The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[feepa]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I have to wonder if it's really feasible. I can see something like this being viable in Calgary, which has an extremely concentrated and dominant central employment hub, paired with limited and expensive parking. But does Edmonton really have the same special conditions? I mean, that looks like a very ambitious plan, and it is not a very large metro area.

Although Edmonton doesn't have the downtown office density Calgary does, (~80,000 versus ~200,000) we have large concentrated pockets of office and post secondary schools that will all be connected to LRT with this plan.

University of Alberta main campus, University of Alberta Health Sciences and Hopsital
University of Alberta South Campus
University of Alberta Downtown Campus are all connected already

Grant Macewan Univeristy downtown campus and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) will be connected with the NAIT LRT line, which will also connect to the Royal Alexander Hospital.

The 3 UofA campus and GMU and NAIT probably have a student population of 100,000 - 120,000 people, plus education teachers and staff etc.

This plan also connects West Edmonton Mall with downtown. West Edmonton Mall has about 10,000 employees, many of them are typical transit riders due to low income.

[240glt]

LOL, I love living in Canada's best kept secret, but sometimes the ignorance can be infuriating!

[Coldrsx]

^no kidding... or misconceptions for that matter.

Now back to fixing up my F-150 dually quad cab and alberta vodka.

[PoscStudent]

Metrobus workers vote to strike

Employees of the public transportation system in the St. John's area voted Wednesday in favour of a strike that would effectively cancel the Metrobus service.

Some members of the Amalgamated Transit Union assembled Wednesday night to vote on whether to give their union a strike mandate. Others had voted earlier in the day. The union confirmed late in the evening that 97 per cent of its members who voted rejected the company proposal.

The rejection came after talks between Metrobus Transit and the ATU reached an impasse. Metrobus, largely funded by the City of St. John's, has been coping with a budget squeeze.

"We're not in agreement with what they're asking for," union official Paul Churchill told CBC News before the vote was held.

The ATU represents bus drivers, mechanics and other staff, and a strike would cancel Metrobus service on the northeast Avalon Peninsula and affect thousands of customers, particularly students.

Users of the Metrobus system were "definitely sitting on pins and needles until … we get that news," said Joshua Jamieson, who relies on the service to get to work. Jamieson told CBC News he vividly recalls being a student in 2004 when Metrobus employees staged a two-week strike. Jamieson said the strike caused enormous problems for students living beyond walking distance from their classes.

Terms of the Metrobus offer have not been disclosed.

Union members told CBC News earlier that if a strike mandate was endorsed, buses would finish their routes Wednesday night and then be parked at the depot.

Metrobus warned Tuesday that it expected a strike to start Thursday morning if its workers voted in favour of a stoppage.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-la...robus-strike-vote-113.html#ixzz14H1VeCMb

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by feepa

Although Edmonton doesn't have the downtown office density Calgary does, (~80,000 versus ~200,000) we have large concentrated pockets of office and post secondary schools that will all be connected to LRT with this plan.

University of Alberta main campus, University of Alberta Health Sciences and Hopsital
University of Alberta South Campus
University of Alberta Downtown Campus are all connected already

Grant Macewan Univeristy downtown campus and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) will be connected with the NAIT LRT line, which will also connect to the Royal Alexander Hospital.

The 3 UofA campus and GMU and NAIT probably have a student population of 100,000 - 120,000 people, plus education teachers and staff etc.

This plan also connects West Edmonton Mall with downtown. West Edmonton Mall has about 10,000 employees, many of them are typical transit riders due to low income.

Edmonton's LRT priorities are different than most other cities of its size. While it doesn't have the downtown prowess of Calgary, it is more spread out and LRT seemed to have been an afterthought for many years. I for one love the concept of WEM being connected to the LRT. It should've been done when the mall was first built.

The only issue I have with Edmonton's LRT priority is that the is nothing currently servicing the airport. There's no transit connector either. That's part of the issue with having your international airport 12 KM south of the city limits sign.

[feepa]

There is transit going to the airport now and ets is looking at putting mor scheduled transit out there. I believe council votes on this matter in November. How far south is yvr from Vancouver city limits? We need a regional transit authority here might make big difference

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by feepa

There is transit going to the airport now and ets is looking at putting mor scheduled transit out there. I believe council votes on this matter in November. How far south is yvr from Vancouver city limits? We need a regional transit authority here might make big difference

Less than 1 KM from city limits. Its a ways from downtown though.

