Toronto Transit Commission Leslie Barns Division
Leslie Barns Division, known during planning stages as the Ashbridges Bay LRV Maintenance and Storage Facility, is one of the TTC's three streetcar storage facilities. It is located at the southeast corner of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East. The facility was designed to accommodate 100 Flexity streetcars.
History
Planning and Development
Toronto City Council approved an order of 204 new streetcars from Bombardier, in order to replace the aging CLRV and ALRV fleets, plus provide an increase in capacity on the downtown streetcar network.[1] To house the expanded fleet, a new storage facility would be required, as the existing divisions (Roncesvalles and Russell), would only be able to store approximately 52 LRVs each. Since the new streetcars would be unable to fit inside the Harvey Shops heavy rebuild facility in Hillcrest, a heavy maintenance and repair facility would need to be included as part of the new division.
A city-wide property search for sites for the proposed MSF began in February 2009. Out of 14 potential sites, three were shortlisted in June 2009: Eastern Avenue, TEDCO Unwin Avenue, and Ashbridges. Public consultation show a preference for the Ashbridges site, which was transferred to the City of Toronto and approved for use as an MSF in December. In May 2010, the TTC launched a design competition for the landscape design of the facility with the following firms: Brown and Storey, Fleisher Ridout, and GH3. In on September 14, Brown and Storey was awarded the landscape design contract. The perimeter of the facility will include a green and public space.[2]
Construction and Opening
Preliminary servicing construction began in April 2011,[3] with the major construction beginning in Spring 2013. New streetcar track was installed along Leslie Street between Queen Street East and Commissioners Street in order to connect the carhouse with the rest of the streetcar network.
The first day of revenue service from Leslie Barns was on November 22, 2015. The facility was opened to the public on May 26, 2016 as part of Doors Open Toronto. Construction work on the property including final details and landscaping are expected to continue until the end of 2016.
Routes
Due to the relatively small number of Flexity streetcars stored at Leslie Barns, it currently operates as a division of Russell Division. Operators report at Russell and walk the short distance to Leslie Barns to pick up their streetcar. Lines that operate with Flexity streetcars based at Leslie Barns include:
- 310 Spadina
- 501 Queen (shared with Mount Dennis, Queensway, Roncesvalles, and Wilson divisions)
- 504 King (shared with Birchmount division)
- 505 Dundas (shared with Roncesvalles division)
- 509 Harbourfront
- 510 Spadina
- 511 Bathurst
- 512 St. Clair
Fleet
Note: Cars are only assigned for record-keeping purposes. In reality, cars are split between the three streetcar divisions.
Fleet Number Range | Manufacturer | Model Name | Total |
---|---|---|---|
4400-4603 & 4604-4663 | Bombardier & Alstom | Flexity M-1 | 96 |
References
- ↑ Bombardier Finalizes Contract to Deliver 204 Streetcars for City of Toronto (Press release). Bombardier Transportation. 30 June 2009. Retrieved on 06 December 2010
- ↑ Donnelly, Aileen. TTC to begin work on new Ashbridges Bay storage facility. 9 March 2011. National Post (Toronto). Retrieved on 2012-01-16
- ↑ Lavoie, Joanna. Site prep work starts at future LRV yard. 12 April 2011. Inside Toronto (Toronto). Retrieved on 2012-01-16