The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Are there any plans at all for rapid transit in Quebec City? Looks like Winnipeg has committed to BRT and Hamilton to street-running LRT

Last I heard, QC is looking at a tram system. I concur with Innsertnamehere, we likely won't see anyone else join the club for a long, long time.

QC plan from 2010;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq7ToLcuyz0

[Chadillaccc]

Our year over year increase in transit ridership is incredible for a city our size. The 201 and 203 subways can't come quickly enough!

Q4 2012
C-train - 285 000/ weekday
Bus - 263 000/ weekday
Total - 548 000
http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2012-q4-ridership-APTA.pdf


Q4 2013
C-train - 298 000/ weekday (+13 000)
Bus - 275 000/ weekday (+12 000)
Total - 573 000 (+25 000)
http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/2013-q4-ridership-APTA.pdf

Originally Posted by Aylmer

In order of the date of admission

Subway Club: Toronto, Montréal, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Congratulations Calgary! One step closer to joining the Subway Club!!

We've had a line open for over a year now which includes 2 subway sections with one station each (Westbrook and 69 street). If Ottawa's 2 km subway with 3 stations not opening for 3 or so years counts, so should ours

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Last I heard, QC is looking at a tram system. I concur with Innsertnamehere, we likely won't see anyone else join the club for a long, long time.

QC plan from 2010;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq7ToLcuyz0

I don't mean to start anything, but why is Quebec City's system being called a tram while Hamilton's is LRT when they're both essentially the same?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

We've had a line open for over a year now which includes 2 subway sections with one station each (Westbrook and 69 street). If Ottawa's 2 km subway with 3 stations counts, so should ours

2.5 kilometer subway! The O-Train also has a short tunnel section under Dow's Lake and we have one operating underground bus station, though those two wouldn't count.

I know about Westbrook station, but where is the other underground section? EDIT: nevermind, you answered while I was writing this up.

[GreaterMontréal]

In Montréal, the LRT on Champlain in 2018-2020 . 30 000pph

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I don't mean to start anything, but why is Quebec City's system being called a tram while Hamilton's is LRT when they're both essentially the same?

Because Tram is more in line with Bill 101 than Light Rail Transit and Train Léger just sounds dumb.

[bikegypsy]

The Walk Score releases its canadian city transit rankings. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Ottawa have the top 5 spots:

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/03/vancouver-best-canadian-transit-2014/

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Because Tram is more in line with Bill 101 than Light Rail Transit and Train Léger just sounds dumb.

Hahahah good call! I was wondering more about Hamilton though. It's just a streetcar with lots of space in between stops.

I'm starting to think grade separation will be out of fashion for a long, long while

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

2.5 kilometer subway! The O-Train also has a short tunnel section under Dow's Lake and we have one operating underground bus station, though those two wouldn't count.

I know about Westbrook station, but where is the other underground section? EDIT: nevermind, you answered while I was writing this up.

The Ctrain has many undergound sections, a few on each line. The one with the station is the tunnel leading to the terminus of the West Line, 69 Street Station. I guess it's only partially underground. The station is directly connected to a tunnel, and the station itself is mostly under a major intersection. However, there are open parts.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by bikegypsy

The Walk Score releases its canadian city transit rankings. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Ottawa have the top 5 spots:

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/03/vancouver-best-canadian-transit-2014/

Proof that rapid transit isn't everything!

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by bikegypsy

The Walk Score releases its canadian city transit rankings. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Ottawa have the top 5 spots:

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/03/vancouver-best-canadian-transit-2014/

Hamilton being just behind Calgary seems questionable. (Unless maybe Hamilton's winning on some non-transit front?)

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I don't mean to start anything, but why is Quebec City's system being called a tram while Hamilton's is LRT when they're both essentially the same?

Hamilton wants to feel important and Toronto says it's getting LRT so Hamilton wants to be that cool too.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

The Ctrain has many undergound sections, a few on each line. The one with the station is the tunnel leading to the terminus of the West Line, 69 Street Station. I guess it's only partially underground. The station is directly connected to a tunnel, and the station itself is mostly under a major intersection. However, there are open parts.

That's the contrast--the underground C-Train sections, while underground, aren't really subway-like... shallow, short, not continuous etc, whereas the Confederation Line tunnel, while technically only a portion of the overall line is a long stretch of continuous underground with several stations that is deep, bored specifically as a subway tunnel...

It's like the Confederation Line's planned western extension--it includes two relatively long underground sections (one next to Skead Street & one under Richmond Road) but they're the same sort of deal as the C-Train trench.

