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


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