History

TTC history is inseparable from the history of Toronto. Get the historic details on the TTC, how it was built and how it has grown since 1861.

7. Toronto’s streetcar history

Past to present

History

We’ve got history. From horses to electricity to the “Red Rocket” to today’s modern low-floor accessible vehicle, Toronto’s streetcars have a proud heritage.

Over the past 90 years the TTC has had four streetcar vehicle series, but the first streetcars hit the road before the TTC even existed. Horse-drawn streetcars arrived in Toronto in 1861, followed by the first electric- powered vehicle in 1892. The TTC was established in 1921 and the “Peter Witt” streetcars began driving the streets until they were retired in 1963. The familiar “PCC” or “Red Rocket” was introduced in 1938, and the last of this fleet was retired in 1995. The current fleet includes the CLRV and the ALRV – ready to retire after over 30 years of service.

In 2014 the TTC introduced the made-for-Toronto Bombardier Flexity streetcar.

Streetcar network

The TTC’s extensive streetcar network covers a vast area of the city with 11 routes and 82 kilometres of service. Toronto’s streetcar network carries 250,000 passengers each day, more than GO Transit’s entire daily ridership. In 2011 our vehicles rode through city streets logging over 13 million km and picking up more than 87 million passengers.

Streetcar barns

Streetcars need to be stored and maintained in specially equipped “carhouses” or “barns.” Of the eight carhouses that existed in Toronto, only two remain – the Roncesvalles and Russell Carhouses are still active after a century after opening.

The new streetcar needed a new carhouse. The TTC built a new streetcar storage and maintenance facility at Lake Shore and Leslie Street, called Leslie Barns. The state-of-the-art complex was built to Toronto Green Standard and includes a storm water management pond and a green roof. The facility opened in 2016.

Facility name	Open date	Close date
Yorkville Carhouse	1861	1922
Roncesvalles Carhouse	1895	Open
Dundas Carhouse	1897	1931
Lansdowne Carhouse	1911	1966
Danforth Carhouse	1915	1966
Russell Carhouse	1916	Open
St. Clair Carhouse	1914	1978
Eglinton Carhouse (at Yonge St.)	1922	1954
Leslie Barns	2016	Open