GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[steveintoronto]

Great comments. Swearing helps, but it doesn't get change. Observations like these should.

extensive signage that is actually legible

PA that is actually audible above the roaring diesel locomotives.

I want to reinforce that point.

But any kind of terrorist activity is the last thing this city needs.

Integrate it all properly, too. Keep the trains and station/platforms automatically in sync.

PA first: If there was an emergency...we'd all be fugged! Seriously, like locking that 29 bus with passengers inside with the bomb scare a few months back on (407?)(403?)...it speaks volumes to the nit-brain terrorists that Toronto is an easy target, why the OPP even orders the bus locked! It's a terrorist freakin' dream! What the hell are they thinking? Ditto GO. And the TTC while we're at it. Late trips are one thing, *the complete lack of communications* are another! How did it get this far? Seriously, who the hell is at the 'controls'?

And you've all hit the nail on the head, all of you, the comments align from every vector expressed.

Something that is now obvious is that there *isn't* some sophisticated software organizing much of this, and there should be...*with manual over-ride* if need be. Software is always buggy. And I shouldn't have to add, but as Delta Airlines absurdly makes clear: with a back-up system. Duh!

Have the software that assigns trains to platforms also *automatically* visually, audibly and by Wi-Fi, inform passengers at the same time the assignment is made. Just like automatic train control, a human operator is only involved as a stand-by/backup. This is done in many *modern* cities. The fact that Presto has been so buggy does not instill confidence though.

If GO has had visits from the security experts, they have dick all to show for it. Half the buses have faulty PA systems, you can hear the speaker connections rattle in and out, not to mention the awful quality of Class D amplifiers, but that's my prejudice showing...I'm a tech.

Let's see what excuses are proffered, and why this is all so beyond them...

Edit to Add: MD writes: [Science fiction? Maybe not in ten or fifteen years] I bet you it is extant already! I'll dig on that. What you describe is simple algorithms. Some fully automated subway systems already do that, so must some heavy rail systems, the Swedes, Germans or Japanese optimize at that endeavour.

I'll dig, and see what's out there, post later.

 

[mdrejhon]

Edit to Add: MD writes: [Science fiction? Maybe not in ten or fifteen years] I bet you it is extant already! I'll dig on that. What you describe is simple algorithms. Some fully automated subway systems already do that, so must some heavy rail systems, the Swedes, Germans or Japanese optimize at that endeavour.

It definitely is extant on this planet. But at GO/Metrolinx?

Specific elements do already.

But it's not well-integrated.

Just not as an all-in-one system integration at GO/Metrolinx where a single "Attempt Reassignment Of Active Train" activation where it automatically checks staffing, fueling, CTC, operations, contention, cascaded delays, updating of cab displays, etc. Automatic detection of what train route is currently at which platforms, perhaps. It's now far more integrated than it was than 100 years ago, but not nearly as integrated as it should be...

The USRC is not being dispatched by a Metrolinx/GO operations center -- at least not yet, as far as I know.

Plus, while some of the videoboards are integrated and update with new info all at once, they don't seem integrated with the cabs' systems (e.g. dispatch screen in a cab). There's no video signs above *every* *platform* *access*. What's already done at platform 25-26-27 needs to be replicated at all doors, all over Union.

Heck, with a proper onscreen design, you can even replace the platform numerals above the doors (Teamways & York Concourse) with TVs instead -- the TV would be the platform number display (huge font), followed by train name (large font) underneath, followed by a second column displaying details (which stops it stops at, in a second column, in smaller font).

 

[steveintoronto]

It definitely is extant on this planet. But at GO/Metrolinx?

Specific elements do already.

But it's not well-integrated.

Excellent reply MD. Let's keep on this string, even if it is a bit off the topic surmise, it touches all of the others' comments.

Here's the basis for my prior comments on 'security threats', the azz-backward police response, and the total lack of ability to communicate the situation to passengers. As if this wasn't bad enough, imagine this happening on a train. I'd be one of the first to start kicking out the windows to get women and children out first, and God help anyone trying to stop me, and the majority of others who'd do the same.

