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62-765: The Roncesvalles Carhouse is a storage and maintenance facility for the streetcar network of the Toronto Transit Commission . Located at the northwest corner of the Queensway and Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto , Ontario, west of its downtown core, it is the oldest of the TTC's three active carhouses. The carhouse serves vehicles on routes 501 Queen , 504 King , 505 Dundas , 506 Carlton , 511 Bathurst , and 512 St. Clair . The yard has 28 tracks numbered from east (track 1) to west (track 29). (One track

124-416: A 505 Dundas streetcar heading eastbound collided with a Greyhound bus at Dundas and River Streets. Based on 2013 statistics, the TTC operated 304.6 kilometres (189.3 mi) of routes on 82 kilometres (51 mi) streetcar network (double or single track) throughout Toronto. As of July 28, 2024 , there are eleven active daytime streetcar routes plus seven overnight streetcar routes (part of

186-414: A backup plan in the event there were not enough Flexity streetcars. On June 19, 2016, the TTC launched the 514 Cherry streetcar route to supplement 504 King service along King Street between Dufferin and Sumach streets. The new route operated every 15 minutes or better and initially used some and later only the commission's then-new accessible Flexity streetcars. The eastern end of the 514 route ran on

248-615: A newly constructed branch, originally named the Cherry Street streetcar line , which is located in a reserved side-of-street right-of-way. On September 12, 2017, 509 Harbourfront became the first streetcar route in Toronto to operate Flexity streetcars with electrical pickup by pantograph instead of trolley pole . That November, the King Street Transit Priority Corridor , a transit mall ,

310-588: A route identifier (route name until the 1980s and later route number) and destination on two separate front rollsigns. The dot-matrix display destination signs on the Flexity streetcars show route number, route name and destination. Before 2018, streetcar-replacement bus services indicated route number and destination but not route name, like the CLRVs. The streetcar-operated Blue Night Network routes have been assigned 300-series route numbers. The other exception to

372-408: A separated right-of-way similar to that of the 510 on Spadina Avenue, to increase service reliability and was completed on June 30, 2010. On December 19, 2010, 504 King streetcar service returned to Roncesvalles Avenue after the street was rebuilt to a new design, which provided a widened sidewalk " bumpout " at each stop to allow riders to board a streetcar directly from the curb. When no streetcar

434-594: A surface rail connection there. In the early 1980s, a streetcar line was planned to connect Kennedy station to Scarborough Town Centre . However, as that line was being built, the Province of Ontario persuaded the TTC to switch to using a new technology called the Intermediate Capacity Transit System (now Bombardier Innovia Metro) by promising to pay for any cost overruns (which eventually amounted to over $ 100   million). Thus,

496-622: A validated TTC senior, youth or student ticket; a single-ride ticket; a paper transfer; or a tapped-in Presto card while riding. At the same time, the TTC also activated the option for customers to purchase single-ride tickets using debit or credit cards on the fare vending machines on Flexity streetcars. With the January 3, 2016, service changes, 510 Spadina became the first wheelchair-accessible streetcar route using mainly Flexity streetcars. However, CLRV and ALRV streetcars were used in some cases as

558-495: Is completed and full streetcar service over the entire route was finally restored on June 30, 2010. Trolley pole shoe Typically, electric current connectors have one or more spring-loaded arms that press a collector or contact shoe against the rail or overhead wire. As the vehicle moves, the contact shoe slides along the wire or rail to draw the electricity needed to run the vehicle's motor. The current collector arms are electrically conductive but mounted insulated on

620-424: Is held during the summer. By 2003, two-thirds of the city's streetcar tracks were in poor condition as the older track was poorly built using unwelded rail attached to untreated wooden ties lying on loose gravel. The result was street trackage falling apart quickly requiring digging up everything after 10 to 15 years. Thus, the TTC started to rebuild tracks using a different technique. With the new technique, concrete

