It's been a little less than two weeks since the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) have brought in the newest subway car, also known as the Toronto Rocket. Amazingly, today is also the first time I got to give the new train a try. Obviously, this is a momentous occasion, as this was a very high profile car, having been talked about for a long time as to it's launch. There have been speculations as to when the launch will take place, and what new features it may or may not have. So far, all these new expected features have been met. It is by far, one of the best machines the TTC owns, and frankly, it has lived up to its hype.
I'm not exactly a perfectionist in many standards. I actually cock about and give leeway to a lot of things mainly due to the fact that I'm particularly lazy. However, there are a few things that I cannot overlook, and that just might be related to why this train has also managed to be characteristically "TTC".
This train is eerily quiet. The previous T1 is forgivable in terms of noise. Aside from the slight whine the motor produces during acceleration, and a similar whine from the regenerative braking during deceleration, the T1 can be considered quiet. The Toronto Rocket has managed to trump this.
The outgoing H6 (which the Toronto Rocket replaces) is perhaps anything but quiet. There was an annoying buzz from the motor during acceleration and deceleration. It was high pitched, nasally, and furthermore, very long winded. To add to the misery of being cramped in the yellow-ish box of the H6, was the occasional generator noise, which, produces noise...but never really seems to generate anything useful to the cabin. The new Toronto Rocket has none of these problems. Gone, is the obnoxious motor whine, the ridiculous generator noises, the announcer voice that sounds like an overbearing government worker, and gone too is the ridiculous doors between subway cars that never really served any purpose.
The knocking down of the door between cars has opened up the cabin, making it seemingly more crowded, but much more open. The Toronto Rocket is by far the best lit of all the subway trains, due partially to the lighting scheme and colour choices, but also because of the brushed steel doors. It makes the outgoing H6 seem even more like a prison cell. The H6 had yellow doors, beige (possibly due to discolouration because of its ridiculous age) walls, and...to add salt to the wound....orange lighting. Couple that ridiculous appearance with an air conditioning system that doesn't work, and causes the entire cabin to smell like a dirty rag, is precisely the reason why the Toronto Rocket couldn't have gotten here any later.
That is only the inside. The outside, is an amazingly futuristic look, the brushed steel, the amazing presence, all free of the ridiculous rivets from the body panels, and free of the inexplicable smearing of red paint that exists on some H6 cars. It is a new car like this, that reminds us Torontonians that we have been traveling in cars that even by 1960s standards, would be considered as jail.
Unfortunately, this is where the bad comes in. The good, we all know about very well : the inter-car passage, the interactive display, the TV monitors, the hypo-germ seats, the security cameras, the wider doors, the quietness, and the futuristic look of it..etc.etc. However, the bad is also just as prominent, and that is precisely why I'm slightly bewildered.
First of all, the eerily quiet cabin has been ruined by the genius who forgot to grease the handlebars. The handlebars came with grip handles, which squeaked throughout the entire journey. The unfortunate part was that the problem was not localized to one grip handle, but to ALL of the grip handles. A ride from downtown Toronto up to Finch is bound to drive someone insane.
Then there's the issue with the air conditioning. Of course, it's miles ahead of the H6's air conditioning, which is comparable to being fanned by a motorized chopstick, as it made noise, and that's it. The Rocket's air conditioning was weak, and it was the sudden moment when the doors were opened did the sudden change in pressure cause the air con to suddenly spit with an extra morsel of coolness. Which brings me to question the usefulness of the overhanging boxes which house the air conditioning units and the information display screen. These boxes sit dead in the centre of the cabin, and they stretch for about 4-5 meters in the cabins, and run in various areas within the long car. It is a virtually impossible spot for tall people to stand, which is unfortunate.
Which relates to this next point : the information screens that are housed in those boxes. They do a great job of informing people of the next station, and which door will open. Unfortunately, this was never designed with blind people in mind, so a blind person will never be able to figure out which door to walk in and out of. The TTC must believe that you are not allowed to be blind to use their subway trains.
The last major complaint is the validity of the tiny 13" monitors. They are so tiny, that they are barely noticeable. They sit on only one side of the cabin, and convey very little information. Sparsely spaced, and filled with the same rubbish information as the subway safety announcements. I'm being unfair with that statement, because there is something even worse than the subway safety announcements, and it comes in the form of : "The Toronto Rocket is jointly funded by the government of Canada, the province of Ontario and the city of Toronto". Hold on a second. They are jointly funded according to the books, yes, but that is still tax payer money that has been kept in the government's reserves for too long. Torontonians have been stuck using ancient technology for 20+ years, and the TTC wants its riders to believe that this overhaul was a blessing and not an owing? I find that hard to accept.
However, I do digress from all of these negative comments, just enough to say this : the new cars really are amazing. Not only are they absolutely fantastic, but they are also worth every penny spent. Let's hope the other cars arrive soon, and no matter what happens, no idiot decides to sully these brand spanking new cars.
