Flexity Outlook (Toronto streetcar)

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Flexity Outlook
Flexity Outlook 4403 on route 510 Spadina
Manufacturer	Bombardier Transportation
Built at	Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Family name	Flexity
Replaced	Canadian Light Rail Vehicle, Articulated Light Rail Vehicle
Constructed	2009–present
Entered service	August 31, 2014
Fleet numbers	4400 series
Capacity	70 (seats), 181 (standing), 251 total
Operator(s)	Toronto Transit Commission
Depot(s)	Leslie Barns Russell Carhouse Roncesvalles Carhouse
Line(s) served	Toronto streetcar system
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless Steel
Train length	30.20 m (99 ft 1 in)
Car length	28 m (91 ft 10 in)
Width	2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)
Height	3.84 m (12 ft 7 in)
Doors	4 (right side only)
Articulated sections	5
Maximum speed	70 km/h (43 mph)
Weight	48,200 kg (106,300 lb)
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Overhead trolley wire
Current collection method	Trolley pole and can convert to pantograph
Track gauge	4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm) TTC gauge

The Flexity Outlook is the newest version of streetcars operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The vehicles are built by Bombardier Transportation in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

The Flexity low-floor streetcars are operated primarily on routes 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina. They have been used sometimes on 511 Bathurst line during special events at Exhibition Place such as the 2015 Pan American Games and the Canadian National Exhibition. They will be put in service on all 11 streetcar routes by 2019 (as more arrive), replacing the fleet of Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and the double-module Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV) streetcars, which have been in revenue service since the 1970s and 1980s, respectively.

The Flexity vehicles are low-floor, wheelchair accessible and are just over 30 metres long. Each vehicle operates using a Proof-of-payment (POP) system and Presto card machines. They have four sliding doors (opened either by the operator or when a passenger taps the button) which allow all-door entry/exit. They have automated audible and visual on-board next stop and external pre-boarding announcements, large windows, air conditioning systems, 64 fixed face-to-face seats, six flip-down seats, and interior bike racks.

History

A mockup of the first three sections of the new vehicle on public display in 2011

With the TTC's streetcar fleet nearing the end of its service life, the commission began looking for a manufacturer to build new streetcars. In mid-2009, the TTC announced that it had chosen the Bombardier Flexity Outlook to replace the existing CLRV and ALRV fleet on its streetcar network, most of which serves Toronto's downtown core. On June 26, 2009, the Toronto City Council approved funding for 204 new vehicles and signed the contract with Bombardier. A mockup of the new streetcar was put on display at the Bathurst Hillcrest Complex for tours in November 2011. (The mockup had had three sections instead of five.) The first operating vehicle arrived in September 2012. It was unveiled to the public and media two months later in November 2012. Beginning in 2013, the new streetcars were tested on several routes, and the first two entered revenue service on August 31, 2014 on the 510 Spadina route.

Specifications

File:Flexity Outlook 4402 testing in July 2014.jpg

Flexity Outlook #4402

In 2010, Bombardier released the specifications of the new streetcars. The vehicle is based on the Flexity Outlook product, but tailored to Toronto's needs. The vehicles use TTC's unique track gauge (4 ft 10 ⁷⁄₈ in/​1,495 mm) rather than standard gauge, and trolley poles using 600 V DC for power collection. Other design requirements such as the ability to handle tight turning radii and single-point switches, climb steep hills and valleys, clearance, and ability to upgrade into a more modern pantograph current collection system were factored into the design. The Outlook is almost twice as long as the TTC's older streetcars, and has five articulated sections.

Toronto was hit by unusually cold weather during the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 winters. On the colder days, buses were used to supplement the older streetcar fleet, when the pneumatic systems on many of the vehicles failed. Small amounts of moisture that had leaked into the pneumatic lines were freezing in the cold weather. The TTC told commuters that the new Flexity vehicles use different technology that is not susceptible to extreme cold. Instead of a pneumatic system, servomotors or hydraulic systems are used to operate the doors.

Fare collection

The TTC's Flexity vehicles are equipped with two fare vending machines located near each of its central doors, along with "Ticket Validator" machines for passengers using senior/student tickets, and machines for Presto fare cards located at all doors.

Main article: Toronto Transit Commission fares

The Flexity streetcars use a proof-of-payment (POP) all-door boarding system because the operator sits in a fully enclosed cab and does not monitor or enforce passengers' fare payments.

The POP system requires passengers to carry proof that they have paid their fares (for instance: a Metropass, a validated TTC senior/student ticket, Presto card or a POP transfer receipt, which must be obtained from a subway station, another surface route or from an FTVM for passengers who pay their fares using cash or tokens) while riding aboard the vehicles. The TTC's fare enforcement officers do spot checks on board or at terminal/interchange stations to ensure passengers have POP and that they have paid the proper fares.

The Flexity cars are equipped with six Presto card readers (with two machines located at the second and third double-doors of the car and one machine located at the first and fourth doors of the car). There are two grey Fare and Transfer Vending Machines (FTVM) on board situated beside the double-doors in the second and fourth modules of each car.

