Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[JM1]

So there is a nice wide covered walk until you get to the parking lot entrance. Then you bump across the traffic entering the lot and then squeeze onto the narrow path that leads from there to the main entrance of the station... Right past the taxi stand where people are waiting/loading into cabs.

Oh, and how do you get to train yards?

Originally Posted by bradnixon

I guess my link didn't work.

Here's some pics that show the glass covering:

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by JM1

So there is a nice wide covered walk until you get to the parking lot entrance. Then you bump across the traffic entering the lot and then squeeze onto the narrow path that leads from there to the main entrance of the station... Right past the taxi stand where people are waiting/loading into cabs.

Oh, and how do you get to train yards?

Trainyards? You can't. A connection to Trainyards was conspicuously absent from the plans. You will have to transfer to an infrequent bus at Hurdman. I guess nothing suitable could be negotiated with Via to make easy access possible.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Trainyards? You can't. A connection to Trainyards was conspicuously absent from the plans. You will have to transfer to an infrequent bus at Hurdman. I guess nothing suitable could be negotiated with Via to make easy access possible.

There is supposed to be a connection to train yards through this building, whenever if gets built:

http://www.canderel.com/development/425-terminal-avenue-rail-station-lands

[JM1]

If they were serious about developing the site, they would have tried something like this instead of that lame series of buildings along Terminal Road.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=berlin+ha...GQDg&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQ7Ak&biw=1024&bih=649

Originally Posted by bradnixon

There is supposed to be a connection to train yards through this building, whenever if gets built:

http://www.canderel.com/development/425-terminal-avenue-rail-station-lands

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

There is supposed to be a connection to train yards through this building, whenever if gets built:

http://www.canderel.com/development/425-terminal-avenue-rail-station-lands

I wonder if they are going to build a new tunnel. As I remember, the existing tunnel is only accessed by passengers whose tickets have already been checked (or arrivals). They could have opened the existing entrance on Terminal Ave if it was publicly accessible to give the Trainyards a transit link.

[Richard Eade]

Is the tunnel still used for train access? With the few trains we get and the lack of universal accessibility of the tunnel, wouldn't it be easier for VIA to just use the track beside the station and have people access it at grade?

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Is the tunnel still used for train access? With the few trains we get and the lack of universal accessibility of the tunnel, wouldn't it be easier for VIA to just use the track beside the station and have people access it at grade?

The tunnel is indeed still used. The spiral ramp is fun to walk up.


To use it for pass-through customers they would need to move ticket taking down into the tunnel at the entrances to the escalators to go back up to the tracks. Right now VIA uses two quasi gates in the main part of the station and then they lead out you out to your train wherever it happens to be. Either directly outside or down via the tunnel.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Is the tunnel still used for train access? With the few trains we get and the lack of universal accessibility of the tunnel, wouldn't it be easier for VIA to just use the track beside the station and have people access it at grade?

I can't comment about the use of the tunnel at the moment, but I have used it for arrivals in the past. It seems to me that there enough arrivals and departures that they would need to use more than one set of tracks to handle the traffic.

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I can't comment about the use of the tunnel at the moment, but I have used it for arrivals in the past. It seems to me that there enough arrivals and departures that they would need to use more than one set of tracks to handle the traffic.

They definitely do. Their are now several trains that pass-through (Tor->Ottawa->Montreal) as well as several that start and end in Ottawa that need staging/storage space.

There is also a few weird things like one of the Montreal trains that starts at Fallowfield, gets towed out to the fallowfield by one of the Toronto bound trains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT6ZwO3kZTk

All this stuff stages at Ottawa station.

[eemy]

They don't have controlled access to the platform at other stations, so presumably couldn't they just do the same thing they do in, for example, Kitchener? The last time I took VIA, I think someone walked through the train after we departed and checked boarding passes as we were on route.

[Aylmer]

Though all of this will be moot once they bring intercity rail back to Union

In all seriousness, it really should just be a matter of building a tunnel under tracks. It'll cost something, but I'm certain that the increased development and property values will offset at least some of it.

