The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[Black Star]

City pitches LRT crossing at grade for congested 109 Street-104 Avenue intersection.

Edmonton officials are recommending the city leave LRT tracks running at grade across downtown’s busy 109 Street-104 Avenue intersection, even though it’s already congested.

Project manager Eva Cheung said raised tracks would be an eyesore and tunnelling would be expensive, giving little extra value since traffic backs up from the High Level Bridge.

^ This could be the most insane comment I have heard this week! You're fired!

But the decision shocked some drivers at Wednesday’s open house at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 10127 145 St.

“It’s a big bottleneck. As it is, that MacEwan intersection is congested,” said Salim Keshwani, wading through a packed church auditorium to see the city’s new plans.


http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-ne...ested-109-street-104-avenue-intersection

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The contrast with Toronto is interesting. In Toronto, the mainline railway routes are much better suited for transit. They're in generally straight lines whose routes match up very well with natural demand patterns and many of them are only sparsely used by the freight companies so the province was able to acquire most of them fairly easily (only a handful of spots, like in downtown Brampton, are CN/CP an obstacle of any real substance). So it makes perfect sense in Toronto for the regional rapid transit solution to consist of upgrading commuter rail to metro-like standards along the lines of a German S-Bahn, which is what Ontario is building.

But in Montreal where the railway lines are circuitous, not well placed to meet transportation needs, and face far more conflicts with freight traffic, the approach of building light metro largely along highway corridors makes more sense.

It really goes to show that each city needs to plan for its own circumstances rather than just trying to copy another.

Well it's still using an old rail ROW. Also the main point of light metro is also to save on operating costs. I will be interested to see the difference per km/per user between the REM and GO RER.

[SkahHigh]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The contrast with Toronto is interesting. In Toronto, the mainline railway routes are much better suited for transit. They're in generally straight lines whose routes match up very well with natural demand patterns and many of them are only sparsely used by the freight companies so the province was able to acquire most of them fairly easily (only a handful of spots, like in downtown Brampton, are CN/CP an obstacle of any real substance). So it makes perfect sense in Toronto for the regional rapid transit solution to consist of upgrading commuter rail to metro-like standards along the lines of a German S-Bahn, which is what Ontario is building.

But in Montreal where the railway lines are circuitous, not well placed to meet transportation needs, and face far more conflicts with freight traffic, the approach of building light metro largely along highway corridors makes more sense.

It really goes to show that each city needs to plan for its own circumstances rather than just trying to copy another.

Well said. I believe the fact that Montreal is an island also makes it much more difficult for rail to be developed because land is sparse and you have to build bridges to cross, so the existing freight lines are worth a lot on the island.

Which makes RER/regional rail in Montreal a pipe dream.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by SkahHigh

Well said. I believe the fact that Montreal is an island also makes it much more difficult for rail to be developed because land is sparse and you have to build bridges to cross, so the existing freight lines are worth a lot on the island.

Which makes RER/regional rail in Montreal a pipe dream.

An interesting read related to this :

https://transit.toronto.on.ca/regional/2107.shtml

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

An interesting read related to this :

https://transit.toronto.on.ca/regional/2107.shtml

Ah yes.. GO-ALRT. Otherwise known as GO-Urban. Something very similar to what today's REM is.

For a time the province had quite heavy ambitions for the tech. There even was (very briefly) plans to use the tech in other Ontario cities. Preliminary route maps were made for networks in Ottawa, Hamilton, and London. Here's one for Ottawa:



The Hamilton proposal was very interesting although I can't find any maps of it. Two lines were proposed as underground furniculars to scale the mountain (like the Carmelit in Haifa, Israel), with one or two (can't remember) GO ALRT lines running perpendicular to it in the city-side (ie. the lower part of the city)

[p_xavier]

Wow, that would have been so great for Ottawa.

[ainvan]

TTC Future Map

[Mister F]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The contrast with Toronto is interesting. In Toronto, the mainline railway routes are much better suited for transit. They're in generally straight lines whose routes match up very well with natural demand patterns and many of them are only sparsely used by the freight companies so the province was able to acquire most of them fairly easily (only a handful of spots, like in downtown Brampton, are CN/CP an obstacle of any real substance). So it makes perfect sense in Toronto for the regional rapid transit solution to consist of upgrading commuter rail to metro-like standards along the lines of a German S-Bahn, which is what Ontario is building.

