The Great Canadian Transit Thread - Page 74

Chadillaccc · #**1461** Posted **Apr 17, 2012, 7:38 AM**

Wow the new stations of the Ottawa LRT look amazing!

Check it out here: http://www.ottawalightrail.ca/en/routes-stations

1331Massi · #**1462** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 12:48 AM**

The AMT has just crossed the last line for me. I go to De la Concorde to get some Zone 3 train tickets. The only machine able to dispense these is broken. I then go inside and the people at the booth tell me to go to Montmorency. I do exactly that. There, the two machines don't even have the option of train tickets. The counter closes at 8:00 and I showed up half an hour late. The help line is also closed.

I want one fare and one system I am fed up of this bullshit. Practically the same thing happens when you try to use the Metro in Laval. It's a gigantic pain in the ass and I have decided tomorrow will be the last time I take the train.

It's gotten to the point that public transit is almost discouraged. We, as citizens, must denounce this asininity and stop tolerating our poor service. The AMT better do something fast or their numbers will continue to decline. I'm fed up with this government.

Rico Rommheim · #**1463** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 1:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1331Massi

The AMT has just crossed the last line for me. I go to De la Concorde to get some Zone 3 train tickets. The only machine able to dispense these is broken. I then go inside and the people at the booth tell me to go to Montmorency. I do exactly that. There, the two machines don't even have the option of train tickets. The counter closes at 8:00 and I showed up half an hour late. The help line is also closed.

I want one fare and one system I am fed up of this bullshit. Practically the same thing happens when you try to use the Metro in Laval. It's a gigantic pain in the ass and I have decided tomorrow will be the last time I take the train.

It's gotten to the point that public transit is almost discouraged. We, as citizens, must denounce this asininity and stop tolerating our poor service. The AMT better do something fast or their numbers will continue to decline. I'm fed up with this government.

It is retarded. May I suggest that you send them an angry, but respectful letter.

vid · #**1464** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 1:32 AM**

Give them a stern letter expressing disapproval. That always works for the UN!

Innsertnamehere · #**1465** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 1:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Wow the new stations of the Ottawa LRT look amazing!

Check it out here: http://www.ottawalightrail.ca/en/routes-stations

ottawa's LRT is truly amazing. now THAT is how transit is done. not subways no nowhere, nor large stop spacing streetcars with ROWS.

I really woundn't mind transit city if they widened the stop spacing to 800m... still not ottawa's level of true LRT, but it would actually make it somewhat rapid.

1331Massi · #**1466** Posted **Apr 19, 2012, 10:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

It is retarded. May I suggest that you send them an angry, but respectful letter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vid

Give them a stern letter expressing disapproval. That always works for the UN!

I feel better now, ranting at the shitty excuse of a commuter train service we have. Now if only the green line transferred with the blue line at Canora. Canora is literally on the other side of the street from where the green line passes.

We all know that premier Charest's mailbox is rigged to a garbage can. No, scratch that, an incinerator.

MTLskyline · #**1467** Posted **May 4, 2012, 2:59 AM**

Quote:

Airport considers elevated train shuttle

By Andy Riga,
Gazette Transportation Reporter
May 3, 2012 10:39 PM

MONTREAL - Montreal’s airport authority is going back to the drawing board on its long-discussed train shuttle between Trudeau Airport and downtown.

Its latest proposal: an elevated light-rapid transit system running along Highway 20 and the Ville Marie Expressway, perhaps arriving downtown in a new dedicated station, Aéroports de Montréal chief executive James Cherry said Thursday.

But the project is at a very preliminary stage, only a fraction of the required funding is in place and it’s unclear when or if it will be built.

The train would be modelled after Vancouver’s Canada Line, an automated driverless system that connects downtown to Vancouver International Airport and the city of Richmond. It opened in 2009. Cost: $2 billion.

[...]

[email protected]

twitter.com/andyriga
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazett

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Airp...shuttle/6563014/story.html#ixzz1trmuPXKI

Rico Rommheim · #**1468** Posted **May 4, 2012, 3:46 AM**

Wow I see ADM has been reading my posts in this thread and on this forum! It's a fantastic idea, it's an embarrassment this hadn't been done. Think of all the cool infrastructure projects cities get when hosting major international events. Montreal had the biggest expo fair of its day and a summer Olympics and nobody ever bothered building a line then. Do it now, because we sure as shit ain't getting another Olympics!

armorand93 · #**1469** Posted **May 4, 2012, 6:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

Wow I see ADM has been reading my posts in this thread and on this forum! It's a fantastic idea, it's an embarrassment this hadn't been done. Think of all the cool infrastructure projects cities get when hosting major international events. Montreal had the biggest expo fair in its day and a dummerbolympic and nobody ever bothered building a line then. Do it now!