What the hell are they thinking?

A 28-year-old Hamilton man has been charged with mischief after allegedly telling a passenger on a GO Transit bus that he was carrying a bomb, forcing the closure of Highway 407 for several hours Saturday.

It happened around 9 a.m. ET on a bus travelling between Derry Road and Brittania Road in Milton, Ont.

A passenger first approached the driver after the man allegedly began swearing and telling others that he had an explosive, said GO Transit spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins.

Ontario Provincial Police say they put the bus on lockdown sometime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. after the driver called 911.

Tactical teams, canine and explosive disposal units, and members of the OPP, Peel police and Halton police were all involved.

Officers evacuated the more than a dozen passengers while they began negotiating with the suspect using a cellphone.

Police allowed the approximately 17 passengers to clear the bus before they boarded and arrested the suspect, Aikins said. No one was injured, police say.
[...]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/go-bus-bomb-threat-1.3630838

Here's the TorStar's copy:

[...]
Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the man was visibly agitated, and the bus driver immediately called police.

Ontario Provincial Police officers advised the driver to lock the doors of the bus and keep everyone inside until they could arrive.[...]

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/06/11/man-in-custody-after-bomb-threat-on-go-bus.html

But note, from the first linked article above:
["I don't know if I would call it a hostage situation," Aikins said. "I don't have the full details on whether he was telling people they couldn't leave."]

GO appears to not have a clue on a lot of things of late, not the least as to who was holding their passengers "hostage".

The OPP obviously have no idea of how to deal with this. WTF? How deep does this thinking go in Ontario government organizations?

We're all being held hostage to some degree or other, and that doesn't seem to bother those 'in charge'.

Edit to Add:
LIRR handles this very differently:

Train Evacuated in East Hampton Due to Bomb Threat

By Taylor K. Vecsey | July 3, 2016 - 8:27am

Passengers were taken off a train at the East Hampton train station Sunday morning after a bomb threat was made to Metropolitan Transportation Authority police. Durell Godfrey
Update, 10:06 a.m.: A bomb-sniffing dog found nothing suspicious on the Long Island Rail Road train that was evacuated at the East Hampton train station Sunday morning, according to East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen. The train was released just before 10 a.m., and the roads around it were reopened.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority police are investigating the threat that was called in, the chief said. The M.T.A. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Original, 8:29 a.m.: Police are investigating a bomb threat on a westbound train that was evacuated at the East Hampton train station Sunday morning.

The East Hampton Village Police Department was notified by Metropolitan Transportation Authority police at 7:50 a.m. after they received a call about a bomb on the train. The passengers were taken off, and Railroad Avenue has been closed. The M.T.A. police are on the way to East Hampton to search the train with a bomb-sniffing dog. The agency has reported there is no train service east of Speonk until further notice.

Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen said no other information was available.

According to the Long Island Rail Road, the train left Montauk at 7:04 a.m. and was due to arrive at the Jamaica, Queens, station at 9:58 a.m.

The East Hampton Fire Department is standing by at the firehouse.

Officer Jennifer Dunn directs foot traffic away from the train, which was evacuated at the East Hampton train station Sunday morning. Durell Godfrey

Volunteer firefighters stood by at fire headquarters while a bomb-sniffing dog checked a train stopped in East Hampton. Michael Heller

Buses were sent to pick up passengers after the train was evacuated. Durell Godfrey

The stopped train blocked Newtown Lane, causing traffic to be rerouted. Railroad Avenue was also closed.Durell Godfrey
About the Author
Taylor K. Vecsey
Digital Products Editor / Contributing writer
Taylor K. Vecsey returned to The East Hampton Star in 2014. She was the founding editor of East Hampton Patch news site and also ran Southampton Patch. A Water Mill resident, Ms. Vecsey is a member of the Bridgehampton Fire Department, where she volunteers as an emergency medical technician.

desk: 631.324.0002 ext. 120/mobile: 631.702.3199

tkv@ehstar.com
Twitter: @TaylorVecsey

http://easthamptonstar.com/News/2016703/Train-Evacuated-East-Hampton-Due-Bomb-Threat

 

[mdrejhon]

I've now posted a new video board concept in this thread:
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/thread...of-toronto-zeidler.4308/page-224#post-1140623

Preview thumbnail of one of the images from that thread:

 

[nfitz]

It's in the metal-walled section of the south wall of the Skywalk, directly over York St. There's a decorative canopy with the GO logo over it, but the door matches the surrounding wall very closely, and is surprisingly-hard to see.

