A Request for Proposals for new subway trains has been cancelled due to lack of funding. The following notice was sent to all vendors on Friday, June 23:
The Toronto Transit Commission issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on October 13, 2022 for the procurement of New Subway Trains.
The RFP indicated that the TTC was in the process of actively pursuing additional funding from other orders of government (Provincial and Federal), and that contract award was subject to receiving full funding commitments by early 2023. As detailed in item 1.2.2 – Funding Status of Part 1 – Invitation and Submission Instructions of the RFP document: “Timelines associated with this RFP have been communicated to potential funding partners, and a request for confirmation of funding by early 2023 has been requested. In order to receive the NST deliveries in time for the legacy fleet replacement and to meet growth needs, the TTC has elected to commence the procurement at this time, however, contract award is subject to receiving full funding commitments.”
Unfortunately, the additional funding required has not been secured and as such, TTC is cancelling the RFP effective immediately, and the Bonfire Portal will be closed.
The TTC will continue to have discussions with the Provincial and Federal governments on funding requirements for New Subway Trains and evaluate the requirements for issuance of a future Request for Pre-Qualification and Request for Proposals in the future.
Where this leaves future projects for enhancement of Line 2 Bloor-Danforth, conversion to Automatic Train Control and provision of full service on the Scarborough Subway Extension is anyone’s guess.
This is a project which was initially delayed by CEO Rick Leary in favour of a fleet rebuild, then reactivated as his attitude to the worth of ATC warmed with the success of the Line 1 conversion, a project very much the work of his predecessor Andy Byford and his team. The focus on spending for new lines has left major state of good repair such as fleet renewal high and dry, and this RFP cancellation show where that shortsighted policy has brought us.
I have reached out to TTC Media Relations for comment. This post will be updated as more information becomes available.
Updated June 26, 2023 at 3:45 pm
The TTC replied to my query for comment with the following:
As the posting says (or should), the purchase of the cars is contingent on funding being secured.
That has not yet happened, although discussions are ongoing.
This was about being transparent with bidders and letting them know that once funding is secure, we would re-post.
It is worth noting that as recently as the TTC Board meeting of June 12, 2023, there was no mention in the public session that this action was imminent. Here are the relevant pages from the Major Projects Update.
Updated June 26, 2023 at 5:00 pm
How many trains will the Scarborough Subway Extension require?
The TTC owns 370 cars in the T1 fleet which operates Line 2. That is equivalent to 61 6-car trains plus four spare cars.
The scheduled AM peak round trip time on the existing Line 2 is 105 minutes. For the maximum service possible with the existing signal and train control system, one train every 140 seconds, requires 45 trains. That was the AM Peak scheduled service in January 2020 before the pandemic-related service cuts. One additional train was on standby as a “gap” train for a total of 46. Allowing for spares at 20%, this requires a fleet of about 55 trains leaving only 6 spare for expansion.
The Scarborough extension is only marginally longer than the Line 1 extension from Eglinton to Finch with similar station spacing. A one-way trip on that part of Line 1 takes about 12 minutes, or 24 for the round trip. By analogy, that would make the round trip on the extended Line 2 about 129 minutes, and would required 55 trains with nothing left over for extras. Including spares at 20% would require a fleet larger than the TTC now owns.
Alternately, if every second train short turns at Kennedy Station leaving a 280 second service (4’40”) to Sheppard East, the line could probably operate with 50 trains which just fits within what is available.
One might argue that with a new fleet and the benefits of Automatic Train Control, overall speed could be improved and with that the fleet needed for full service to Sheppard could be reduced. But that is moot if TTC maintains the existing fleet.
When the SSE was planned, it had a pocket track east of Kennedy Station, but this was cut to save money, then it was restored. I wonder if someone is counting trains, or just hedging their bets on service levels beyond the existing terminus?
In any event, a failure to buy new trains has the double effect that it will condemn Line 2 to manual operation with an aging signal system for the foreseeable future, and will prevent the operation of full service beyond Kennedy in peak periods unless the Bloor-Danforth line never returns to the pre-pandemic peak service level.
Steve Munro 
JFC
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It’s hard to tell as a rider how successful ATC really has been. I have heard things from people with more inside knowledge than me (that would be almost anyone with inside knowledge) that ATC is not quite All That.
There are some subway cars at HCRR that could be pressed into service.
Steve: ATC does work, and it’s most visible when trains are backed up or when an extra get inserted. The problem these days is that service is less frequent and so the resiliency that ATC can provide is not as visible or needed. One other point is my sense that train speeds are slower than they were under manual operation, and the potential saving in total trains that was claimed as an ATC benefit has never materialized.
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Steve, as you correctly note, this reflects the Province’s, Infrastructure Ontario’s and Metrolinx’s focus on building Infrastructure (stations, tunnels, tracks) rather than delivering a safe, reliable, and efficient, transit service. I like to refer to the 80/20 rule. During the design/build phase of a transit line, priority is always on the Infrastructure, because that represents 80% of the costs. During the O&M phase of a transit line, however, the priorities are immediately reversed because the ability to deliver a safe, reliable, and efficient transit service is ultimately driven by the trains, the train control system, and the other operating system elements.
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Hi Steve.
This sadly has become the norm under both Leary & former mayor Tory, sucking the future of the TTC dry to only have a incredibly short sighted view of the short term only.
Not surprised whatsoever.
