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Toronto's streetcars and subway trains also have a unique gauge, but all new lines built and about to be built will use standard gauge. Extensions to the existi

Toronto's streetcars and subway trains also have a unique gauge, but all new lines built and about to be built will use standard gauge. Extensions to the existing three subway lines and the streetcar network will continue to use the old gauge.

bregma 4y ago
The switch to standard gauge in Toronto isn't to save money (because it doesn't), the reasons are purely petty political. Then again, the original choice to use the broader TTC gauge was also petty political. The point is, it's not an economic or technical decision.
- frosted-flakes 4y ago
  I don't think it's political or to save money, it's just pragmatic. Why use something custom if you don't have to?
  - bregma 4y ago
    Every single bogie on every single LRT or subway car is "custom". Given all the tooling, training, and skills the TTC has with TTC standard gauge, introducing a non-standard gauge so that a politician can be seen to be making a difference will effectively just double the cost. Sure, a guy in a blue tie gets to benefit from "subways subways subways" including a "subway" of a bus on tracks in a tunnel in his own riding, but does it benefit the people who use and pay for the extra maintenance, training, tooling, and storage?
    - frosted-flakes 4y ago
      Note that the new lines are not TTC lines, they are Metrolinx lines. And Metrolinx is also building LRT systems in other cities that use standard gauge, so it definitely makes the most sense to stick with standard gauge instead of switching to the TTC's unique gauge. Now imagine that Metrolinx's GO trains also used a non-standard gauge? Not only could they not share track with freight trains, or even Via Rail, but simply delivering the train cars from where they are manufactured in Thunder Bay would be a nightmare. As it is, they're just attached to a freight train and pulled along like any other car, and I've even seen them on a CP freight train.
      - bobthepanda 4y ago
        To add onto this, the only modern streetcars that have been built to Toronto's gauge, the new Flexity streetcars, have issues, so there's not really a compelling reason to buy those.
        bregma 4y ago
        The new new streetcars (for Line 6 Finch) are the Alstom Citadis Spirit, identical to those used in Ottawa and also destined for the Hazel McAllion. Given the wheels literally keep falling off, the gauge is the least of the worries.

bregma 4y ago

The switch to standard gauge in Toronto isn't to save money (because it doesn't), the reasons are purely petty political. Then again, the original choice to use the broader TTC gauge was also petty political. The point is, it's not an economic or technical decision.

frosted-flakes 4y ago
I don't think it's political or to save money, it's just pragmatic. Why use something custom if you don't have to?
- bregma 4y ago
  Every single bogie on every single LRT or subway car is "custom". Given all the tooling, training, and skills the TTC has with TTC standard gauge, introducing a non-standard gauge so that a politician can be seen to be making a difference will effectively just double the cost. Sure, a guy in a blue tie gets to benefit from "subways subways subways" including a "subway" of a bus on tracks in a tunnel in his own riding, but does it benefit the people who use and pay for the extra maintenance, training, tooling, and storage?
  - frosted-flakes 4y ago
    Note that the new lines are not TTC lines, they are Metrolinx lines. And Metrolinx is also building LRT systems in other cities that use standard gauge, so it definitely makes the most sense to stick with standard gauge instead of switching to the TTC's unique gauge. Now imagine that Metrolinx's GO trains also used a non-standard gauge? Not only could they not share track with freight trains, or even Via Rail, but simply delivering the train cars from where they are manufactured in Thunder Bay would be a nightmare. As it is, they're just attached to a freight train and pulled along like any other car, and I've even seen them on a CP freight train.
    - bobthepanda 4y ago
      To add onto this, the only modern streetcars that have been built to Toronto's gauge, the new Flexity streetcars, have issues, so there's not really a compelling reason to buy those.
      - bregma 4y ago
        The new new streetcars (for Line 6 Finch) are the Alstom Citadis Spirit, identical to those used in Ottawa and also destined for the Hazel McAllion. Given the wheels literally keep falling off, the gauge is the least of the worries.