TTC Toronto Flexity car #4436 pulls into St. Clair station as part of its break-in run on Sunday, May 28, 2017. Photo by Mark Pompeo.

The TTC starts operating some of its low-floor, accessible Toronto Flexity streetcars along the 512 St Clair route, tomorrow, Sunday, September 3.

The first new streetcar enters service at 10 a.m. after a brief ceremony in St Clair West Station terminal. The car then heads eastward along St. Clair Avenue West in regular service. The TTC says that “At least two low-floor streetcars will operate daily on this route. That number will increase - as new vehicles arrive - to 20, when the route is fully converted [to accessible cars] early next year.”

The TTC is also eliminating its two-hour time-based transfer pilot project. According to the TTC, operators aboard the new streetcars cannot issue paper transfers to passengers. The last day for time-based transfers is today, Saturday, September 2. Starting tomorrow, Sunday, September 3, normal transfer rules apply for passengers travelling aboard streetcars serving the route.

The TTC is adjusting the platforms in subway-station terminals to accommodate the new, longer cars.

At St Clair Station, streetcars pick you up slightly to the east of the usual stop.

At St Clair West Station, you can board eastbound cars on the west side of streetcar platform (Bay 3), where you usually exit from the cars. You can board westbound cars on the north-side platform (Bay 4) where you formerly boarded east- or westbound cars.

Also at St Clair West Station:

• Wheel-Trans vehicles temporarily serve Bay 5; and
• Buses operating along the 126 Christie route buses temporarily serve Bay 6, sharing the stop with buses operating along the 33 Forest Hill route.

The TTC will further rearrange stops in the terminal when it finishes work to install a new elevator in the station later this year.

The TTC recently changed its plans for deploying the new streetcars, identifying 512 St Clair, instead of 511 Bathurst, as the next route for the cars. The low-floor vehicles now fully serve the 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina and 514 Cherry routes.

The transit agency plans next to convert the 504 King and 511 Bathurst routes to low-floor-streetcar service. By the end of 2019, it expects to operate the 204 of the new vehicles along all of its streetcar routes.