Interesting transportation things

[Iktomi]

Originally Posted by electricron

I'm not sure I have the real answer, but a possible answer is the single class seating arrangements in the States on transit vehicles vs historic first, second, and third class seating arrangements in Europe. First class is usually placed on one end of a train, and all h3ll will break loose if the driver had to access the control cab by walking through the first class section.

Additionally, in the States open seating is very common with that single class while in Europe seating was partitioned, with several partitions per car. So the driver got his/her own partition and door, just like every other partitioned area in the car.

Therefore, in the States, there was no need to have a separate outside door for the driver because there was no partitions. With open seating, and the aisle running the full length of the car, all that was needed was an inside door to reach the cab. America's single social class where everyone is born equal is why there are no outside cab doors on our transit vehicles.

That doesnt really apply since all of them (except Sydney Trains and maybe JR East) are for metro/subway lines and other than the Dubai Metro Im not aware of any metro that has different seating classes, and metro cars typically dont have any partitions anyway.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by Iktomi

That doesnt really apply since all of them (except Sydney Trains and maybe JR East) are for metro/subway lines and other than the Dubai Metro Im not aware of any metro that has different seating classes, and metro cars typically dont have any partitions anyway.

It doesn't matter if metro trains did or didn't have partitions, since regional and intercity trains do have partitions that set the precedent in your country to have outside doors for drivers to reach the cabs.It's like you asking why American trains don't and have never had them, as if having them is normal. It's only normal to you because all trains in your country have them. Well, it's normal in Amercia for all trains to have inside doors for drivers to reach the cabs. My explanation attempted to explain why what is normal in your country is not normal in America. Agree or disagree, I'm not going to argue with you over the finer points tit for tat.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Iktomi

That doesnt really apply since all of them (except Sydney Trains and maybe JR East) are for metro/subway lines and other than the Dubai Metro Im not aware of any metro that has different seating classes, and metro cars typically dont have any partitions anyway.

depends what you mean. by class? no. however, some metros in places where they have a lot of male gropers and harrassers have seperate cars for women, such as japan and mexico. that is a form of partitioning metros, albeit the whole car and not just a section. there are handicapped, elderly and pregnancy seats in many if not most metro cars as well. yet another form of it. its morphed over time.

[M II A II R II K]

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[M II A II R II K]

Build the MTA from scratch:

http://jpwright.net/subway/

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

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Wow!! Very cool!!! Do you know where they will be at? On what country or city?

[M II A II R II K]

For a Better Economy, Add Commuter Rail?

Read More: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/08/for-a-better-economy-add-commuter-rail/494957/

Dozens of Amtrak and commuter trains pass through the two forlorn Rhode Island mill cities of Central Falls and Pawtucket, every day without stopping.

- Now, local leaders are betting that building a new train station will help both cities latch onto economic forces that have left residents struggling with poverty, unemployment and even a municipal bankruptcy. While Pawtucket and Central Falls today are fighting for survival, they were once economic powerhouses.

- Gina Raimondo, elected governor in 2014 on a promise to revive the state’s flagging economy, was cool to the idea of building a new train station. “I don't understand the logic behind why we would need one in Pawtucket when there is one in Providence,” the Democrat said in June 2015, six months after taking office.

- A report on the state’s economy from the Brookings Institution, championed by Raimondo and released in January 2016, urged the state to focus on its competitive advantages, including its historic urban centers. It prioritized a new Pawtucket-Central Falls station to both improve access to Boston-area jobs and spur development in the heart of the two mill cities.

- In March, Rep. Tobon introduced a bill to allocate $10 million for the train station. The bill didn’t pass, but the state committed $22.5 million in April as part of its application to the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The cities agreed to chip in a combined $3 million for the $40 million project, which includes track and signal upgrades to accommodate a new stop.

- The station has come under fire from the small-government Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, and other conservative critics are worried by the project’s ridership projections. The grant application estimates it would serve 519 riders daily, within the range of other Boston-area commuter rail stations. But most riders would be drawn from busy stations nearby, resulting in a net gain of just 89 new passengers.

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[electricron]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

For a Better Economy, Add Commuter Rail?

Rhode Island already grants MTA $ Million/year for the commuter rail service provided.
As part of the 1988 Pilgrim Partnership Agreement, Rhode Island provides capital funding (including some of its federal formula funds) for MBTA expansion in the state. Massachusetts (through the MBTA) provides the operating subsidy for MBTA Commuter Rail service in return. Rhode Island also pays Amtrak to allow the MBTA to use its tracks.
Here's the numbers Rhode Island has spent recently:
Capital:
$336 Million for the 20 mile South County Commuter Rail extension south to North Kingston, which included costs for upgrading tracks, building two new stations, two new parking garages, a rental car facility and a 1,500 ft moving sidewalk at the airport.
Operating:
Rhode Island pays Amtrak around $3 Million/year for MBTA access to the NEC tracks in Rhode Island.

Weekday ridership in 2014 on the entire Providence Line for MBTA is 19,634, I'm not aware if there is a RI and MA breakdown of the ridership. There are 10 MBTA fare zones to ride the entire length of the line.

Here's the milage distances for various locales in Rhode Island from South Station.
N. Kingston (Pickford Junction) 62.9 miles
<spacing 11 miles>
T.F. Green Airport 51.9 miles
<spacing 8.3 miles>
Providence 43.6 miles
<*spacing 4.6 miles*>
*Pawtucket/Central Falls* 39 miles
<*spacing 2.2 miles*>
<spacing 6.8 miles>
South Attleboro, MA 36.8 miles

Golly, we're around 40 miles from South Station and someone is recommending placing stations 2.2 miles apart?

[electricron]

Sorry, double post.

[scalziand]

Those photos of the existing Pawtucket/Central Falls station are misleading since the proposed station is down the tracks a bit on tangent track away from the curve.

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150201/News/302019949

[M II A II R II K]

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/08/08/th...pring-is-your-sorriest-bus-stop-america/

[M II A II R II K]

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[M II A II R II K]

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[M II A II R II K]

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[M II A II R II K]

Interactive pulse of the tube throughout the day:

http://tubeheartbeat.com/london/

[M II A II R II K]

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[SHiRO]

http://pdovak.com/blog/2016/9/1/mini-metro-maps

[M II A II R II K]

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[M II A II R II K]

World's first hydrogen train to go into service in Germany

Read More: http://www.thelocal.de/20160920/first-alstom-hydrogen-train-at-berlin-innotrans-tradeshow

The hydrogen, or hydrail, train is set to run on the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in Lower Saxony starting in December 2017, Die Welt reported on Tuesday. The train - called the "Coradia iLint" - has been developed over the past two years by French company Alstom and was presented on Tuesday at the Berlin InnoTrans trade show.

The hydrogen train operates using a hydrogen fuel tank, stored on the roof of the train, that in turn powers a fuel cell to produce electrical energy. This technology provides a new environmentally friendly alternative to the diesel trains that are still used across much of Germany. --- “Alstom is proud to launch a breakthrough innovation in the field of clean transportation which will complete its Coradia range of regional trains," said Alstom chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, in a statement. "It shows our ability to work in close collaboration with our customers and develop a train in only two years.” Engineers have been developing ‘hydrail’ technology for the last 15 years, but mostly with freight trains.

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[scalziand]

China developing 500km/h trains to lead export of high-speed rail technology