pc28¹ÙÍøsubway users are facing weeks of longer travel times, thanks to reduced speed zones the TTC has imposed across large portions of its network.Ìý
The transit agency says it has ordered trains to operate at slower speeds on 34 sections of Lines 1 and 2 as a “safety precaution,” after a geometric survey conducted in May identified multiple points where track required repairs.Ìý
The reduced speeds allow “trains to run safely during service hours while minimizing disruptions to customers,” the agency . They also “protect workers who may be required at track level to conduct routine or emergency inspections.”
Trains normally travel at speeds of between 40 to 60 km/h, but through the affected sections they will slow to between 15 and 25 km/h.
This map showed the reduced speed zones along the TTC’s Line 1 and 2.
TTCThe majority of the zones are on Line 1, including the bottom of the busy downtown “U” between St. Andrew, Union and King stations. They will add an average of about 15 minutes to a trip between Vaughan and Finch on Line 1, while trip times on Line 2 between Kennedy and Coxwell will be about three minutes longer.Ìý
The agency said the problems it has identified are “minor track issues” such as rail gauge or wear being outside TTC standards. It plans to perform the required maintenance overnight when the system stops running, and during scheduled weekend closures between now and September.
Shelagh Pizey-Allen, executive director of the transit advocacy group TTCriders, said it’s encouraging that the TTC is proactively monitoring its network for potential problems, but it’s troubling so much track is in bad shape. She said the high number of slow zones raises questions about whether the agency — which earlier this year reported a state-of-good-repair shortfall of $2.4 billion a year across its entire system — is adequately maintaining the subway.
Those concerns had already been stoked by incidents such as the hydraulic fluid leak in May that forced a partial shut down of Line 2 for 12 hours, and the derailment of the Scarborough RT last year.
“I think we’d all rather be safe than sorry, but we also expect the subway to be fast, and riders I think deserve answers about what’s going on. Why are there so many (slow zones)?” Pizey-Allen said.
“We can’t accept this as the new normal for a rapid transit line.”
The TTC subway is responsible for about one million boardings every weekday.
This isn’t the first time customers have suffered through slow zones. The agency implemented 23 of them in January.Ìý
The City is planning to upgrade Line 2 by replacing its fleet, which will start reaching the end of its service life in 2026. As part of the “new deal” Mayor Olivia Chow and Premier Doug Ford struck last November, the city and provincial governments each pledged $758 million toward the $2.3-billion purchase of 55 new trains.
pc28¹ÙÍøis still waiting on a commitment from the federal government for the rest of the money. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have yet to pledge a specific amount, this month they announced a 10-year, $30-billion public transit fund. That money isn’t expected to flow until 2026.Ìý
The TTC says it needs the funding by early next year to place the train order, otherwise it will have to spend millions to extend the life of its existing fleet.Ìý
However, the TTC has already applied to the fund, and Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser told the Star this month that while the money won’t be available for another two years, agreements for the first round could be awarded in 2024.
Funding for the Line 2 trains could “be locked in much sooner than 2026 and then allow them to deal with the expenses (as) they come up, knowing that the money’s going to be there,” he said.Ìý
With files from Mark RamzyÂ
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