GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[nfitz]

The doors automatically cycle through closing when a block is detected, 3 attempts each one with more force than the last to try and move debris from the door tracks, operator is completely unrelated. If it wasn’t like this half the trains would be delayed in the winter because salt got stuck in the door tracks.

Surely there's a switch to stop the cycling.

And surely they shouldn't have a sole opportunity for closing the door without having to spend 5 minutes to reset everything.

It sounds like it's their design issue. But I'm sure it's more convenient for them to blame their clients.

 

[ack]

The person could have well been a tourist from a place where train doors are as forgiving as elevator doors and trains don't leave a minute before the published schedule.

 

[T3G]

Where in the world are train doors as forgiving as elevator doors? This is a completely foreign concept to me.

 

[crs1026]

Where in the world are train doors as forgiving as elevator doors? This is a completely foreign concept to me.

I have seen people try to halt train doors across the pond - apart from the doors being much less user friendly, the act of blocking the door attracts a pretty official response from station staff and security personnell.

And yes, I watched someone have a meltdown on the platform when they were ten seconds too late to board. No sympathy shown.

GO train doors sound a chime before they close. The reality is, people continuously trickle onto the platform and there is often no point in the operator waiting in hopes that there will be a pause in the flow. When the chimes sound, you are too late. Sorry for your luck.

- Paul

 

[ack]

Where in the world are train doors as forgiving as elevator doors? This is a completely foreign concept to me.

Doors on regional trains in Germany, Austria and Switzerland usually reopen with the slightest obstruction and cycle with no apparent limit (I've seen up to 8x). In practice after a few cycles the crew barks out an admonishment over the PA and people step back. Some long-distance equipment, such as WESTbahn's KISS, also has doors like this.

 

[Willybru21]

Surely there's a switch to stop the cycling.

There is not.

For the rest of the messages I’m going to refer you to Paul’s message from above, if they play nice to people and reopen the door every time there’s someone else running to the train, no GO trains would depart anywhere on time.

Service is being expanded to the point that missing a train will be no big deal but we aren’t there yet, until then people need to learn that if they miss it they miss it, same applies for a subway, plane, ferry, spaceship; any other mode of transport.

 

[drum118]

There is not.

For the rest of the messages I’m going to refer you to Paul’s message from above, if they play nice to people and reopen the door every time there’s someone else running to the train, no GO trains would depart anywhere on time.

Service is being expanded to the point that missing a train will be no big deal but we aren’t there yet, until then people need to learn that if they miss it they miss it, same applies for a subway, plane, ferry, spaceship; any other mode of transport.

Assuming trains run all day than only at peak time. Missing the last peak train is the rider fault as well any train if they drive by car. In some cases it caused by the local transit that maybe held up by traffic.

I you don't leave home at the right time that allows for delays in your travels to the station, you are to be blame for missing your train. When trains used to run hourly, I was on the platform 10-15 minutes before the train arrive, In a few cases where meetings have run longer than plan, I had a greater chance of missing the train as well the bus to the station and it forced me to wait tell the next train which was a pain, but dealt with it.

 

[nfitz]

There is not.

For the rest of the messages I’m going to refer you to Paul’s message from above, if they play nice to people and reopen the door every time there’s someone else running to the train, no GO trains would depart anywhere on time.

To a point. I've seen completely empty platforms where they've closed the door with a single person on the platform madly running. And then you look at your clock, and see they are 15-seconds early. And one station out from Union, so about to have an 8-minute lay-over.

At other points, they are trying to close the doors with a crowd of people still trying to enter. I can tell you, if half my kids are still on the platform, or already in the train, I am going to hold those doors. (the failure here is to run enough trains).

The trick I've seen a couple of times recently, is them announcing "please move down the platform to an empty door", and about 3 seconds later the door chimes start, and you hear "the doors are now closing". And you wonder what the person who just got tricked, and is now standing on the platform for 30 to 60 minutes - as no one had time to run to a different door, let alone walk safely.

It's kind of like the subway stations, where the chime starts as soon as the door is open, while there's still 3 or 4 people trying to get off. You are told not to charge the doors and let people off.

Subway trains are frequently more packed, and don't seem to suffer the same frequency of door problems in service. Presumably there are design changes they can make that can make the door closing procedure a bit more robust and failsafe.

Hopefully the next generation of cars have more doors, similar to a subway car.

 

[Willybru21]

frequency of door problems in service.

Except there isn’t a frequency in these problems on GO, this is one of the first times I’ve ever seen or heard this happening, and it happened to cascade to a larger issue because it was a Aurora-bound Barrie Line train.

Issues with people holding doors past their limit is not a common problem on GO, and it rarely escalates to an issue like yesterday.

 

[nfitz]

Except there isn’t a frequency in these problems on GO, this is one of the first times I’ve ever seen or heard this happening, and it happened to cascade to a larger issue because it was a Aurora-bound Barrie Line train.

Issues with people holding doors past their limit is not a common problem on GO, and it rarely escalates to an issue like yesterday.

I've seen it before on Lakeshore.

On one occasion last year, the train was beyond crush-loaded - I suspect the problem wasn't so much that people were holding the door, but that people in the train weren't far enough away from the door. Ultimately they couldn't get the door to close, and then locked everyone in the train for about 31 minutes past the departure time. Which meant everyone missed the following train.

I don't know what the rest of them did, as they'd surely grossly overwhelm the next train - 30 minutes away - I jumped on TTC.

Perhaps Aurora trains aren't as overloaded off-peak.

 

[Willybru21]

I've seen it before on Lakeshore.

On one occasion last year, the train was beyond crush-loaded - I suspect the problem wasn't so much that people were holding the door, but that people in the train weren't far enough away from the door. Ultimately they couldn't get the door to close, and then locked everyone in the train for about 31 minutes past the departure time. Which meant everyone missed the following train.

I don't know what the rest of them did, as they'd surely grossly overwhelm the next train - 30 minutes away - I jumped on TTC.

Perhaps Aurora trains aren't as overloaded off-peak.

This wasn’t a peak train either, it was a weekend train that just happened to be the first departure after a Blue Jays game

 

[nfitz]

This wasn’t a peak train either, it was a weekend train that just happened to be the first departure after a Blue Jays game

Was it overloaded?

 

[Willybru21]

Was it overloaded?

It was busy, not in the coach I was in however, because people don’t go to the 1st coach behind the engine as they’re coming from the Rogers Centre.

In my personal opinion and I think the only thing that GO could’ve preemptively done to help something like that from happening is longer consist lengths on the Barrie Line, I think by this point most trips need to be 10 cars long, the one I was on yesterday was 6 cars long.

The CNE is coming up and it’s a very important few weeks for GO, I hope trains are extended by that point. Another big period of time coming up that should require longer trains is the Taylor Swift concerts this November, Metrolinx has already put a work blackout period during those days and as such has delayed important Stouffville line work.

 

[Willybru21]

Changes coming to Lakeshore West service on August 16th until September 2nd, here’s something I made to show what’s changing:

 

[MovingBlock]

Where in the world are train doors as forgiving as elevator doors? This is a completely foreign concept to me.

All of Germany, Austria, (including the Desiros that operate to Bratislava and Sopron), Switzerland (though not on every vehicle), and Toronto’s streetcars. Putting your hand in the door while it is closing will reopen it automatically (they have the same object detection systems as elevators).