Turn the Olympic Stadium into the Montreal Airport terminus. Make use of that stupid dome

1331Massi · #**1470** Posted **May 8, 2012, 8:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

Wow I see ADM has been reading my posts in this thread and on this forum! It's a fantastic idea, it's an embarrassment this hadn't been done. Think of all the cool infrastructure projects cities get when hosting major international events. Montreal had the biggest expo fair of its day and a summer Olympics and nobody ever bothered building a line then. Do it now, because we sure as shit ain't getting another Olympics!

WAIT!!! I saw a little $2 billion in that text. It seems that this is another project that will be over-budget...

Not getting another Olympics? Drapeau turned over in his grave again.

MTLskyline · #**1471** Posted **May 11, 2012, 1:30 PM**

This is good news. Another article said that they would also get rid of the St. Lambert stop, which is more inconvenient for me, personally. But I prefer to take 20 min to head to Central Station and save a two hour border wait.

For those unaware, Montreal-New York City takes 11 hours by train for 613 km (381 miles). Saving 2 hours through pre-border security screening makes an enormous amount of sense.

Now if only they could speed up the rest of the trip somehow. Montreal-Toronto is 539km (335 miles) by train and they are able to do it in 5 hours.

Quote:

Agreements would end Amtrak Adirondack customs delays at border

May 10, 2012 at 12:21 pm by Eric Anderson
Albany Times-Union

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced this morning that a new customs and immigration facility at Montreal would allow for prescreening of U.S.-bound passengers on Amtrak’s Adirondack services, eliminating delays at the border that sometimes could stretch to two hours. An agreement that would give U.S. customs and immigration agents authority still needs to be worked out, but the screening facility itself and plans to eliminate the border stop are already in place, a spokesman said.

The agreement with Canadian authorities essentially would turn the screening facility into a piece of U.S. territory for southbound train departures, and Canadian territory for northbound arrivals.

For passengers, it would mean a smoother trip in both directions.

“This is another step forward in our quest to optimize border fluidity,” said Garry Douglas, president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh. “Senator Schumer and our other Washington partners, Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Owens, have championed this cause in Washington while we have worked with our Quebec and Montreal partners in Ottawa, and it appears a breakthrough is at hand.”

Similar arrangements are in place in other countries. At the St. Pancras station in London, for example, the platform area with its French customs and immigration officials is regarded as French territory. United Kingdom customs and immigration officials in the past have boarded the London-bound trains in Paris to process passsengers.

Quebec and New York officials have viewed the Adirondack line as a critical link between Montreal, the Capital Region and New York City. There was no word on how quickly the screening center would be completed, the agreements between U.S. and Canadian border agencies would be reached, and processing of passengers in Montreal would begin.

http://blog.timesunion.com/business/agre...irondack-customs-delays-at-border/53709/

1331Massi · #**1472** Posted **May 18, 2012, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

This is good news. Another article said that they would also get rid of the St. Lambert stop, which is more inconvenient for me, personally. But I prefer to take 20 min to head to Central Station and save a two hour border wait.

For those unaware, Montreal-New York City takes 11 hours by train for 613 km (381 miles). Saving 2 hours through pre-border security screening makes an enormous amount of sense.

Now if only they could speed up the rest of the trip somehow. Montreal-Toronto is 539km (335 miles) by train and they are able to do it in 5 hours.

http://blog.timesunion.com/business/agre...irondack-customs-delays-at-border/53709/

This train is a pain in the ass to take. It is not pleasant at all...

The Gibbroni · #**1473** Posted **May 18, 2012, 6:19 AM**

Daimler shuts down Mississauga’s Orion bus plant after government belt-tightening

Nova and New Flyer will benefit from this.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1167811--daimler-shuts-down-mississauga-s-orion-bus-plant

A Mississauga bus plant which began its life in the 1970s as the centerpiece of a provincial government strategy to bolster Ontario’s manufacturing industry was shut down Wednesday, throwing up to 390 people out of work as German automotive giant Daimler announced it was pulling out of the transit bus business in North America.

Daimler blamed slumping demand for transit buses from regional and municipal governments across the continent for the closing of Orion Bus Industries, which caught the Canadian Auto Workers union off guard as it came just a few weeks after the two sides had signed a contract extension.

“This was a really difficult decision,” said Daimler spokeswoman Silke Walters. Last year, just 463 Orion buses were sold across the continent, down from 734 in 2010, according to Walters.

