Line 3 Scarborough | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Type | Light metro |
System | Toronto subway |
Locale | Toronto, Ontario |
Termini |
Kennedy McCowan |
Stations | 6 |
Daily ridership | 40,010 (avg. weekday) |
Operation | |
Opened | March 22, 1985 |
Owner | Toronto Transit Commission |
Operator(s) | Toronto Transit Commission |
Depot(s) | McCowan Yard |
Rolling stock | S-series |
Technical | |
Line length | 6.4 km (4.0 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Electrification | 600 V DC Third rail, linear induction |
Line 3 Scarborough, better known as the Scarborough RT, is a light metro line that is part of the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The line runs entirely within the district of Scarborough, encompassing six stations and 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) of mostly-elevated track. It connects with Line 2 Bloor–Danforth at its southwestern terminus, Kennedy, and terminates in the northeast at McCowan.
Rather than the larger subway trains used by the other lines in the system, the rolling stock of Line 3 consists of smaller, fully automated, medium-capacity trains, designated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) as the S-series, whose design was based on the Mark I model of the Intermediate Capacity Transit System by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC). The trains are powered by linear induction motors, operating on standard gauge tracks, unlike the city's subway lines and the Toronto streetcar system, which use a unique, wider gauge.
The line remained unchanged since its opening in 1985 and contains two of the least used stations in the system. Its revitalization and expansion plan—whether to convert the line into using modern light rail vehicles or to close the line and extend Line 2 Bloor–Danforth further into Scarborough—has been debated for over a decade by the City of Toronto. In September 2013, the Government of Ontario, under Premier Kathleen Wynne, announced it would fund the extension of Line 2 to Scarborough City Centre along a new alignment, which will result in the eventual closure of Line 3.