Those of us that follow the TTC closely & are regular TTC meeting attendees, likely saw this coming long ago.
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The rebuild had better go well… but could turn out to be another SRT style debacle – fewer and fewer trains available – shiny new tunnels and nothing to run in them.
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I guess the TTC will need to begin/continue with refurbishments of the current (T-1?) cars. Hopefully ATC will be installed on line 2 & wait for the new cars to arrive. I guess this is what happens when politicians design transit–announce the project before any funding has been secured.
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So this information is dropped on election day , I wonder if that’s some kind of message?
And depending how late this is, the T1s will operate on the SSE. The refurbishment plan is what I’m most curious about. Will TTC redeem themselves from the streetcar rebuild fiasco.
Steve: The memo to bidders was issued on Friday, June 23, but I only got a copy of it today. So it did not drop on election day, but the lack of an announcement is troubling.
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They took 1.6 billion to expand 1 subway station. Of course everyone is sacred.
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When the deadline was pushed from December 2023 to 2024, was that assuming the present RFP would remain in effect, or that it would be cancelled and a new one would be reissued by 2024? I assume the new RFP won’t be issued until funding is FINALLY secured?
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new subway train on line 2 China Hyundai Rotem contact next year early 2024 starting delivery in 2029 add 25 new train growth on line 1 all T1 train all replace on line 2 scarborough subway extension open or yonge north subway extension full-service extension 2030 next 7 year away
Steve: You are aware, I hope, that Hyundai Rotem is Korean, not Chinese. They supplied the cars for Vancouver’s Canada Line to the airport.
Even on the schedule you claim, this could cause problems because the T1 fleet would not be fully replaced before the SSE opens.
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Hopefully Mayor Chow can work with both Federal and provincial governments to secure much needed funding for new cars and for expansion of the King Street car and the Harbourfront East line.
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Do you think that this means that The TTC will begin rebuilding the T1s or hold out until new funding?
Steve: Word is that they are planning a rebuild. What is annoying is that only a few weeks ago, the Major Project status report implied that this decision was some months off, and that it does not appear to have been presented to the Board as an official policy decision.
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What are the current plans for signal systems in the SSE extension? I thought that it was to have ATC type signals. Did they keep the old signals from Line 1 when ATC was installed, or are the old signals still in place, but not in use. If so could they be pulled out and retrofitted into the new SSE extension?
This is all just frustrating. They need to stick to a plan, not flip flop back and forth from one plan to the other!
Steve: The line might be built with some sort of “interim” signalling that will provide conventional block signalling pending a conversion of the fleet and existing Line 2 signals to ATC. It’s a real mess.
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I am wondering if this has something to do with the elitism and classism..
Line 1 goes through some of the most affluent areas in the city so the levels of government have full desire of funding towards that line..
Meanwhile, Line 2 serves a lot more working class and lower income individuals so governments have no desire of investment towards that line..
Steve: No, it’s simply a question that Line 1 was built 12 years before Line 2 and therefore came up for major renewal first when money was generally available. I really tire of arguments that turn what is a case of historical timing and the fact that we have blown a lot of available capital on lines of less than stellar value. I could argue that with the Scarborough Subway, we are “showing” how much we care about people east of Victoria Park. The fact that we’re spending vastly more than necessary for one line, and could have had a network of lines serving Scarborough up and running by now, is a mark of political exploitation.
“Full funding” has been possible in the past through creative accounting and pushing a lot of costs into the future either through direct borrowing or through P3 arrangements where costs don’t show up on provincial books. Projects have been lowballed and their pricetags rose after there was no choice but to complete them. Meanwhile, for years the TTC and City underreported their future capital needs and hid the coming problem on the assumption that somehow the money is always found.
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Steve: The line might be built with some sort of “interim” signalling that will provide conventional block signalling pending a conversion of the fleet and existing Line 2 signals to ATC. It’s a real mess.
It’s not a separate line but an extension and it would have been cancelled had Matlow won yesterday which is why I voted for Olivia Chow.
Steve: Of course it’s an extension. That’s why its Day 1 signal system must be compatible with the existing line unless we replace the fleet.
Matlow had no power to cancel the SSE. It is a provincial project.
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Hey Steve, I recall reading somewhere that when the TTC was going to buy the Toronto Rockets for line 1 with ATC in mind, they had said that the T1s could be retrofitted with ATC capabilities fairly easily because they had thought that the T1s would still operate on line 1? Would be able to add to that?
Steve: My understanding is that an ATC retrofit of the T1s is difficult for space reasons on the cars, and that it would be a high cost for a limited remaining lifespan. Yes, the original plan was to have a mix of T1s and TRs on Line 1, but that was before the decision to move to ATC.
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I think we all agree funding is the issue and the TTC does deserve more funding. But the TTC needs to be careful with how money is spent in the interim. 1.5 billion dollars to renovate the Yonge-Bloor Station is absurd. 1 billion alone can provide the TTC a new fleet of line 2 cars. Yes, that station is in need of an upgrade. But so are many existing stations, Yonge Bloor happens to be a major station so it gets first priority. In terms of fleet age, line 2 cars are not as old as most ppl think. If comparing with other parts of the world, Korea, Japan, Singapore, London, many places in eastern EU are still running metro trains as old as the 80s. TTC’s oldest car is only 1995 with the newest being 2002. Best solution is a compromise where half the cars go are retrofitted and the other half that’s oldest go into retirement.
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