On 06/14/2016 02:58 PM, Russell Reiter via talk wrote:

<snip>
> Streetcars use 600V as does the subway. The new Eglinton line will be
> 750V though and won't have loops for turning around.

You don't think that the TTC might be forward planning for 750V all around? Remember it was TTC staff I spoke to who told me the change was to accommodate higher voltage.

It is possible.
Not saying its so, but if the new cars can handle variable voltage and the old cars are fixed voltage then it could make sense to upgrade the lines in advance of removing all the old cars.
Then when all the old cars are gone upgrade the system voltage.

Its not that you would need to put in heaver lines for higher voltage but a close to 50% increase in voltage may make you replace all the insulators that were rated for 600V with ones rates for 750V.

I would expect the motors on the new cars would be based on AC motors which is the predominant motor type in electric automobiles but with something as big as a train the rules for motor choice may be different.
With AC motors the control electronics would have to handle the voltage variations but its doable.

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