As the TTC continues to explore adding platform-edge safety doors to all of its existing subway stations, a new report from the transit agency says the total cost of going ahead with an extensive retrofit has exploded to around $4.1 billion.
The report set to be considered by the TTC board on June 23 includes a business case and feasibility study for retrofitting 74 sets of platforms at 70 subway stations on Lines 1, 2 and 4 with full-height platform-edge doors (PEDs). It estimated the average cost to be $44 million to $55 million for every set of two platforms. The future Ontario Line (Line 3) will have PEDs since driverless trains will be used.
The proposed cost of the project soared from a $1.23-billion estimate floated a few years ago.
However, despite the inflated costs, a business case identified multiple cost-saving benefits. The report said up to $127.8 million could be saved through avoiding $92 million in “social cost(s)” by avoiding injuries and loss of life, $16 million in reduced passenger delays, $19 million in emergency response cost savings and $800,000 worth of employee health improvements by reducing insurance claims.
If funding is secured over a 20-year period with construction happening during off-peak hours beginning in 2026, the report said the total benefits would outweigh the total costs by 2062 (14 years after a full build-out would be done).
The main report said the entire system of PEDs will have a life-cycle cost of $2.2 to $2.4 billion. The business case said major rehabilitation for each set of PEDs will likely be required at the 30-year mark, and it will take a further $18 million (in 2023 dollars) annually starting in 2056 to extend the operational life.
In the report scheduled for a board vote, TTC staff recommended starting the process of funding a pilot project installation at the soon-to-be-renamed TMU station (Dundas) in 2026, continuing planning to prioritize future station installations and requiring platform-edge doors (PEDs) at all new, future stations.
“A new approach is necessary to manage the interface between TTC customers, communities, and subway train operations, which reduces service disruption caused by track intrusions,” the report said.
Ever since 2009, the issue of PEDs have been on the radar for study and building. A major push for adding PEDs to stations stems from concerns about suicide prevention, stopping people from being pushed or falling onto the track as well as a way to prevent mischief from happening and stopping debris from the platform level.
After a woman was pushed onto the tracks at a TTC subway station in 2022, it renewed calls for installing safety measures. A short time later in the same year, a man died after allegedly being pushed off the platform at Bloor station.
The report found full-height PEDs scored the highest out of four different methods using criteria such as safety, cost, installation complexity, operational impacts, experiences on other systems and flexibility for future upgrades. Partial-height PEDS came second, followed by a sensor-based subway track intrusion system in third place, and rope-based platform screen doors coming last.
Staff said there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach and having a standard template since there are different station configurations and usage dynamics.
“The implementation of PEDs at existing stations will require extensive planning, with the majority of the work taking place at track level during non-operating hours and will need to be implemented alongside ongoing state-of-good-repair work in subway tunnels and stations,” the report said.
“Extensive subway station closures and station bypasses will be necessary to effectively complete track-related work for the PED system and to minimize the challenges.”
A future safety system would also need to be integrated with the automatic train control signalling system currently in place on Line 1, and preliminary cost estimates don’t factor that in.
