TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[W. K. Lis]

I don't think an escalator like that is approved for use in Canada so it's probably a legal issue rather than a budget one. Plus it would require extra staff and inconvenience a lot of people who would normally use the escalator.

Sounds like a familiar excuse. Canada tends to copy the U.S....

U.S. Finally Legalizes Modern, European-Style Train Cars​

From link. Dated November 23, 2018.

Rail fans, rejoice. Federal rules no longer bar U.S. passenger rail systems from using modern, lightweight train cars.

This week, the Federal Railroad Administration finalized new safety rules [PDF] that bring American standards more in line with those used in Europe — changes that will save American commuter rail operators money and passengers time. Under the new rules, old, heavy trains can now be replaced with lighter, sleeker, more-modern models.

Meeting the Federal Railroad Administration’s onerous and antiquated safety rules has been a big problem for passenger rail operators that use the Federal Railway System (commuter rail and inter-city rail, like Amtrak). The U.S. doesn’t have a very large domestic train car market, so importing train cars from Europe and Asia is often the cheapest and lowest-risk option.

But FRA rules had required significant design changes. Most important, American train cars had to be built to withstand 800,000 pounds of frontal impact. Former Amtrak CEO David Gunn complained U.S. trains had to be designed like “high-velocity bank vaults.” Rather than just bulk up, European and Asian trains instead are designed to absorb impacts and avoid collisions in the first place. And they have better safety records.

In the past, transit agencies and Amtrak had to order trains from European or Asian suppliers and then modify the cars to meet American standards — which often caused big problems. Philadelphia’s SEPTA system, for example, had to return 120 brand new rail cars thanks to an engineering defect in 2016.

The new rules will help minimize those problems.

“The modifications that will be necessary to adapt European designs will be very minimal,” said Sandy Johnston, a Boston-based transportation planner and writer of the blog Interant Urbanist. “Every time something has to be modified it introduces additional expense and complication.”

American trains will now be more energy efficient and cheaper thanks to the changes, added Johnson. They will also be more likely to have features that prevent overcrowding, like open gangways.

A small wonky group of urbanist writers and policy experts like Stephen Smith and Marc Scribner have called for the reforms since the early part of the decade. The regulation has been slowly making its way through the federal regulatory process since 2013, and received a final push during the waning days of the Obama Administration. Now it is official.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Sounds like a familiar excuse. Canada tends to copy the U.S....

I don't think it's an excuse at all. I think an escalator like that has a place but not in a crowded public transit system, it could work in a mall or in a hotel where there is less demand for an escalator. After watching the video it basically looks like the escalator has to be temporarily closed to people who might need to use it well it's stopped and the wheelchair accessible section is engaged before it's started again. I don't think it's practical for public transit.

 

[Richard White]

I don't think an escalator like that is approved for use in Canada so it's probably a legal issue rather than a budget one. Plus it would require extra staff and inconvenience a lot of people who would normally use the escalator.

It takes too much time to set up and operate. It's not practical in high volume areas and would likely piss alot of people off.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

It takes too much time to set up and operate. It's not practical in high volume areas and would likely piss alot of people off.

Yeah that's exactly what I thought after watching it. I think it would work fine in a hotel or something like the convention centre with low traffic using an escalator but not anywhere major. Plus I think there is a possibility of injury or death if someone roles backwards on it much in the same way the TTC backed off on adding lifts to the CLRVs.

 

[KevinT]

Plus I think there is a possibility of injury or death if someone roles backwards on it much in the same way the TTC backed off on adding lifts to the CLRVs.

It had backstops that engaged when it reconfigured.

 

[Richard White]

I watched a gentleman at Kennedy Station try to go DOWN the escalator from the RT to the Bus Bays in a wheelchair. This was a couple months ago.

Suffice to say it didn't end well and he was upturned at the bottom of the escalator.

I booked it down the stairs and shut down the escalator as soon as I saw it happen. It boggles the mind but people were still trying to go down on the escalator after watching the guy tumble.

I never figured out why he did it, be it mental health issues or if he thought he could make it.

I was more pissed at the collector. While TTC staff (escalator maintenance and janitors) were attending to the male in the wheelchair, I went to get the collector for assistance. When I got to the booth, he was chatting with an operator and ignored me.

