TTC awards contract for Line 2 signalling upgrade to support more frequent and reliable service
TTC customers will benefit from more frequent, more reliable subway service on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth after the TTC awarded a contract to Hitachi Rail Canada to install Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), a modern signalling system that will increase capacity and reduce signal-related delays.
CBTC, also known as Automatic Train Control (ATC), automatically controls speed and separation between trains. Train location can be monitored more accurately, allowing more trains to operate closer together, enabling shorter headways. This means more frequent and reliable service for customers and fewer signal-related delays.
“We’re getting Toronto moving by making public transit faster for everyone,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “By modernizing Line 2 we can run more trains more reliably, while supporting 200 local jobs.”
“Line 2 connects communities from Etobicoke to Scarborough and carries hundreds of thousands of customers every day,” said TTC Chair Jamaal Myers. “The implementation of CBTC, together with the new subway trains coming to Line 2, will ensure the TTC can continue providing safe, reliable and efficient service for years to come.”
“We're modernizing the TTC by investing in systems that increase capacity, improve reliability, enhance safety and support a growing city,” said TTC CEO Mandeep S. Lali. “CBTC is the next evolution in signalling, enabling us to better manage trains in real time and deliver more frequent service to customers.”
“We’re proud that our world-leading technology, designed in Toronto, will transform passenger experience, reliability and increase capacity on Line 2.” said Arnaud Besse, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Hitachi Rail in Canada. “Today, our invention comes home. 50 years ago, we developed this technology here and exported it to the world’s most complex transit systems. Now, it returns to where it all began.”
The new signalling system will replace the existing fixed-block technology. CBTC has been operational on Line 1 Yonge-University since 2022.
Hitachi Rail will install its SelTrac CBTC system on Line 2. The technology is already used on major transit systems around the world, including New York's Flushing Line, London Underground's Four Lines Modernization program, and Singapore's North-South and East-West lines.
The technology will be designed, tested and delivered from Hitachi Rail’s Canadian headquarters in Toronto. The Scarborough office is home to its global signalling competence centre and employs more than 1,100 people, including a large, highly skilled engineering workforce, and supports the delivery of projects across Canada and internationally.
Work on the project will begin this year, with initial design and engineering activities continuing through 2028. Implementation will take place in phases, with project completion scheduled for 2037. The TTC will provide regular updates throughout the project on its website and will notify customers in advance of any planned service impacts or closures.