Toronto streetcar downtown on Queen's Quay West passing in front of a highrise condominium block
The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar (tram) routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the municipal public transit operator. Totalling kilometres in length, the network is generally concentrated downtown and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Some of the TTC's streetcar routes date back to the 19th century. Unlike newer light rail transit (LRT) systems, therefore, most of Toronto's streetcar routes operate in the classic style on street trackage shared with car traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses rather than having fixed stations. However, some routes operate (totally or partially) within their own rights-of-way. Before the TTC came into operation in 1921, there were seven distinct transit systems in the city. There were no transfers allowed between them, and so the free transfer has always been a sensitive issue for the TTC. The goal of ease in changing routes has affected the design of the system. There are underground connections between streetcars and the subway at Union, Spadina, and St. Clair West stations, and streetcars pass by the entrances of St. Andrew, King, Osgoode, Queen, St. Patrick, Dundas, Queen's Park, and College - other downtown stations. Streetcars also enter St. Clair, Bathurst, Broadview, Dundas West, and Main Street stations at street level. Despite the use of techniques long-removed in the streetcar networks of other North American cities, Toronto’s streetcars are not heritage streetcars run for tourism or nostalgic purposes; they provide most of the downtown core’s surface transit service, and four of the TTC's five most heavily-travelled surface routes are streetcar routes.
Size: 3344px × 5250px
Location: Queen's Quay West, Toronto, Canada
Photo credit: © Tony Kwan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: america, ameroca, canada, city, commission, condo, condominium, downtown, environmentally, friendly, harbourfront, high, highrise, north, ontario, passenger, public, rail, red, rise, street, streetcar, summer, system, toronto, tram, transit, transport, ttc, waterfront
