TTC staff 'optimistic' federal cash for new subway trains is coming

Toronto's push to replace dozens of aging subway trains appears to have quietly taken a step forward over the summer, according to a new report headed to the TTC board today.

Agency staff say that a request dating back to 2020 to the federal government for $758 million in funding has been tentatively answered. In August, Ottawa told the TTC it's eligible to apply to replace the Line 2 Bloor-Danforth trains under a new multi-billion dollar transit fund established earlier this summer.

"It is anticipated the TTC's allocation under this funding stream will be sufficient to secure the $758 million in required federal matching funding for the 55 replacement trains," a staff report to the TTC board said. 

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, which oversees the federal funding, did not comment by deadline.

The 55 new trains will cost nearly $2.3 billion, with the city, province and federal government splitting that bill. Toronto has been pushing the Trudeau government to come to the table with funding for over a year to replace the 30-year-old trains. 

The province committed to the purchase last November when it struck its "new deal" with Toronto to fund a variety of city projects, including the new trains. That cash is contingent on federal participation. 

Delaying, deferring purchase not an option: Matlow

The current Line 2 trains are nearing the end of their useful life and the TTC has created a contingency plan to keep the vehicles in use in the event that funding cannot be secured. To date, the TTC has spent $1.2 million on planning to extend the life of the current trains.

Coun. Josh Matlow, who is a member of the TTC board, said based on this latest update, he's optimistic that the city will receive the needed cash.

"We're very confident that the federal government understands our needs," he said. "We've been very clear to them that we can't do it without them and we're very optimistic that we're going to be successful."

Matlow said delaying or deferring the purchase isn't an option. The subway system's reliability would be severely affected by continuing to use the current trains, he said.

"Getting new cars on Line 2 is critical to ensure that the subway not only doesn't have increasing delays, but also, if they are not replaced, eventually there could be complete shutdowns, which we cannot allow," he said.

'Time is of the essence': Holyday

Coun. Stephen Holyday, who is also a TTC board member, stressed that purchasing the new trains makes the best business sense. The trains will be 30 years old in 2026, and spending money to continue using them safely will bring diminishing returns for transit riders and taxpayers, he said.

"Time is of the essence," he said. "Overhauling those cars is very expensive to squeeze another 10 years of service life out of them."

Holyday said the motion before the TTC board today will give staff authority to prepare the procurement of the train cars in anticipation of the federal funding. But the wait to get to this point has not been easy, he said.

"It's tremendously frustrating because these are big pieces in the capital plan of the TTC," he said. "We're not arguing over an elevator part or an escalator. These are fundamental pieces that allow the TTC to continue to operate."

The TTC report emphasizes the value of Line 2 and that it moves more than three times the number of people per day than the Gardiner Expressway, which has a daily volume of 140,000 cars. The transit agency anticipates that demand on the line will grow by 18 per cent by 2041, with 661,000 more daily boardings.

Transit advocate Steve Munro remains concerned about the uncertainty around the federal financial commitment. The fund the TTC is applying to access was announced in July and is intended to help municipalities across Canada, he said.

"The subway cars aren't the only project and the TTC isn't the only agency that will be applying against this money," he said. "So, I'm still not 100 per cent convinced that the whole funding is going to be there."