682-444: Is north of downtown. Short sections of the track also operate in a tunnel (to connect with Spadina, Union, and St. Clair West subway stations). The most significant section of underground streetcar trackage is a tunnel underneath Bay Street connecting Queens Quay with Union station; this section, which is approximately 700 m (2,300 ft) long, includes one intermediate underground station at Bay Street and Queens Quay. During

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744-416: Is poured over compacted gravel, and the ties are placed in another bed of concrete, which is topped by more concrete to embed rail clips and rubber-encased rails. The resulting rail is more stable and quieter with less vibration. The new tracks are expected to last 25 years after which only the top concrete layer needs to be removed in order to replace worn rails. Route 512 St. Clair was rebuilt to restore

806-699: Is present, cyclists may ride over the bumpout as it doubles as part of a bike lane. On October 12, 2014, streetcar service resumed on 509 Harbourfront route after the street was rebuilt to a new design that replaced the eastbound auto lanes with parkland from Spadina Avenue to York Street. Thus, streetcars since then run on a roadside right-of-way immediately adjacent to a park on its southern edge. The Toronto Transit Commission eliminated all Sunday-only stops on June 7, 2015, as these stops slowed down streetcars making it more difficult to meet scheduled stops. Sunday stops, which served Christian churches, were deemed unfair to non-Christian places of worship, which never had

868-425: Is required (e.g., for construction, special events, emergencies), replacement buses bear the same route number and name as the corresponding streetcar route. Until 1980, streetcar routes had names but not numbers. When the CLRVs were introduced, the TTC assigned route numbers in the 500 series. CLRVs have a single front rollsign showing various combinations of route number and destination, while PCC streetcars showed

930-714: The Blue Night Network ) on the TTC network. The following table does not reflect temporary diversions and bus substitutions. Part of the Blue Night Network service, operating as 301 Queen between Neville Park and Long Branch Loops. Part of the Blue Night Network service, operating as 303 Kingston Rd between Bingham Loop and Roncesvalles Avenue. Part of the Blue Night Network service, operating as 304 King between Dundas West station and Broadview stations, bypassing Dufferin Gate and Distillery Loops. Part of

992-686: The City of Toronto issued a thirty-year transit franchise (Resolution 14, By-law 353) for a horse-drawn street railway , after the Williams Omnibus Bus Line had become heavily loaded. Alexander Easton's Toronto Street Railway (TSR) opened the first street railway line in Canada on September 11, 1861, operating from Yorkville Town Hall to the St. Lawrence Market . At the end of the TSR franchise,

1054-577: The Flexity Outlook streetcars used on routes 501 Queen , 504 King and 512 St. Clair . The carhouse returned to full capacity after completion of all remaining work. The work included: In separate instances in August 2019 and January 2020, a streetcar going along the S-curve at the middle of the north end of the yard hurled its trolley pole shoe through the window of a nearby building outside

1116-650: The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the third busiest light-rail system in North America . The network is concentrated primarily in Downtown Toronto and in proximity to the city's waterfront . Much of the streetcar route network dates from the second half of the 19th century. Three streetcar routes operate in their own right-of-way, one in a partial right-of-way, and six operate on street trackage shared with vehicular traffic with streetcars stopping on demand at frequent stops like buses. Since 2019,

1178-570: The 500 series numbering was the Harbourfront LRT streetcar. When introduced in 1990, this route was numbered 604, which was intended to group it with the old (albeit unposted) numbering scheme for Toronto subway routes. In 1996, the TTC overhauled its rapid transit route numbers and stopped trying to market the Harbourfront route as "rapid transit". The number was changed to 510. The tracks were later extended in two directions to form

1240-465: The 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront routes. There are underground connections between streetcars and the subway at St. Clair West , Spadina, and Union stations, and streetcars enter St. Clair , Dundas West , Bathurst , Broadview , and Main Street stations at street level. At the eight downtown stations, excepting Union, from Queen's Park to College on Line 1 Yonge–University, streetcars stop on

