Rendering of new Streetcar

May-June 2009

The Commission unanimously approved a report on April 27 recommending Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc. build 204 fully accessible Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) to replace the TTC’s aging fleet of streetcars and to provide for ridership growth and congestion relief efforts. A contract award to Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc. is contingent upon funding. The contract stipulates a minimum 25-per-cent Canadian content requirement.

Bombardier’s bid price of $1.22 billion is guaranteed until June 27. The City of Toronto has approved funding for its one-third share. The contract, if awarded, also allows for an option to purchase up to 400 LRVs for the Transit City network.

The new LRV would be the fourth generation of streetcar built for the TTC in the last 88 years, following the Peter Witt (1921-1963), the PCC (1938-1995), the CLRV (1978-present) and the ALRV (1988-present).

The delivery of new LRVs could begin as early as mid-2011 and be complete by 2018. The new vehicles will be approximately 28.2 metres long, compared with 15.4 metres for a CLRV. They have four doors, 62 fixed seats and six flip-down seats at the two wheelchair/scooter locations. They are 100-per-cent, low-floor vehicles with many user-friendly features, including air conditioning and interior bike racks.