TTC working out bugs on the new Rockets

TTC riders, who love to see the bright, open new Toronto Rocket subways pull into their stations, will be pleased to hear transit officials are working on the inevitable bugs appearing now that the trains are in service.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross calls the problems “teething issues” on brand new vehicles — inevitable with any technology as sophisticated as these trains, he stressed.

There are two issues with the doors, both the result of the Rockets’ high-tech safety features.

The first is a delay in opening when the train pulls into a station. In the old trains, the door mechanism was triggered before the vehicle had entirely stopped. In the new models, the train has to come to a complete stop for the doors to open.

“We’re looking at that timing,” Ross said, adding it can be adjusted.

“The bigger issue is the door cycling time. If the doors are held up to three times they have to be reset. To do that, we have to take the train out of service. It’s a feature built into the train systems so the door mechanisms and the doors themselves do not get damaged. After the third attempt to close the doors, if somebody’s blocking them or holding them, then the system shuts down,” he said.

The TTC is working to resolve an irritating squeak in overhead hand straps. It is also considering putting plastic covers on the alarm handles located beside the doors. Riders occasionally grab them to prevent falling, and sometimes a bag gets snagged on the handle.

There are now 13 Rocket trains plying the Yonge-university line.