1302-456: The Blue Night Network service, operating as 305 Dundas. Part of the Blue Night Network, operating as 306 Carlton. Replaced by 501 Queen after 10 p.m. Weekday rush-hour service in peak direction only. Part of the Blue Night Network service, operating as 310 Spadina. Part of the Blue Night Network, operating as 312 St. Clair. All streetcar routes are served by low-floor, accessible Flexity Outlook vehicles. When replacement bus service

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1364-543: The City government ran the railway for eight months but ended up granting a new thirty-year franchise to the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) in 1891. The TRC was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto. The first electric car ran on August 15, 1892, and the last horse car ran on August 31, 1894, to meet franchise requirements. There came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms for

1426-573: The City. By 1912, the city limits had extended significantly, with the annexation of communities to the north (1912: North Toronto ) and the east (1908: Town of East Toronto ) and the west (1909: the City of West Toronto— The Junction ). After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the City created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways (TCR) to do so, and built several routes. Repeated court battles forced

1488-420: The Flexity cars was introduced on November 30, 2014. On November 22, 2015, the TTC started to operate its new fleet of Flexity Outlook streetcars from its new Leslie Barns maintenance and storage facility. On December 14, 2015, the TTC expanded Presto , POP and all-door loading to include all streetcars on all routes. All streetcar passengers are required to carry proof that they have paid their fares such as

1550-461: The Flexity streetcars due to reliability issues with the fare vending machines. On September 2, 2019, the TTC retired the last of its ALRV streetcars. The next day, due to the construction work at the Queen, Kingston Road, Eastern Avenue intersection, the TTC eliminated the 502 Downtowner service indefinitely. Concordantly, the 503 Kingston Rd service, which used to operate during rush hours only,

1612-483: The Scarborough RT (later renamed Line 3 Scarborough ) was born, and streetcar service did not return to Scarborough, instead stopping at the limits. The TTC returned to building new streetcar routes in 1989. The first new line was route 604 Harbourfront, starting from Union station , travelling underneath Bay Street and rising to a dedicated centre median on Queen's Quay (along the edge of Lake Ontario ) to

1674-501: The TRC to build new cars, but they were of old design. When the TRC franchise ended in 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission was created, combining the city-operated Toronto Civic Railways lines into its new network. The TTC began in 1921 as solely a streetcar operation, with the bulk of the routes acquired from the private TRC and merged with the publicly operated Toronto Civic Railways. In 1923,

1736-505: The TTC announced plans to eliminate all streetcar routes by 1980. Streetcars were considered out of date, and their elimination in almost all other cities made it hard to buy new vehicles and maintain the existing ones. Metro Toronto chair William Allen claimed in 1966 that "streetcars are as obsolete as the horse and buggy". Many streetcars were removed from service when Line 2 Bloor–Danforth opened in February 1966. The plan to abolish

1798-428: The TTC retired the last of its high-floor streetcars, the CLRVs. The final day for the CLRVs included a ceremonial farewell voyage along Queen Street, although the TTC plans to retain two CLRVs in Toronto for special events and charters. Since the retirement of the CLRVs, all TTC surface routes have been served by accessible low-floor vehicles. On August 15, 2023, the credit and debit card single-ride fare payment option

1860-683: The TTC took over the Lambton, Davenport and Weston routes of the Toronto Suburban Railway (TSR) and integrated them into the streetcar system. In 1925, routes were operated on behalf of the Township of York (as Township of York Railway), but the TTC was contracted to operate them. One of these routes was the former TSR Weston route and the others were the TTC Oakwood and Rogers Road streetcar routes. The Weston streetcar route

1922-528: The carhouse to handle the new low floor Flexity streetcars introduced in 2014. Unlike the TTC's legacy streetcar fleet, where the vehicle's serviceable parts were under the floor, the low-floor vehicle house the serviceable parts above the ceiling. This requires a different infrastructure for servicing and maintaining the vehicles. As an addition to the Roncesvalles structure, the TTC added a new one-track service bay capable of providing some maintenance for

