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GO Transit Electrification | Metrolinx

If you're into detailed reports it looks like the gotransit.com/electrification page has been updated with the TPAP notice and now includes some recent technical documents.
 
Edward Skira said:
I find it funny that these transportation announcements always contain parking info but no transit info. Surely someone takes the TTC or GO to these events. Either way bad optics.


Minister of Transportation to Make Transit Announcement
June 14, 2017

Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation, and Peter Milczyn, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, will make a transit announcement. They will be joined by John Jensen, President and CEO of Metrolinx.

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2017

Time: 11 a.m.

Location: Preventative Maintenance Bay 3

GO Transit Willowbrook Facility

Etona Court, one block east of Islington Avenue

Etobicoke

Parking is located on the west side of Etona Court.

Make your way to gate 3 at the south end of

Etona Court for escorted access to the event site.


Note: It is recommended that all media attending the event wear safety boots or heavy footwear. Please note that the site is not fully accessible.
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All media drive or are driven to these events and have no need for transit in the first place. Therefore no need for transit info to the site. Only the odd UT members and few others will use transit carrying their safety equipment with them to these events.

You can catch any Islington bus going south from Line 2 and get off at Judson St Stop that run every 10 minutes going south. Longer wait going north from the Lake Shore.

Wouldn't be surprise to hear an RFP or an order has been place for the new EMU/Rolling stock/power for electrification starting with the UPX that will be roll into GO as an RER line. The building is for the UPX equipment in the first place.
 
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Edward Skira said:
I find it funny that these transportation announcements always contain parking info but no transit info. Surely someone takes the TTC or GO to these events. Either way bad optics.
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I thought exactly the same, but thought best not to comment.

"Let Them Eat Cake" Transit...with an appearance from the Minister of Announcements and his Darling Dosh: Marie Herself Antoinette.
 
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drum118 said:
Wouldn't be surprise to hear an RFP or an order has been place for the new EMU/Rolling stock/power for electrification starting with the UPX that will be roll into GO as an RER line. The building is for the UPX equipment in the first place.
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Would they just go directly to placing an order for electric vehicles or would they do a RFQ/RFP first? Could they do a joint order with the work that CalTrain is doing? As a refresher, here's what the BCA said about RER rolling stock. I've pulled the relevant pages (ten) and put them here.
 
drum118 said:
Wouldn't be surprise to hear an RFP or an order has been place for the new EMU/Rolling stock/power for electrification starting with the UPX that will be roll into GO as an RER line. The building is for the UPX equipment in the first place.
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"Preventative Maintenance Bay 3" is curious. If they do UPX though, it wouldn't make sense to not do the whole corridor up to Bramalea.

Replacing the Nippon Sharyos this early in their life presents a number of conundrums, unless SMART has made an offer to buy them.
 
steveintoronto said:
I thought exactly the same, but thought best not to comment.

"Let Them Eat Cake" Transit...with an appearance from the Minister of Announcements and his Darling Dosh: Marie Herself Antoinette.
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I have seen the odd transit info used in a site event by most systems including TTC, but very rare.

Its the standard Metrolinx and MTO thinking all the media need a car to get to their announcement site just like their riders. In most cases, its a must. Have seen the odd media person use transit in Toronto, including the camera crew.
 
Allandale25 said:
Would they just go directly to placing an order for electric vehicles or would they do a RFQ/RFP first? Could they do a joint order with the work that CalTrain is doing? As a refresher, here's what the BCA said about RER rolling stock. I've pulled the relevant pages (ten) and put them here.
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Yes and Yes! It would make incredible sense, and the orphan Nippon Sharyos being part of the deal exchanged to SMART who aren't *directly* part of Caltrain, but associated with it. Since the Nippon assembly line is now dismantled, and SMART are looking for more, Marin County looks like an excellent, and only, place that could use them. They now regret not going electric, btw.

There's a lot of points worth discussing there, but we'll see what the Min of Announcements has to say, and take it from there.
 
SMART is still having major issue with their rolling stock that has yet to see service. Unless Metrolinx willing to give SMART a low ball price on UPX equipment, SMART could say no to buying the UPX fleet. It will be the first to see new rolling stock for 2020.

Wasn't there some kind of investigation as to which suppliers could be use for the new fleet or what every already??

Metrolinx would be smart to look at 4-6 car EMU sets with some EMU motorpower to handle today coaches. Today coaches would be use for non electrify sections of various lines as more service come on line.

Due to cost and weight having duel power locomotives, they should be the last resort to have in the system.
 
drum118 said:
SMART is still having major issue with their rolling stock that has yet to see service. Unless Metrolinx willing to give SMART a low ball price on UPX equipment, SMART could say no to buying the UPX fleet. It will be the first to see new rolling stock for 2020.
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The major issue remains the predisposition to throw pistons. SMART (last I read, I'll delve into more detail later) was waiting until all the Cummins had been changed out, while ML is patching problems as they occur, and waiting until the next major scheduled service to do a big end rebuild.

What is possible is that this flips the other way! SMART are now lamenting not going electric. Could ML pick-up the SMART stock to run the Georgetown South corridor from Bramalea to Union as RER Light? (UPX would be folded into it). For a Gov desperate for votes, and votes *now* it could just clang their bell!

Whatever happens, the Nippons should be grouped together with one operator. Further sales are highly unlikely, and Allendale's (a rehash of Rejohn) idea makes perfect sense unless ML does attain the remaining Nippons.

Googling to find the latest on SMART, and I suggest entering "Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit" to get hits. Other variations don't show much.

