Recent content by Kyle Campbell

Didn't Edmonton try (and fail) with CBTC on the surface with the Metro line?

It'll be interesting how the Ontario line is when it finally opens. It's totally new and different technology compared to the other lines, not just an extension of an existing one I believe Metrolinx can totally screw up a subway too, so everyone here thinking that a line 6 subway would have...

Except that's not really possible without rebuilding the stations. There's not really clearance below to lower it. There's clearance above in the tunnel because of the catenary, but not within the stations where there's a third rail instead of a wire attached to the ceiling However the much...

No, but the tunnel itself is quite large, there's ample room for something like Montreal's MP-10. The underground stations though are a different story. Rebuilding them to accept high floor vehicles would be extremely difficult. Other LRT vehicles seem far more reliable than the Citadis, so...

OC transpo released some numbers today Line 2 and 4 usage (combined but almost entirely line 2): 24.4k trips, which would put it slightly ahead of Ion. Line 1 managed 246k trips on Canada Day, double it's normal average and it's highest ridership ever. It's also well above the entire average...

That's actually a good point that I hadn't thought of, pokey acceleration isn't one of the flaws that people complain about here

Are there any heaters on the platform? In Ottawa the Line 1 platforms are open, but the Transecure area (aka DWA) always has heaters and a (somewhat ineffective) wind screen

Very large cities like Paris and Istanbul do LRT quite well actually. An LRT should work fine on this corridor, even at grade. It's somehow been implemented spectacularly badly. It's like they looked at a static image of other cities LRTs and said nice looking stops (they actually are nicer than...

Far side atops actually make sense, when you combine them with TSP, the train glides through a green light and then waits on the far side. But this seems to be a left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing situation.

What I don't understand is, ignoring TSP, why is it so much slower than the bus. The bus has to wait at all the lights too. You'd expect it to be a bit slower all things being equal because unlike a bus a train stops at every stop Even the whole wheel bearing fear. Ottawa runs the same trains...

The trillium line could definitely be faster, but compared to Finch it's Lightning McQueen. But even with the slow zones and curves, the confederation line runs the Citadis far faster then Finch. Even the horrible curves at Hurdman are taken at around 35-40 km/h. It doesn't explain why the TTC...

I think it's a culmination of a few things. As much maligned as Metrolinx is, it is the catalyst for getting projects started again in Toronto after a long drought. It started with the previous Liberals, but to his credit Ford didn't take an anti transit stance like many conservative leaders...

He wants it faster, but not to affect traffic. A have your cake and eat it too situation. I don't think any Ontario or city government even gave a passing thought to giving line 5 absolute priority, like Calgary or Edmonton with crossing gates and flashing lights

It's less splitting hair then you think. The OTrain actually only has 30 seconds leeway from it's scheduled time in it's contracted metric. When it is working, it's always like clockwork. But it's a binary switch, it either works perfectly or not at all, when it's broken the entire system goes...

Don't put too much faith in reliability as a measure. Nobody would consider the confederation line a shining beacon of success, but it usually has a 99.8% reliability rating as defined by it's contract. I'm sure Eglinton will as well, but it's likely not going to feel like it...