[agl]

Had it been possible to keep the original transit station location at Tremblay and $ was available to put in a pedestrian tunnel with direct train station access, passengers alighting from westbound trains would have had to go up and over the tracks, then down and into the new tunnel, under the road, then up and into VIA station. Or, go directly down into a tunnel that goes under the LRT tracks, back up a level to get your passengers from eastbound trains (or keep the tunnel below track grade and force them to go down a level as well), under the road, and back up one or two levels into the train station. A whole lotta downs and ups with your luggage at a significant increase in cost.

The renders for the proposed station appear as though the glass cover expands over the road that accesses the parking lot. I agree that it is far from perfect, and overhead coverage is not going to protect you from crosswinds that carry snow, sleet and rain. However, it does avoid having pedestrians having to cross 4 lanes of traffic at the train station entrance, and requires one grade change for both east and west bound passengers between the LRT and train stations.

Ottawa spent all their remaining "fully-functional-fully-weather-protected-non-downtown-transit station" $ at Baseline to the tune of $285+ million, pre-LRT project being finalized. An indication that comfortable transfers for daily Ottawa commuters is more important than comfortable connections between local transit and inter-regional travel. The less than desired federal and provincial contributions to the Confederation Line also handcuffed the city into making compromises to get this project done and within budget. End result: covered walkways crossing a two lane entry into a parking lot. Not the end of the world.

[Aylmer]

Something has been bothering me about the station designs: shy are they all open?

It's all good and well when the renders depict a sunny June day, but what about November through April? What about when it rains? Are there any measures to stop the passengers, machinery and electronics from getting baked/drenched/frozen? Or is this a case of architectural flourish over function?

[acottawa]

Spanish company that has never done a project in a cold country? (or probably cost-cutting) The original designs done by the city before the contract was awarded were certainly more resistant to weather.

I guess for the train station it doesn't matter, the platforms are either unsheltered or barely sheltered so the passengers need coats, umbrellas, jackets, etc. anyway.

[MalcolmTucker]

Cost. In Calgary covered portions are designed to be in different places at different stations to try to spread train loads more evenly between cars. Also an element of crime prevention through environmental design - covered stations require more persistent presence security wise to maintain the same level of safety.

[Radster]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

They don't have controlled access to the platform at other stations, so presumably couldn't they just do the same thing they do in, for example, Kitchener? The last time I took VIA, I think someone walked through the train after we departed and checked boarding passes as we were on route.

Exactly!!! Just like they don't have controlled access to train platforms in 99% of the world. Why do they need to control this in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, etc???

In the end, they check your ticket twice, once at the station prior to boarding, and another time on the train while en route. Why bother checking twice???

How come at small stations, your family, friend or loved one can help you with your luggage and wave or kiss goodbye on the platform, but not at the big stations?

Why can't one wait for a train on the platform at Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto? Why is there no newstand on the platform? This is standard everywhere in the world.

Why hasn't VIA looked at this ticket checking redundancy and not realised that this could be a cost cutting measure, to eliminate the primary check at the station? Isn't VIA hurting for $$$? lol

In Ottawa, removing this redundancy would give the option to make the tunnel public and used for access to the Train Yards. Europe for example, is full of such public tunnels at train stations. And whats also great is that such tunnels often have little businesses (ie. coffee shops, news stands, flower shops, shoe cleaning, etc).

But I forgot, Ottawa, and VIA don't think rationally, common sense doesn't exist.

[MalcolmTucker]

The main VIA Stations are too busy, and the platforms too narrow, plus security concerns.

[J.OT13]

Pedestrian link between PdV I and II now has large rendering on the west wall (same as Confederation Line website) of the Lyon Station concourse. I wonder if it represents the connection to the subway station.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

The main VIA Stations are too busy, and the platforms too narrow, plus security concerns.

Busier with more security concerns than Grand Central Station in New York?

[Radster]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

The main VIA Stations are too busy, and the platforms too narrow, plus security concerns.

Too busy? With the exception of Union station in Toronto which is kind of busy, Montreal and Ottawa stations are virtually deserted compared to European and Asian stations where public access is allowed.

Ok, maybe the platforms are on the narrow side, but I have visited many big stations mostly in Europe and sometimes the platforms are not any wider.

And what security concerns?