• Passengers can pay their fare by with coins, tokens or bank-issued credit or debit cards. The machine issues a receipt, which serves as POP and can also be used as a transfer to connect with other TTC routes.

• Passengers who use Senior/Student tickets must validate their tickets at one of two smaller red Ticket Validator machines situated beside the FTVMs, which stamp the date and time fare was paid. (In turn, the validated ticket must be deposited into a farebox when transferring to another TTC route.)

• Presto users tap their cards when they enter the vehicle at one of six Presto card scanners located at each doorway, the card itself serves as POP, for those transferring to bus routes, the cardholder must tap at the FTVM, for a POP transfer receipt.

• • Curb-side FTVMs and Ticket Validators are also posted at most major stops along routes which are served by the Flexity streetcars, where passengers have the option to pay their fares (except for Presto Card users) prior to boarding.

Audible warning signals

Like previous Toronto streetcars, the Flexity streetcars use a two-stage external auditory warning system. Instead of the mechanical gongs used on older vehicles, the Flexity vehicles use amplified digital recordings, based on that from previous streetcars. They are also equipped with horns like most of the older streetcars use.

Destination sign

The Flexity streetcars are the first streetcars with electronic destination signs, as opposed to manually operated roller blinds used on the older CLRV/ALRV streetcars. There are orange LED signs at the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle identifying the route number, name, and destination . These are supplemented with two blue bullseye lights on the side of the front signifying it is an accessible vehicle (like TTC buses).

Automated voice announcement system

As with all TTC vehicles, the Flexity streetcars have on-board automated audible/visual next stop announcements (for instance: "Next stop, Queen Street West"). They are the first TTC vehicles to provide automated pre-boarding route announcements which indicate the route, direction, destination or next major stop via external speakers placed at every door of the vehicle (for instance: "510 Spadina, to Spadina station").

Delivery

TTC Flexity streetcar on 509 Harbourfront line at Exhibition Loop

Pre-revenue service

The first vehicle arrived in Toronto on September 25, 2012 by rail from the Thunder Bay plant to Canadian Pacific Railway’s Lambton Yard near Runnymede Road and St. Clair Avenue West.

It was loaded on a truck/trailer flatbed and arrived at Harvey Shop at the Hillcrest Complex a few days later. Car 4400 was the first of three test vehicles delivered for testing and technology verification. The carset has the same number as the wooden mockup car. The new vehicle was unveiled to the public at the TTC's Hillcrest complex during a media conference on November 15, 2012.

On June 25, 2013, the Railway Age quoted TTC General Manager Andy Byford about the need for the TTC to order an additional 60 vehicles.

Contract amendments reported on February 24, 2014 called for trolley pole current collection for part of the fleet (60 cars) with the later omission of trolley poles on the remaining 144 cars. The first 60 cars will have both a pantograph and a trolley pole.

Revenue service

The Flexity streetcars entered service on August 31, 2014 on the 510 Spadina streetcar line. Other routes would follow in 2015 with the new cars being added onto the 509 Harbourfront line on March 29, 2015, in addition, since July 2015, the Flexity streetcars have been used sometimes on route 511 Bathurst during special events like the 2015 Pan American Games. Prototype vehicles 4401 and 4402 had been undergoing almost a year of extensive testing in Toronto. That testing had triggered a change to the design of the loading ramps. The vehicles will only become TTC property when their ramps are retrofitted to the new design, and that change couldn't be made while the plant was on strike.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross said that the new vehicles would enter service on time, in spite of the strike, even if there was only one new vehicle ready for fare service. Tess Kalinowski, the Toronto Star's transportation columnist, wrote that the Bombardier plan had been scheduled to roll out a new vehicle every three weeks, but that measures would taken to roll out three new vehicles per month until production was back on schedule.

In September 2014, a month after the rollout of fare service on the Spadina line, Kalinowski reported that riders of other routes were expressing jealousy and impatience over the delay before new vehicles were ready to serve their routes.

Bombardier workers voted to accept a new contract on September 12, 2014.

On September 29, 2014, Chris Bateman, writing in the Toronto Life magazine, described a new simulator that was being installed in the Hillcrest complex to train drivers on the Flexity vehicles. It replaces an analogue trainer used to train drivers on the CLRVs. The system allows drivers to simulate navigating the TTC's entire streetcar routes, but only landmark buildings, including the CN Tower and El Mocambo, are rendered accurately. Most of the buildings the driver passes are generic.

Delivery problems

On December 19, 2014, Tess Kalinowski, reporting in the Toronto Star, wrote that Bombardier was behind schedule in delivering new vehicles. She wrote that, by mid-December Bombardier should have delivered 43 vehicles, but had only delivered three. Seven new vehicles should have been delivered in 2013. She noted that TTC CEO Andy Byford had warned Bombardier that he would insist on Bombardier meet the final schedule of all vehicles in time for new streetcars to replace the old fleet by 2019, or he would impose the penalty clauses in the delivery contract. One additional vehicle was expected to be delivered before the end of the year.

Natalie Alcoba, writing in the National Post, reported on January 28, 2015, that the Leslie Barns facility for the new vehicles was expected to be almost empty, when it opened later in 2015, because Bombardier had fallen so far behind in delivery.

