New Toronto subway cars

I’m not going to lie to you. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) could be better. There was a time when it was the envy of the world, but those days are gone. It is now 25 years behind other state-of-the-art transit systems in North America and Europe.

Much of it can be blamed on Toronto city councillors who bicker back and forth and talk in circles. Expansion is impossible due to bureaucracy. Out of the most pressing problems in Toronto, one of the most urgent is public transit. I could go on about how terribly antiquated the system has become, and how depressing it is to watch elected officials behave like school children, and break their electoral promises, but I’m sure the story is similar from wherever it is you are located. Or maybe not, in which case, I envy you.

Toronto transit is made up of subways, light-rail, streetcars and buses. There are four subway lines. The Toronto Rocket is the newest subway design and the first in North America to feature full-open gangways, allowing passengers to move freely from one end of the train to the other.

The new trains operate exclusively on the Yonge–University–Spadina, and entered service on July 21, 2011. Delivery of all 70 train sets is expected to be completed by early 2014.

I know I’m a geek for writing about this, but I was really excited to ride one of them the other day! My biggest pet peeve about Toronto transit city riders though, is that they don’t let those exiting the train to get off first. It’s really annoying, and rude.