But in Montreal where the railway lines are circuitous, not well placed to meet transportation needs, and face far more conflicts with freight traffic, the approach of building light metro largely along highway corridors makes more sense.

It really goes to show that each city needs to plan for its own circumstances rather than just trying to copy another.

It's a good point. Many of the rail lines in Toronto lend themselves to RER and will completely transform how people get around the city. Trying to develop subways that simply duplicate the routes of existing rail lines would be a waste of time and money. Toronto is moving towards a hybrid model that relies on subway, RER, and LRT.

That said, the subway system should still be much larger and expansion to the downtown network is long overdue. The DRL should have been built long ago and the Eglinton line should have been built as a light metro or, at the very least, LRT that doesn't stop at red lights. Toronto's insistence on building new LRTs that operate like streetcars is going to be looked at as a mistake in the future.

[Coldrsx]

A kinda/sorta first glimpse of our new low-floor LRT cars.


www.twitter.com/yegvalleylrt

[lrt's friend]

Question: What has the impact of Go Train expansion had on ridership so far?

[Black Star]

IMG_4834 by BLACK STAR III, on Flickr

IMG_4832 by BLACK STAR III, on Flickr

IMG_4831 by BLACK STAR III, on Flickr

IMG_4830 by BLACK STAR III, on Flickr

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by ainvan

TTC Future Map

More of a fantasy map...

[GeneralLea]

That Toronto map looks...strange. Jane line?? Ig uess it makes sense from how much density is on that street....

This looks like a map with a few unrealistic projects and a lot more projects that will be happen in the next 30 or 40 years.

Those Edmonton streetcars look nice, not visually creative but they look functional and good.

[caltrane74]

Looks like the Eglinton Crosstown Tram


http://thestar.com

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

More of a fantasy map...

Most of the stuff on that map is already funded.

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Most of the stuff on that map is already funded.

Actually, most of the map is Already Built or Under Construction !!!

Most of the add on's are the BRT's and the DRL.

[Innsertnamehere]

Edmonton, Waterloo, and the Eglinton line are all going to use the same LRV. Waterloo has several (I think 5 out of their 14?) right now, and the first Eglinton one is finishing up. The sample build in Edmonton right now appears to be the exact same model used in Toronto and Waterloo for years. Note how it is painted crosstown green.

[Dabeers]

Sorry, guess I made two posts.

[Dabeers]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

More of a fantasy map...

I’m sorry but none of this Toronto fantasy map has been funded nor is any of it under construction. The Eglinton line between Mount Dennis and Kennedy is under construction and the one-stop subway to Scarborough is funded but that’s it. The rest of this map is pure fantasy. It was just announced that the waterfront won’t happen for almost 20 years - if that- and the DRL, even if construction were to begin tomorrow, won’t open until the 2030’s. Even Smart Track, as pathetic as it is, isn’t fully funded. Nor is the nebulous Go plan.

After seeing how stats driven and evidence based everyone seems to be on this site, I was surprised that this blatant bullshit from this caltrane guy remained unchallenged.

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by Dabeers

I’m sorry but none of this Toronto fantasy map has been funded nor is any of it under construction. The Eglinton line between Mount Dennis and Kennedy is under construction and the one-stop subway to Scarborough is funded but that’s it. The rest of this map is pure fantasy. It was just announced that the waterfront won’t happen for almost 20 years - if that- and the DRL, even if construction were to begin tomorrow, won’t open until the 2030’s. Even Smart Track, as pathetic as it is, isn’t fully funded. Nor is the nebulous Go plan.

After seeing how stats driven and evidence based everyone seems to be on this site, I was surprised that this blatant bullshit from this caltrane guy remained unchallenged.

Guy did you read the legend?

The Go Rail Transit Line is Built!
The Waterfront LRT / Half built Bay to Exhibition ( 20 years? Lol)
I said the DRL and the BRT's were unbuilt.


So here's what I want you to do for your third post, 1) learn how to read 2) learn how to read a map 3) Try not make a fool out of yourself before you get to your 5th post.

That's why I went unchallenged.