In any case this debate is largely nitpicky--underground is not really that relevant--I mean an above-ground grade-separated line is not that different from an underground one.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

In Montréal, the LRT on Champlain in 2018-2020 . 30 000pph

haven't heard of that one. I tried Googling, but nothing came up. Is it part of the new Champlain bridge project? Have a website?

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Hahahah good call! I was wondering more about Hamilton though. It's just a streetcar with lots of space in between stops.

I'm starting to think grade separation will be out of fashion for a long, long while

Nowadays, the line between streetcar and lrt seems very thin.

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

The Ctrain has many undergound sections, a few on each line. The one with the station is the tunnel leading to the terminus of the West Line, 69 Street Station. I guess it's only partially underground. The station is directly connected to a tunnel, and the station itself is mostly under a major intersection. However, there are open parts.

For the first time, I followed the whole C-Train system on Google maps. It's actually very impressive. You guys have a few fairly long tunnels, long enough that it takes a while to figure out where the trains resurface. You even have a tunnel than stretches about 4 blocks south of downtown.

I still don't count any of these as true "subways". A subway needs a subway station. Sure, there's Westbrook, but it's the lone underground station placed in a suburban area.

Somewhat related question, do they have a proper TOD plan for Westbrook? It seems it would have been a good spot for a mid-rise, mixed-use development.

[GreaterMontréal]

haven't heard of that one. I tried Googling, but nothing came up. Is it part of the new Champlain bridge project? Have a website?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-opts-for-lrt-for-new-champlain-bridge-1.1346001

''"During the three hours of rush hour in the morning 22,000 people use the bus system. With the LRT, 100,000 will be able to use the LRT instead of buses,"''

''He said even with an LRT system there would continue to be bus service on the bridge.''

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

For the first time, I followed the whole C-Train system on Google maps. It's actually very impressive. You guys have a few fairly long tunnels, long enough that it takes a while to figure out where the trains resurface. You even have a tunnel than stretches about 4 blocks south of downtown.

I still don't count any of these as true "subways". A subway needs a subway station. Sure, there's Westbrook, but it's the lone underground station placed in a suburban area.

Somewhat related question, do they have a proper TOD plan for Westbrook? It seems it would have been a good spot for a mid-rise, mixed-use development.

It's still a section of subway with a station, doesn't matter if it's downtown We already joined the club. I'm sorta glad the city sacrificed the downtown subway decades ago, or else we wouldn't have this insanely massive system we have today, with 2 planned subway lines for the next 10 years. There has been a lot posted on the Canada section about the Westbrook TOD over the years. It already includes the tallest building in the city outside of downtown (100 meters) and several other towers. Not to mention a bunch of pre existing 3 storey walk ups, the new library is opening soon, along with a 3 storey office/retail building, with apparently up to a dozen more mid to high rise buildings planned for the area.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-opts-for-lrt-for-new-champlain-bridge-1.1346001

''"During the three hours of rush hour in the morning 22,000 people use the bus system. With the LRT, 100,000 will be able to use the LRT instead of buses,"''

''He said even with an LRT system there would continue to be bus service on the bridge.''

Nice to see them think about the bridge as more than just a way to get cars across. When Ottawa was looking at a new interprovincial bridge connecting to Gatineau, not a single person in government mentioned reserving space for rail transit. That bridge has been killed (for the umpteenth time in 25 years) thanks to neighborhood opposition and lack of government support.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

It's still a section of subway with a station, doesn't matter if it's downtown We already joined the club. I'm sorta glad the city sacrificed the downtown subway decades ago, or else we wouldn't have this insanely massive system we have today, with 2 planned subway lines for the next 10 years. There has been a lot posted on the Canada section about the Westbrook TOD over the years. It already includes the tallest building in the city outside of downtown (100 meters) and several other towers. Not to mention a bunch of existing 3 storey walk ups, the new library is opening soon, along with a 3 storey office/retail building, with apparently up to a dozen more mid to high rise buildings planned for the area.

I agree, considering the population back then, Calgary made the right call leaving the downtown tunnel for a later date, but I think that later date might be a bit overdue. And I found the Westbrook thread, quite impressive. NIMBYs would have a field day in Ottawa.

[Ontario1]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ovzit500cmun016/infographic-ltr.pdf

Map and information on the ION in Waterloo Region.

[Chadillaccc]

Awesome! Thanks Ontario!

[J.OT13]

Waterloo and Hamilton, are your LRTs mostly on roadways/medians or are they sort of like Calgary; at grade downtown and generally grade separated in the suburbs?