How can we improve the TTC Streetcar system?
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- We've talked about how we can improve the US streetcar generally, but what about our local streetcar system, Toronto's TTC?
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00:00 Introduction
00:51 Better Rolling Stock
04:32 Fix the Switch Problem
06:04 Improve Streetcar Tracks
07:44 Add One-Seat Rides
08:54 Enhance Streetcar Stops
09:52 Expand the Network
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Hi, my name's Reece. I'm a passionate Creator, Transportation Planner, and Software Developer, interested in rapid transportation all around my home base of Toronto, Canada, as well as the whole world!
In France, I like the fact that when there's a new tram project, they often include the development of areas such as streets, boulevards with special lanes for trams and bicycles and also the improvement of residential and commercial areas. Trams in France are a great way to travel.
Its a great way of bringing lots of benefit
Yes! It would be nice to generalize this all over the world.
I live near T9 and the street around T9 were unproved so much ! Clean and beautiful streets ! Bright pavement and trees ! Very good improvement
Truly love this channel. As a Canadian transit nerd it’s my coffee and tea
I absolutely agree that Toronto should continue to expand its Streetcar network in the way that you described. It's an underrated network that is the envy of the Canadian cities that tore up their streetcar networks way back when, and I am so glad to see the network continue to work for the people in the way that it does. The new rolling stock has certainly helped out a lot.
I don't normally support at-grade LRT systems because cities have mistakenly integrated at-grade LRT as part of their core "rapid" transit trunks but Toronto does it right by not pretending that their at-grade LRT is rapid transit; rather it addresses capacity and serves to take buses off the roads.
Couldn't agree more!
@@RMTransitIs it really a good idea to expand a network than cannot accomodate standard rail equipment? Shouldn't new lines by transit city light rail?
A Melbourne/Toronto comparison video......mmm....sounds interesting ;-p
Toronto is going to get slammed. No way they're beating Melbourne.
@@mrrobot5963 Depends on the criteria.....
@@mrrobot5963 Lol. Melbourne is a shithole. Toronto rockssssssssss
@@mrrobot5963 We have a much more extensive system, but don't have the speed or space for capacity expansions. None of the stops are designed for longer than E-class, we don't have small low floor trams yet (F-class when?), most of the network is slowed down by street running and no traffic light prioritisation. Even some of our crappy middle suburbia buses have better priority! If the government focused on modernising the network and expanding it like we are the rail network, it'd be incomparably world class. But a lot of the newer light rail networks that have been built in the 21st century, as small as they are, are just better run.
Except for Sydney's :p
*Europe tram System enters chat*
Awesome discussion, thank you! It would be nice to rationalize stops located very close together (like Queen & Victoria), to reduce overall dwell time on lines. It would also be interesting to see Toronto develop tram crossing signals like those in Gothenburg, Sweden to allow for cars to quickly slip across traffic
I agree!
Priority signals already exist in toronto but are not being used, for years. For example it was installed on a streetcar line in toronto called the St. Claire line. I talked to a TTC streetcar driver acouple months ago who says both the toronto city government and the provinces regional transit organization ( metrolinx ) are currently arguing over who is responsible for paying for repairs. This has been going on for atleast acouple years.
To be clear, the technology exists and was paid for, but we dont get to use it or benefit from it cuz : 1. Politics , 2. Probably built to fail , 3. Proably overpriced maintenance fee's
Cool video. As far as expansion goes, the TTC is redesigning the Union station loop and creating a secondary entrance and doubling the length of the loop to accommodate multiple streetcars at a time with crossovers included. They're even planning on extending the Queens quay streetcar east (after the new east portal is built) and connect it with a new Cherry street line which will go into the new Villiars island.. which is currently being built as I type this. There's also plans to extend the Broadview line past queen and extend it more south towards lakeshore east.. and could potentially connect it to the future sight of the East Harbor transit hub.
Dedicated right of way and signal priority are essential for faster and reliable streetcar service. Thanks for this video.
