Mayor David Miller will unveil two long-anticipated transit improvements next week, including a first glimpse of the new Toronto Rocket subway cars on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the TTC officially launches its integration with Google Maps, so riders can plan transit trips that incorporate the TTC and other regional providers, including GO Transit.

The Toronto Rocket cars were supposed to arrive earlier this year but have been delayed by a glitch with the door supplier.

Made at Bombardier’s Thunder Bay plant, the Toronto Rockets come in six-car configurations. They will feature flashing route maps and open gangways that allow a view from the front to the rear of the train. They will also accommodate about 10 per cent more riders.

The public will have a chance to view the car for a day in a couple of weeks and subway riders will glimpse the trains moving through the tunnels as they’re being tested in the next months.

It will be the end of the year before they’re in service on the Yonge subway line. The TTC will receive all 234 cars in about two years.

Toronto City Council awarded the sole-source $710 million Toronto Rocket contract in 2006 as a way of saving jobs in Thunder Bay. But the move hit controversy when a rival manufacturer suggested a bidding process would have given taxpayers better value for their money.