(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders is celebrating today’s announcement that the federal government has approved the TTC’s request for federal funding for new subway trains on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth.
(Toronto, ON) – Transit advocacy organization TTCriders is celebrating today’s announcement that the federal government has approved the TTC’s request for federal funding for new subway trains on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth.
“Transit riders have been asking for investments in a more reliable subway system,” said TTCriders spokesperson Nigel Morton. “The hundreds of thousands of subway riders who use Line 2 are thrilled that the federal government has listened and chipped in their share of funding for new trains.”
“Lack of funding from upper levels of government had postponed this critical order for years. We applaud Mayor Olivia Chow for negotiating this funding in the New Deal with Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for finalizing the investment.”
“Transit riders are hopeful that federal funding will help tackle subway “slow zones”. Subways should be fast, but there are dozens of Reduced Speed Zones in the subway network because the TTC is behind on repairs and ordering new equipment. If the Canada Public Transit Fund is made flexible and available for transit operating budgets, the TTC could spend some of the fund on preventative maintenance and get Toronto moving faster.”
“Ordering new subway trains now is cheaper in the long run. The alternative was for the TTC to spend an extra $1.6 billion to overhaul the trains for only 5 or 6 additional years of use,” said Morton.
BACKGROUND:
The TTC needs an average of $2.4 billion per year to keep the transit system in a state of good repair, according to Toronto's latest corporate asset management plan.
The TTC has implemented dozens of restricted speed zones on the subway network where defects have been identified, which add an extra two minutes of travel time per zone.
The federal government announced the Canada Public Transit Fund in July 2024, committing $30 billion for transit capital spending across the country over a 10 year period beginning in 2026 (approximately $3 billion per year).
If the TTC did not secure funding for new Line 2 subway trains by March 2025, the TTC would have needed to spend an additional $1.6 billion to extend the life of the trains, which will start reaching the end of their design life in 2026. The TTC applied for funding for new subway trains from the Canada Public Transit Fund on July 17, 2024.
TTCriders has been asking Toronto MPs to sign a Transit Pledge and commit to:
Make the Canada Public Transit Fund available now, not in 2026.
Make the funding flexible to allow cities to use it to make transit service more frequent.
Approve funding for new subway trains on Line 2 now.
To date, Toronto MPs Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre), Nate Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York), and Shaun Chen (Scarborough North) have signed the Transit Pledge, as well as federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May.
TTCriders volunteers have been calling for federal funding of new subway trains on Line 2, including at a Rally to Fix the TTC on October 17, 2024.
TTCriders asked all federal MP candidates about their commitments to public transit. Read their responses to our transit policy survey and see where your candidates stand on improving public transit!