Thanks for pointing out how antiquated the TTC's switches are. The current single-point switches have a 10 km/h speed restriction, and operators need to stop before proceeding through them, to make sure they're actually set properly. That adds an enormous amount of time to streetcar schedules. And on top of being terrible in basically every way, the TTC's switches are actually more expensive than modern switches because nobody else uses them anymore and they therefore need they need to be custom-built.*
To solve the speed restriction and stop-and-go requirement the switches need:
- A signal to indicate when the switch has been sucessfully set and locked, so the operator knows they can proceed at normal speed.
- A communication system to send track switch requests far enough in advance that the switch can change before the streetcar would need to start decelerating in the event the switch is malfunctioning.
- Dual-point switches which can be traversed at a decent speed.
The main roadblock is simply deciding what system will be used to communicate from the vehicle to the switches. The TTC has said for years that it plans to adopt a new standard, but I have no idea why that is taking so long. Maybe with some public pressure, the TTC would at least tell us what the holdup is.
Interestingly, recent yard construction/reconstruction projects have included modern dual-point switches. Yard traffic is centrally controlled, so there is no need for communication from the vehicle to the switches. The switches include little lights to indicate when they are set and locked, and they can even be hand-thrown using a slot designed for a standard TTC crowbar. So we have a bizarre situation where streetcars can travel more efficiently within a yard (10 km/h without stop-and-proceed) than on busy routes (10 km/h with stop-and-proceed).
* I read all this information in a report on the TTC website, but I can't find it right now because for some reason the TTC website is geo-blocked in Europe.
1:20 : well our Flexities here in Berlin have been working great for nearly 10 years now... only difference is that here we mostly use 7-Segment versions on the main lines and the 5-segment ones only for generally less used lines or additional services on work days. This was not now always planned this way but thankfully Berlin‘s government changed the orders from mainly 5-section Trams to 7-Section trams whilst they were already being delivered. Edit: oh yeah and they also switched the orders to more bidirectional Trams as well haha
Great comment and very good point about sizing for demand, I think 7 segments would be reserved for the busiest routes here as well.
The whole single ended cab and single point switch bits were really surprising to me. I would imagine the snow in Toronto might have something to do with the switches, but I’m sure it’s not an insurmountable problem.
Also I know transit only streets are being trialed in some American cities, but seriously there’s absolutely no way you can honestly say that there isn’t 1 street in all medium to large North American cities that couldn’t stand to be converted to a transit/pedestrian only street.
Apparently the single point switches are preferred as they are easier to throw manually!
@@RMTransit lame lol
I think we need smarter transit priority signals on the separated segments (Spadina, St. Clair, Queens Quay, Fleet, The Queensway) and in the King Street transit corridor (along with a corridor extension east to River Street). This would improve service on these segments even further with, honestly, less disruption to cars, as you could also setup more dynamic left turn/u-turn signals.
The nice thing is, it’s probably very easy to do, as the lights at Vaughan and St. Clair already have transit focused programming for streetcars turning south.
On that subject, those signals would make island platforms less useful, as you would want streetcars to clear intersections before making stops.
damn, I think the TTC Flexities are really nice looking. The only thing I would change is how bulbous the front and back are. But they are really simple and symmetrical looking, which I like.
Haha, the front and back aren't symmetrical though!
@@RMTransit Doesn't change the fact that your opinion is wrong /s
I really like all your proposed tram lines! It’s certainly getting my mind thinking.
in sydney, exclusive lanes are separated by concrete strips, and in sections without cars in the city centre, it is fully pedestrianised, with nothing more than rails and a different tile colour or a set of white lines to indicate there are trams. Because the education of pedestrians has existed and the trams are such an integral part of the space now (headways sometimes as low as 1 minute), even without overhead wires or bright colours, everyone knows to 'play it safe around light rail' except the occasional tourist.
Also, maybe you should highlight the changes you're proposing on the map because the slow fade with same coloured lines in sometimes short sections are difficult to spot for someone not familiar with the city.
Well made and thought provoking video!
