nfitz
Superstar
Just the gate arm??? I thought those things were supposed to shear right off.
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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)
- Thread starter drum118
- Start date
SkylineHorizons
Active Member
Edit* That may have been the case although apparently this crossing gate, which was recently reconstructioned as the road was expanded not too long ago, would sway quite a bit in high winds, to the point where it would be appear to be just about foul of the track(s).
I always thought those gates weren't very tough or reinforced well but I suppose there's a minimal level of structural integrity that they need to have in order to serve their intended purpose.
Indeed. Might be safer to not ride up right in the front anymore for those that do...
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smallspy
Senior Member
They are, if they are hit by a car.
But they are not designed to be speared on-end. That's what the train did.
For the record, a crew had notified CP about the gate in the morning. They had not fixed it by the afternoon rush, when this happened. Also note how close to the windshield that window is. This could have been a lot worse.
Dan
generalcanada
Senior Member
naturally they went to the media lol
Also describes what incident it was
Also describes what incident it was
nfitz
Superstar
I guess CP is off to the TSBC for another slap on the wrist.
torontowest91
Active Member
lakeshore west growth must be because the gardiner closure
KevinT
Active Member
It really seems to me like a severe over-reaction. As the Stop The Horns founder says, "Why do the residents have to suffer for the sake of the folly of one person?" Now that the incident has occurred, and the developer and their sub-contractors are well aware of it, it's not anything that will be happening again.
Northern Light
Superstar
To what post are you responding?
generalcanada
Senior Member
I dont think so, Thats why metrolinx is going through the review process to ensure what went wrong to se that it doesnt happen again.
ownthesky
Active Member
Yeesh, maybe the city needs to bite the bullet and yank those multiple tightly packed at-grade crossings, replace them with a cheap bike and pedestrian bridge. Win win for all parties. Highway 7 and Main St are only a few meters away, that’s three at grading crossings within a few minutes of walking from each other.
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Sauga89
Active Member
Yes, I wonder, if the local residents were given a choice between keeping the horns or blocking off the street temporarily into two dead ends, which would they choose? I suppose what they really want is this quiet zone back, but if that isn't an option, maybe they should close the street. I'm guessing that whenever they get around to electrifying the line, it probably won't be worth building a road bridge there. How much would it cost to bring a pedestrian bridge that has to be built anyways forward by a few years?
(EDIT: I suppose you'd pay more in interest by building the pedestrian bridge a decade early, but that crossing is next to a senior's home. If even one of them has a heart attack because they can't sleep, it would probably cost the province tens of thousands in OHIP medical care and lawsuits - and that's just the financial cost, not the emotional one.)
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KevinT
Active Member
So it takes a lengthy investigation to figure out if an idiot that almost got killed has learned from their mistake, but they know instantly that horns would have solved it? Sorry, still sounds knee-jerk to me...
crs1026
Superstar
I'm sure someone has done a safety systems/ human factors analysis of what makes drivers stop (or not) at level crossings. I can only offer a personal observation - the whistle of an approaching train greatly increases the probability of a driver stopping at a crossing even when there are lights bells and gates installed.
Applying the classic "swiss cheese" model of safety engineering - whistles are a fairly effective barrier to reduce probability of an event. They also have traditional legal and regulatory status, such that whistling is the norm and not whistling is the rare exception allowed only after considerable study and red tape. So yes, the safe and normal course of action after an incident is to double down on whistling.
The problem in this case is that a) the rail line has morphed from a sleepy branch line (pre 1980s) to a high frequency, heavy rail infrastructure and b) the surrounding urban area has become more dense and more prosperous and c) the track layout is particularly problemmatic - multiple crossings in a short area with a curve and poor sightlines. Whistling solves none of that and aggravates the human environment.
So I agree that the more effective solution is to grade separate. I suspect there will be considerable resistance to that idea, as it will be costly and the urban environment will be altered.
As to the operator deficiencies in this one incident, which are hinted at but not really established, I will observe that it's ridiculously easy to become a heavy equipment operator in this Province, And many heavy equipment operators have big gaps in their situational awareness while running big machines. But let's not "blame" or downgrade our concern for the life and safety of this operator.... again, I would apply Vision Zero thinking.....we want all cyclists and pedestrians to be safe, even where they do dumb things.
- Paul
generalcanada
Senior Member
to add onto what crs said.
Unlike with car accidents, We deeply investigate fully every accident that deals with trains and planes no matter how minor. From planes skidding off the runway to gate crossing arms not fully deploying.
Its a weird dichotomy but the process is quite lengthy.
lenaitch
Senior Member
The incident was safety-related at a location that is an exception to the standard, so until it has been completely investigated, they have reverted to the standard.
** A recent update of the article says the whistles stopped as of 0300 today **
I suspect that the design requirements needed for a grade separation, over or under, in a residential area, or closure wouldn't make the neighbourhood happy either. They just want the sound to stop. They want the situation to return to the status quo as they know it.
My knee jerk reaction would normally be 'you bought near a rail line' but traffic has evolved over the years. It used to be a sleepy branchline, and Unionville used to be a sleepy little town. Neither are true anymore and I suspect none or very, very few of the people in the area were there when both were true.
If there was ever a successful action in circumstances like this, in Canada, I'd like to hear it. It seems the nearby building is a retirement home, not a nursing home. I don't sleep well either. I'm a senior. Who to blame.
I noticed the article attached to the CBC article discusses the advocate's angst about another crossing that is completely rural.
It seems to some, life is just too annoying.