Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

[hw621]

Posy by CEO Michael Lindsay that includes a view of what the UP crew saw. Definitely not a place they would expect a car.

Afternoon Ontario. On New Year’s Eve at 10:12pm, via the access road next to Etobicoke North station, a car was driven over the curb, through a chain link fence, and onto the rail lines. The car… | Michael Lindsay

Afternoon Ontario. On New Year’s Eve at 10:12pm, via the access road next to Etobicoke North station, a car was driven over the curb, through a chain link fence, and onto the rail lines. The car became stuck and was then impacted by UPX Train 4335. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained by...

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Toronto drivers never fail to surprise, and they have a thing against rails....

 

[jmi22]

Weekend rail closures are terrible. More people use transit than ever for everything but commuting--shopping, going out, and seeing family and friends. Subway and regional trains should continue to run during maintenance work, unless they're replacing the tracks. And even then, I bet it's still technically feasible to keep the trains running by coordinating each segment of track with a reduced schedule.

Agreed, has a big impact on ppls perception of the service as well. After the recent slew of Line 2 partial closures over numerous weekends in a month, I subconsciously stopped assuming it was a mode of transit I would use when getting around the city on Saturday and Sundays, even if I technically knew the closures were limited in scope. Guess if you can form a habit in x amount of days, you can break one in even less.

Maybe something for the TTC to consider when they stare at their declining ridership with mouths agape.

 

[APTA-2048]

Agreed, has a big impact on ppls perception of the service as well. After the recent slew of Line 2 partial closures over numerous weekends in a month, I subconsciously stopped assuming it was a mode of transit I would use when getting around the city on Saturday and Sundays, even if I technically knew the closures were limited in scope. Guess if you can form a habit in x amount of days, you can break one in even less.

Maybe something for the TTC to consider when they stare at their declining ridership with mouths agape.

No one has thus far proposed a better time that they think heavy maintenance and construction should take place.

 

[jmi22]

No one has thus far proposed a better time that they think heavy maintenance and construction should take place.

I believe we pay a great deal of people a great deal of money to investigate such matters and learn from best practices across the world. That is not my job nor expertise, I’m simply sharing my (and likely many others) shifts in behaviour.

Also, such temporary removals of service would feel a lot more tolerable if they were achieving things in a reasonable time.

About two years ago I rode Line 1 north of Bloor and was shocked by how slow it operated.

Last weekend (for the first time in over 6 months) I rode Line 1 north of Bloor, assuming such slow zones had been long corrected. After 20 minutes travelling four stations, I stood corrected, and not likely to use that stretch of Line 1 unless having to.

 

[crs1026]

I am sure that those experts would be able to quantify just how many Sunday mornings it would take to get the same amount of work done - and how much more that would cost.

I'm trusting (perhaps too blindly, but let's pick our battles) that the weekend closures do get work done more efficiently, especially since the startup and shutdown routines only have to be done once, material can be moved and staged for longer periods, and things only have to be put back together for service once instead of repeatedly.

Try travelling anywhere in Britain on Sunday mornings. One or two closures a year for a weekend or closures every Sunday morning is the choice.

- Paul

 

[jmi22]

I am sure that those experts would be able to quantify just how many Sunday mornings it would take to get the same amount of work done - and how much more that would cost.

I'm trusting (perhaps too blindly, but let's pick our battles) that the weekend closures do get work done more efficiently, especially since the startup and shutdown routines only have to be done once, material can be moved and staged for longer periods, and things only have to be put back together for service once instead of repeatedly.

Try travelling anywhere in Britain on Sunday mornings. One or two closures a year for a weekend or closures every Sunday morning is the choice.

- Paul

There are no doubt tradeoffs, but I'd hesitate to look to Britain for anything infrastructure related except to see how to *not* do things.

 

[junctionist]

No one has thus far proposed a better time that they think heavy maintenance and construction should take place.

I proposed keeping the service going during the construction itself. You could probably keep the construction going even on weekdays like with highways.

 

[smallspy]

I proposed keeping the service going during the construction itself. You could probably keep the construction going even on weekdays like with highways.

Depending on what is being done, that is not possible.

A lot of the work of late has been rail replacements, or replacing switches. In both of those cases, there is no way to continue train service alongside the construction.