I agree with almost everything, but there are a few points that bothered me. Removal of loops is something you don't do in a well-managed system because cars with doors on one side and one cabin have up to 30% more capacity. Sure, new routes in relatively dense areas in Europe often run without loops, but those routes are not the most used. Decrease in per-vehicle capacity would not benefit the existing system. Also, a key factor in developing good transit is to limit conflicts between transit vehicles. This is why many BRTs-style models are criticized, for example, since they just load multiple routes on a single dedicated corridors that create traffic jams at intersections. Instead of offering one-seat rides, TTC should focus of increased frequency on the core routes, so passengers can change directions without need to wait for another streetcar. You can clearly see those processes in Eastern Europe, where Soviet one-seat rides are phased out in favour of metro-like approach with higher frequencies and many interchanges. One-seat ride may seen like a good idea in North America, but in Europe they are highly criticized. A point I was waiting for you to make was about signal priority. I know it will come up in the Melbourne comparison, but this is something that just has to become synonymous with good transit network.
Yes those are my main objections as well
I agree with a lot of this but I seriously doubt the capacity is city by 30%!
@@RMTransit I said "up to" since it really depends on how many doors and seats are used. I got this specific number from some Dutch study a few years back, but I cannot recall which type of tram they were discussing. Surely though, Amsterdam does not have many double-ended trams and this is by design. Seating space decreases dramatically which makes longer trips more difficult. There is also an issue for most standing passengers when you do not have many 'still' areas where passengers stand. Since the streetcar body is slim, all space for passengers is concentrated against the doors which makes removal of such space inconvenient. Seriously though, Toronto did an amazing job at keeping a huge network of loops over the years of global decline in transit, even integrating loops into subway stations within one fare zone (a unique feature worldwide). Building 'Viennese' platforms at all stops (not that expensive, roads need resurfacing anyways, just use sidewalk concrete to designate the platforms) would eliminate any accessibility and many safety issues, while keeping the capacity high, something we would need when a decent signal priority is introduced.
A comparisson with European networks such as Moscow and Berlin would be cool. Perhaps also talking about what these networks get right or what can be improved and taking examples of things you would also apply for Toronto's tram.
How to improve the streetcar system? Equip all streetcars with military-grade plows to eliminate all the single-occupant cars in the way... Just kidding
In all seriousness, I think switching the current car horns to train-like horns would go a long way toward reducing the number of people who just step out in front of moving streetcars. Plenty of light rail systems in the US already use train-like horns, such as Los Angeles and Portland.
Many Torontonians think of streetcars as "buses on rails", but we really should be thinking of them more as street-running railways. Streetcars cannot suddenly stop or swerve the way a bus can.
Well stop kidding
@@Natalietransshut up bro
@@costcoxrice why
Why the USA don't like lightrail it is not the only reason . It is a big one . we have a lot of prejudice in the USA . I hear many people say that lightrail will bring those people out to there neighborhoods . Bit of a silly reason since in most places they are here already . I like your shows and would love to see a light rail from Baltimore MD. to Bel Air MD. I feel like the rest of the world is way ahead of us, Keep up the good work !!!!
east and west end streetcar expansion makes total sense, and overall the system needs dedicated right-of-ways throughout to function properly (or at least no-through-traffic zones like King Street). I'm wondering though whether Queen Street service through the core should be eliminated once the Ontario Line is running? Especially if there were to be an extension along Queen through Parkdale to perhaps an interchange station with the streetcar at Roncesvalles - it would make sense for a heavily travelled route. Sitting on that stretch of the 501 is absolute torture.
The 501 stops at A LOT more stops than the new Ontario line will. The Ontario line will only have 4 stops between Spadina and Parliament. Asking people to walk between Moss Park and Yonge is not reasonable or a good transit move.
@@adorabell4253 that's fair enough, and in retrospect I think my comment was a little overzealous on that aspect. Would definitely like to see that Queen streetcar in a dedicated right of way or priority tho. That being said, I still think adding a Queen West branch to the Ontario Line would make a lot of sense, alongside a streetcar for local access
As someone who lives in the GTA and transits Toronto frequently, I think you hit the nail on the head with all of your points as well as elaborating on elegant solutions. The TTC/Metrolinks NEEDS to hire you as a consultant, lol.
In the list of proposed extensions, I was waiting for a Dufferin line.
You also seem to need solid axle trams with single-point switches. Something that a lot of modern trams don't have anymore.
Yes this was part of the reason it was such a pain to order our current flexities. Our infrastructure doesn't meet the typical minimum standards in other cities, with steeper gradients, sharper curves, low or non-existant boarding platforms, and truly awful switches.
