 1972 amid growing protests. Citizens' movements were able to convince the transport company that the tram is better suited than buses on heavily used routes. By the end of the 1980s, the TTC replaced the Peter Witt and PCC cars with modern cars from the specially developed CLRV (Canadian Light Rail Vehicle) and ALRV (Articulated Light Rail Vehicle) series .

In 1990 the TTC opened a new, partly underground route from Union Station to Queen's Quay on the shores of Lake Ontario . In 1997 it was extended by almost four kilometers along Spadina Avenue and has since been the most important south-north connection in the city center. This section of the route was closed in 1966, demolished and replaced by a bus line. The reconstruction on its own track structure that was not used by road traffic finally marked a turning point in urban transport policy. In 2000, a short new line from Queen's Quay along the lake shore to the Harbourfront was added to enable a direct line from Union Station to Exhibition Place. The route along St. Clair Avenue in the north of the city was completely modernized in five stages from 2006.

Route network

As of March 2020:

line Surname Length (km) annotation Depots
501 Queen 24.65 Roncesvalles
Russell
503 Kingston Road 09.81 no service in the evenings and on weekends
504 King 504A: 10.39

504B: 9.61		 The line 504 has two partially overlapping branches:
  • 504A from Dundas West Station to the Distillery Loop.
  • 504B from Broadview Station to Dufferin Gate Loop.
(Loop = turning loop)
 Leslie
Roncesvalles
505 Dundas 10.92
506 Carlton 15.07 Leslie
508 Lake Shore 18.88 only during rush hour Roncesvalles
509 Harbourfront 04.40 Leslie
510 Spadina 05.43 Leslie
511 Bathurst 05.33 Leslie
512 St. Clair 07.13 Leslie
Detailed track plan, 2011 (without the new branches on Leslie Street and on Sumach and Cherry Streets).

TTC operates eleven tram lines on a route network of 75 km in length. They are predominantly aligned in a west-east direction, with the exception of lines 510 and 511, which run from south to north. Line 512 along St. Clair Avenue is only connected to the rest of the network over a 1.3 km long service route. All trams are equipped for one-way operation, which is why there are turning loops at the ends of the line .

The proportion of straßenbündigem roadbed is high, accordingly, the travel speed in the tram network is low. Lines 509 (Harbourfront), 510 (Spadina) and 512 (St. Clair) have special railway bodies (separated from other road traffic by structural measures) along their entire length. Also, part of the 501 (Queen) line along The Queensway and part of the 504A King (Distillery Loop) line along Sumach and Cherry Streets are via special railroad tracks.

504 tram at King Station on the King Street Transit Priority Corridor

In December 2017, Toronto created the King Street Transit Priority Corridor along a 2.6-kilometer section of King Street in the center. Car traffic is very limited within the corridor so as not to obstruct tram service from lines 504 and 508.

There are four underground tram stops, three of which are integrated into the Toronto Subway . These are the Union and Spadina stations , both of which were supplemented in 1990 by an underground turning loop, and the St. Clair West station , which has also served trams since it opened in 1978. The Queens Quay tunnel station, south of Union Station, opened in 1990, is reserved exclusively for tram traffic .

In the center there are connecting routes that are used for diversions and short tours. These routes are the remnants of what used to be the larger tram network and are now mostly not used regularly. The streets with connecting routes are: Coxwell Avenue, Parliament Street, Church Street, Richmond Street, Adelaide Street, Victoria Street, York Street, Bay Street, McCaul Street, Shaw Avenue, Ossington Avenue. Line 503 uses the platform on Wellington Street as part of a turning loop.

Gauge

Intersection of Spadina Avenue and Queen Street West

The tracks of the tram and the Toronto subway (with the exception of the Scarborough line and the light rail) have the worldwide unique gauge of 1495 mm, which is 6 cm wider than the standard gauge of 1435 mm. When the horse-drawn railway started operating in 1861, the standard gauge had not yet established itself, although numerous railways were already using it. The unusual gauge has been preserved to this day, as changing the gauge of the tracks and making the necessary adjustments to the wagons were costly and of no real benefit. There are two explanations for the wide gauge.

According to the TTC, the purpose of the broad gauge was to prevent steam locomotives and freight trains from running on the tram routes - a practice that was quite common in other cities such as Hamilton , Syracuse or New York at the time.

But under the 1861 treaty between the city and the Toronto Street Railway, the horse-drawn tram's gauge had to be wide enough to allow horse-drawn carriages and carriages to travel in the groove on the inside of the rails. In Toronto, most horse-drawn carriages and carriages used the same track width; that way, such cars could drive better in the grooves through the muddy, unpaved road.