[SpongeG]

2 killed by Edmonton LRT train ID'd

Jamie Kootenay and Delia Papastesis had been dating for 2 years

Family members and former classmates have identified the two teens struck and killed by an LRT train south of the Coliseum station Tuesday night as Jamie Kootenay and Delia Papastesis, both 19.

They were hit by the train just after 8 p.m., with witnesses saying the two appeared to be fighting just before the incident.

"I saw her [Papastesis] yesterday. I saw both of them yesterday. She was so happy. I just couldn't believe that this is happening," her sister Janice Randhile said between sobs. "It's just not fair. She's just too young."

Randhile joined friends and family to lay bouquets of flowers beside the track where her sister died. Another sister, Jennifer Lake, saw Papastesis hours before the tragedy.

"She was walking her little dog," Lake told CBC News while visiting the scene Wednesday. "She looked so happy. I never stopped to say hello but I didn't think that was going to be the last time I'd see her again.

"She's a really kind-hearted girl. She had a lot of love for everybody. I'm sure going to miss her though."

"I think she was just at the wrong place or the wrong time. "

Both Papastesis and Kootenay were former students at Amiskwaciy Academy, a school for aboriginal students near the City Centre Airport, said an Edmonton Public School Board official.

...

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/11/10/edmonton-lrt-deaths.html#ixzz14vbmLEP2

Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2010/12/c3705.html

GO Transit is expanding train service to Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Acton

TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2010 /CNW/ - GO Transit will be expanding rail service on the Georgetown line to Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Acton, with service scheduled to begin by the end of 2011.

"We are pleased to be offering GO train service to Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Acton," said GO Transit President Gary McNeil. "In partnership with the Province of Ontario and these regional municipalities, we can encourage existing commuters to leave their cars behind and use transit. This is also good news for existing Georgetown and Brampton customers who will have improved service as a result of this expansion."

To begin offering train service by the end of next year, GO will be constructing new infrastructure - a storage facility in Kitchener and ticketing service at new stations in Acton, Guelph and Kitchener, as well as bringing an additional 54 new route-kilometres into to the system. This infrastructure will support two morning and two evening trains.

"This $18 million investment in expanded transit will ensure that the residents of Guelph, Acton, Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas have more transit options when they travel between these communities or into the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)," said Metrolinx President and CEO Bruce McCuaig. "We appreciate the continued support from the Province of Ontario to deliver Metrolinx's important mandate to provide transit solutions."

An Environmental Assessment (EA) for the expansion of train service from Georgetown to Kitchener-Waterloo was completed in 2009 and approved by the Minister of the Environment in January 2010.


GO Transit is the Province of Ontario's regional public transit service linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the GTHA. GO carries over 55 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that spans over 10,000 square kilometres. GO Transit is a division of Metrolinx, the regional transportation authority for the GTHA.

[PoscStudent]

We have had no transit in St. John's for over a week.

[vid]

You didn't really have much transit before that, though.

Thunder Bay avoided a strike at the last minute. The deal was actually reached 6 hours after the deadline and many people didn't show up for work that day because they assumed the strike would have happened. That was a month ago though. Things are fine now.

[caltrane74]

Here is the new train for the rail link



Or at least one the govt and metrolink are looking at. Jumping on the California order for theese cars from Sumitomo..

http://www.watchsonomacounty.com/2010/09/transportation/is-this-the-new-smart-car/


Toronto Star story about the piggyback buy the Govt / Metrolinx have in mind

http://www.thestar.com/news/transportati...oks-at-buying-japanese-for-air-rail-link

[caltrane74]

The Line may be electrified.. The cost has gone down.



http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/11/15/16156986.html

The Metrolinx estimated cost for scrapping diesel on its GO train commuter lines is going down but how far down — and from what number — is still not known.

“The cost of electrification is going down,” Karen Pitre, project director for Metrolinx’s electrification study said Monday. “We’ve stripped out the incremental costs.”

Under pressure from community groups concerned about pollution from expanded rail service along the Georgetown Corridor, which cuts through west Toronto, Metrolinx initiated the electrification study in January.

Pitre said it’s almost done and all the numbers, including costs, will be going to the Metrolinx board, likely in January.

A progress report, including details on the electric locomotives deemed the most cost-effective rolling stock and six options for which rail lines could be switched over to electric power will go before the board Tuesday.

Those six options will be compared against what is operating now — an entirely diesel rail system.

