Let’s get something straight — is streetcar synonymous with light rail transit (LRT)?

With Wednesday’s council decision to opt for more light rail, Toronto is going for the lighter side of transit. The city’s newest plan involves street-level light rail on Finch Ave. W., and on Eglinton east of Laird Dr. Eglinton would still run underground from about Black Creek Dr. to Laird.

But that doesn’t mean streetcars are headed to Scarborough — a confusing point, when the new streetcars set to replace the TTC’s aging downtown fleet are also called light rail vehicles (LRVs).

So what’s the difference between the light-rail system approved for Eglinton and streetcars?

An important difference is that the Eglinton LRVs will run on their own lane, separated from traffic. The TTC streetcars — both existing and the replacement LRVs — run in mixed traffic, except where the track is already separated from vehicles, such as on Spadina.

The Eglinton LRVs will go also faster, make fewer stops and carry more people.

Further complicating the matter, of course, is how LRVs compare to subways.

Here’s our guide to track transit in Toronto — and why Councillor Doug Ford can’t properly say that “trolleys” will be running down the middle of the road in Scarborough.

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EGLINTON AND FINCH LRVS (OWNED BY METROLINX)

Speed: Averages 22 km/h in its own lane, or 30-32 km/h in a tunnel

Capacity: 280 passengers per car. Depending on demand, up to three will be linked together, for a total of 840 passengers per train.

At peak times, the Eglinton LRV system could carry 19,560 passengers per hour, a volume not expected for decades (only 12,000 people per hour are expected to ride it by 2031).

Cost: $85 million per km for surface routes; $325 million for underground, including cost of vehicles.

Vehicle: Each car is 2.65 metres wide, 31 metres long. Total length for a three-car set: more than 90 metres. They will have eight doors (four per side). The trains are doubled-ended: they won’t turn, so they don’t need a track loop at the end.

Space on the road: This system is light rail transit by its truest definition: a vehicle or train with its own lane, similar to what’s already in place on St. Clair and Spadina Aves.

Distance between stops: About 850 metres; typical distance between stops on North American LRTs is 1,000 to 2,000 metres.

Power supply: Overhead pantograph, 750 V

Track gauge : 1.435 metres (that’s different from the TTC track gauge; these LRVs can’t run on the old downtown tracks).

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LRVS TO REPLACE STREETCARS IN 2014 (OWNED BY TTC)

Speed: Averages 15 km/h, mainly because of more frequent stops

Capacity: 250 passengers per car. Unlike Eglinton LRT, won’t be linked into trains.

Cost: Total about $1 billion (for 204 vehicles only, since the tracks already exist), including Toronto-specific design improvements, testing, manufacturing and delivery.

Vehicle: Each vehicle is 2.54 metres wide and about 30 metres long; current streetcars are the same width but only 15 or 24 metres long. Four doors on one side. Unidirectional, meaning it requires a track loop to turn itself around.

Space on the street: The TTC LRVs will continue to run in mixed traffic, except where there is a designated lane, such as on Spadina.

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Distance between stops: 180 metres on the downtown Queen line.

Power supply: Overhead trolley pole, 600 V

Gauge: 1.495 metres

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SUBWAYS

Speed: Average 32 km/h

Capacity: 1,100 passengers per train; 30,000 passengers per hour at peak frequency

Cost: Between $250 million and $300 million per kilometre, for construction only

Vehicle: Six-car train sets, except on the Sheppard line where only four cars are used because ridership is lower. The Toronto Rockets, the TTC’s new trains in service on the Yonge-University-Spadina line, are all six-car sets. They are “open gangway,” which allows passengers to move freely from one end of the train to the other.

Distance between stops: It depends, says TTC spokesperson Brad Ross — downtown stops are closer together. The distance between St. Andrew station and Union, for example, is about 750 metres, while St. Clair to Davisville station is about 1.3 kilometres.

Power supply: Third rail, 600 V

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A GLOSSARY

Light Rail Transit: Rail transportation that typically operates in its own lane separated from traffic and is low to the ground to improve accessibility. It is usually powered by overheard electrical wires.

Light Rail Vehicles: The TTC defines LRVs as “advanced, electrically powered, urban transit vehicles that ride on rails and have features such as low floors and a variety of passenger comforts.”

Track gauge: The distance between the inner edges of the two parallel rails.