TTC: Major Operational Issues (Various)

[adys123]

And here we are in 2024 ,constructing the Ontario line to have sharp, curved corners from East Harbour to Moss Park.

-Hamilton LRT (Dundrun st.)
-GO Bowmanville Extension

Metrolinx loves to make sure our trains are as slow as possible while increasing maintenance costs.

The curves have been optimized, and no where on that line will curves be as sharp as on Line 1. Minimal impacts to speed are expected, as they will spend most of their time accelerating and decelerating between the stations. Lower speeds will minimize impacts to maintenance, the challenges on the existing infrastructure point more to neglect.

 

[turbanplanner]

A photo of a rail with absolutely no context as to its location is not much help at all.

Especially considering that there were some locations on the "mainline" where the rail very seldom got use, and therefore would have taken far longer than normal to become life expired.

Dan

I did mention on line 3, this was at midland station. I assumed all passenger visible tracks would have similar usage.

 

[J Bacon]

I find that the TTC is going about this wrong, they should set expectations instead of apologizing.

For example if it's going to take 3 months to fix a particular section, fine, I can accept that.
As long as they stick to it, no apology necessary.

Apologizing with no endgame is pointless.

 

[mrgrieves]

I find that the TTC is going about this wrong, they should set expectations instead of apologizing.

For example if it's going to take 3 months to fix a particular section, fine, I can accept that.
As long as they stick to it, no apology necessary.

Apologizing with no endgame is pointless.

unless there is overwhelming pressure, they won't set a date

 

[smallspy]

I did mention on line 3, this was at midland station. I assumed all passenger visible tracks would have similar usage.

But there was a location on Line 3 that got so little use that it never needed to see any work done to it the offloading platform at Midland. I believe that they only replaced the rails on the loop at Kennedy once - just prior to the construction of the crossover which eliminated it from daily use - for the same reason.

And the fact that it was on Line 3 only reinforces the points made earlier - smaller, lighter trains running less frequently, and that didn't use traditional traction motors. There would be rolling contact fatigue due to the stresses imparted by steel wheels rolling on the steel rails, but there would be very little wear caused by acceleration or deceleration forces of the wheels as the LIM provided most of those forces - not the wheels.

And no, not all main line tracks have equal usage. Curves wear out faster, as one wheel is travelling faster than the other, skipping over (and wearing) one of the rails. Plus, there is also flange contact on the inside face of the outside rail, which causes more wear. Stations and the areas immediately outside of them see high rates of wear due to the acceleration and deceleration of the trains, hundreds of times each day. Switches see all sorts of different forces on them, and wear out much faster than straight rail.

Dan

 

[max]

But there was a location on Line 3 that got so little use that it never needed to see any work done to it the offloading platform at Midland.

Given that Midland was a side platform station in the middle of line 3 and loading would have been done at both platforms, I wonder if you mean the line terminus at McCowan?

 

[smallspy]

Given that Midland was a side platform station in the middle of line 3 and loading would have been done at both platforms, I wonder if you mean the line terminus at McCowan?

That was a typo on my part - you are absolutely correct, McCowan's offloading (south) platform is the correct location.

Dan

 

[turbanplanner]

Anyone see more fluid on the tracks this morning?

 

[J Bacon]

unless there is overwhelming pressure, they won't set a date

I was hoping that doing things professionally wouldn't require pressure...

 

[Bordercollie]

I was hoping that doing things professionally wouldn't require pressure...

What was the point of the one day line one closure if they didn't fix anything?

 

[mr_content]

What was the point of the one day line one closure if they didn't fix anything?

I mean I just assumed based on the section that was closed (St. Clair–York Mills) it had to do with the work happening at Lawrence station, since there are other sections with more slow orders that need attention. But then last weekend's closure on the west side of Line 1 didn't alleviate any of the slow orders so who even knows at this point. Would be nice if they kept the public in the loop on this stuff (and maybe even gave us a timeline for when it'll be fixed!) but clearly that's a bridge too far.

 

[smallspy]

What was the point of the one day line one closure if they didn't fix anything?

You realize that the TTC has more than just rails or the track structure to fix or upgrade, right?

Dan

 

[J Bacon]

You realize that the TTC has more than just rails or the track structure to fix or upgrade, right?

Dan

Most stations in the system look like they've been disassembled for "work", for example how the ceiling cladding has been removed haphazardly in many stations but the brackets left in place.
If they are removing the strips permanently ok, but then take it all down, not half of the installation.

It gives the impression that they are working on all the stations at the same time with one or two work crews.

 

[Bordercollie]

Most stations in the system look like they've been disassembled for "work", for example how the ceiling cladding has been removed haphazardly in many stations but the brackets left in place.
If they are removing the strips permanently ok, but then take it all down, not half of the installation.

It gives the impression that they are working on all the stations at the same time with one or two work crews.

I understand that this is caused by multiple projects simultaneously going on at the same time. Also when an issue is discovered and they need to go back to consult with the TTC it takes time to come to a resolution.

Also timing for other projects might be another thing where you need to wait for crews to finish other projects to come back to the one where they removed the cladding.

 

[smallspy]

Most stations in the system look like they've been disassembled for "work", for example how the ceiling cladding has been removed haphazardly in many stations but the brackets left in place.
If they are removing the strips permanently ok, but then take it all down, not half of the installation.

It gives the impression that they are working on all the stations at the same time with one or two work crews.

Sure....but the station cladding or hangers (or lack thereof) aren't affecting the track structure or causing slow orders.

In the case of these long-term track closures for work, they are scheduled months to years in advance. If they have the ability, equipment and forces to work on other, more localized issues around the main culprits for the work, they will. But the reality is that in a lot of cases, they don't.

Dan