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1984-549: The case of trams or trolleybuses . Most railways use three rails , while the London Underground uses four rails . Trams or trolleybuses use a grooved trolley shoe at the end of a trolley pole . A contact shoe is used as a ground on the running rail of a rubber-tired metro. A long and narrow contact shoe shaped like a ski , or "skid" or "ski collector" or "contact ski", was historically used on stud contact systems so it maintains contact with small studs in

2046-668: The city and construction resumed in mid-2006. One-third of the St. Clair right-of-way was completed by the end of 2006 and streetcars began using it on February 18, 2007. The portion finished was from St. Clair station (Yonge Street) to Vaughan Road . The second phase started construction in mid-2007 from Dufferin Street to Caledonia Road. Service resumed using the second and third phases on December 20, 2009, extending streetcar service from St. Clair to Earlscourt Loop located just south and west of Lansdowne Avenue. The fourth and final phase from Earlscourt Loop to Gunns Loop (just west of Keele Street)

2108-492: The city came up for renewal. When the City took over streetcar operations in 1921, its new transit agency, the Toronto Transportation Commission , determined the existing facilities should be torn down and replaced. The replacement carhouse opened in 1923, with the tracks realigned north-south. In 1927, the TTC took over operation of the Port Credit radial line which at that time ran west from Humber Loop. After converting

2170-424: The equivalent of a Sunday stop. Toronto originally created Sunday stops in the 1920s along its streetcar routes to help worshippers get to church on Sunday for religious services. The first two Flexity Outlook streetcars entered service on route 510 Spadina, on August 31, 2014; at the same time, all-door boarding and proof-of-payment (POP) was introduced on all 510 Spadina streetcars. Fare payments by Presto on

2232-418: The first CLRV entering service in 1979. It also continued to rebuild and maintain the existing fleet of PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) streetcars until they were no longer roadworthy. When Kipling station opened in 1980 as the new western terminus of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, it had provision for a future streetcar or LRT platform opposite the bus platforms. However, there was no further development for

2294-445: The foot of Spadina Avenue . This route was lengthened northward along Spadina Avenue in 1997, continuing to travel in a dedicated right-of-way in the centre of the street, and ending in an underground terminal at Spadina station . At this time, the route was renamed 510 Spadina to fit with the numbering scheme of the other streetcar routes. This new streetcar service replaced the former route 77 Spadina bus and, since 1997, has provided

2356-408: The full length of their operating area. The current collector assembly use sliding shoes that run on rails. Depending on the size of crane, contact rails may be copper wires, copper bars, or steel channels. mounted on insulating supports. Two rails are used for DC supply, and three for three-phase AC, with grounding of the crane through contact with the runway rails. The contact rails are mounted out of

2418-528: The late 2000s, the TTC reinstated a separated right-of-way, which had been removed between 1928 and 1935, on St. Clair Avenue for the entire 512 St. Clair route. A court decision obtained by local merchants in October 2005 had brought construction to a halt and put the project in doubt; the judicial panel then recused themselves, and the delay for a new decision adversely affected the construction schedule. A new judicial panel decided in February 2006 in favour of

2480-685: The line from standard gauge to the streetcar system's broader gauge , the TTC closed the old Toronto and York Radial Railway carhouse near Grenadier Pond, and housed the Port Credit radial cars at the Roncesvalles Carhouse. This arrangement continued until February 9, 1935 when the Port Credit radial (then running west from the Long Branch Loop) was permanently replaced by bus service. By 2013, 26,000 square feet (2,400 m) of new maintenance capabilities were added to

2542-484: The main north–south transit service through Toronto's Chinatown and the western boundary of University of Toronto 's main campus. The tracks along Queen's Quay were extended to Bathurst Street in 2000 to connect to the existing Bathurst route , providing for a new 509 Harbourfront route from Union station to the refurbished Exhibition Loop at the Exhibition grounds , where the annual Canadian National Exhibition

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2604-399: The network has used low-floor streetcars , making it fully accessible. Toronto's streetcars provide most of the downtown core's surface transit service. Four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 69,106,000, or about 223,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. The main predecessors of the TTC were: In 1861,

