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Car 4403 is one of two new LFLRVs which entered revenue service on the Spadina Line (Route 510) on the 31st of August this year. Here we see her passing King Street southbound to Queens Quay on the waterfront (Lake Ontario) followed up in close procession by one of her predecessors, CLRV 4062. The other new model, revenue streetcar on Spadina is numbered 4400. The TTC has two other LFLRVs in house; one is assigned to driver training and the other serves as a spare. And now that the strike at the Bombardier Transportation plant is almost settled (three month delay), the entire Spadina Line may be fully converted by spring of 2015 or earlier. Eventually there will be two hundred (200) of these new streetcars plying the tracks of downtown Toronto. They will nearly replace in number all 247 CLRVs and ALRVs in the TTCs streetcar fleet. Though I expect a few of the old guard might hang around to pick up the slack here and there for a few years afterwards, streetcars are very robust. I call this model a generic LFLRV - Low Floor Light Rail Vehicle. But almost all TTC advertizing names this new model 'Flexity'. This is more a brand name of the manufacturer - Flexity Outlook - and speaks to its multi-segment characteristics. I'm still not certain which is the official TTC designation for these vehicles. So I may have to retrospectively rename this posting some day. Please forgive me. I've so far had four rides on the 'Flexitys'. Living up to their promotion, they are much quieter than the CLRVs both within the vehicle and from the street. Most notably (or perhaps un-notably) when navigating Toronto's tight curves. One of the few legitimate complaints of Toronto's streetcars is the squeal their wheels make when turning or looping. But the five segment 'Flexity' reduces such noise as any set of wheels is turning about one half as tightly as on past streetcar models. The new models are also more spacious, have multiple door boarding and are air conditioned - very nice. One detail I do not like is the pixel board destination displays - finally displacing roll signs. After all these years of bus deployment one could have hoped by now for a finer resolution from this technology. And more than two colours - black and amber - would be nice. I suppose I should be grateful that at least they did not install some unreadable second hand magnetic flip disk display of 90's vintage. Someone's always trying to save "taxpayers' money". I also miss the centre head light of traditional tram models - seen on the CLRV in the photo. It's like earlier designers chose to cover all possible bases when it came to streetcar classification. A road vehicle - two head lights - or a rail vehicle - one big centre headlight. So put all three on and everybody's happy. Although the number of individual streetcars in the TTC's fleet will eventually decline due to this upgrade - actually, that may not end up being so - this photo illustrates how little that may matter. The new LFLRVs are two-and-half times the length of the older CLRV model. A fact that also makes them appallingly difficult to photograph by the way. And can carry up to three times as many passengers. Thus through simple (okay, not so simple - politics) vehicle replacement, the TTC will nearly triple its downtown surface capacity over the next four years. So at last, we have taken our first step into a brave, new dysfordian Toronto of tomorrow. My thanks to everyone for their visiting and I always enjoy your comments. Have a great week everyone. NOTES: TTC - Toronto Transit Commission CLRV - Canadian Light Rail Vehicle ALRV - Articulated Light Rail Vehicle LFLRV - Low Floor Light Rail Vehicle ('Flexity')

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