The 2018 image shows a single-point switch:
View attachment 721252
So their 'test installation of a dual leaf switch' doesn't have dual leaves?
That's correct - it has the geometry similar to a double-point switch, so you can see how much longer it is.
In fact, as I recall due to its design this switch is not trailable anymore - any car that is forced to reverse through it is only allowed to do so a on the straight.
How long is this "long-term" contract, and when does it expire? From what I've seen, the sole-source procurement contracts are typically 5 years. Even if they are within a 5-year contract, they need to start working on selecting new standards so they're ready by the time they next need to go to procurement. Otherwise they'll have no choice but to extend the current design for yet another 5 years.
So I had started writing a whole thing thinking that they still have several years on this contract......
And then I started looking to find the board meeting with it.
Turns out that they'd announced it in 2019, with the term starting on January 1, 2020, and that the original term of the contract expired on December 31, 2024. There was one additional contract option for 2 additional years at the TTC's own discretion.
I can't find any confirmation that the contract was extended, but I think that it's safe to assume that it was - which means that it's up for tender soon. Very soon.
All that said - I totally agree about the need to set the new standards in place so that they are ready for them - whether they decide to go ahead with them in the next contract, or the one after that.
The key question here is whether the TTC would seriously allow through speeds to be raised from 10 km/h to 40 km/h or so with the existing switch design if it were connected to a new switch control system. If that is true, then you are correct that we can ignore the fact that we use an expensive and obsolete switch design that only one company makes anymore. But I suspect that regardless of the switch control system, the TTC would insist on a 10 km/h limit through the existing switch design, in which case replacing them with a more modern layout has the potential to save a huge amount of operating expenses over their lifetime thanks to reduced round trip times. So as far as "things we should be spending our money on", it's quite high on the list.
For the record, there are multiple companies who cast the components for single-blade switches. It's just that Vostalpine/Nortrak is the only one willing to respond to the TTC's tenders. I don't know if that is because of the TTC's tendering peculiarities or if they're the only ones with a Canadian sales agent or what.
Again, agree to disagree. There is over 100 years of experience of operating over the same trackwork without these arcane speed limits - those limitations are a relatively recent addition. Yes, I know the whole thing about safety culture, but there is nothing physically wrong with the current trackwork itself. If it was truly unsafe, don't you think that the TTC would have done more to replace it with other types in the 25 years since the limits have been in place?
Dan
