The Scarborough RT’s aging vehicle fleet reached a “critical juncture” last month when so few cars were available for service that the line was operating without any spares, according to the TTC.

The shortage of cars meant the agency had no margin of error to operate planned service on the RT, which serves more than 35,000 riders every day. It’s a bad omen for Scarborough transit users who are supposed to rely on the line for at least another seven years.

The situation “is a prime example of the need to modernize and replace our assets before they reach their end of life expectancy,” TTC CEO Rick Leary wrote in his latest report to the agency’s board.

To operate full service on the RT, the TTC requires five trains. Each is made up of four cars, paired in two-car units, for a total of 20 vehicles.

The agency has 28 of the vehicles, which allow it to perform tasks such as preventative maintenance on some cars while still operating full service.

But in mid-April, workers discovered an electrical fault on a car as they were preparing it for morning service. At the same time, a car in another unit was found to have an axle-bearing defect.

Both of the two-car units had to be taken out of service. And because two more units were already undergoing overhauls as part of a life-extension program to keep the RT running, over five days the TTC had just 20 cars available.

That’s the bare minimum, meaning if any other car had experienced a problem during that period, the RT would have had to operate with fewer than five trains.

“Depending on the time of day, fewer than five trains would mean longer wait times and increased crowding,” said TTC spokesperson Stuart Green.

“Although not ideal, we can run four trains in peak periods. Fewer than that and we would supplement service with bus shuttles (in addition to the trains). We did this a few times over the winter when we faced challenges on the line.”

Green couldn’t rule out a repeat vehicle shortage.

“Unfortunately, given the age of the vehicles, it is possible we could see a similar situation in the future,” he said.

The RT fleet entered service in 1985, and was intended to last 30 years.

A 2016 analysis by Bombardier, which owns the RT vehicle technology, flagged numerous problems with the cars, including “heavily worn” brake discs and holes in car bodies that “could compromise the integrity of the vehicle structure.”

The document, which the Star obtained through a freedom of information request, said in some cases maintenance had been done using a “piecemeal” approach. “Duct-tape has been used as a sealant, electrical wiring is exposed,” it said.

The TTC was already facing a struggle to keep the RT in good enough condition to operate until 2026. That’s around the time the one-stop $3.9-billion Scarborough subway extension council approved as a replacement for the RT was expected to enter service.

However, the Ontario Progressive Conservative government has tabled legislation to take control of new transit builds in Toronto and plans to construct a longer, three-stop $5.5-billion subway extension instead. Its version may not open until about 2029, raising the prospect that Scarborough transit users will be served only by buses for years after the RT is forced to shut down.

Both subway plans supplanted a proposed LRT that was supposed to replace the RT. It was scheduled to open in 2019 when council voted in 2013 to build a subway instead.

Councillor and TTC board member Jennifer McKelvie (Ward 25, Scarborough-Rouge Park) said reliability issues with the RT fleet is “a problem we’re going to be dealing with for the foreseeable future.”

She said she would ask the TTC at the agency’s board meeting next week to ensure it has contingency plans in case it’s not able to operate full service on the line.

She supports the three-stop subway over the one-stop plan or LRT, and made no apologies for backing the project that could leave riders taking the bus for years.

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“This is our one chance to build important infrastructure for the next generation, and we can’t take shortcuts, we need to do it right,” she said.

She said her message to Scarborough transit users is “to continue to be patient and positive as we work on this important issue together.”

Green said the TTC is confident its vehicle life extension project, which is expected to cost $68 million, will enable the RT to operate safely until 2026, but the agency has “not yet evaluated how/if we can keep the line operational” beyond then.

With files from Jennifer Pagliaro.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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