Temporary tram connection to the Yonge metro line (left)

Between 1954 and 1965, the TTC used the workshops of the tram system for repairs on the bogies of subway cars. For this reason, the subway got the same gauge. During the construction of the Yonge subway line, there was a temporary connection to the former Yonge tram line near the Davisville subway depot. Some old trams were also put into work vehicles for the subway. The new light rail lines ( Eglinton Line and Finch West Line ), however, will be built in standard gauge.

vehicles

PCC car no.4500
CLRV car no.4059
ALRV car no.4250
Flexity car # 4407 on line 509 Harbourfront

After the TTC had taken over the operation of all trams in 1921, it began to replace the cars of the various predecessor companies with a uniform car type. The choice fell on the Peter Witt wagons developed in Cleveland , which enabled more efficient operational management. Canadian Car and Foundry , Ottawa Car Company, and JG Brill Company delivered 575 cars of this type by 1923 . Peter Witts last ran in 1963. Some cars have been preserved. Car 2894 is now owned by the Halton County Radial Railway in Milton , and car 2766 remains with the TTC for special trips and ceremonies.

From 1938, the St. Louis Car Company and Canada Car and Foundry delivered 300 PCC cars for Toronto. The cars of the first series had pneumatic controls and brakes; they replaced the last wagons of the predecessor companies, but also increasingly replaced Peter Witt wagons. From 1947 to 1951, a second series with electrical controls and brakes was delivered, comprising 240 cars. When trams were shut down in other North American cities, the TTC 225 bought surplus cars. Toronto had the largest PCC fleet outside of Europe with a total of 745 cars. From the 1960s the PCC wagons were gradually scrapped or given to other companies, and in the mid-1990s they were in regular service for the last time. Two cars that are used for special trips have been preserved.

After the decision was made in 1972 to keep the tram, the TTC was faced with the task of replacing the aging PCC fleet. However, there was no longer a manufacturer of tram cars in North America, so they had to develop a completely new type of car together with Hawker Siddeley Canada and the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC, now part of Bombardier ). The 15 m long Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) is a high-floor vehicle for one-way operation with pantographs . In 1977 SIG built six prototypes in Switzerland (instead of ten as originally planned). UTDC produced 190 cars of this type in the four years that followed. Since then, the CLRV has been handling the brunt of the traffic. Although they have a clutch , they always drive individually.

Based on the knowledge gained at the CLRV, UTDC developed a successor model, the Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV). In 1982 the TTC tested a prototype of this 23 m long articulated multiple unit for five days . Hawker Siddeley Canada then built 52 cars that were delivered in 1987 and 1988. In addition to the additional joint, the ALRVs differ from the CLRVs in that they have air conditioning and the lack of a clutch. The bogies and joints come from MAN .

The TTC originally planned to modernize the entire CLRV fleet. However, when the provincial government promised additional funding, it decided to switch to low-floor technology . After an evaluation phase of one and a half years, in April 2009 the choice fell on the Flexity Outlook type from Bombardier. The 204 cars ordered differ from the standard model in a number of ways, as they have to be tailored to specific local requirements. The first two Flexity Outlook cars were used on August 31, 2014 on the 510 Spadina line.

The older cars (PCC, CLRV, ALRV) have a pantograph. But the new Flexity Outlook cars have both a single-arm pantograph ("pantograph" in English) and a pantograph. On September 12, 2017, line 509 Harbourfront became the first tram line in Toronto to operate Flexity Outlook cars with the single-arm pantograph instead of the pole as the pantograph.

The last trips of the ALRV cars took place on September 2, 2019. The TTC will receive an ALRV car for special trips and ceremonies. The last day of service for the CLRV car was December 29, 2019. TTC will keep a few CLRV cars for their historical collection. On January 24, 2020, Bombardier delivered the last of an order for 204 Flexity Outlook trolleys.

The following table shows the Toronto tram fleet (as of April 2020):

Type Manufacturer number Construction year annotation
Peter Witt Canadian Car & Foundry 1 retained 1922 One car was kept for special trips and ceremonies.
PCC St. Louis Car Company /
Canadian Car & Foundry Co.		 2 retained 1951 Two cars (4500 and 4549) have been preserved and are used for special trips
CLRV SIG for the UTDC 6 built
1 retained		 1977 Car 4001 was retained and is used for special trips
CLRV Hawker Siddeley for the UTDC 190 built
1 retained		 1977-1981 Car 4089 was retained and is used for special trips
ALRV Hawker Siddeley for the UTDC 52 built
1 retained		 1987-1988 One car was kept for special trips and ceremonies.
Flexity Outlook Bombardier 204 2012-2020

Depots

Hillcrest Complex
Russell Carhouse

The TTC has three depots and a workshop complex for tram cars.

The high-floor tram workshops are in the Hillcrest Complex , where major maintenance, vehicle revisions, and repairs are carried out. The Hillcrest Complex is located at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Davenport Road, along the link between the Bathurst subway station and St. Clair Avenue. The TTC opened it in 1924 to replace several smaller systems. The complex now consists of eight buildings, one of which houses the TTC traffic control center.

The Roncesvalles Carhouse , which is located at the intersection of Queen Street West and Roncesvalles Avenue, is used to park those cars that are used in the western part of Toronto. The parking facility was built by TRC in 1895, taken over by TTC in 1921 and expanded in 1923. A new building for the maintenance of low-floor wagons was introduced in 2014.