When I informed him of the situation, he pawned me off and continued talking to the operator. I remimded him of the fact a disabled person in a wheelchair needed an ambulance after falling down an operating escalator. He didn't seem to care.

I regret not filing a complaint but suffice to say I was furious he cared more for talking to his coworkers than actually dealing with an emergency where someone could be seriously injured.

 

[Northern Light]

I watched a gentleman at Kennedy Station try to go DOWN the escalator from the RT to the Bus Bays in a wheelchair. This was a couple months ago.

Suffice to say it didn't end well and he was upturned at the bottom of the escalator.

I booked it down the stairs and shut down the escalator as soon as I saw it happen. It boggles the mind but people were still trying to go down on the escalator after watching the guy tumble.

I never figured out why he did it, be it mental health issues or if he thought he could make it.

I was more pissed at the collector. While TTC staff (escalator maintenance and janitors) were attending to the male in the wheelchair, I went to get the collector for assistance. When I got to the booth, he was chatting with an operator and ignored me.

When I informed him of the situation, he pawned me off and continued talking to the operator. I remimded him of the fact a disabled person in a wheelchair needed an ambulance after falling down an operating escalator. He didn't seem to care.

I regret not filing a complaint but suffice to say I was furious he cared more for talking to his coworkers than actually dealing with an emergency where someone could be seriously injured.

No reason you can't file the complaint now.
Ideally; it would be done in real time.

But they will have a record of the incident; and given the probability of legal issues around it, I'd imagine the camera footage has been retained.
Even if it goes nowhere, there is some utility in putting that on the record.

 

[W. K. Lis]

It takes too much time to set up and operate. It's not practical in high volume areas and would likely piss alot of people off.

Guess Japan does not have high volume on its transit networks. Must be ghost towns in Japan in public transit use.

 

[Voltz]

Guess Japan does not have high volume on its transit networks. Must be ghost towns in Japan in public transit use.

You really don't think there would not be idiot riders trying to wedge themselves around a wheelchair user on one of those things?

 

[11th]

Guess Japan does not have high volume on its transit networks. Must be ghost towns in Japan in public transit use.

Those two videos took place at what looks like airports. Without additional context, it's not known where those escalator connects to. I'd think passenger volume/pattern is also different from that of public transit system.

 

[DSC]

From the TTC CEO Report to the September 2021 Board

"Ontario Line Streetcar Diversions The construction of a subway inevitably requires some temporary restrictions on the road network, especially at the sites of future stations. The Province’s Ontario Line project team have determined that the construction of the Ontario Line Station platforms at Queen Station is a location where a full road closure will be required. To minimize the effects of this proposed road restriction on our important east-west Queen streetcar services, TTC and Metrolinx staff have worked collaboratively to identify the most effective option as being the restoration of streetcar tracks southbound on York Street and eastbound on Adelaide Street to reduce the effects of the station construction on TTC streetcar customers, and provide future network resiliency. The restoration of these tracks and overhead would be funded by Metrolinx. Detailed discussions are underway between TTC, City, and Metrolinx staff on the design and delivery of this streetcar infrastructure project, along with the coordination of this work with many other City infrastructure projects in the area. The Transit Expansion Office and City Divisions are discussing next steps with Metrolinx for City Council approval of the road restrictions on Queen Street."

No mention of the Adelaide tracks being re-activated WEST of York (to Charlotte/Spadina but let's hope the City & TTC will continue with their plans to do this section too - it's all tangent track so not too complicated.

 

[drum118]

Sept 10
Having a closer look at the photo for Russell yard and wrong on the post for a roof over the tracks. The new sound barrier wall rises where it is next to the house.

The columns have 3 plates that I see with a large number of holes in them to support the new OS for the yard as it gets rebuilt once Roncesvalles is back in full service and some 501 and 501 cars can be move there. It looks like the new OS will be higher than the current system.

 

[Allandale25]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1441123354740604930

 

[drum118]

TTC and Teck Resources Limited to launch antimicrobial copper project

Sept. 27, 2021

The TTC, in partnership with Teck Resources Limited (Teck), will be installing antimicrobial copper coatings on high-touch surfaces on select TTC vehicles. This is part of a pilot project to test the efficacy and durability of copper in killing bacteria and viruses in high-traffic settings.

 

[Richard White]

This thing still exists??