I think that Toronto should have island stations, and dedicated tracks like in Prague. And Prague has both of those which is one of the reasons why Prague’s trams are almost always on time.
depending on what your talking about, we do, on all Lines but Line 3.
The 509, 510, and 512 are on dedicated tracks, but have unintelligent signals slowing them down. Giving these routes priority speeds everything up. I think the platforms should still be on the far side of intersections though.
@@sblack53 The 509 also runs across Queen Quay which has some of the dumbest street light designs I have ever seen. Why are there streetlights for driveways? Absolutely idiotic and I can only assume that the residents of those buildings bribed the planners to get dedicated turn signals for their convenience.
@@adorabell4253 some combination of laws probably made it a requirement, because an unsigned crossing is no good, and a railroad crossing probably also wouldn’t work
There's no need to remove existing loops, but having a small fleet of bi-directional stock and some strategically positioned crossovers DOES make it so much easier to deal with major reconstructions and also fault related rereroutings, as well as phased extensions where it eliminats the need to construct loops that are used only for a year or two.
I think we are in agreement that crossovers would be helpful!
Your idea to buy bidirectional streetcars is interesting in terms of flexibility, buuuut bidirectional cars are also more expensive as single directional ones. And: you can also turn a single directional car easily over a Y (ok - one extra diamond in opposite to a switchback) - where in Toronto are some due to connections between lines. And don’t forget switchbacks also need switches, which you mention as cost intensive. In terms of high-frequency operations loops can have advantages vs switchbacks or double crossovers = 4 switches plus one diamond. A loop for a high-capacity line may need in opposite a second track so it means two switches.
I guess sometimes it can be helpful to have a certain number of bidirectional cars in order to be more flexible during construction works or in order to extend lines step by step.
The city where I live, Kassel, has a mix of one- and bidirectional cars due to few remaining (or intermediate) stub terminals and due to the flexibility aspects. There are also “climbing” switchbacks used during construction works, allowing to divert cars to the other track on every place without rail construction works - only a short stretch of extra wire is needed.
I know also other more “Stadtbahn”-oriented networks almost completely superseded their loops (often built but in the 1950/60ies due to new onesirectional cars!) with double crossovers - like Hannover or Frankfurt.
Extending the streetcar line up Vic Park to the Eglinton Crosstown would also be a great idea. Connect the streetcar at Vic Park subway and then make the northern terminus the new LRT line.
Suggestion with regard to your maps, it would be great if you drew attention to which part of the map you are talking about. By zooming in, or a different colour, animations. It makes it rather hard for people who are not familiar with the area you are talking about to figure which part to look at.
Yeah we have been working on that over time, expect to see more changes to help highlight extensions
Great video, Reece. You've brought up a lot of interesting ideas that are worth diving into.
The concept of purchasing double-ended streetcars with double-sided doors would enable crossovers to replace loops, so there is definitely the potentially for large real estate savings. This would have to be a long-term project, though - the lion's share of the network would have to be run with loops until the next large (basically fleet-wide) streetcar order is made. That said, it's good to plan in advance. (Interestingly, Toronto did have double-sided streetcars many decades ago, but they along with the on-street crossovers were replaced with single-ended streetcars and terminal and short-turn loops long ago.)
The switch situation isn't something I have consciously considered, apart from noting that our streetcars tend to be slow when moving through any maze of switches. I would be hesitant to get rid of our grand unions (we only have three, which to my knowledge are the only three in North America)! Two of our three grand unions (Spadina/King and Spadina/Queen) were built as part of the Spadina Streetcar line construction, so they've only been around since 1997. It would be interesting to read an official TTC explanation for the need for a grand union at those intersections, but at any rate I'm sure those intersections tend to see their share of active turns, not just including the Spadina Station-Charlotte Loop branch.
Upgraded platforms on much of the streetcar fleet would be nice. I'm not sure if it's easy to accommodate centre platforms in a lot of cases, though, since they might require a lot of space. Electronic signage/next streetcar displays should be a must across the whole network, especially where headways are longer (I'm thinking of stretches of Lakeshore in Etobicoke that might not have such signage).
