Tessera

Great for speed, and also great for accessibility, because: a) reduced dwell times b) more inclusive to riders with disabilities Nice to knock out two birds with one stone! Thanks to @jacktatttran.bsky.social for the summary. ♿️

Cllr Dianne Saxe moved a motion to improve stops retained post consolidation by raising platforms for level boarding (reducing dwell times, especially due to ramp deployment. Cllr @joshmatlow.bsky.social moved a motion to improve streetcar entry/exit of loops, such as through new priority signals.

All things considered, this is a really big improvement, especially for the LRTs but also for the streetcar system. We’re all looking forward to seeing this in action! 🚋💨

Fort is proposing the following changes for intersection speed limits (up from 25km/hr) Legacy streetcar (tangent track only, no changes to special trackwork or curve speed limits yet): 35km/hr Line 5 Eglinton: 50km/hr Line 6 Finch West: 40km/hr (will require Mosaic to make updates to CBTC profiles)

FastTrackTO@fast-track.to · 4mo ago

Post TTC Board update. Most discussions focused on TSP and stop spacing an stop issues, with sadly no mention of switches (😭). The next report back is Q1 2027 (longer than I would have wanted). Update on operating rules from Fort Monaco (TTC COO) for the Operating Rules Committee on April 21.

Big news for Toronto's streetcars ! 🚋💨 Tomorrow, the TTC Board is reviewing a major report on streetcar and LRT reliability. It's really incredible to see that the TTC's official recommendations align so closely with FastTrackTO's 10-point plan. 🧵👇

Big news for Toronto's streetcars ! 🚋💨 Tomorrow, the TTC Board is reviewing a major report on streetcar and LRT reliability. It's really incredible to see that the TTC's official recommendations align so closely with FastTrackTO's 10-point plan. 🧵👇

Very, very exciting stuff. In fact, the vocabulary correlates with parts of our plan! A lot of issues are being addressed and it’s amazing to see…we as advocates just need to ensure it stays on track and is well implemented. Stay tuned for a more detailed post about this! #TTC #Streetcars #TOpoli

TTC’s April 16 Board Meeting includes an update on speeding up streetcars and LRTs. Some of this is quite positive but I don’t love the timelines. Report includes updates on: 1. Switch controls 2. TSP 3. Speed limits review 4. Transit priority 5. Stop balancing secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Matt Elliott@graphicmatt.com · 4mo ago

More evidence to support lucky # 🎱 on our 10-point plan: *Optimize Stop Spacing!* If done correctly, #streetcar travel times & reliability can be *massively* improved, while minimizing any negative effects on accessibility through carefully chosen standards.

Notable chart included in a new TTC Board report about improving streetcar speeds, comparing stop distance and average speeds on Toronto routes versus surface rail routes in other cities. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Figure 3 from linked report, titled “Route Average Speed by Average Stop Spacing - TTC Streetcars and Peer Cities."

Jeff Allen@jamaps.bsky.social · 4mo ago

~1 min saved from only 1 of our ideas to speed up streetcars. Imagine if all 10 points were implemented…and how many more minutes could be saved! #TTC #Streetcar #TorontoTransit #Spadina #TTCRiders #TOpoli

recently charting travel times along 510 Spadina, comparing October 2025 to March 2026 --- (the ~1min improvements approx. align with City's findings on impact of enhanced transit signal priority at king, dundas, and college) #toronto #transit #ttc #dataviz

Two side-by-side charts showing travel times on the 510 Spadina between Sussex and Lake Shore Blvd., comparing October 2025 to March 2026. Overall the charts show that median travel time decreasing by about 1 minute, with variations by day of the month.

Vlad @vmois.dev · 4mo ago

Woohoo! Also got a response today to my email. The FastTrackTO plan was presented to the councillor. The response took time, almost two weeks, and I needed to follow-up but at least it was ack-ed. bsky.app/profile/vmoi...

Vlad@vmois.dev · 4mo ago

TO folks it is time to spread the plan. Liking on BlueSky is great but it is not enough. Fast Track TO did a hard work of compiling the plan. As a bare minimum, we residents, can send an email to our Councillor - www.toronto.ca/city-governm... If you want something, you should ask for it.

Line 5's top speed is now 80 km/h in tunnels! Removing unnecessary speed restrictions is 3️⃣ on our ten-point plan, and a great first step to put #Eglinton on the fast track! Now it’s time for the surface section of Line 5, Line 6 and the #streetcars to follow suit. See more here:

FastTrackTO

Home of the 10-point plan to save Toronto's streetcar system.

fast-track.to

Fantastic to see the City's Congestion Management Plan call for Enhanced TSP on more corridors! That's point #1 of the FastTrackTO 10-Point Plan in motion! ✅ It's an exciting start...but we're not done. Let's keep up the momentum #TTCriders! #TTC #TransitSky #Urbanism #Toronto #TOpoli

Combined with TTC operational improvements, cumulative time
savings to date are 10 minutes (Line 5) and 20 minutes (Line 6) per round trip. Work is ongoing to expand the TSP measures to include rotational signal phasing and full signal retiming to create progressions that support a continuous green wave. This is anticipated for completion by September 2026.

