Article
Public gets first look at subway facelift
JEFF GRAY
The Toronto Transit Commission unveiled a $40,000 makeshift mock-up of the proposed interior of the new subway car yesterday, in the hopes of getting public input on the design.
One of the TTC's current fleet of T1 subway cars, which date from the late 1990s, was modified to show some of the features expected to be included on the fleet of 234 cars, slated to hit the rails in 2009.
The new car includes an electronic TTC system map, which can show riders what station they are in and which direction they are headed, as well as a sure-to-be-popular indicator that tells passengers on which side the doors will open as the car enters each station.
But the mock-up does not have all of the finishing touches of the new design, said Chris Heald, the TTC official overseeing the $755-million subway project, because an exact model would have been too expensive.
Its floors and walls still look like the old car used by TTC staff to make the mock-up.
The most radical new feature will allow passengers to walk from car to car while the train is in motion, a move that TTC officials say will increase capacity by about 8 per cent, or 80 people on a train carrying 1,000 passengers. On the mock-up, the look of one long open train is achieved using mirrors.
But TTC vice-chairman Adam Giambrone, despite singing the praises of many of the new features, said the look of the new car is far too similar to the current crop, with burgundy seats and metal accents.
"This is good for the new millennium," Mr. Giambrone said. "But by the time these arrive, it will be the second decade of the 21st century."
One of the proposed design ideas trashed by Mr. Giambrone, TTC chairman Howard Moscoe and other commissioners was "perimeter seating," which involves lining the cars with bench-like seats.
The mock-up will be open to the public at Davisville station from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again at 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. until June 20; Finch station June 21-23; Kennedy station June 26-30; Kipling station July 10-14, and Downsview station July 17-21.
Riders will get a chance to comment on special features and the colour scheme. The TTC is also running a contest, seeking suggestions on names for the new trains.