Recent content by crs1026

The good news is, we know the brakes work. That's much more reassuring than the alternative. The smoking gun here is, the control systems, which are IT. We aren't reading that the tracks are the wrong gauge, or the foundation is sinking, or (eyeroll) the slab somewhere is cracked. The line is...

I don’t see them on Mississauga’s Heritage Register map ? - Paul

Possibly one or more of the mini-stations are ready for a ribbon cutting. Or, there may be a planned "tour of the line" by the new trainset, just to publicise it, in the near future.. I haven't heard that the first trainset has even reached ONR. I would expect some test runs to check...

If I were VIA (and assuming the legacy services remain, at least for the decade of construction) I can't understand why Dorval is named as such and not Trudeau Airport. I don't have any data on who gets on/off at Dorval or how many transfer to the airport, but it just seems too sensible...

There are plenty of maintenance workers out there, working under CROR protection rules. But that is running maintenance - and likely critical to getting the plant working again - as opposed to new construction or major component replacement. - Paul

There is a huge difference in the knowledge and training requirements for the average highway construction worker and forepersons versus what every last worker on a railway site needs to be qualified in with respect to operating rules and procedures There are plenty of rail contractors out...

PS While looking for the On/Off Corridor explanation, I did stumble across this image from the ML Board Meeting of May 19 2019, which indicates a 2020 tcd for completion of 18 km double track on the Stouffville line. As of today, almost seven years later, just under 5km of double track is in...

LOL As usual, the most concise explanation of on-corridor vs off-corridor comes not from ML but from others interpreting their work https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2022/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-175065.pdf At this point, ML has used and abused the terms so loosely that I would not attach any...

Opinions vary on which locos perform better and in what service. It's interesting to note where certain models actually end up. The other rationale is simple - overdependence on a single supplier is fatal. The second supplier needs enough business to stay in operation. So balancing needs for...

A break-in-two means the train has broken into two (or maybe more) sections, usually because a coupler knuckle breaks -or more dramatically, the entire drawbar pulls out of one end of a car. This happens as the result of slack running in and out as the train accelerates, decelerates, and...

I'm no expert either, but I am really impressed with how fast and furious the work is progressing between Cherry Street and Danforth GO. The other day I shot a video out the window of a GO train, hoping to capture it all for posterity. When I played back the tape, I counted 56 construction...

Well, actually, many footings have been getting installed along the new retaining walls as these were erected. What's being done now is installing the footings where a new grade has been constructed. These need their own pilings drilled after all the new soil has settled. Seems like a rational...

And the additional challenges that ML faces with clearances under some bridges out along the line. No point perfecting a solution at Union only to have to wait for bridge projects at Jameson, Browns Line, etc. Electrification will come together when the time is right, but while the attraction...

This is the most important part of your very compelling presentation. While things may be as they are for a reason, they are nonetheless disfunctional, welll behind world standard, and need to be corrected. Aspirationally, one would hope that VIA is pushing forward where it can as opposed to...

This is actually one of the beefs I have with how ML has managed its P3's. They rely on litigation as an early and priority method of resolving issues and disputes. A process that assumes litigation early in what is structured as a 30-year contract is unsound on its face. It's a bit like...