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And here are Brad's photos:
On-street test of TTC's new streetcar
March 14, 2013
The Toronto Transit Commission has begun on-street testing of its new streetcar fleet, having successfully run its test vehicle last night from the TTC's Hillcrest facility at 1138 Bathurst St. to Bathurst Station and back.
The plan is for the TTC to test the streetcar on Toronto streets again this evening, though that is subject to change and/or cancellation. There will be no onboard photos or rides for media - this is a photo opportunity from the street only.
The streetcar will depart the TTC's Hillcrest facility and travel south to Exhibition loop, returning to Hillcrest. This will occur tomorrow morning (Friday, March 15) after 2:30 a.m. at the conclusion of streetcar service on St. Clair Ave. W. and Bathurst St.
Please call the TTC media line at416-981-1900 to confirm.
Since the first test streetcar arrived in Toronto last fall, TTC and Bombardier engineers and staff have conducted static tests on functions such as air conditioning, heating, lighting, CCTV cameras, stop announcements, ergonomics and many other components of the vehicle.
The next phase of testing moves to Toronto streets and includes power, braking, coupling/towing, clearance, cameras, doors and much more before the streetcar can be commissioned for service, scheduled for the first quarter of 2014. Testing locations and times will broaden and occur across the city over the next several months.
Plans call for the new streetcar to serve the 510 Spadina line first. As production vehicles arrive and are commissioned by the TTC, more streetcar routes will begin to be serviced by the new car. Full deployment across the streetcar network is expected by 2018. TTC staff will update the TTC Board and public later this spring with its deployment plan.
For more information about the TTC's 204 new low-floor, accessible, air conditioned fleet of custom-designed and engineered for Toronto streetcars, go to http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects_and_initiatives/New_Streetcars/index.jsp
TTC’s new streetcar takes early morning maiden voyage down Bathurst St.
“It was its first trip. We made it a short one, and we were very, very happy with it,” said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross.
TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION
The TTC's newest streetcar had a moonlit maiden voyage down Bathurst St. early Thursday morning. The trip was a test to see how the car would fare on city streets.
By: Graham Slaughter News reporter, Published on Thu Mar 14 2013
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The TTC’s streetcar of tomorrow had its maiden voyage overnight, giving Toronto night owls a rare glimpse of the state-of-the-art ride.
“It was its first trip. We made it a short one, and we were very, very happy with it,” said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross.
The new car made a moonlit round trip from the TTC’s Hillcrest facility to Bathurst station, making it the first ride on a city street. The route was chosen to test a variety of streetcar capabilities, including wide turning, braking and a dip beneath a bridge.
“We knew it would make it, we just wanted to see if there were any issues with clearance and grade,” Ross said.
The test was done around 4:30 a.m. to avoid traffic and confusing commuters. Another test will be run early Friday morning, this time taking a longer route to Exhibition Place. An instructor driver responsible for training new streetcar operators had the honour of piloting the premiere.
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“We didn’t want a whole lot of attention because we didn’t want to have the added stress of the world watching,” Ross said.
The new streetcars, designed by Bombardier, are equipped with added seating, doors on both sides and Presto capabilities. The design will undergo more testing inside the TTC’s Hillcrest facility over the coming months as engineers look for issues with electrical wiring and operations.
Riders will get to experience the new ride when the TTC introduces the new streetcars on the 510 Spadina route in early 2014.
