New Bombardier Toronto Subway Trains: Increased Capacity & Safety

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Built by Bombardier Transportation, the new Toronto subway trains'  6 car fixed configuration will hold 10% more riders and still provide passengers with better inner mobility, accessibility and overall traveling comfort.

More than half of Toronto subway cars were at least 30 years old according to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), who bought 234 new subway cars to make 39 trains.  Considered the next generation of subway trains, the TTC Rocket is jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto.

Yonge-University-Spadina Line First to Get New Trains

Hoping for smoother rides, the new trains will roll out on the Yonge-University-Spadina line and the first trains will start passenger service in early 2010. This line is the most frequented traveling route and the route will be extended by 2015 to run north from Downsview Station to the Vaughn Metropolitan Centre in York Region.

Features of the new Toronto Rocket trains include:

• Ceiling-mounted visual displays
• Passenger voice-activated alarm intercoms (6 units per car and 36 units per train)
• Stanchions for the visually impaired (with anti-bacterial coating)

In addition to the new high-tech trains, all subway stops will be fitted with new state-of-the-art signaling systems called ATC (Automatic Train Control), which will improve safety and operating efficiencies.

The TTC will retire its old subway trains as the new fleet come into service this year. A reported TTC derailment of an older train in which a piece of the train broke and was dragged to the next station signaled the need for newer engineering. The broken equipment endangered bystanders as it caught on the crossover track lifting the train off the tracks.