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1233 Queen East | ?m | 8s

I find the new subway cars take a lot more time to open their doors. Once the train arrives at the station and stops, there is a wait of about 15 seconds for the doors to open. This may not be much, but it does add up and slow the progress of the train over the whole line.

I find now that when I have to wait for the new subway cars to arrive, there is a 4 - 5 minute gap between it and the previous subway train. On the Yonge line during rush hours and midday, this large gap causes a large number of passengers to build up waiting for the train. Thus, every train I have taken with the new subway cars are very full.
 
I believe the gap is more pronounced outside of rush hour. During rush hour there are a high volume of trains and people, so it might no be as apparent with the busyness.

As for the wait, i admit fifteen seconds is a bit exaggerated but i think its close enough to the delay of opening and closing the doors. That operation seems to take longer with the new trains.
 
I believe the gap is more pronounced outside of rush hour. During rush hour there are a high volume of trains and people, so it might no be as apparent with the busyness

It is entirely possible that since the train can hold more people the TTC is purposefully running them slightly further apart to maintain the same overall line capacity (fewer trains, slightly lower operating cost, same capacity). This measure may have saved a bus route cancellation. It is certainly something that is done on Queen and King when mixed streetcars are used.

That said, 4 to 5 minute frequencies outside of rush-hour is exactly what is scheduled for the Yonge line. So, having "a 4 - 5 minute gap between it and the previous subway train" is pretty much perfect.
 
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It is entirely possible that since the train can hold more people the TTC is purposefully running them slightly further apart to maintain the same overall line capacity (fewer trains, slightly lower operating cost, same capacity). This measure may have saved a bus route cancellation. It is certainly something that is done on Queen and King when mixed streetcars are used.

That said, 4 to 5 minute frequencies outside of rush-hour is exactly what is scheduled for the Yonge line. So, having "a 4 - 5 minute gap between it and the previous subway train" is pretty much perfect.

I doubt that they have the capability to know every day what runs are TRs and thus purposefully space them out a bit farther. I have seen midday gaps of 6-7 minutes with a T-1 or H-5 following the gap, and then the following train is close behind. I think the gaps are mostly random, caused by whatever events that have been causing longer gaps for the past 57 years. Most of the time the midday headway is in the normal 4-5 minute range.

I can see that the theoretical capacity is higher than the older cars with more space for standees, but there was also a loss of space for about 6-7 people at each end with the full-width cabs. People tend to stick close to the stanchions in the joint sections between cars, and those sections are noticeably narrower than the full body width. I have not seen more than 4 people standing in the joint sections, and this has been at rush hour. On crush-loaded trains I'm sure many more can fit, but there isn't much to hold on to if you are standing in the middle of the joint section, so people avoid that space unless things get really crowded.

I've also now heard the first brake squeal from one of the TR trains. Let's hope it doesn't turn into T-1 brake squeal.
 
During rush-hour I notice a headway gap, before the TR (new subways) enter the station. And yes, that means a buildup of passengers and an extremely packed train, when I do catch it.
 
I was on a crush-load TR a month or so back, and I'm not sure if it was a result of line delays, but it was at about 5pm on a weekday heading NB on the Yonge line. It seemed more jammed than your typical T1, but that was purely a non-scientific observation. People were using the gangways between the cars but some seemed clearly a bit skeptical of using them.
 
It a TR is packed, and has a higher capacity than a T1, then it would also have longer dwell times in some stations, such as Bloor. If there are more people getting off (and on) the train, and the TR doors are no bigger than the T1s, then it will take longer.
 
^ And the dwell times are slightly longer due to a 2-4 second delay opening the door at each station and the doors don't seem to close at the same rate of speed as the older equipment either.
 
I have yet to ride the damned thing. Anyone have any tips on when / where is the best chance to catch one? I'm that desperate to ride it.
 
saw 3 TRs today, still didn't get a chance to ride one though...aie...
 
Thinking of riding one either this week or next week.

Are they more comfortable than say the T1 and H5 cars?
I wonder if the riding experience will be the same as the ones that I rode in Guangzhou two weeks back (Ones on Guangzhou Line 2 are pretty much the same design [Movia]).
 
I find that the TR runs up Yonge from Union at around 5:07pm. The train is at crush capacity and is quite a bit slower going north than the older trains. The doors usually have to cycle 2-3 times in order to close properly. Since they are slower, it really adds to the trip.

There is also less areas for people to hold onto. Overall I rather take any train but the TR. It is a more unpleasant ride during rush hour.
 

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