|
|
|
Neither am I.
Is this for Sept 6 on?
One has to wonder on "incredible amount of force". Pretty subjective, not the least due to the PR slant. If there was an accident where questions were asked about passengers escaping, I'm sure the spin would be the opposite.
I have to disagree. LIRR are rife in discussion on exactly this point for the non-electrified outer branches, and I'm certainly aware of it in European nations, and here's a quick Google to show Chicago:
http://www.chicagonow.com/cta-tattl...ns-shorter-trains-at-off-hours-to-save-money/Why the CTA runs shorter trains at off hours - to save money!
18 comments
By Kevin O'Neil, January 7, 2013 at 6:42 pm
In my eight-plus years of blogging about the CTA, one of the more common complaints I've gotten is riders wondering why the CTA runs short trains during off-peak hours - especially on the Brown Line.
They always say: "Well, how can it cost *that* much more money to add two or four more cars?"
Well, thanks to Monday's Getting Around column in the Tribune, now we know exactly how much more money it does cost. Columnist Jon Hilkevitch reports:
The cost of running a four-car train from the Kimball terminal to the Loop and back to Kimball totals $324.75 on average, according to a CTA itemization of available expenses in 2011 that the Tribune requested. The cost increases to an average of $447.94 to run a six-car train and $571.12 to operate an eight-car train, the agency said.
In a cost-saving move, the CTA no longer operates six-car trains on the Brown Line, nor on any other lines during midday service, officials said.
Transit officials said five expenses comprise the total operating costs: electricity; rail car maintenance, which includes parts and labor for repairs; operator salary and benefits; indirect costs, which include coupling and decoupling trains, cleaning a rail station and maintaining facilities; and capital expenses, which include the wear and tear on rail cars, tracks, signals and power infrastructure.
Changing the size of a train requires at least three workers — one or two switch workers, a yard master and a lead switchman — to couple or decouple rail cars and move the train out of the yard to begin service, officials said. They could not provide a cost estimate of a sample coupling-decoupling procedure.
On the CTA rail system as a whole, to operate a train for an hour the operator accounts for about 31 percent of the cost; power, 19 percent; and maintenance, 50 percent, according to the transit agency. Power and maintenance costs are about twice as much for an eight-car train as they are for a four-car train, officials said.
So there you have it folks. The CTA is saving $246.37 on a Brown Line round trip with a four-car train vs. an eight-car train. And a spokesman told Hilkevitch: "We are unaware of any current off-peak service where trains are at maximum capacity and passengers are unable to board."
Its been stated by someone here who has first hand knowledge that it cost about $500 to break down a train to x size and the same cost to rebuild it for off peak. It supposed to take 30 minutes to do it.
They haven't posted it yet. Pick a day to travel after Labour Day, and then just select the PDF schedule. Which leads to http://www.gotransit.com/timetables/en/PDF/Timetables/09161216/Table31.pdf for Kitchener.
The PDF schedules are still up. See above link.
It's working now, wasn't an hour ago.
What you're referring to is primitive coupling system (knuckle type) and non-inclusive electrical connections in the coupling. That is one aspect of the discussion, although I believe AMT did this at one time, but what I was discussing, if you read back, is *dedicated three car trains*...on the surmise that "enough stock is available", (I estimate three train sets to do a Bramalea 15 min shuttle) thus my raising the issue of sufficient "control and handicap coaches" to make it legal and workable. I also suggested using older locos due to the reduced demand put on it.
During the mid-day, when the runs down to Union go express from Malton, the schedule shows the same time to do that segment as the stopping trains. That route, all the way from Kitchener, is heavily padded. It can be infuriating, especially for Kitchenettes (I couldn't resist) as often the train will sit for close to ten minutes at Guelph before crawling on its way to Kitchener. That's a dispatch issue more than anything I believe. The only thing worse than taking that train is taking the 33 bus!
the hint would have been in the previous schedule....the train existed before and the only difference now is it extends to KW....we also discussed how much saving there would be several times in this thread.
. 