Walked past today.

Good grief, that's subtle. And what's with these dark green platform signs with such small numbers? And so high. Nothing on the door itself.

Isn't Platform 3 the Accessible platform to get to bus terminal? Clearly this door isn't designed for wheelchairs, and the next one over has stairs. I'm a little mystified at how one is supposed to get from the bus terminal to the UPX platform with a wheelchair or heavy luggage.

 

[Megaton327]

Walked past today.

Good grief, that's subtle. And what's with these dark green platform signs with such small numbers? And so high. Nothing on the door itself.

Isn't Platform 3 the Accessible platform to get to bus terminal? Clearly this door isn't designed for wheelchairs, and the next one over has stairs. I'm a little mystified at how one is supposed to get from the bus terminal to the UPX platform with a wheelchair or heavy luggage.

Wow, those platform 3 signs are actually brand new--used to be just that silver metal GO logo on top.

Platform 3 is the accessible platform for connecting between the bus terminal and the york concourse (bay as well, in the future). It is not the accessible connection to the UPX platform. The accessible route from the bus terminal to UPX is elevator up to platform 3, travel to the york concourse elevator, take it down, go over to the elevator up to the great hall, take it up, and move through the great hall to UPX. I agree that it's not optimal when some barrier reduction and an automatic mechanism would make this route accessible, but it's not like this is the designated UPX accessible route and it's not actually accessible.

With heavy luggage or many disabilities, a manual door is not a huge impediment and this remains an excellent route from the bus terminal to UPX.

 

[steveintoronto]

Here's a map/diagram, over a year old but seems to be current:
http://www.gotransit.com/unionstation/en/customer/York_Concourse_Customer_Handout-2015-04-24.pdf

There seem to be a few other ways around the station that I wasn't aware of.

 

[Allandale25]

Some kind of service announcement is coming tomorrow. Via twitter:

Patrick Searle @Patrick4ONT
Thursday: @StevenDelDuca has back-to-back events in #MiltonON and #Mississauga to announce GO Transit improvements.

I would assume it's for the Milton Corridor. Looking at the Steve Munro chart here with the blog article here (based off of information from Metrolinx), there were only two new trains scheduled for 2015-2016. Has that already happened? There's no new service projected between 2016-17 and beyond. Maybe CP Rail allowed for more service.

 

[steveintoronto]

Some kind of service announcement is coming tomorrow. Via twitter:



I would assume it's for the Milton Corridor. Looking at the Steve Munro chart here with the blog article here (based off of information from Metrolinx), there were only two new trains scheduled for 2015-2016. Has that already happened? There's no new service projected between 2016-17 and beyond. Maybe CP Rail allowed for more service.

It might be to do with this: (and perhaps an extra run being added to it)

CAMBRIDGE – GO Transit will soon be beefing up its service to Cambridge, adding 60 bus trips each week.

This morning (April 29) Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca and MPP Kathryn McGarry, deputy transport minister, announced the expansion of service to the Ainslie Street terminal.

“This is great news for commuters in Cambridge,” said McGarry.

Starting this fall, GO users can hop on the bus in the Galt core instead of making their way to the Pinebush Road power centre. GO Transit will be adding four trips on weekday mornings from Cambridge to the Milton GO station and four trips from Milton to Cambridge in the afternoon during peak periods.

There will also be two early afternoon and two late evening homebound trips from Milton.

Currently GO Transit service to Cambridge is limited to buses making a quick stop at the power centre on a run from Kitchener to Mississauga.

Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig has been pushing for more than a decade to bring GO train service to Cambridge. He has always maintained that in order to build his case for the trains, GO first needs to provide better bus service to the city.

