The S series was the

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS trains are usually 1 to 4 cars. Most medi ...

used on

Line 3 Scarborough Line 3 Scarborough, originally known as Scarborough RT (the SRT), was a medium-capacity rapid transit line that was part of the Toronto subway system of the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The line ran entirely within ...

, part of the subway system of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. They were built from 1983 to 1986 for the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

(TTC) by the

Urban Transportation Development Corporation The Urban Transportation Development Corporation Ltd. (UTDC) is a former State-owned enterprise, Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario, Canada. It was established in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a bu ...

(UTDC) in Millhaven, Ontario. The trains use UTDC's proprietary

linear motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor (electric), rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. ...

-based Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS, now branded as

Bombardier Innovia Metro Innovia Metro is an automated guideway transit, automated rapid transit system manufactured by Alstom. Innovia Metro systems run on conventional metal rails and pull power from a third rail but are powered by a linear induction motor that provi ...

) and are its Mark I model, which is also used by the Vancouver SkyTrain and the

Detroit People Mover The Detroit People Mover (DPM) is a Elevated railway, elevated People mover, automated people mover system in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States. The system operates in a one-way loop on a single track encircling downtown Detroit, using ...

. They consist of 14

married pair A twin unit, twinset, or double unit is a set of two railroad Railway car, cars or locomotives which are permanently coupled and treated as if they were a single unit. A twinset of cars or coaches can also be called a twin car. In US passenger ...

sets (28 cars total) with fleet numbers 3000 to 3027, and are not compatible with the trains on other Toronto lines, which use conventional motors. Test runs took place in 1984 and full service began in 1985. When the line opened, 12 sets operated individually as two-car units. In 1986, two more sets were added, allowing sets to be coupled to form four-car units as ridership grew. All trains operated automatically without human intervention. Although they were capable of unmanned operations, as in Vancouver and Detroit, the TTC opted to use

one-person train operation One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to driver-controlled operation, is operation of a train, bus, ...

on all Line 3 trains. After the retirement of the remaining H-series trains in 2014, the S-series trains were the oldest in operation on the entire subway system until their retirement in 2023. They were also the only TTC rapid transit trains with a painted

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

since the G series, consisting of a unique lowercase "rt" logo, referring to the line's original name of "Scarborough RT". Starting in 2015, the cars underwent refurbishment, which included the addition of blue shrink wrap on their exterior to prolong their lifespan until the line's closure in 2023. In December 2023, the TTC proposed selling five trainsets to Detroit for use on the

, with two trainsets being retained for preservation. In June 2024, the Detroit People Mover transit system announced the purchase of the Mark I train sets and equipment from Line 3. Their transportation to and integration with the Detroit People Mover was projected to take over a year and a half. The purchase would replace the system's existing train sets with upgraded features, along with providing much-needed parts needed to keep the system functional. In November 2024, the TTC announced that two trains would be preserved at the

Halton County Radial Railway The Halton County Radial Railway is a working List of transport museums, museum of electric tram, streetcars, other railway vehicles, buses and trolleybuses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA). It is focu ...

in Rockwood, Ontario, and one train would be put on display at the

Toronto Zoo The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Encompassing , the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada averaging around 1.2 million visitors a year. The zoo is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, A ...

Gallery

S-series train at Line 3 platform in Kennedy station in Toronto, 2019.jpg, An S-series train at the Line 3 platform of

Kennedy station Kennedy is a List of Toronto subway stations, Toronto subway station system that is the eastern terminus of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. Opened in 1980, it is located east of the Kennedy Road (Toronto), Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue intersection. ...

ICTS 3024 Interior.jpg, Older interior prior to refurbishment TTC ICTS MK1 Control Panel.jpg, S-series control panel Kennedy TTC 3010.JPG, S-series with older livery at Kennedy station KennedyTTCLine3RT.jpg, S-series with newer livery at Kennedy station Farewell Line 3 Train in Scarborough Centre.JPG, Two S-series trains at

Scarborough Centre station Scarborough Centre is a bus terminal station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving multiple bus routes of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and one Durham Region Transit (DRT) bus route. It was also a rapid transit station serving Line 3 Scarb ...

during the Farewell Line 3 event

References

{{Toronto Transit Commission Toronto rapid transit passenger equipment Transport in Scarborough, Ontario Electric multiple units of Canada Train-related introductions in 1985