2666-486: The new low-floor streetcar vehicles. This was the only facility built to service the first of the new vehicles in service, before the Leslie Carhouse opened, in 2016. In February 2018, Roncesvalles Carhouse closed for major construction work with all streetcars operating from this carhouse being moved to Russell Carhouse and Leslie Barns. In January 2019, Roncesvalles Carhouse partially reopened to service some of

2728-587: The radials had their own separate management within the TTC's Radial Department. The last TTC-operated radial ( North Yonge Railways ) closed in 1948. After the Second World War , many cities across North America and Europe began to eliminate their streetcar systems in favour of buses. During the 1950s, the TTC continued to invest in streetcars and the TTC took advantage of other cities' streetcar removals by purchasing extra PCC cars from Cleveland , Birmingham , Kansas City , and Cincinnati . In 1966,

2790-618: The reach of people working in the area to prevent an electric shock hazard. The trolley pole wheel is a grooved contact wheel mounted on top of the trolley pole instead of a trolley shoe. The trolley pole wheel somewhat resembles a pulley . Trolley pole wheels are now rarely used. A collector pole is the pole at the end of a bumper car . It has a contact shoe on top. Electric railways with third rails or fourth rails carry collector or contact shoes, or paddles (the name used by MARTA ), projecting laterally (sideways), or vertically, from their bogies . The contact shoe may slide on top of

2852-403: The shop buildings. Track 20 has a carwash. A boiler room is near the south-west corner of the carhouse building. A sub-station is located near the north-east corner of the yard between track 1 and Roncesvalles Avenue. The traffic office is at the south-east corner beside track 5. Yard entrances/exits are on the Queensway and Roncesvalles Avenue. The Roncesvalles Avenue entrance in conjunction with

2914-411: The southwest corner of the carhouse property. It is used to turn back westbound 501 Queen and 504 King streetcars, which can only enter the loop westbound from the Queensway and exit southbound on Sunnyside Avenue to return eastbound. Toronto streetcar system [REDACTED] The Toronto streetcar system is a network of eleven streetcar routes in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, operated by

2976-512: The special work at the intersection of Queen Street, King Street, the Queensway and Roncesvalles Avenue can serve streetcars from and to any street at that intersection. The Queensway entrance cannot serve streetcars to or from Humber Loop . The Toronto Railway Company opened the Roncesvalles Carhouse on January 22, 1895. It was located facing Roncesvalles Avenue on the west side of the street just north of Queen Street. Like most other TRC facilities maintenance had been deferred as its contract with

3038-590: The street outside the station entrances. Union station serves as the hub for both the TTC and the GO Transit systems. The majority of streetcar routes in Toronto operate in mixed traffic, generally reflecting the original track configurations of the streetcar system, a system that dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, newer trackage has largely been established within dedicated rights-of-way to allow streetcars to operate with fewer disruptions due to delays caused by automobile traffic. Most of

3100-759: The streetcar fleet would, in the long run, be cheaper than converting to buses. This combined with a strong public preference for streetcars over buses changed the decision of the TTC board. The busiest north–south and east–west routes were replaced respectively by the Yonge–University and the Bloor–Danforth subway lines, and the northernmost streetcar lines, including the North Yonge and Oakwood routes, were replaced by trolley buses (and later by diesel buses). Two lines that operated north of St. Clair Avenue were abandoned for other reasons. The Rogers Road route

3162-425: The streetcar system was strongly opposed by many people in the city, and a group named "Streetcars for Toronto" was formed to work against the plan. The group was led by Professor Andrew Biemiller and transit advocate Steve Munro . It had the support of city councillors William Kilbourn and Paul Pickett, and urban advocate Jane Jacobs . Streetcars for Toronto presented the TTC board with a report that found retaining