Dan

 

[junctionist]

Depending on what is being done, that is not possible.

A lot of the work of late has been rail replacements, or replacing switches. In both of those cases, there is no way to continue train service alongside the construction.

Dan

It's not always possible, but it's possible to do it a lot more often than at present. For instance, you can switch trains onto a second track to get around the affected section of track that's being replaced. The second track may be existing or a temporary replacement track. Granted, you'll typically need to reduce service to do so, but riders can get by with a well-communicated schedule.

It's better than not having the service at all and the customers' journeys taking twice or three times as long because of shuttle buses (at which point many people give up on the service because the original travel time was barely acceptable).

 

[smallspy]

It's not always possible, but it's possible to do it a lot more often than at present. For instance, you can switch trains onto a second track to get around the affected section of track that's being replaced. The second track may be existing or a temporary replacement track. Granted, you'll typically need to reduce service to do so, but riders can get by with a well-communicated schedule.

It's better than not having the service at all and the customers' journeys taking twice or three times as long because of shuttle buses (at which point many people give up on the service because the original travel time was barely acceptable).

No, you can't.

The way the subway is laid out, in many places cutting off power to one track cuts off power to both. Both tracks thus become impassible. Most of the BD is set up that way, as the cut-and-cover tunnels are too close together to allow for any sort of meaningful safe separation from each track for anyone at track level.

Then there's the issue of wrong-way running on the subway, and the fact that virtually none of the BD allows for it.

Many things that can be done on the full sized railways just can't be done on the subway.

Dan

 

[Bordercollie]

So given that the UP fleet is approaching ten years are they in need for a light rebuild? But considering that there are no additional spares I guess there would be no way to do that?

And there is no room for expansion either, and given that they are no longer being built what could be used to increase the fleet?

The Flirt is the only DMU that can be used with heavy rail and is in production.

 

[Bojaxs]

So given that the UP fleet is approaching ten years are they in need for a light rebuild? But considering that there are no additional spares I guess there would be no way to do that?

And there is no room for expansion either, and given that they are no longer being built what could be used to increase the fleet?

The Flirt is the only DMU that can be used with heavy rail and is in production.

They keep adding stops to the line. May as well convert it to a subway. Make it an airport branch for the Ontario line.

 

[Bordercollie]

They keep adding stops to the line. May as well convert it to a subway. Make it an airport branch for the Ontario line.

It's still faster than driving or the subway.

They could make every other train express but it's kinda dumb because it will just have a longer layover at the end points.

 

[drum118]

It's still faster than driving or the subway.

They could make every other train express but it's kinda dumb because it will just have a longer layover at the end points.

I recommended back in 2008 when asked by the writer and staff for the Big Move about adding stops to the current lines and said there needs to be more but not for 12 cars trains with no parking. It would also require a new mixture of trains and services from the current milk run trains to hop scotch, limit express, local express and end to end express.

If planners and schedulers were on the ball, the layover at the end of the run would remain the same for all types of service. Any 10-12 car trains servicing stations that are shorter than today platforms would require riders either catch a coach that will off load at that short platform or have to walk through the train like today to get off at a shorter platform.

Even though UPX offer 15 minutes headway today, it could be very 8 minutes down the road with some stations seeing 16 minutes service while some seeing 8 minute service.

 

[Bordercollie]

I recommended back in 2008 when asked by the writer and staff for the Big Move about adding stops to the current lines and said there needs to be more but not for 12 cars trains with no parking. It would also require a new mixture of trains and services from the current milk run trains to hop scotch, limit express, local express and end to end express.

If planners and schedulers were on the ball, the layover at the end of the run would remain the same for all types of service. Any 10-12 car trains servicing stations that are shorter than today platforms would require riders either catch a coach that will off load at that short platform or have to walk through the train like today to get off at a shorter platform.

Even though UPX offer 15 minutes headway today, it could be very 8 minutes down the road with some stations seeing 16 minutes service while some seeing 8 minute service.

Well other than the airport spurr any of those stations can be served with GO equipment right?

So don't have it depart from the UP station and use 3 car trains to serve the intermediate stops and use GO equipment to do milk runs. Just don't go as far as the airport.