[OT] Public Transit

[Duncan MacGregor]

On Wednesday 27 October 2010 15:57:09 you wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 1:51 PM, Lennart Sorensen
> 
> <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> > On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 01:41:24PM -0400, Evan Leibovitch 
wrote:
> >> Toronto has always had bits of brilliant transit planning squished
> >> between large mounds of mediocrity.
> >> 
> >> Brilliance: Building capacity for trains under the Bloor Viaduct 
ages
> >> before the trains were designed.
> > 
> > That one was absolutely briliant.
> 
> Well, almost. As you can read in the following history of the
> Bloor-Danforth line the Bloor Viaduct was built with an underground
> streetcar line in mind:
> 
> -  transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5104.shtml
> 
> The provisioning for a streetcar line under the Bloor Viaduct helped a
> LOT, but the TTC did have to deal with sharp turns just west of the
> viaduct (turns that would not have been an issue for a streetcar to
> manage, but were for a subway)...
> 
> >> Mediocrity: Putting the northwest line in the ditch made by the 
Spadina
> >> Expressway cock-up.

Even more mediocrity. The Spadina expressway, etc., etc.,  was 
justification for creating a 401 Interchange for Cadillac Fairview's 
Yorkdale shopping centre, as requested of the Province   by CF.





> >> Brilliance: maintaining streetcars in the face of political pressure 
and
> >> a continental shift away from them
> > 
> > Well some of them.  Of course one way streets have broken some 
of the
> > existing streetcar lines they used to have.
> 
> A bit of the history of the current CLRV (Canadian Light Rail
> Vehicle), and how Toronto streets have a Swiss designed street car:
> 
> - transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4503.shtml
> 
> Going forward, the next generation of TTC streetcars will be based off
> the Bombardier FLEXITY streetcars:

Actually, a modern LRV looks more like a train than a streetcar. It has 
five to seven doors,  and five to seven units, low floors, and an isolated 
motorman.

> www.bombardier.com/en/transportation/products-services/rail-
vehicles/light
> -rail-vehicles?docID=0901260d8000a536
> 
> So, the TTC is going for a more-or-less off the shelf design. If you
> look at the various cities you will see that some cities have tweaked
> the design one way or another, I kind of like the ship style motif
> FLEXITY streetcars that were done for Marseille, France:

There is no such thing as off-the-shelf design.  a modern LRV is a 
combination of  standard parts. Even GM does not have an off-the shelf 
automobile. (That's why they sell more than one model.)  LRV  width, 
power supply, and track gauge, cars-per-train are    all parts to be 
selected.

> 
www.bombardier.com/files/en/supporting_docs/image_and_media/products/BT-
FL
> EXITY_Outlook_Marseille.jpg
> 
> >> Mediocrity: The Scarborough LRT
> 
> The TTC wanted to run streetcars where the Scarborough LRT runs (a
> technology the TTC was/is comfortable with), but due to political
> pressure they went with the current system, details to be seen here:

The TTC wanted an extension of the current system, and the Province 
wanted a showpiece. Funny how the SRT is so noisy, when it is powered  
by linear motors, that could be silent. every rattle and bang on that 
equipment is a testament to sloppy design.

> - transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5107.shtml
> 
> What I think will go down as Brilliance: Design of the Sheppard line.
> The trains that run on the Yonge-University-Spadina and the
> Bloor-Danforth line are all 6 train cars long. On the Sheppard line
> trains are 4 cars long (not enough demand at present to justify 
longer
> trains). But if you pay attention to each of the stations on the
> Sheppard line, you will see they have made it easy to convert 
stations
> to 6 car operation (knock down a piece of wall and do some tile
> work...).

The Eglinton LRT is to have a tunnel that could  accommodate a 
subway.

> >> Brilliance: GO Transit, easily one of the best suburban commuter 
rail
> >> systems on the continent
> > 
> > It is absolutely awful.  

-- snip --

North Toronto station still has five tracks. Summerhill Subway station 
was built so as to allow for an entrance at the *south* end of the 
platform directly to North Toronto Station. 
The Province's 2020 plans include making the east-west CPR line into a 
GO Line. 

Dunc MacGregor 
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