The TTC spent $26 million on a maintenance program intended to extend the lifespan of its aging streetcars but found that the condition of the vehicles was so “dire” that the money did not go as far as expected, spokesperson Brad Ross says.
The program, which began in 2015, was supposed to keep 30 of the TTC’s oldest streetcars on the road for up to 10 additional years but work was only completed on 20 of the vehicles due to higher-than-expected costs.
A report in the Toronto Star also suggests that the work that was completed failed to significantly extend the lifespan of the vehicles, many of which are currently out of service and awaiting further repairs.
“We spent the money allocated and did keep cars in service. The state of the cars was so dire, however, that it would have cost more than we anticipated to keep all of them going,” TTC spokesperson Brad Ross told CP24 on Tuesday morning. “We did what we could and the money was well spent. Fact is, the fleet is old and should have been retired if Bombardier has kept up their delivery schedule.”
Many of the city’s oldest streetcars have been on the road since 1984 and are now well past their 30-year lifespan.
Back in 2009, the city ordered 204 new streetcars from Bombardier as part of efforts to replace its entire streetcar fleet but the company has regularly missed the deadlines included in its original production schedule, forcing the TTC to keep many of its oldest streetcars in service longer than expected.
Bombardier has maintained that it will be able to deliver all 204 new streetcars by the end of 2019, though only 106 vehicles have been delivered so far.