As for opportunities for new/extended streetcar lines, this is where things really get interesting. Lakeshore Rd/Port Credit would be a viable option in my opinion, but the existing 501 Queen Streetcar is already very long, so extending the route might cut further into service reliability. A Junction Streetcar to Dundas/Runnymede would get a lot of use. Back in the '90s, service cuts resulted in the TTC having surplus streetcars at one point, and several lines were proposed to find a use for this surplus. These lines included Junction, Dufferin (south of Bloor), Ossington (south of Bloor), and Coxwell (Danforth to Queen). A Junction Streetcar, along with a Keele Extension to St. Clair, would give the St. Clair Line another connection with the rest of the system, and drastically reduce dead-head time getting streetcars in and out of service. Ultimately, I think these proposed streetcar lines were shelved due to either lack of ridership (the routes at that time didn't generate 3,000+ passengers per direction per peak hour), and a lack of road space - it would be difficult to build a private streetcar right-of-way along any of these routes.
I think an extended Bathurst Streetcar is a non-starter. It would be fairly easy to run the 511 to St. Clair West Station, but forcing people to transfer from the 7 Bathurst Bus at this location might be inconvenient, especially if a lot of bus riders wish to transfer to Line 2 down at Bloor.
With regard to the east-end proposals, my biggest concern is road space. Cosburn isn't a particularly wide road, and I'm pretty sure Main St. is only one lane south of Gerrard St. Victoria Park is also one lane south of Gerrard, and it gets a lot of traffic. Your idea of having an alternate to King or Queen is worth exploring, and I wonder how much of the existing Richmond/Adelaide/Wellington track can be incorporated into that. Almost all of the existing Adelaide track would have to be replaced (the track on that street is only viable from Spadina to Charlotte and Victoria to Church), but the Richmond section appears to be in decent shape. I haven't been down to Wellington Street in a while, so I don't know what's been done with that track, since the street was resurfaced last year and 503 Kingston Road doesn't use that section of track anymore (I could be wrong).
Lots of good thoughts here, an in-depth analysis is definitely an interesting endeavour and theres certainly a lot of variability around the network, what works in one spot may not in another!
When you’re doing these maps, it might be useful idea to show the lines you’re talking about in a different colour so people who don’t know Toronto can see where you’re talking about. Also would help accentuate the change to the map cuz often you show it for too brief a time for many people to orient themselves... helpful suggestion.
Latest videos have this! Stay tuned for more!
Sydney uses two 5 section trams coupled together. However there frequency doesn't justify using coupled trams. All Melbourne trams are bi directional. As for frequency the st kilda road tram routes operate on average every 20 to 30 seconds. They come in bunches though so its more like every 2 minutes.
When you mentioned the part about the 4 lane street not been enough to have a dedicated lane I think the section between Bloor Street Roncesvalles Avenue through Dundas is a good example of how some streets can be changed, I also agree the 503 in Kingston street should be extended to Victoria park ( maybe something is st Clair east to Warder). I also wonder why lines haven't been extended north of Bloor Street demand is already there and some parts are just a dense as the main core, I understand polítics had got on the way but why can there be a balance it doesn't have to be one vs the other we should elevated all modes of transit
You are right, I should have mentioned in the video, its a very nice example!
Okay yeah but the Queen Street screach is just heavenly
It seems like more one-seat rides would make the network more complicated to understand.
Fun fact the original streetcar loop at woodbine station is still there. Just behind a wall and up a set of stairs. So the proposal you mentioned at 13:12 would ironically be easier then many other routes since there’s already a turning loop ready for track and catenary.
In Kassel Germany the use Single ended (single side door) cars with island platform. They have just turn to Left hand Drive for a stretch of 3 stations.
Kinda weird, especially because they also have double ended trams.
They do this in Vienna, Antwerp, and Charleroi too (the only ones I'm aware of, there could be even more)
Yeah this is an option but its unconventional!
@@CDLTO wow I only not a notification for the reply 2 month later, thanks Google.
I didn't even know Vienna also has some left hand drive stations and that Antwerp even had a streetcar (and pre-metro) network, I really need to look into the system is very interesting.
Charleroi is one of the weirdest pre-metro network I know of.
They have so many unbuild lines and bellmouths it insane. Multiple kilometers of build and prepared right of way which never went into service.