“This is more than I had hoped for,” Craig told the Times. “We have been pushing to establish service to the Ainslie Street station for years and this shows they’re really listening.”

Craig and Del Duca both credited McGarry for her work to expand GO service to Cambridge.

“She has been a relentless advocate for Cambridge and Waterloo Region,” Del Duca said of McGarry’s efforts on the file.

Craig said he was impressed not only with the decision to bring GO bus service to Galt, but by the frequency of the runs to be established this fall.

“It’s going to make it a lot easier for commuters to get to and it will only bring more people into the downtown,” he said.

As for when Cambridge might see a GO train pull into town, Del Duca said, “we’re working on it.”

The minister went on to say negotiations are ongoing with both CN and CP to clear the way for the implementation of commuter passenger service here.

Those negotiations will “unlock the true potential of GO,” Del Duca said.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news-s...ing-to-cambridge-service-to-expand-this-fall/

 

[drum118]

Most likely adding another train at peak time with a hope there is agreement to finish building the 3rd track that was supposed to be completed in 2011 and is partly built.

With that 3rd track in place, GO could start offering 7 days service hourly.

 

[Allandale25]

Most likely adding another train at peak time with a hope there is agreement to finish building the 3rd track that was supposed to be completed in 2011 and is partly built.

With that 3rd track in place, GO could start offering 7 days service hourly.

I know the Milton third track keeps being mentioned. Just curious: was it ever officially announced or mentioned in any public GO documents or on its website? I'd assume they would have taken down any reference given the delay. Or was it mors politically driven and referenced?

 

[drum118]

I know the Milton third track keeps being mentioned. Just curious: was it ever officially announced or mentioned in any public GO documents or on its website? I'd assume they would have taken down any reference given the delay. Or was it mors politically driven and referenced?

It was in the early 2000's that the announcement was made by then GO Transit.

The Mavis Rd grade separation was part the agreement with Mississauga.

The 3rd track exist south of hwy 403 that service Erindale Station to just west of Confederation Dr where that bridge will support a 3rd track. Just east of 427 to the west side of the Humber River is a section of 3rd track used by CP to store cars.

Most of the existing corridor will support 3-4 tracks other than between Dixie Rd and Dundas St that will hold 3. A 3rd track bridge was build at Cawthra Rd in the late 2000's.

I know over the years that the issue of this incomplete 3rd track has been raise numerous times at council, with the issue being CP causing the problem. Someways sounds like a funding issue that CP wasn't prepare to pickup. I have only seen GO used the 3rd track at Kipling twice and less than a dozen times for Erindale since they been built in the mid 2000's.

 

[ShonTron]

Now that Del Duca had his mandatory photo-op, the Milton corridor service changes are up. We have to wait until the slaphead does another photo-op in Kitchener before that schedule change is released.

One additional Milton corridor train - an early morning departure from Milton and early evening departure from Union - and four buses each way on new Route 24 between Milton GO Station and Cambridge Ainslie Street terminal, connecting with trains there.

http://www.gotransit.com/Public/en/updates/schedulechanges.aspx

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Now that Del Duca had his mandatory photo-op, the Milton corridor service changes are up. We have to wait until the slaphead does another photo-op in Kitchener before that schedule change is released.

One additional Milton corridor train - an early morning departure from Milton and early evening departure from Union - and four buses each way on new Route 24 between Milton GO Station and Cambridge Ainslie Street terminal, connecting with trains there.

http://www.gotransit.com/Public/en/updates/schedulechanges.aspx

Adding a train and a few buses now requires a photo-op from a minister? I guess Del Luca will be showing up when trains start showing up and arriving on time next. It's pathetic.

Think of all that could be done with the labour that arranging a ministerial photo op entails.

AoD

 

[crs1026]

Adding a train and a few buses now requires a photo-op from a minister?
AoD

That's why they only add one train to the schedule per year. It keeps the demand for rose petals and trumpeteers within the Ministerial budget.

Fiscal restraint, ya know.

- Paul