On February 23, 2015, TTC Chair Mike Colle said Bombardier had agreed to deliver vehicles more frequently, and he expected a total of 30 vehicles to be delivered by the end of 2015.

Colle expected that the 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina and 511 Bathurst routes would all be using new vehicles by the end of the year. He said that the TTC already knew it would need to place an order for additional vehicles. The TTC can purchase an additional 60 vehicles at the current price, if the additional vehicles are ordered before the 60th vehicle is delivered. Colle said that the additional vehicles would not be ordered, and paid for, until Bombardier was close to delivering the 60th vehicle, as an incentive for Bombardier to keep to its delivery schedule.

According to TTC CEO Andy Byford, the first Flexity streetcars were so poorly manufactured, the TTC wouldn’t accept them for fear they would break down on bumpy city streets. At the Thunder Bay plant, when workers went to attach the under-frame to the sidewalls, they had found they were not square. To solve the problem, they wanted to rivet the two pieces together. The TTC rejected that solution, as according to Byford, rivets pop. There are still issues with loose screws, wiring and electrical connectors. To address these problems, Bombardier is retooling its Mexican operation (that supplied some problematic parts) and is implementing new quality-assurance processes at Thunder Bay. Flexity streetcar 4408 was in Toronto by June 20, 2015. Flexity streetcar 4409 went into service on August 11, 2015, almost two months later.

In September 2015, the TTC announced that cars 4410 and 4411 went into service on September 8, 2015 and on September 28, 2015 respectively and that the delivery of car 4412 was expected in early October.

By mid-October 2015, Bombardier admitted it had another production problem at its plant in Mexico, the same one responsible for faulty under-frames and sides on the new streetcars. The new problem is the "crimping of electrical connectors" causing a new production and delivery delay. To correct the crimping issue, Bombardier has to effectively check 20,000 wires per vehicle requiring about 13 to 16 extra shifts per vehicle. Bombardier hopes to make up for the delay in 2016, when it would produce one streetcar every five days. The TTC reported that the delivery of car 4412 would be delayed until October 21, 2015; it was placed into service on November 10, 2015.

Cars 4413 and 4414 went into service on December 4, 2015 and on December 24, 2015 respectively.

With the service changes that took place on January 3, 2016, it was expected that the 510 Spadina would normally operate using only the new Flexity streetcars, making the 510 Spadina the first fully wheelchair accessible TTC streetcar line in the city, however the TTC may operate some old CLRV and/or ALRV streetcars on that line in the event of insufficient availability of Flexity streetcars.

Legal action against Bombardier

On October 16, 2015, the TTC announced that it has asked its board to consider legal action against Bombardier. TTC staff is recommending that the TTC board “commence legal action, or make a claim allowed for already in the contract, of $50 million for late delivery” against Bombardier. Bombardier had committed to delivering 67 streetcars to the TTC by October 2015, but only 10 were in service at the time.

On October 28, 2015, the TTC board voted in favour of a lawsuit against Bombardier "for at least $50 million to recoup lost costs", according to Chair Josh Colle, because of the company's failure to deliver the additional new streetcars. TTC chief executive Andy Byford indicated that he was not interested in the money per se, and simply wants the streetcars. In a statement late that afternoon, Bombardier responded that it would not comment on the TTC's plan and would not offer “any speculation on potential impacts” on their operations.

Operations

In March 2013, the demonstration car set made several test runs throughout the streetcar network including one trip from Hillcrest Complex down Bathurst Street to Bloor Street and another trip to Bathurst and Lake Shore Boulevard.

The TTC has been running LRV 4401 with the pantograph within the Hillcrest Complex and the trolley pole on the street.

On June 19, 2013, the TTC announced that the vehicles would be operated on the Spadina streetcar line. The first two new streetcars (cars #4400 and #4403) entered revenue service on August 31, 2014. The full fleet will not be rolled out until 2019.

Rollout schedule

The Flexity streetcars are operated primarily on routes 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina and are sometimes used on route 511 Bathurst. As more are delivered, more routes will begin to be served by the new cars. The rollout schedule is listed below (subject to change).

• 505 Dundas: 2016
• 501 Queen: 2016/2017
• 504 King: 2017
• 512 St. Clair: 2018
• 502 Downtowner: 2018
• 503 Kingston Rd: 2019
• 506 Carlton: 2019

Maintenance

The existing two carhouses are oriented to service the older high-floor cars with most equipment located under the vehicle floor. They are not oriented to low-floor vehicles with equipment located on the roof. The TTC has constructed the new Roncesvalles Carhouse to serve the new vehicles. The TTC is also scheduled to open Leslie Barns, a new maintenance facility, at the corner of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard by summer 2015.

The TTC has set a target of 35,000 kilometres between failures for the new cars, compared with about 7,000 kilometres on average between failures on the old fleet.

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  New taller building at Roncesvalles to service extra roof mounted equipment

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  View of the roof with trolley pole lowered and pantograph raised at Hillcrest

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Flexity official site
• New streetcars TTC official site
• Easier access on the TTC: Riding the streetcar