TTC selects Hitachi Rail to modernize Line 2 subway signaling system

The Toronto Transit Commission has awarded a contract to Hitachi Rail Canada for the installation of a communications-based train control (CBTC) signaling system on the subway Line 2 Bloor-Danforth.

CBTC automatically controls the speed and separation between trains. The new signaling technology will allow TTC to more accurately monitor train locations and operate more frequent and reliable service on Line 2, TTC officials said in a press release. CBTC technology has been in place on Line 1 since 2022. 

Hitachi Rail will install its SelTrac CBTC system on Line 2, which spans 16.3 miles east-west through Toronto with 31 stations. The technology will be designed, tested and delivered from Hitachi Rail's Canadian headquarters in Toronto. Work on the project will begin this year, with initial design and engineering continuing through 2028. Implementation will happen in phases, with project completion expected in 2037, TTC officials said.

SelTrac will replace the line's 1960s-era signaling system, increasing capacity by up to 40% from current peak levels, Hitachi Rail officials said. The company will also install SelTrac on the 4.8-mile eastward Line 2 Scarborough expansion.

"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, Hitachi Rail Canada managing director and chief operating officer. "Fifty 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."