Rail Watch: Toronto Getting Sleek New Streetcar Fleet

Can we buy their old ones?

Mayyyybe build an Elmwood line, museum district to chippewa and then turn right into Main Street and follow the line down...

Greg,

We had one. Along with a Broadway Line, Main Street Line, Delaware Line, South Park Line, Seneca Line, etc; We had high speed trains between Buffalo & Niagara Falls, as well as commuter rail lines encircling the city (NYC Belt Line) and (Erie Lackawanna Belt Line). We had tie-ins for commuter trains to go onward to Toronto. The IRC (International Railway Corp) had streetcar lines in Niagara Falls including the old Gorge route and even cemetery cars for Elmlawn Cemetery in Tonawanda.

It would make sense, but I personally believed the NFTA enjoys the stranglehold it has on WNY.

Only if we had someone with foresight, a commuter train along the current CSX line operated only by Amtrak 4 times daily from Downtown Buffalo to Downtown Niagara Falls would benefit our economy as we could have a switch-over with VIA Rail/ GO Transit in Niagara Falls, ONT and have instant access to St. Catherines/Hamilton/Toronto and Canadians vice versa.

I thought Toronto's street cars were really nice when I was there a few months ago, I'm surprised they're replacing the entire fleet. I rode a whole bunch of them and I didn't notice any neglect or anything. Everything seemed clean, didn't notice anything broken like I see all the time on NFTA buses and rail.

The first priority of the NFTA should be an overhaul of their embarrassing website to make it user-friendly. I can't imagine any potential tourist thinking about using public transportation in Buffalo after checking out a website that doesn't include a complete route/system map.

http://metro.nfta.com/Routes/Maps.aspx

Part of what I liked about the current streetcars was the fact that they were old and harkened back to an older period in the city's history. I'll miss them.

Though, I understand entirely why they have to replace them. Toronto is still growing and it needs a more modern trolley system to keep up with a booming population and ready itself for a future where cars are no longer the primary source of transport for the majority of people. Not to mention, if Toronto wants the Olympics, this is the first thing that will need to update in order for the IOC to even consider looking at them.

The thing that Buffalonians should get out the of article is the last sentence of the article. Priority traffic signals for buses is something that can speed up public transit and is something that can be done.

With the exception of a connection to UB North rail will not be the answer. Reliable efficient bus service is the way to go.

ugh articles about toronto depress me. Why? Because its obvious that Torontonians can actually get their sh&t together to make cheap, environmentally friendly, and efficient transport throughout their city. Stop rubbing it in our faces.

Occupy NFTA in the mean time.

The cool thing is how low to the ground the car floor is - you don't have a real steep climb to get in. The wheels are tucked under the seats. If we did this in Buffalo, then the stations above ground would be smaller as the wheelchair ramp would be much shorter. However, it would be costly to raise the tracks (or lower the platform) underground to align with a lower floor.

Here's an article about Rochester's lost streetcar system that will make transit aficionados weep:
http://heckeranddecker.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/the-streetcar-city/

In 1929 there were trains running from Rochester to Buffalo every half hour! The streetcars in Rochester ran every 5 minutes at peak hours. Unimaginable today.

A key thing to remember about Toronto's transit system is that it is based on MORE than just sleek new rolling stock and visual appeal. It doesn't survive JUST because T.O. is a larger municipality with a bigger population. It is successful NOT ONLY because it serves a wider range of destinations with greater efficiency.

The key to Toronto's transit is that it incorporates an actual NETWORK of modes, lines and systems. It is relatively seamless to get from St Catharines to Toronto to Oshawa and ALL over the metro area on VIA Rail, GO Trains, TTC subways, Scarborough Light Rail, streetcars, trolley buses and street buses. There are connections to Pearson, the Harbor, downtown, outlying suburbs, and urban neighborhoods.

Contrary to popular belief, Buffalo has quite a respectable transit system compared to most other small-to-midsize cities in the US. I've lived in several cities, and NFTA by FAR tops Pittsburgh's PAT, Atlanta's MARTA and Miami's MetroDade.

But we still lack many of the key strategies to take it to the next level... Getting from the Airport to downtown is anything but user-friendly by bus, and connections to Amtrak are difficult. Our single-line subway basically operates as as high-speed redundancy of the #8 bus, rather than spine-and-spoke system it was once envisioned as being. Routes are excellent for getting around the city, but less than convenient for attracting commuters from the suburbs. Even connections to the suburbs via express NFTA routes often involve a complicated transfer system between downtown bus nodes and the inter-urban bus terminal.

It can take months or years of experience for a regular user to figure it all out. I can imagine that visitors (especially to the Niagara Falls bus terminal) are somewhere between confused and terrified on how to get around. We don't sign things very well, and the NFTA's website and bus maps use archaic diagrams that look like they were put together by a 1st year graphic arts student. Even when you do get within a block of where you're going, chances are that the bus dropped you off at the back door to your destination and you have to hope and guess that you are walking in the right direction to complete your journey.

Expanding and diversifying NFTA's service is definitely a priority, but it is all for naught if they don't streamline their existing services and make it a little more user friendly, both for everyday users AND occasional visitors.

Right now, NFTA is a somewhat acceptible backup to driving around in a car... not an equally convenient alternative, as the TTC/GO/VIA system is is Toronto.

Thanks WCP, for reminding us how great Toronto has it and we can't even get our one line expanded beyond the city line or even off Main Street. NFTA is more concerned about the Airport traffic than it's bus and rail riders. I'm tired of waiting on bus's that break down or not show up at all, rude customer service operators, a system that shuts down at midnight. Ready for a car and tell NFTA to kiss my .....

Occupy NFTA!