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3224-485: The system's dedicated rights-of-way operate within the median of existing streets, separated from general traffic by raised curbs and controlled by specialized traffic signals at intersections. Queen streetcars have operated on such a right-of-way along the Queensway between Humber and Sunnyside loops since 1957. Since the 1990s, dedicated rights-of-way have been opened downtown along Queens Quay , Spadina Avenue , and Fleet Street, as well as St. Clair Avenue West, which

3286-419: The third rail (top running), on the bottom (bottom running) or on the side (side running). The side running contact shoe is used against the guide bars on rubber-tired metros . A vertical contact shoe is used on fourth rail systems. A pair of contact shoes was used on underground current collection systems . Contact shoes may also be used on overhead conductor rails , on guide bars or on trolley wires in

3348-416: The underside of the lowest wire of an overhead line system, which is called a contact wire . Most overhead supply systems are either DC or single phase AC, using a single wire with return through the grounded running rails. Three phase AC systems use a pair of overhead wires, and paired trolley poles . Electric overhead cranes and gantry cranes may use a current collector system to provide power over

3410-413: The vehicle's roof, side or base. An insulated cable connects the collector with the switch , transformer or motor . The steel rails of the tracks act as the electrical return . Electric vehicles that collect their current from an overhead line system use different forms of one- or two-arm pantograph collectors , bow collectors or trolley poles . The current collection device presses against

3472-438: The yard. The TTC suspected the cause of the two incidents was speed and perhaps an improper attachment of the shoe to the trolley pole. The shoe is made of brass and weighs 1.4–1.8 kilograms (3–4 lb). To prevent further incidents, the TTC has since required drivers to go around the S-curve at 5 km/h (3.1 mph) with the pantograph raised and the trolley pole lowered. This is an anticlockwise streetcar loop, exterior to

3534-485: Was abandoned to free up streetcars for expanded service on other routes. The Mount Pleasant route was removed because of complaints that streetcars slowed automobile traffic. Earlier, the TTC had contemplated abandonment because replacement by trolley buses was cheaper than replacing the aging tracks. However, the TTC maintained most of its existing network, purchasing new custom-designed Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (CLRV) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (ALRV), with

3596-480: Was eliminated when the LFLRV repair bay was built at the location of tracks 16 and 17 in 2013.) Exterior tracks 1 to 15 and the LFLRV repair bay track all face north while the other tracks face south. The carhouse has four "barns" which are from east to west: the LFLRV repair bay, Inspection Bay 2 (tracks 18-20), Inspection Bay 1 (tracks 21-23), Repair Bay (tracks 24-25). Tracks 24 and 25 are the only stub-end tracks within

3658-521: Was established along King Street between Bathurst and Jarvis streets. On October 7, 2018, the 514 Cherry route was permanently cancelled. The service it provided was replaced by the 504 King, which was divided into two overlapping branches, each to one of the termini ( Dufferin Gate Loop and Distillery Loop ) of the former 514 route. That December, the TTC eliminated the option for passengers to purchase single-ride tickets by credit and debit cards on

3720-543: Was reintroduced as part of a system-wide TTC rollout. Customers can tap a credit or debit card (including those loaded in a digital wallet ) on a TTC Presto fare reader to pay their fares or validate transfers. The customer's tapped-in credit or debit card acts as POP while riding. On December 16, 2010, the TTC suffered its worst accident since the Russell Hill subway crash in 1995 . Up to 17 people were sent to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after

3782-430: Was replaced by electric trolley buses in 1948, while Rogers Road route was replaced by the 63 Ossington trolley bus route in 1974; ultimately diesel bus routes replaced the trolley buses in 1992. In 1927, the TTC became the operator of three radial lines of the former Toronto and York Radial Railway . The TTC connected these lines to the streetcar system in order to share equipment and facilities, such as carhouses, but

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3844-447: Was upgraded to operate during all daytime hours Monday through Friday. This change also affected the 501 Queen service, with buses replacing streetcars east of Queen Street and Greenwood Avenue. The construction projects ended that November. While the 501 Queen resumed full streetcar service, the 502 remained eliminated and the consolidation of Kingston Road service into the 503 Kingston Rd route remained in effect. On December 29, 2019,

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