And on top left hand drive, despite all cars being double ended and with doors on both sides.
I want more car-free areas and dedicated lanes along streetcar routes.
Yep!
Melbourne has a lot of different trams out of necessity rather than as a feature. We have a large network so can't afford to get rid of our older trams until we have new stock to replace them.
Yep, but it shows that you can do it!
One seat rides creates dependences between all the lines and does not make the network easier to understand. It is important to do this very careful and in a way to have schedules with a fixed scheme, so e.g. two 10-minute services add to a coordinated 5-minute service.
Wow! Toronto is so ahead of Novosibirsk, Russia - the place I live now , in terms of public transport!
I like the Metro bridge there!
@@RMTransit yes, it's nice. Most of the infrastructure was built in USSR and it is developing very slowly now
In China, there are a small few streetcar services that are either legacy or are more suburban light rail. Conventional metros and HSR still take up most of the country's transit news, though I feel it's still justified by population and at this point, china's viaducting and tunneling must be super standardised and more straightforward than weaving in a surface-level project. Also, the signalised intersections in big downtowns are already intricate and max road+ped capacity without trams
I think the issue with one seats is capacity of tracks. Adding more longer streetcars that are more frequent combined with more complex routes together (which I think thr city did many decades ago) might not be that efficient in terms of speed and time added thanks to switching streets. Certain portions of downtown particularly sections between spadina and sherbourne (eg simcoe to york along king, bay to victoria along queen and areas where turns are required) do usually get multiple streetcars lined up at times even with limited car traffic as is the case on King.
Theres also the consideration of whether it's economical and follows patterns of riders which makes it more case by case. While Broadview/Queen might make more sense given the greater distance, someone going to UofT from say Riverdale would reach UofT much faster by subway than by taking the streetcar that would go via College even though streetcars are the mainstay of the neighbourhood, and even then that route servicing needs would be very limited to those who happen to want that specific route that is already being serviced by other routes that are walking distances.
Nonetheless one seats are an interesting prospect.
Enjoy your channel. As a TTC worker, rider, transit enthusiast (and car driver) - your suggestions are great although I would like to add the following inputs:
1) The additional connections to other hubs or other streetcar lines like extending 505 through the Junction would be awesome! Not so much for Dupont yet (not dense enough and low ridership). Extending into Paps Village would also be awesome. Don't forget the Lakeshore East, though.
2) As an occasional downtown Toronto driver, passing these long Flexities is a challenge compared to the older CLRVs and ALRVs. The Flexities movie SLOW (at turns and through intersections at 10 km/h). The doors open slow (compared to the CLRVs) and not always so apparent if you do not pay attention because they do not extend out like the CLRV doors. Having longer streetcars or coupling them will create enormous logistical problems for drivers and not just automobile drivers.
3) When I read the title, I focused on the "WE IMPROVE" portion, and also believe that WE is not just RMTransit (or viewers of the channel) but also all transit users. I believe reducing the distance between certain stops downtown would improve overall flow of the network. I know there will be some complainers, but it sucks to have these giant streetcars accelerate and then suddenly stop at the next streetcar stop only 200 metres apart.
Dupont I included because I think the track connections would be useful, don't necessarily think the route would be super performant
Are Flexities notorious for cornering and going over points at a geriatric pace, wheels screaming? Because that explains a lot.
@@Croz89 Indeed. It's to keep them from rolling off the tracks. Anywhere there is a switch or crossover perpendicular tracks. Keep in mind, these Flexity Outlooks are modified LRTs (Flexity Freedoms i.e. the ones used in Kitchener-Waterloo and Line 5). They were modified to fit on public roads, single-cabbed, use single switches, and ride on shallow rails that are shared with cars.
@@chicobear Ours are high floor Swifts, so possibly even worse for that. It's as if LRT and hybrid vehicles aren't really designed for tight curves unlike proper trams...
@@Croz89 BTW, where are you from? Ours are 'low floor" end-to-end. I wish we had high-floor sections (where the trucks sit) with designated complete low-floor accessible sections - it would maximize seating capacity. As with modified LRTs becoming streetcars/trams, with globalization, conglomeration, and fewer real streetcar networks, there are fewer manufacturers willing to produce actual, from-the-ground-up streetcar designs.
thanks for fixing the audio!
