Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[troublemaker]

Originally Posted by Rico

The original Expo stations are starting to look tired...I am looking forward to the completed renovations.

They look tired because they were designed to look no different than a fast food restaurant or a convenience store. Quality design doesn't age so fast. The CPR station has served as a transportation hub for a century. I've never heard anyone say it looked "tired." I rode the Seabus every day for years, and walking through the CPR station was always a pleasure.

I think the new Main street platforms are 86 or 87m, the original stations were 80m so it is a little longer (I assume to better accommodate the 5 car trains).

I'm glad the platforms will be a bit longer, though I imagine that for a small additional amount, they could have been built to accommodate 6-car trains, as envisioned in the 2008 Provincial Transit Plan. That way the structure might be good for 50 years instead of 25.

[xd_1771]

Originally Posted by queetz@home

Wasn't the whole point of the Translink HQ in New West to consolidate their operations in one big facility?

While the consolidation was an interesting after-effect, AFAIK the reason for the move to New Westminster was because it would save taxpayers money (the lease cost at Sapperton is lower than the previous lease cost at Metrotower).

[officedweller]

Coat Mountain Bus was based out of the Gateway Tower in Surrey.

[Mac Write]

What would happen if a lightning bolt hit the Sytrain (either the rails or the cars directly).

Random thought I had last night listening to the pouring rain.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

What would happen if a lightning bolt hit the Sytrain (either the rails or the cars directly).

Random thought I had last night listening to the pouring rain.

The Skytrain cars would accelerate to 88 miles per hour, then travel back to 1955. Great Scott!

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

What would happen if a lightning bolt hit the Sytrain (either the rails or the cars directly).

Random thought I had last night listening to the pouring rain.

It... probably can't. The entire thing is grounded, so there's likely nothing that would be damaged.

There's a paper on this for Light Rail with overhead catenary though:
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/railtransit/ocs/1627_wg/OCSLIGHTNING%20Article%20by%20Dev%20Paul.pdf

Which apparently in the UK is highly prone to lightning strikes ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/weather/...used-by-lightning-strikes-overnight.html .) Perhaps a better question would be to ask the Coast Mountain Bus guys how often lightning strikes the trolley wires here.

What does happen is lightning takes out signalling equipment on heavy rail. I was on an Amtrak train out in the middle of nowhere towards Chicago last year and they lost the signaling during a lightning storm, so they ran the train at 20mph.

[Mac Write]

Playing with Trolley buses to get them to spark is a lot of fun with Trams BC.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

Playing with Trolley buses to get them to spark is a lot of fun with Trams BC.

For a nice light show, get up early on a nice cold clear morning to watch the first trolleys scraping the frost off the overhead.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by logan5

The Skytrain cars would accelerate to 88 miles per hour, then travel back to 1955. Great Scott!

Track to the future.

I believe that on the assumption of a direct hit to the train you'll blow out the computer and probably the inverters. Just because something is grounded doesn't mean anything in proximity is still safe. The last time an inverter blew up from a surge was back in 85 or something at the Millhaven yard. Shrapnel went up through the floor and into the cabin. I'm pretty sure they had to fortify the floors after that incident.
Assuming the lightning directly struck the power rails you would probably blow out the closest rectifier and nuke the primary regulators on the nearest train.
Grasping straws, if the signalling system got hit you would probably kill the closest loop transmitters and the VCC's would shut the system down. The horror of being trapped in a winter storm halfway across the SkyBridge. Nobody can reach you and you are not going anywhere.

[WarrenC12]

Looks like it will be 0.5% PST increase.

Of note: on the list of improvements is a "tunneled expansion of the Millenium Line in Vancouver". So, no end point per say, but a tunnel.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

For a nice light show, get up early on a nice cold clear morning to watch the first trolleys scraping the frost off the overhead.

Lol it was an absolute light show being on the first #5 bus in Edmonton at -30. Too bad they scrapped their trolleys.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Looks like it will be 0.5% PST increase.

Of note: on the list of improvements is a "tunneled expansion of the Millenium Line in Vancouver". So, no end point per say, but a tunnel.

Details??

[WBC]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Details??