The Russell Carhouse at the intersection of Connaught Avenue and Queen Street East is responsible for the eastern part of the city . This parking facility was opened by TRC in 1913 and also taken over by TTR in 1921.

Near Russell Carhouse , Leslie Barns is at the intersection of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East. ("Barns" is colloquial for "Remisen" and "Betriebsbahnhof"). This facility was opened in 2015 and is used for the storage and maintenance of the new low-floor wagons.

Most of the trams run from the Leslie Barns. The trams for some tram lines run from the older depots. Today all trams are low-floor vehicles in service.

Light rail

The Metrolinx agency of the province of Ontario is building two light rail lines in Toronto to be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The two light rail lines ( Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West ) will be standard gauge (1435 mm). So they will not be compatible with the tram network, even though the vehicles look similar. The TTC regards the light rail lines as part of the subway network ( Toronto Subway ).

See also

Web links

Commons : Toronto Trams  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Streetcars. Toronto Transit Commission , accessed January 28, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c Streetcar Map. Toronto Transit Commission , October 7, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018 .
  3. ^ Ridership Report. (PDF; 353 kB) American Public Transport Association, 2009, p. 33 , accessed on April 25, 2010 (English).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g A Brief History of Transit in Toronto. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed April 27, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Blanche Robbins: The Same on Sunday. The Globe and Mail , Mar. 30, 1954, p. 19.
  6. ↑ A History of the Original Yonge Subway. Transit Toronto, 2009, accessed April 27, 2010 .
  7. ^ Streetcars ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Route 510 - The Spadina Streetcar. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed April 27, 2010 .
  9. ↑ a b Service Summary - Febuary 16, 2020 to March 28, 2020. Toronto Transit Commission , January 5, 2020, accessed on January 28, 2020 .
  10. ↑ David Rider: Toronto's King streetcar pilot project is now permanent . In: Toronto Star , April 16, 2019. 
  11. ↑ a b Frequently Asked Questions About Toronto's Streetcars. Transit Toronto, April 12, 2020, accessed May 31, 2020 .
  12. ↑ a b c Transit City measures up to international standard. Toronto Star , January 6, 2010, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  13. ↑ John F. Bromley and, Jack May: 50 Years of Progressive Transit ( English ). Electric Railroaders' Association, 1973, ISBN 9781550024487 , pp. 85,107: “Chapter 9 - Subway City; Chapter 11 - The Crosstown Subway "
  14. ^ The Peter Witts. Transit Toronto, 2009, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  15. ↑ a b The Last Peter Witt (# 2766). Transit Toronto, June 25, 2015, accessed May 29, 2018 .
  16. ^ The Presidents' Conference Committee Cars (the PCCs). Transit Toronto, 2009, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  17. ^ The Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (The CLRVs). Transit Toronto, 2009, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  18. ^ The Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (the ALRVs). Transit Toronto, 2009, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  19. ^ TTC picks Bombardier to supply streetcars. Toronto Star, April 24, 2009, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  20. ↑ Tess Kalinoski: TTC's Spadina streetcar launch inspires envy on other lines. Toronto Star , September 8, 2014, accessed May 29, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Pantographs Up On Harbourfront. Steve Munro, September 12, 2017, accessed September 15, 2017 .
  22. ↑ a b TTC’s 'bendy streetcars' reach the end of the line. Toronto Transit Commission , August 29, 2019, accessed August 31, 2019 .
  23. ↑ One last thing. TTC riders savor final trip on 'iconic' streetcars. Toronto Star, December 29, 2019, accessed December 31, 2019 .
  24. ↑ a b As Toronto's last new streetcar arrives, here's a look back at the long, bumpy road to a new fleet. Toronto Star, January 25, 2020, accessed January 25, 2020 .
  25. ^ The Post-War All-Electric PCC Cars (Classes A6-A8). Transit Toronto, June 25, 2015, accessed May 29, 2018 .
  26. ↑ a b Toronto Transit Commission 4000-4005, 4010-4199. Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board, April 13, 2020, accessed May 27, 2020 .
  27. ↑ Toronto Transit Commission 4400-4603. Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board, December 30, 2019, accessed December 31, 2019 .
  28. ^ The Hillcrest Complex. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  29. ↑ Roncesvalles Carhouse. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  30. ↑ Procurement Authorization Roncesvalles Carhouse Maintenance Facility Extension. Toronto Transit Commission, 2012, accessed March 21, 2016 .
  31. ↑ a b c Service Summary - October 7, 2018 to November 17, 2018. Toronto Transit Commission , accessed November 12, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Russell (Connaught) Carhouse. Transit Toronto, 2006, accessed May 10, 2010 .
  33. ↑ Leslie Barns. Transit Toronto, 2015, accessed March 21, 2016 .
  34. ^ Toronto Light Rail Transit Projects. Metrolinx, accessed on February 5, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Ontario LRT Update. Railway Age, September 18, 2019, accessed February 4, 2020 .