This is a valid concern if the DRL goes all the way to Roncesvalles and has station spacing that's at least as close as the Bloor-Danforth line. But are either of these things realistic? In fact, it seems unlikely that the DRL will continue west of University/Spadina for a very, very long...

As I understand it, a loop isn't the only solution -- short-turning some trains can ease the congestion at the terminals too. Although I guess to do that properly you'd want a dedicated third platform at the turnback station. It can really be ridiculous though. Sometimes you crawl all the way...

In particular the announcements for transfer stations: "The next station is interchange station...St. George". It sounds silly -- because of the pause before St. George, your first impression is that the name of the next station is "Interchange Station" -- and nobody in Toronto talks about...

What if it's rainy, or windy, or they're with a friend who's not riding a bike, or they're tired? I think there are lots of reasons why people might bring bikes onto the streetcar, and the main reason it doesn't currently happen is that it's very difficult to get a bike on and off, which will...

From the CTV story: If that's true (and who knows), then it's a sign that Ford's ouster is not causing an upswell in support for Ford.

They're not "tearing down" anything!

Thread title should be changed from 2012 to 2013.

Just saw car 4121 do the first test run north of College and into the subway portal (2:30am), accompanied by a large entourage of TTC vehicles and staff. Is it normal for the wheels to get all sparky on new track? Looked pretty cool!

A couple of photos from today. Northbound shelter at Sussex, newly chopped in half, with railing being installed in its place: Yellow paint and grooves at a platform entrance: At some of the stops, this was done somewhat differently -- they scraped the concrete to make it rough and...

So apparently streetcar service will resume 5am tomorrow (Sunday). I took a walk down the street this afternoon and everything looks ready south of College; the ROW has been swept clean and almost all the work has been done. The only spot between College and King where I saw work still...

Beautiful work! I love the details, e.g. the mode icons that reflect international standards while still keeping a Toronto look. And putting the CN Tower on there is genius. In terms of the content, there are two planned GO-subway connections that the map doesn't really indicate: Downsview...

I too have had to stand at times. It's an interesting and slightly scary experience flying along the 427 in a crush-loaded bus (though half the crush is luggage rather than people).

Even Dennis and Lea? I think that one is really clever, as it references the neighbourhoods where the two tunnel portals will be located (Mount Dennis and Leaside).

Why would you need to move down the aisle, though? You can board and exit at any door, so there's no need to walk through the car. It's not like the current cars where there's a constant need to be moving towards the back of the car.

At the moment they're fixing up the track just south of Harbord (no new rails, but new concrete and rubber sleeves). Looks like it should be done in a couple of days. I've seen crews putting a fresh coat of paint on the shelters, even on the parts that weren't modified, which is nice.

Some of them have been left as is (the ones where no column has been taken out). I'm assuming it has to do with having an unobstructed space for wheelchair boarding, as you suggest, in which case I guess they've only done it when the shelter is positioned such that it lines up with the...

I dunno -- like Memph said, density is what matters, not size. You can't really judge from a city's population how extensive its transit network is "supposed" to be; it depends on whether that population is spread out in suburbs built for the car or concentrated in neighbourhoods built for...

I wonder how much the new track will reduce the noise made by streetcars going across the bridge. Part of it is the howling track, but there seems to be a lot of stuff on the underside of the bridge that vibrates too. Gives you quite a fright the first time you hear it while walking under the...

I've also noticed that the faint lane markings in the ROW only exist south of College, which is also the section that was said to have originally been non-exclusive. North of Spadina Crescent there don't appear to have ever been any lane markings on the ROW. It does seem to jive with the...

Not that I'm saying you're wrong -- I wasn't in the city at the time -- but the Star article that I linked, written a week before the opening of the line in 1997, says that "streetcars will have exclusive right-of-way only during morning and evening rush hours", and has a quote from TTC chair...