Your welcome
Dual cab vehicles make sense for a few routes. Wonder if anyone in city hall watches these.
Another inneficiency of the current streetcars is the wheelchair ramp. It takes over 70 seconds to use the ramp, partly because the ramp is so steep that the operator is expected to get out of the cab and assist the customer. Having a two 70-second delays (boarding and alighting) on a streetcar route with frequent service creates a delay which will be unrecoverable since doubling the headway means that there's also double the number of people waiting at each stop.
Most other modern trams are equipped with load levelling, which adjusts the ride height to compensate for the weight in the vehicle. So where platforms are available, the vehicle can consistently be at the same level as them. On top of eliminating lots of delays, level boarding is also way nicer for people with reduced mobility, since it eliminates the frustration that other passengers have when their streetcar gets delayed by the ramp.
The current streetcars were spec'd without load levelling because it allowed the floor to be lower, which is useful in Toronto where so many stops don't have any platform at all. If we built more (half-height) platforms, this would be less of an issue and the next generation of streetcars could include load levelling.
Good morning!
Morning Drew!
Good morning (10 pm here tho)
I'm honestly surprised that the riverfront lrt isn't considered
please make a video about 903 TTC bus
since they're digging under Queen Streeet to build the Ontario Line, they should dig it deeper or wider to bury the Queen Streetcar too!
How accessible is the streetcar system to people who use wheelchairs, strollers, etc. and how would you improve it?
It's accessible via a ramp, level boarding would certainly help but would be inconsistent for a LONG time
You did not mention the East Bayfront LRT, a project that the TTC and the City are currently planning, to provide streetcar service on Queens Quay East by 2029, if approved. Later, this line would be extended into the Port Lands. Also, there are proposed enhancements (once called the Waterfront West LRT) including constructing a new streetcar line from Exhibition Loop, along the railway corridor to the Queensway. Waterfront Toronto made this proposal in 2017 and is similar to an earlier but canceled Transit City proposal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Bayfront_LRT
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfront_West_LRT
Yeah because these are the established plans that are moving along! This video was about expanding on whats already likely to happen!
I would ask - if you want to create dedicated space for street cars - why not make more streets one way. While 4 lanes is very tight on a two-way street - it is huge on a one-way. Shift tracks to one edge of the street - say north on eastbound streets - and ban left-hand turns, onto and off of the street. Alternately you could have 2 adjoining one-way streets - where streetcars only flowed with traffic, and the reverse lane would then be used for a mix of increased pedestrian and cycle space.
13:55 ... „a lot of Branches going out“ „only four east-west routes“ ... well I don’t get that. It is possible to only occupy all of the east-west routes only twice, as they are no more then eight branches going out each east and west of the city.
And even with additional lines interconnecting the suburbs before proceeding into downtown you only get three lines per Downtown route, which is very acceptable. If you give the Streetcars their dedicated lanes or at least priority you can run them every 3.3 minutes in rush our, no problem. This would mean a 10min frequency on every line in this case.
Focus on prioritizing the Streetcars on the existing tracks and then think about new downtown tracks, new tracks will only make the downtown grid more complicated wile not creating more coverage as the network is already VERY dense. Splitting up lines that eventually go to the same place only makes sense if they cover different downtown areas. If they don’t (as its the case in Toronto), the only effect is one has to wait longer for the streetcar wich is inconvenient.
The issue is getting that priority! Without it frequencies are highly limited and frankly they will be nonetheless because of signalling.
@@RMTransit oh wow so your streetcars run under signal protection?
Here in Germany there is a distinction between „real“ railways that have to be protected by signaling technology and those, like streetcars, that run on sight under the laws of road traffic. No signaling required here… Changing that would create so much more capacity!
@@peterw.8434 They don't have train style signals, they are limited by the car focused road signals.
@@RMTransit haha ok would have been crazy if they were.
Of cause I see that a badly prioritized road signaling system can reduce the throughput that a tram line can handle without creating irregularities.
Just give the streetcar that priority so way lowering the intervals of the services would only make things worse for the individual traffic.
