Scarborough rt - March 2009

The City of Toronto, and the Toronto Transit Comission, have unfortunately decided that instead of investing in new vehicles for the Scarborough rt, it will be closed in 2012 and replaced with a streetcar.

Originally designed in the 1970's by UTDC (Urban Transit Development Corporation), owned and operated by the Ontario Government as a Crown Corporation, the so-called ICTS (Intermediate Transit Capacity System) needed a home. At that time, Toronto had already begun construction on a streetcar line running in a dedicated right-of-way between the Kennedy subway station, and the Scarborough Town Centre. UTDC and the Government offered to upgrade the line to ICTS technology, and absorb any cost above what the original projections were for the streetcar line. ICTS offered unique and innovative technologies, like contactless Linear Induction Motor (LIM) propulsion, and Automatic Train Control.

The system was plagued with teething problems and resented by the TTC almost from the start. A turnaround loop at Kennedy was abandoned after nearly constant derailments, and the station had to be shut down and redesigned to accomodate a switchback. Low-headway 2-car trains had to be spaced further apart and run in a 4-car configuration. A planned Etobicoke rt was scrapped - evidenced by the unused upper platform opposite the bus bay doors.

UTDC finally got it right when the technology was used on the Vancouver SkyTrain - where it remains the largest installation of ICTS technology. Bombardier now owns what remained of UTDC when it was privatized and continues to offer what it calls "ALRT MK II", and has an installation base that includes Kuala Lumpur, JFK Airport, and the SkyTrain's 2nd line.

At the time of this video, the rt is in a state of disrepair, with sections of the reaction plate for the linear motor missing, the control loops for the ATC hanging in disarray, and trains being manually driven without care.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Scarborough
• rt
• ttc
• Bombardier
• UTDC
• ICTS
• Linear
• Induction
• Motor
• LIM
• ATO
• ATC
• Subway
• Automated
• Transportation
• Transit
• Train

[SeanFlaharty]

Nice quality Iain! The sound of that train leaving at the end is kind of eerie.

[duckjock]

Linear motors :)

[RussianPalikhov]

According to a new revised transit plan, the Scarborough RT will still be converted to light rail technology but will be extended westward along Eglinton Avenue to Black Creek Drive underground, effectively creating an Eglinton-Scarborough RT.

[g4tech]

Sections of the LIM rail missing? i think those spots you may be seeing are around switches they would never let a train run over that.

Anyways to correct your description, the trains in CABS mode or Half ATC. The VCC monitors everything the train does and can halt the train at any time and does all the track switching and signaling for the driver. The driver just has to open and close the doors and use the throttle to move the train the VCC will set a speed limit he may not go above.

[LiIViet]

actually they aren't planning to replace these with streetcars

they are going to replace these with the cars in vancouver, you know how bombardier made tons of trains to compensate for the increased traffic during the winter olympic? yea well they don't need them anymore and are going to be shipped here and used on the rt

[jonray107]

regarding your comments in your description, what do you think will be the fate of the RT? I am aware that the ttc and ontario have a whole variety of ideas and proposals they want to implement in the coming years such as a subway extension, lrt lines, platform screen doors, new train orders, etc. but i never actually see any progression.. so i really wonder what will happen.

[SeanFlaharty]

@duckjock - Gotta love that linear sound.

[kaizerzydeco]

This might not happen now that the funding's been cut. They're trying to turn us into a third-world country.