Building on the momentum from the recent efforts to improve transit travel times on the Line 5 and Line 6 corridors, the combined Transportation Services and TTC team will advance a significant expansion of Enhanced Transit Signal Priority throughout 2026 through a combination of new installations and upgrades to existing locations. The program will focus on high ridership bus and streetcar routes, with emphasis on routes that are expected to play a critical role during FIFA World Cup 2026, including both conventional and Enhanced TSP upgrades and additions to the 509 Harbourfront, 504 King, 63/63B Ossington south of Bloor Street, 7 Bathurst Street, 512 St. Clair Avenue, 505 Dundas, and the continued buildout of the 510 Spadina Avenue corridor.
Collectively, these planned installations and upgrades represent nearly 50 percent more than the number of signalized intersections equipped or upgraded with TSP in any previous year, reflecting the City's commitment to accelerating delivery through additional temporary consulting resources and strengthened interagency coordination.
The following table provides a summary of the TSP implementations planned for 2026 (72 New Locations, for a total of 508).

Bus route names that are receiving upgrades or have existing Transit Signal Priority, including:

Dufferin

Jane Express

Wilson

Scarborough

Kipling South

Parliament

Don Mills

Sherbourne

Victoria Park

Coxwell

Main

Keele

Finch

Vlad @vmois.dev · 4mo ago

@englishrail.bsky.social was on CBC this weekend explaining three big steps we can take to speed up streetcars in Toronto! See our full, 10-point plan here: fast-track.to #TOpoli #ttc #toronto

3 ways experts say Toronto can make its streetcars faster

YouTube video by CBC News Toronto

youtube.com

TO folks it is time to spread the plan. Liking on BlueSky is great but it is not enough. Fast Track TO did a hard work of compiling the plan. As a bare minimum, we residents, can send an email to our Councillor - www.toronto.ca/city-governm... If you want something, you should ask for it.

The screenshot of an email to Ward 11 Councillor of Toronto.

The email content:
"""
Dear Councillor Dianne Saxe,

As a Ward 11 resident and daily TTC user, I'd like to bring your attention to a recently published 10-point transit improvement plan by local transportation advocates and professionals: https://fast-track.to/
Toronto's streetcar network is widely recognized as one of the slowest urban transit systems in the world, and it's time to change that. The plan, when implemented fully, estimates cutting streetcar travel times by 40%, reducing bunching and short turns, and saving Torontonians an estimated 20,000 hours per day - roughly $2 billion in value over the first ten years. Faster, more reliable service also means more foot traffic to local businesses along transit corridors - a direct benefit to Ward 11 merchants and the broader tax base.

I'd encourage you to review the plan and consider supporting its implementation.

Thank you for your time.
"""

FastTrackTO@fast-track.to · 4mo ago

Today FastTrackTO is officially launching and releasing our 10 point plan to modernize the Toronto Streetcar network. An iconic symbol of the city that could be fantastic with some achievable, common sense and low cost changes. The plan if implemented would transform the city. fast-track.to (1/2)

TTCriders @ttcriders.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Today FastTrackTO is officially launching and releasing our 10 point plan to modernize the Toronto Streetcar network. An iconic symbol of the city that could be fantastic with some achievable, common sense and low cost changes. The plan if implemented would transform the city. fast-track.to (1/2)

FastTrackTO

Home of the 10-point plan to save Toronto's streetcar system.

fast-track.to

Have you noticed longer waits for your streetcar? While some streetcar routes are seeing recent improvements as part of the promised 6-minute service standard, slower service and unreversed service cuts on other routes have meant wait times have gone up + ridership down over the decade. Read more ⬇️

Steve Munro@swanboatsteve.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Back in 2013, the TTC had a plan for the rollout of its proposed new streetcar fleet that would have increased capacity across the system. Instead what we got over time was service cuts and lost ridership. stevemunro.ca/2026/03/06/t... (1)

I rode the 510 for the first time in a while (College to Spadina Stn). The phase rotation was working at College & Spadina, but a streetcar still missed the green because it had to preform a stop-check-slow for the grand union. If the switch control system allowed, it could go through green nonstop.

It is critical that we don’t solely advocacy for double blade switches, which will take years to replace all the single blade switches. An upgraded electronic switch control system would remove the need to come to a complete stop and check, even if at restricted speed. @fasttracktoronto.bsky.social

true. both are needed to provide faster streetcar service in Toronto.

It is critical that we don’t solely advocacy for double blade switches, which will take years to replace all the single blade switches. An upgraded electronic switch control system would remove the need to come to a complete stop and check, even if at restricted speed. @fasttracktoronto.bsky.social

Steve Munro@swanboatsteve.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Will this business case include looking at improving the existing electronic switch controls and reporting for single-blade switches to eliminate the stop-check-go for all common moves? That is a key question, because we don’t want to wait decades for a faster network. @fasttracktoronto.bsky.social

From the Mar 11 Audit & Risk Management agenda is management's response to the UITP review including this text re streetcar switches.

Chad Leddy @chadleddy.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Baffling that they continue to install obsolete equipment that badly limits speed and thus reduces service levels and increases costs. Even other very old systems like Milan (here shown running 100 year old trams) use double-point switches. This procurement makes zero sense and harms the TTC.

A tram junction in Milan showing the use of double point switches even on old cobbled track surfaces

Reece Martin@rmtransit.bsky.social · 5mo ago

good. question.

Will the TTC instal modern dual point switches? Or will we keep doing things the century old way?

Phase rotation is starting to be installed at some signals in Toronto, and lagging left turns at others. Can you spot the difference? 🧵

Wow. This is exactly what needs to change if we want our streetcar system to be around for much longer. Appalling, really. And it does belong in a museum…because we should have efficient and effective technology on display, not ancient. Toronto…*we deserve better*

For those of you who hope the #TTC cares about having the world’s slowest streetcars using outdated single-blade switches. They were literally displaying them at the Canadian industry conference TRACCS Rail Day 2025 last May. Are they proud of slow zones on streetcars? @fasttracktoronto.bsky.social