In the absence of a downtown east-west subway corridor, King and Queen should be converted to dedicated transit malls asap. King is already a “half” transit mall (taxis, ubers, and other drivers can still use it), and Queen is still a perpetual parking lot where a streetcar with 100 passengers gets stuck behind a single left turning car. Is this going to piss off a lot of drivers? Absolutely. Is the Toronto City Council completely beholden to drivers’s demands and will spend the next 2 decades debating this no brainer? Absolutely. 🤷🤷
The TTC has both single and double point switchs. There are only 3 grand unions in the hole city.
Only 3 grand unions yes, but still plenty of unnecessary switches
Unless there is regular traffic on the grand unions, there is no need for them (only in depot movement directions) .
I think point to point makes a network very complex, so I prefer better connections at stations and more integrated ticketing rather than this. This is where a tram becomes a more reliable service, ie one (but maximum 2) trams on one route, also makes it closer to an LRT. See examples how a raised road surface becomes the platform when a team arrives in Vienna, ie cars have to stop short of the platform and wait for the passengers to alight , makes driving even less attractive!!!
I think the Flexicity's could (and should be) extended on busy lines, and could be rebuilt to be bi-directional.
Great vid. Btw, would it be helpful/possible for Toronto if it had a real conversation about making Queen and King one-way streets (like most downtown streets are in most major cities; ditto College & Dundas) thus possibly giving you two one-way tracks on both streets that could offer double the capacity for streetcars?
@@ThomasJM fair point
My god, I have seen street car back-ups for blocks. If we cannot build street car passing lanes, cross-overs are a cheap and dirty solution for the future double ended cars. Great idea Reece. I'm in.
Hey hey, little bit of advice: it's obvious you're reading from a teleprompter. If you want to reduce your eyes scanning left to right, you should get a tighter/longer lens (50mm, 85mm, etc) and stand further away from the camera.
Hey Binh, it may *seem* obvious, but I am not! I do most videos off the cuff and sometimes with some notes!
@@RMTransit my mistake! I love your videos :) hope you can keep growing!
Greatest improvement to Toronto's streetcar network is easy. Eliminate street parking and restrict cars from centre lane.
I'm sorry but Jarret walker - the Author of "Human transit" - would absolutely disagree with the statement that more routes are better! I'm surprised you don't know that having so many routes has more disadvantages than advantages.
In general: frequency over everything! Having fewer routes, but with very high frequencies, is MUCH more user friendly. And if it's a grid, you mostly need just one transfer anyways.
I think you misinterpreted what I was pushing for!
they should at least put rubber along tracks to stop bikers from slowing down and even falling.
btw FlexCity had been proven to be a disaster in Helsinki! Amongst biggest problems - operating in snow...
Make it faster . Beacuse of excellent design of " Bombardier " These street cars are too heavy . They should make it lighter. The door open and close too slow even there is no one near.
What’s the benefit of have my streetcars rather than just implementing electric buses. Most of the issues mentioned are addressed through the use of electric buses and with increased battery range, electric buses should handle multiple hours of service.
Substantially higher operating costs
Buses don't have the required capacity, nor the lifespan of streetcars. And they are inferior in hot and cold weather.
Capacity. VEry much capacity. The streetcar routs are insanely busy and when they have to run replacement bus service the busses get packed and also have worse frequency.
The TTC no longer installs new streetcar lines with mixed traffic. If a new streetcar is built, it must have it's own right-of-way.
Thats not strictly true
Scrap the street cars... replace them with trolly busses
Not a good ide
Trolleys are crap compared to streetcars.
Easy. Get rid of it. It blows my mind in 2021 in a "world class" city there are literal 18 wheelers on rails mixed in with downtown traffic. They slow down the flow on city streets, risky boarding due to motorists who STILL dont understand, and literally a mobile shelter for the homeless.
Streetcars are pretty common in World class cities. A much more productive decision would be to convert car lanes at certain sections to streetcar only or to make the streetcars go underground in busy sections. This would increase capacity and reliability which is badly needed on a lot of corridors anyway.
The solution is actually to get rid of cars. Cars clog up streets and stall traffic with their cross-traffic turns. They are also very inconvenient in the core where the streetcars run with limited parking, a tendency to not see pedestrians and bikes, and a desire to stop in the middle of a street for passengers to get in and out.
Put them underground