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Toronto Subway And RtThe Toronto Transit Commission operates the subway and RT system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. These services are considered the primary, isolated rapid transit system; the streetcars and buses are the secondary, 'surface' routes. Overview This system includes three conventional subway lines: There is also an intermediate capacity light rail rapid transit line: Although almost entirely above ground and using very different technology, this resembles the subway lines in its operating practices. 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. For a complete list of stations and their locations, plus information on accessibility, nearby landmarks, and other service information, go to the article of one of the lines linked above. A map of the lines and their stations appears below.
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. Interesting subway facts The streetcar and subway lines apart from the Scarborough RT use the unique track gauge of 4 feet 10⅞ inches (1.495 m). There are arguments over the reason why this is (one popular belief is that the city didn't want the Canadian Pacific Railway to operate steam locomotives through city streets). The more practical reason is that early tracks were used to pull wagons smoothly, and that they fit a different gauge. Due to the cost of converting all the tracks and vehicles, the unique gauge has remained to this day. The very existence of the Danforth line, opened in 1966, is thanks to a decision made nearly fifty 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. One of the best known "secrets" of the TTC is the lower level of Bay subway station. This subway station was briefly used in 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 didn't know which platform their next train might end up on, causing people to wait on the stairs. Switching trains also didn't add that much more time to a commute, since at your original stop you would have to wait for a train that took you to where you wanted to go, anyway. Much infrastructure for interlining is still present on the system. Most older stations still have signs informing passengers of the subway's next 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 subway station. The tracks through Lower Bay are still in existence and are used from time to time to move equipment between the 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, which would be 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 make more sense. 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 Toronto subway uses a third-rail system to feed electricity to the trains. "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. The Scarborough RT cannot be short-turned. 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. Roster Here is a list of rapid transit vehicles used by the TTC since 1954: - Gloucster Railway Wagon and Carriage Company G-class (G1, G2, G3 G4)
- Montreal Locomotive Works M-class (M1)
- Hawker Siddeley RT75 (H1, H2, H3, H4)
- Urban Transportation Development Corp. (UTDC) RT75 (H5 and H6)
- Bombardier RT75 (T1 and T2)
- UTDC RT-ICTS (CCR)
- RT-4 Platform Maintenance Car (ex-Peter Witt streetcar)
- RT-5 The Tunnel grout car
- Nippon Sharyo RT-10 - nicknamed 'Tokyo Rose'
- Nippon Sharyo RT-12 battery-electric locomotive
- Nippon Sharyo RT-11 flat trailer
- Nippon Sharyo RT-13 crane
- RT-14 and RT-15 Subway Rail Grinders - ex PCC streetcars (retired)
- RT-14 and RT-15 Mark II - The Subway Wall Washers - ex-G class subway cars
- AVRA RT-14 and RT-15 Mark III Snow Clearing Equipment
- RT-16 Mark II Subway Wall Washer Car
- AVRA RT-17 Mark III Subway Wall Washer Car
- Anbel Corp. RT-18 Diesel Hydraulic Locomotive
- Niigata RT-20 crane/flat car
- Nippon Sharyo RT-22 non-motored flat car
- RT-38 and RT-39 Garbage cars - ex-Gloucester and H1 subway cars
- Plasser American RT-41 Tamper
Facilities Here is a list of subway and RT yards and facilities: Source: TTC Subway Related Properties http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5300.shtml Ghost Stations One of the best known secrets of the TTC is the second Lower Bay subway station. This subway station was briefly used in interlining between two of Toronto's lines in 1966. A lesser known station is Lower Queen. As for Lower Osgoode and Lower Eglinton West Stations, they are either incomplete or at planning stage only. External links References Toronto
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