Toronto’s Spadina Subway extension is scheduled to open for service in December, and the Canadian government’s transfer of funds from the proposed Sheppard East LRT to the approved Finch West LRT line may cancel the former. Meanwhile, Ottawa’s Confederation and Trillium LRT lines have been awarded C$3.6 billion for expansion.
In the wake of Bombardier Transportation’s ongoing problems with light rail vehicles it’s building for various Ontario LRT projects, the purported combination of the railway businesses of Siemens and Bombardier appears to have taken on an interesting twist. This folllows the filing of an official protest letter by Siemens Canada with Ontario’s Transportation Minister over Metrolinx’s awarding of a single-source LRV contract to Alstom.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) owns and operates more than 200 single-track miles of surface streetcar track, including loops, yards and carhouses. The TTC is responsible for its maintenance, as well as construction of extensions. The mileage has declined significantly from its peak of approximately 325 miles, due to abandonments over the decades, but the track still requires a concerted effort to maintain in satisfactory operating condition.
The year 2017 will see construction on Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT project move into its next phase.
Bombardier Transportation’s trouble-plagued, behind-schedule contract with the Toronto Transit Commission for 204 new low-floor Flexity streetcars continues to be the public target of Toronto Mayor John Tory and TTC Board Chair Josh Colle.
The government of Canada and the province of Ontario reached an agreement that makes C$2.97 billion (US$2.3 billion) in combined funding available for infrastructure improvements in the province.
The province of Ontario is providing C$205 million (US$160 million) to help advance work for the Yonge North Subway Extension and the proposed Relief Line to help manage congestion on the Yonge Line in the Toronto area.
Production and delivery delays continue to plague the new low-floor Flexity Freedom streetcars Bombardier Transportation is building for the Toronto Transit Commission. TTC CEO Andy Byford, who is said to “revel in chaos,” is frustrated with yet another missed deadline. And Toronto Mayor John Tory is “completely dismayed,” as Toronto Star City Hall Reporter Jennifer Pagliaro reported on Monday, April 25, 2016. We reprint the article, in full:
Tunneling for Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT project is in the home stretch, with completion scheduled for fourth-quarter 2016.
The Toronto Transit Commission board of directors has voted unanimously to sue Bombardier Transportation for at least $50 million for failure to deliver new streetcars on time, and without defects, according to an Oct. 30, 2015 report in the Toronto City News.