Tunnel all the way to Main Street!!!

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by WBC

Tunnel all the way to Main Street!!!

Arbutus if you believe the diagrams. Completed within 10 years though, which means ~5 more years of dickering before any shovels hit the ground.

[Gordon]

Arbutus is the end of the line which is ok but this just moves the congestion further down the line, hopefully they could build the rest of the line later.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Arbutus is the end of the line which is ok but this just moves the congestion further down the line, hopefully they could build the rest of the line later.

I'd rather they build it straight to UBC too. But this will still have an immense reduction in 99 traffic. Lots of people work along the corridor to Arbutus. There will be many more people getting off before then than people that need to continue on the 99. I just hope when they do extend it in the future it's an extension of the Millennium Line and not a separate light rail line as has been suggested.

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I'd rather they build it straight to UBC too. But this will still have an immense reduction in 99 traffic. Lots of people work along the corridor to Arbutus. There will be many more people getting off before then than people that need to continue on the 99. I just hope when they do extend it in the future it's an extension of the Millennium Line and not a separate light rail line as has been suggested.

The referendum has to be the dumbest move our Liberal government has made yet. It is short-sighted and without the Province pushing to support it, it is doomed to fail. The problem is there are no clear consequences for voting no and there is no plan B. It does not treat this as infrastructure that has huge returns on investment (such economic growth). And to make it worse the Province goes ahead and builds other infrastructure without referendums ($3 billion on the Port Mann Bridge and South Fraser Freeway, and untold billions on the Deas Island tunnel replacement).

But having said that, I am impressed with the improvements planned and the funding source seems reasonable. Now we just Tod Stone and the government to get behind it and help the region explain the benefits to everybody.

The below links detail the proposed improvements.
http://mayorscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploa...ct-Sheets-SouthofFraser_June-12-2014.pdf

http://mayorscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploa...l_Fact-Sheets-Vancouver_June-12-2014.pdf

http://mayorscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploa..._Fact-Sheets-NorthShore_June-12-2014.pdf

http://mayorscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploa...Sheets-Northeast-Sector_June-12-2014.pdf

http://mayorscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploa...il_Fact-Sheets-Richmond_June-12-2014.pdf

http://mayorscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploa...t-Sheets-BurnabyNewWest_June-12-2014.pdf

[Pinion]

Wait, the supposed "broadway line" will stop at Arbutus? That's bunk.

I wonder what they would do to the Lonsdale Quay bus loop.

[DKaz]

TransLink hemorrhages riders since fare hike 5

Link

TransLink had expected an additional 11.9 million more boardings on its bus and rail networks for the first nine months of the year — potentially increasing its revenue by $13.6 million — but riders have been shying away ever since the service hiked its fares in early 2013.

Initially, according to the service’s quarter-three financials, TransLink had expected rider numbers to increase from last year — but the reverse has occurred.

Current rider levels are actually below what they were last year and even further below projections.

TransLink communications vice-president Colleen Brennan said on Monday the service would not be seeking a fare hike for January 2015 — and there are no current plans for additional fare increases later in the year, though that could change.

“Any time you have a fare increase, you do expect there will be some impact to your ridership,” she said.

“In this case, it appears that impact lasted probably a little longer than we would’ve thought.”

Brennan pointed to unpublished October figures and said the authority, as of Oct. 31, only had 0.6% fewer riders compared to the same time last year, saying it’s a sign of recovery.

“What we’re seeing now is if you look at it over a longer period of time, it’s actually starting to level off.”

According to the numbers, TransLink’s bus fleet especially took heavy ridership losses. The company had 10.1 million fewer bus boardings than projected in the first nine months of 2014, a 5.7% decline in bus ridership.

Meanwhile, there were 1.79 million fewer rail boardings — including SkyTrain, Canada Line and West Coast Express — representing a 2% loss.

The bus network has more total overall passengers, but a breakdown reveals buses are taking losses 2.8 times more intensely than rail operations.

Brennan said this discrepancy isn’t something TransLink has examined yet.

More...

[officedweller]

Big Bend bus route changes:

More bus stops for Burnaby's Big Bend
http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/news/285977211.html