As the final installment in my review of streetcar operations and costs, this article catalogues the items in the TTC’s Capital Budget that are explicitly part of the streetcar system’s operation. It is not intended to provide a comparative view of the costs that would apply to a replacement bus-based network as that would require major new facilities and fleet whose costs I will not attempt to project.
This does not include costs for components that are common to all modes and which would exist regardless of the type of vehicle in use. For example, building repairs such as masonry and roofing will be required whether a building is a streetcar barn or a bus garage.
The full list of projects can be found in the TTC’s Capital Budget Report from November 2016 in Appendix E (begins on p. 17 of the pdf). A short guide to reading this report is in order. Here is a sample from the first set of streetcar projects. (Click to expand.)
The columns of figures reading across give:
- Spending to the end of 2015
- Probable spending in 2016
- Annual planned spending in 2017-2026
- Spending beyond 2026 (if any) for projects that will not yet be completed
- The ten-year total for 2016-25 (the value in the previous budget)
- The ten-year total for 2017-26
- The estimated final cost (EFC)
The rows reading down give:
- “B”: The value in the previous budget
- “P”: The proposed value in the current budget
- “C”: The change between these values
As an aside, it is worth scrolling through this list to see the large proportion of projects that relate in one way or another to the subway system, and its needs for ongoing infrastructure maintenance and renewal.
The streetcar-related items are summarized in a spreadsheet linked below. They are broken into two groups: projects that are ongoing (recurring capital maintenance) and projects that have a finite lifespan (purchase of vehicles, construction of new facilities, generational renewal of infrastructure).
Steve Munro 