This is interesting:

Posted: Jun 07 2017 03:54PM PDT

SONOMA, MARIN COUNTIES (BCN)
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- The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train is blowing its horn but its wheels are not yet turning to provide passenger service between the two counties.

At a much-anticipated meeting of the SMART District's board of directors attended by scores of SMART employees at the district's Rail Operations Center north of Santa Rosa this afternoon, general manager Farhad
Mansourian said two issues are blocking the start of service.

The Federal Railroad Administration must complete a full audit of SMART's operations and approve SMART's "Positive Train Control" system that prevents derailments.

Mansourian said the audit starts Monday and could be finished by June 15, and SMART is on the top of the FRA's list of projects awaiting final approval.

SMART officials previously said they hoped to announce today a specific date for when service might begin.

The FRA today gave SMART approval to begin "preview rides" for the public and the media on its 43-mile rail line while approval of the Positive Train Control system is pending, Mansourian said. He said he hopes those
rides can begin the day after the audit is completed.

"We will start service in the very near future," Mansourian said. [...]
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http://www.ktvu.com/news/259556242-story

"Mansourian said the audit starts Monday and could be finished by June 15"

Total coincidence? There's perhaps some sort of synergy at play...note the Positive Train Control reference. This is not very technically competent reporting, and I know some dispute this being the case, but I've read reference to the UPX stock having the same PTC equipment on-board as the SMARTs.

Could there be an announcement from the Ministry of Announcements that (as a nod to eventual electrification of the Georgetown South Corridor) PTC will be instituted along it? Anything that makes Ms Antoinette happy by throwing crumbs to the hoi-polloi makes His Royal Ministerizer happy. Yummies tonight!

Meanwhile, SMART is up against a rolling-stock limit:
The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Authority released a final train schedule Wednesday for upcoming passenger service that includes 34 trips on weekdays, four more than originally planned, and trains operating later in the evenings.

SMART’s schedule is a crucial element of its service that, along with fares, will determine to a large extent who uses the trains and who opts for other means of transportation.

The trips will run mostly on a 30-minute schedule operating along the 43-mile route from north Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael.

SMART officials said they are planning more service during peak hours and to run trains later in the evening based on public feedback to earlier drafts of the schedule. But already there are grumblings about the final timeline as SMART moves to launch passenger service, possibly within a month.

Farhad Mansourian, SMART’s general manager, told the agency’s board of directors Wednesday that the schedule represents a “very good beginning,” one he said can be adjusted based on ridership. But he also acknowledged some will be disappointed.

“Every train, or bus, or ferry schedule you see leaves somebody out for some reason,” Mansourian said.

SMART faces the challenge of operating trains on a schedule that meets most riders’ needs and links with other public transit agencies. The rail agency will operate four two-car trains along what is mostly a single track, further complicating scheduling efforts.

The full trip, including 30-second stops at all 10 stations, is planned to take 67 minutes. In the past, SMART said the journey would take under an hour.

The agency in the past also said it would operate seven two-car units along the route — the sum total of equipment it has on hand. But a spokeswoman with the agency Wednesday said SMART needs more staff and approval from federal railroad regulators before it can put more trains into service. [...continues at length in detail...]
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http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7003844-181/smarts-train-schedule-draws-praise?artslide=0

You can fill in the blanks. Whether that is wild speculation or not is another matter, but the two and only operators who went in on this design/model had best combine the fleet, as they're ain't gonna be no more. If ML wants to electrify UPX, the drive rod looks hot for forging, and the Nippons can still find a new home.
 
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drum118 said:
SMART is still having major issue with their rolling stock that has yet to see service. Unless Metrolinx willing to give SMART a low ball price on UPX equipment, SMART could say no to buying the UPX fleet. It will be the first to see new rolling stock for 2020.

Wasn't there some kind of investigation as to which suppliers could be use for the new fleet or what every already??.
Click to expand...

The only public thing I've seen is the BCA pages I posted already. Is that what you were thinking of?

steveintoronto said:
The major issue remains the predisposition to throw pistons. SMART (last I read, I'll delve into more detail later) was waiting until all the Cummins had been changed out, while ML is patching problems as they occur, and waiting until the next major scheduled service to do a big end rebuild.
Click to expand...

The current issue of TRAINS has a long article on SMART and touches on the mechanical challenges they've had.
 
Allandale25 said:
The current issue of TRAINS has a long article on SMART and touches on the mechanical challenges they've had.
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OMG, I might have to buy a Trains mag.
SMART riders ponder North Bay-to-San Francisco by train, bus and ferry
DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | May 26, 2017

[...]
SMART is still working to secure funding for the $48 million Larkspur extension. President Donald Trump’s preliminary budget for 2018 seeks to restrict approved project funding for a federal transportation program that was set to deliver $20 million to SMART for the project.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Transportation Agency this week said SMART and the city of San Rafael are making “strong progress as they advance toward funding,” and that if things continue along their current pace, the federal agency anticipates a funding agreement could be signed this fall.

A SMART spokeswoman said that timeline will not delay construction of the 2.1-mile Larkspur link.[...]
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http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7028832-181/smart-riders-ponder-north-bay-to-san?artslide=0

Just released piece from Radio-Canada I've posted in VIA string...
 
steveintoronto said:
steveintoronto said: ↑
Could ML pick-up the SMART stock to run the Georgetown South corridor from Bramalea to Union as RER Light?

With an added high section, no problem.
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Not worth the money and better off going to a new fleet
 
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