Millennium Line - Evergreen Extension | Completed

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by officedweller

More significantly, they can't put a station in at Cameron unless they build a level section of guideway for it.

********

For the switches, this Canada Line pic shows that switches can be installed on what looks like the regular segmental guideway -
so there may be no difference in the appearance of the columns below. If there is a siding then it would need a wider double guideway and the columns would be bigger (like near Art Knapps on Lougheed Hwy.) - but there's no indication of that.

That maybe okay for the occassional switching but for Evergreen, I would imagine a much more rigirous system must be in place. I just can imagine the sheer wear and tear the switching process have to endure, it would even be far more frequent than the switching near Columbia (since Expo is more frequent than Millenium).

But what do I know...maybe it wouldn't require a special guideway. Though I was thinking something that looked like the wider segment between Braid and Lougheed Station (where a trainset is usually present just standing there).

[madog222]

Photos from today, taken by me.

[queetz@home]

Nice! Thanks for the photos madog222!

[officedweller]

Great shots!

I think the switches will be typical switches.
i.e. the ones within the station itself - which will have the same wear and tear - are typical.

[officedweller]

TBM pics at The Now:

http://www.thenownews.com/photos-videos/evergreen-tunnel-boring-machine-almost-complete-1.813657

[TransitFreak]

You might be also able to tell where the switches will be placed based on the 'pads' that the segment will sit on top of the column cap. If the Millenium and Canada Line are any indication, these 'pads' will be recessed compared to the other pads. The reason is that the segments are fabricated without parapet walls (that house the power rail normally), and have rebar exposed to allow pouring of additional concrete layer for the switch work, essentially being a thicker layer compared to regular segment guideways. Switches don't necessarily have to be on a flat section, just straight - example would be in between Gilmore and Brentwood Town Centre, the switch is on an incline, but on a straightaway section.

[red-paladin]

I would have thought there would be an X crossover with optional switches to avoid it, so that trains would normally just go through the X ?

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by red-paladin

I would have thought there would be an X crossover with optional switches to avoid it, so that trains would normally just go through the X ?

Most modern subway / lrt / streetcar / tram / skytrain systems try to avoid diamond 'X' crossovers, because of the excess noise they generate as the wheels go over the rail gaps.

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

Most modern subway / lrt / streetcar / tram / skytrain systems try to avoid diamond 'X' crossovers, because of the excess noise they generate as the wheels go over the rail gaps.

Won't the noise be unavoidable in this case even without the "X" crossover? The constant switching whenever trains in both directions pass ensure there is always rail gaps anyway. As far as I know, the Evergreen Line will be the only system that "wrong-rail" on an extremely frequent basis....unless there are other examples elsewhere that has a similar setup.

[Xerx]

Hong Kong's Ma On Shan Line goes on the right side whilst the rest of the system goes on the left.

[queetz@home]

Originally Posted by Xerx

Hong Kong's Ma On Shan Line goes on the right side whilst the rest of the system goes on the left.

Does it need to adjust to a specific station all the time or is it always wrong railed?

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by madog222

Photos from today, taken by me.

Just wanted to be +1 to say that your photos were excellent.

I also need to get to the area soon - before the line is complete! Work seems to be progressing so fast that I am getting worried I will miss it.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

Won't the noise be unavoidable in this case even without the "X" crossover? The constant switching whenever trains in both directions pass ensure there is always rail gaps anyway.

Skytrain switches use moveable point frogs to eliminate the gaps at the crossover. But noise will still come from the curves that the trains have to negotiate as they go through the switches. The steerable trucks get rid of a lot of the noise, but they don't eliminate it altogether.

[officedweller]

Apparently it is also cheaper to install two sets of regular switches instead of an "X" crossing. The switches installed at Lougheed in anticipation of the Evergreen Line were originally supposed to be an "X" crossing, but they installed 2 sets of regular switches and saved money.

++++

Aside:
Came across this 2003 article on the M-Line.
www.bytownrailwaysociety.ca/branchline/files/2003/2003-01.pdf‎

[deasine]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

Does it need to adjust to a specific station all the time or is it always wrong railed?

The entire line is although this will probably be changed in the future when the line is extended to meet up with the West Rail, reducing the number of transfer passengers at Shatin.

[officedweller]

From News1130:


http://www.news1130.com/2014/02/13/drive...struction/comment-page-2/#comment-164489

Drivers unnerved by Evergreen Line track construction

Giant concrete slabs dangling over traffic, but project office says it’s perfectly safe.

Treena Wood
February 13, 2014 8:58 am

COQUITLAM (NEWS1130) – Imagine stopping at a light, looking up, and seeing a gigantic piece of concrete dangling a few metres above your car.

That’s the situation along the Burnaby-Coquitlam border as the track is built for the Evergreen Line.

Some drivers at the intersection of Como Lake Avenue and Clarke Road have been so unnerved, they have stopped well before the light to avoid being under the track segments.

Scott Roberts with the Evergreen Line says it’s the world standard for track construction and while it may look daunting, it’s perfectly safe.

“No vehicles are allowed to travel under it when the concrete sections of the guideway are being lifted upward. But once they are secured to the four high-strength steel hanging bars, it is perfectly safe for vehicles to travel underneath.”

Roberts acknowledges that it does look “interesting,” but says he’s driven under the guideway three times over the last day. “It’s standard practice that’s been used around the world, and the exact same procedure has been used on the Canada and Millenium Lines.”

The slabs weigh between 23 and 36 tonnes; once all the segments are up and in place, there will be tensioning cables that run within the guideway segments that pull them tightly together. There are also teeth within each segment that snap together to stop them from shifting against each other. The whole thing is epoxyed to form one continuous piece of guideway.

The track construction started at Como Lake and Clarke, where the line will tunnel into Burnaby Mountain. It will now continue south along Clarke and North Roads to the Lougheed SkyTrain station.

Sometime this summer, the track-building equipment will be taken apart and reassembled at Coquitlam Central station, and guideway construction will begin up Pinetree Way.

http://www.news1130.com/2014/02/13/drive...struction/comment-page-2/#comment-164489

[queetz@home]

If that is from today...yep, they are sure taking their sweet time. I just got a notice that the Clarke Road segments will take up to three weeks, so I think end of March is when they will start building at the Burquitlam Plaza columns, just before the station...

[nname]

That was from earlier.

As of today, the segment is already completed. I think the gantry cranes already moved forward to the section above Clarke road. But I was on the other side of a packed bus so can't really see clearly.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Apparently it is also cheaper to install two sets of regular switches instead of an "X" crossing. The switches installed at Lougheed in anticipation of the Evergreen Line were originally supposed to be an "X" crossing, but they installed 2 sets of regular switches and saved money.

++++

Aside:
Came across this 2003 article on the M-Line.
www.bytownrailwaysociety.ca/branchline/files/2003/2003-01.pdf‎

not sure why, but the link ends with .pdf%E2%80%8E
Trim off everything after .PDF and press [enter] to get the file instead of the 'page not found' error.

[Jebby]

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