And with governments across the continent in deficit-fighting mode, the company saw no clear road back to strong sales.

[...]

artvandelay · #**1474** Posted **May 18, 2012, 7:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gibbroni

Daimler shuts down Mississauga’s Orion bus plant after government belt-tightening

Nova and New Flyer will benefit from this.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1167811--daimler-shuts-down-mississauga-s-orion-bus-plant

A Mississauga bus plant which began its life in the 1970s as the centerpiece of a provincial government strategy to bolster Ontario’s manufacturing industry was shut down Wednesday, throwing up to 390 people out of work as German automotive giant Daimler announced it was pulling out of the transit bus business in North America.

Daimler blamed slumping demand for transit buses from regional and municipal governments across the continent for the closing of Orion Bus Industries, which caught the Canadian Auto Workers union off guard as it came just a few weeks after the two sides had signed a contract extension.

“This was a really difficult decision,” said Daimler spokeswoman Silke Walters. Last year, just 463 Orion buses were sold across the continent, down from 734 in 2010, according to Walters.

And with governments across the continent in deficit-fighting mode, the company saw no clear road back to strong sales.

[...]

Must be the oilsands' fault!

The Gibbroni · #**1475** Posted **May 18, 2012, 7:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by artvandelay

Must be the oilsands' fault!

That, or they built shitty buses!

caltrane74 · #**1476** Posted **May 28, 2012, 4:38 PM**

Some of the Union Station Reno has been completed.

http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/05/amon...s-union-station-sees-its-first-reopening

The Mall Underneath the existing station is still another 3 years away. Also adding another 500,000 persons per day capacity to the station.

Some photos of the reno completed thus far

From Craig White

Symz · #**1477** Posted **May 28, 2012, 5:15 PM**

We took the train from Windsor to Montreal about 5 years ago. We had a 1 hr layover in Toronto. Having been in the station in Toronto and the station in Montreal I can't remember which one it was (I think Toronto) but sitting in the station it was loud as all hell. I think it was Union Station.

Anyways, if my memory is right and it was Union station, I'd have to say the Montreal station was much nicer in that respect.

Wharn · #**1478** Posted **May 29, 2012, 9:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gibbroni

That, or they built shitty buses!

They did; I can actually attest to this. The Orion buses in Toronto have proven to be pretty unreliable (I see one broken down on my commute at least twice per week, and overheard a few TTC operator conversations), and they are full of loose-fitting parts. They shake quite audibly over even minor bumps. Meanwhile, London's New Flyer buses feel much more solid. They're quieter more comfortable, and from what I've heard they've been good to the city on the maintenance front.

...something's wrong... I'm agreeing with you.

The Gibbroni · #**1479** Posted **May 29, 2012, 9:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wharn

They did; I can actually attest to this. The Orion buses in Toronto have proven to be pretty unreliable (I see one broken down on my commute at least twice per week, and overheard a few TTC operator conversations), and they are full of loose-fitting parts. They shake quite audibly over even minor bumps. Meanwhile, London's New Flyer buses feel much more solid. They're quieter more comfortable, and from what I've heard they've been good to the city on the maintenance front.

...something's wrong... I'm agreeing with you.

I took a few LTC buses last time I was in London and I was impressed. The New Flyers were solid and comfortable and I liked the schedule panels at D+R. The only problem arose when I stayed at a friends place in Outer Byronia. The nearest bus stop was a 25 minute walk, service was infrequent and the last one left downtown around midnight or so. (30$ cab rides!!)

bulliver · #**1480** Posted **May 30, 2012, 2:43 AM**

Streetcars No. 32-46 were built in 1912 by the St.Louis Car. Co. in Missouri, USA. Most cars in this group were converted to single-end operation in 1930-31, but car No. 33 was only converted late in the 1930s. Some streetcars of this batch remained in regular revenue service until cessation of streetcar service in September 1951, when they were stripped of their trucks and electric components and the bodies sold for use as cottages or farm barns.

No. 33 was recovered by our museum in an extremely decrepit state. It basically had to be rebuilt from scratch, a huge job which took 17 years, more than 35,000 volunteer hours and investments of $151,000. This streetcar has been restored to original 1912 condition as a two man double ended car in the original red & green livery. Once again, the trucks were built in our own workshops. The car was launched on July 1, 2010 at Fort Edmonton Park, where it was operating for the rest of the season. In 2011, No. 33 was moved to the High Level Bridge Line and is bringing our city's transport history alive downtown.

- Edmonton Radial Railway Society