And Then There Was Six
SRT derailment
As Zwei has repeated so often, only seven ICTS/ALRT/ALM/ART/IRT/MALM proprietary railways have been built and operating. Well that is not true any more as the TTC is also confirmed train service on Line 3, originally scheduled to end on Nov. 18, will not restart following a July 24 derailment.
This unwanted proprietary railway was forced on the TTC by the then Conservative government in the early 1980’s to “sort of” save face as the Ontario Crown corporation backed an “Edsel” style rapid transit system that no one wanted and the the provincial government forced ICTS onto the Toronto Transit Commission.
Service on Line 3 was suspended following the derailment south of Ellesmere Station and replaced with frequent shuttle bus service. A comprehensive review, that includes the participation of industry-leading consultants, is still underway. However, given the time required to complete the review, the decision has been made to permanently close the line and begin to implement elements of the replacement plan. These measures will improve transit priority and operations, provide frequent, high-capacity bus service and ensure customers can plan their trips online in September.
And then there was six!
The main part of the right of way is being replaced by a full bi-directional all day running regional railway (tracks on the left of the derailment pictue), a subway extension of Line #2 (Bloor Danforth Subway Line) to Mc Cowan and Sheppard, a temporary busway, plus a planned busway from Scarborough Centre east into Durham Region. It was always refered to as the Scarborough RT (really a toy, I mean rapid transit).