The Scarborough RT or SRT is an ICTS (Intermediate Capacity Transit System) light rail public transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that uses linear induction technology. The line has six stations and is 6.4 km in length. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and administered with their subway system, though that system uses different trains and technology. RT simply stands for "Rapid Transit".

History

A line extending the Bloor-Danforth Line had been planned for streetcars operating in a private right of way, but the UTDC system was substituted because the Province of Ontario agreed to pay a large portion of the costs in order to develop and promote their new technology, which could then be sold to other transit companies. The Scarborough RT opened in 1985.

The Scarborough RT cars are driven by linear induction technology, which essentially means that instead of using conventional motors, they pull themselves along the route using magnets and a distinctive metal plate which runs down the centre of the tracks. The advantage of this is that it requires very few moving parts. It was developed by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) of Ontario, then a Crown corporation but now a division of Bombardier. The business proposal has borne little fruit – it was later used only by Vancouver's SkyTrain, and the cities of Detroit, Ankara and Kuala Lumpur (see advanced light rapid transit).

When the Scarborough RT built sufficient technology existed to allow the trains to be operated exclusively by computers, doing away with the need for a human operator. The public, however, was not ready for 'driverless' trains, and operators were retained. The RT trains have only one operator, unlike TTC subway trains which feature both a guard, who is responsible for the operation of the doors, and an operator, who drives.

Stations

The line follows an upside-down L shape route: first northward from Kennedy Station, paralleling the CNR tracks, between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue, 4 km to Ellesmere Road; then eastward between Ellesmere and Progress Avenue, through Scarborough Town Centre to McCowan Road. The unique SRT trains have their own small yard east of McCowan station, which is large enough to store the fleet (although only barely, which will undoubtedly raise problems if the TTC is able to raise the funds to expand the line's capacity by buying new trains) and perform basic maintenance. For more major work, the cars are taken to the subway's Greenwood yards, by truck since differences in track gauge make it impossible for the Scarborough RT's track to be connected with the rest of the subway and streetcar systems.

Almost all of the line is elevated or at grade; a short underground section is located just north of Ellesmere station to underpass the rail tracks.

All stations, whether by transfer or fare-paid terminal, connect to surface TTC bus routes. Other surface connections are noted below.

Kennedy and Scarborough Centre stations have elevators for wheelchair access.