Pitre also said there are no plans to try and electrify the proposed Union Station to Pearson Airport rail link Metrolinx is now in charge of building because it would not be cost-effective to have just that line on electric and it couldn’t be completed before the Pan Am Games in 2015.

Metrolinx is now looking at buying Japanese-made diesel locomotives for the air-rail link.

“Our elected officials should make their decisions based on the long-term best interest of Torontonians rather than on a two-week sporting event,” Clean Train Coalition spokesman Keith Brookes said in a news release.

[Simpseatles]

Originally Posted by Cambridgite

Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2010/12/c3705.html

GO Transit is expanding train service to Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Acton

TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2010 /CNW/ - GO Transit will be expanding rail service on the Georgetown line to Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Acton, with service scheduled to begin by the end of 2011.

"We are pleased to be offering GO train service to Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Acton," said GO Transit President Gary McNeil. "In partnership with the Province of Ontario and these regional municipalities, we can encourage existing commuters to leave their cars behind and use transit. This is also good news for existing Georgetown and Brampton customers who will have improved service as a result of this expansion."

To begin offering train service by the end of next year, GO will be constructing new infrastructure - a storage facility in Kitchener and ticketing service at new stations in Acton, Guelph and Kitchener, as well as bringing an additional 54 new route-kilometres into to the system. This infrastructure will support two morning and two evening trains.

"This $18 million investment in expanded transit will ensure that the residents of Guelph, Acton, Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas have more transit options when they travel between these communities or into the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)," said Metrolinx President and CEO Bruce McCuaig. "We appreciate the continued support from the Province of Ontario to deliver Metrolinx's important mandate to provide transit solutions."

An Environmental Assessment (EA) for the expansion of train service from Georgetown to Kitchener-Waterloo was completed in 2009 and approved by the Minister of the Environment in January 2010.


GO Transit is the Province of Ontario's regional public transit service linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the GTHA. GO carries over 55 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that spans over 10,000 square kilometres. GO Transit is a division of Metrolinx, the regional transportation authority for the GTHA.

^Go Transit: Turning Ontario into one giant Toronto Commuter Belt since 1967!

But seriously that's great news for Kitchener-Waterloo, I just find it hard to believe how big the GTHA is considered to be. Might as well start calling it the Greater Toronto, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo Area.

Originally Posted by Simpseatles

^Go Transit: Turning Ontario into one giant Toronto Commuter Belt since 1967!

But seriously that's great news for Kitchener-Waterloo, I just find it hard to believe how big the GTHA is considered to be. Might as well start calling it the Greater Toronto, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo Area.

Not that it'll make much difference. With the lack of electrification west of Georgetown and the huge number of stops, you're looking at a 1hr 48min train ride from Kitchener to Union Station. Kind of a useless service in terms of getting people out of their cars.

And it's only two runs each rush hour, so you're missing a huge part of the market, which is Jays games/concerts at ACC/etc, and students going back home on weekends.

If there was express service throughout the week or high-speed rail, that would be a different story.

[caltrane74]

rome wasnt built in a day......... gotta start somewhere. The electrification of the rail is coming down the line, and it is becoming more cost effective to build in relation to diesel.

Once the lines are modernized the travel times will be reduced.

[caltrane74]

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informe...s-light-rail-is-best-for-toronto-report/





Turns out that David Miller’s baby may not be as ugly as some were beginning to think. A new report says that Transit City is the best option for Toronto. If the report is trying to take Rob Ford’s mind off of subways, though, it faces some challenges. The authors of the report are environmentalists, activists and organized labour groups—not exactly the mayor-elect’s favourite people.

According to the report, light rail transit offers the best solution not only from an environmental standpoint, but also from a monetary one.

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informe...s-light-rail-is-best-for-toronto-report/





Turns out that David Miller’s baby may not be as ugly as some were beginning to think. A new report says that Transit City is the best option for Toronto. If the report is trying to take Rob Ford’s mind off of subways, though, it faces some challenges. The authors of the report are environmentalists, activists and organized labour groups—not exactly the mayor-elect’s favourite people.

According to the report, light rail transit offers the best solution not only from an environmental standpoint, but also from a monetary one.

It's like I've been saying on UT for months.. duuuuhhhhhhhhh!

[Nouvellecosse]

Please settle this for me once and for all. Will the transit city light rail be true rapid transit stopping only for passengers or will it have to stop /slow for traffic lights and/or traffic?

[caltrane74]

Only the eglinton line will be built underground for 12km. Everything else is in traffic.