Canadian LRT/RT projects U/C

[J.OT13]

Groundbreaking for the Parkway tunnel, part of Stage 2 West of the Confederation Line.

The project will include two new tunnel sections;

• the 3 kilometer Parkway tunnel between Dominion (to be renamed Kichi Sibi) station and Lincoln Fields station, that will run parallel to the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway for about a kilometer, before crossing over 150 meters south-west to run under the Byron Linear Park, a former streetcar route. This new tunnel will solve the 30+ year service gap of the Transitway by providing two new open trench stations at Sherbourne and New Orchard.
• a 270 meter tunnel will be built in Connaught Park to link the Moodie branch flyover, just past Lincoln Fields, to the Queensview station trench.

A third 300 meter tunnel at Baseline station (to be renamed Algonquin station, for the college it serves) was roughed in about a decade ago, which will become the system's fifth underground station.


https://twitter.com/JR_Ottawa/status...57648396816385

Here's a map showing the location of the two new cut-and-cover tunnels.


https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-develo...ng-2020-update

• Video Link

[caveat.doctor]

En route to Edmonton, spotted from a VIA train passing Kingston yesterday afternoon:

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Groundbreaking for the Parkway tunnel, part of Stage 2 West of the Confederation Line.

The project will include two new tunnel sections;

• the 3 kilometer Parkway tunnel between Dominion (to be renamed Kichi Sibi) station and Lincoln Fields station, that will run parallel to the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway for about a kilometer, before crossing over 150 meters south-west to run under the Byron Linear Park, a former streetcar route. This new tunnel will solve the 30+ year service gap of the Transitway by providing two new open trench stations at Sherbourne and New Orchard.
• a 270 meter tunnel will be built in Connaught Park to link the Moodie branch flyover, just past Lincoln Fields, to the Queensview station trench.

A third 300 meter tunnel at Baseline station (to be renamed Algonquin station, for the college it serves) was roughed in about a decade ago, which will become the system's fifth underground station.


https://twitter.com/JR_Ottawa/status...57648396816385

Here's a map showing the location of the two new cut-and-cover tunnels.


https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-develo...ng-2020-update

• Video Link

Holy cow I never realized the main west end tunnel ("parkway") would be longer than the downtown tunnel.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

En route to Edmonton, spotted from a VIA train passing Kingston yesterday afternoon:

I'm a bit disappointed Edmonton didn't commission longer trains (50 to 60 meters) instead of coupling to short 30 meter sections. As in the case in Ottawa, with our permanently coupled 48 meter cars (for 96 meter trains), there's a lot of wasted space with two middle cabs, that will never be used.

The original plan was to run single 48 meter cars late evenings and weekends, but it was determined that coupling and uncoupling the train sets was not feasible.

How long are the Valley Line's platforms? What's the ultimate length of the platforms and/or trains? Sorry if I've asked this before.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'm a bit disappointed Edmonton didn't commission longer trains (50 to 60 meters) instead of coupling to short 30 meter sections. As in the case in Ottawa, with our permanently coupled 48 meter cars (for 96 meter trains), there's a lot of wasted space with two middle cabs, that will never be used.

The original plan was to run single 48 meter cars late evenings and weekends, but it was determined that coupling and uncoupling the train sets was not feasible.

How long are the Valley Line's platforms? What's the ultimate length of the platforms and/or trains? Sorry if I've asked this before.

Maybe the next purchase of rolling stock will see longer cars.

[hipster duck]

Ottawa’s choice to build its stations around low floor LRVs was a very shortsighted decision. The system is a fully grade-separated metro basically running streetcars.

I hope they solve this issue in future LRV orders. Maybe some kind of unit that’s the full length of the platforms (96 m), with some creative positioning of the trucks and doors so that you can have high floor sections above the trucks and accessible entrances in the low floor sections.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Ottawa’s choice to build its stations around low floor LRVs was a very shortsighted decision. The system is a fully grade-separated metro basically running streetcars.

I hope they solve this issue in future LRV orders. Maybe some kind of unit that’s the full length of the platforms (96 m), with some creative positioning of the trucks and doors so that you can have high floor sections above the trucks and accessible entrances in the low floor sections.

That's my hope. We just have to wait another 30+ years...

[scryer]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Maybe the next purchase of rolling stock will see longer cars.

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Ottawa’s choice to build its stations around low floor LRVs was a very shortsighted decision. The system is a fully grade-separated metro basically running streetcars.

I hope they solve this issue in future LRV orders. Maybe some kind of unit that’s the full length of the platforms (96 m), with some creative positioning of the trucks and doors so that you can have high floor sections above the trucks and accessible entrances in the low floor sections.

I would like to see their next set of trains be articulated like Vancouver's new Skytrain Mark III's.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by scryer

I would like to see their next set of trains be articulated like Vancouver's new Skytrain Mark III's.

Or like Toronto's Rocket subway cars.

[midriser]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'm a bit disappointed Edmonton didn't commission longer trains (50 to 60 meters) instead of coupling to short 30 meter sections. As in the case in Ottawa, with our permanently coupled 48 meter cars (for 96 meter trains), there's a lot of wasted space with two middle cabs, that will never be used.

The original plan was to run single 48 meter cars late evenings and weekends, but it was determined that coupling and uncoupling the train sets was not feasible.

How long are the Valley Line's platforms? What's the ultimate length of the platforms and/or trains? Sorry if I've asked this before.

The variant of the Flexity Freedom that will be used in Edmonton is longer than the variant currently in use in Kitchener-Waterloo and eventually on the Eglinton Crosstown. It is 42 metres (7 modules) long rather than 30 metres (5 modules) long. The plan is to operate the vehicles in pairs like in Ottawa, for a total train length of 84 metres.

Not as long as two Citadis Spirts but a decent length for a street level tramway. Not sure if the vehicles only have a cab on one end like the Eglinton variant, as that would result in less wasted space but also force permanent coupled operation (like the Confederation Line ended up being anyway, as you said).

The platforms on the downtown portion of the line are limited to a little over 84 metres due to short block lengths. I do recall reading that the suburban stations (including the elevated Davies station) would be built at 120-125 metre lengths to eventually accommodate 3 car trains, but I may be misremembering because that doesn’t make much sense if the downtown section remains a limiting factor - unless some streets are closed to accommodate platform lengthening. Did a bit of a search just now but couldn’t find much. Perhaps an Edmonton forumer could chime in haha.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by midriser

The variant of the Flexity Freedom that will be used in Edmonton is longer than the variant currently in use in Kitchener-Waterloo and eventually on the Eglinton Crosstown. It is 42 metres (7 modules) long rather than 30 metres (5 modules) long. The plan is to operate the vehicles in pairs like in Ottawa, for a total train length of 84 metres.

Not as long as two Citadis Spirts but a decent length for a street level tramway. Not sure if the vehicles only have a cab on one end like the Eglinton variant, as that would result in less wasted space but also force permanent coupled operation (like the Confederation Line ended up being anyway, as you said).

The platforms on the downtown portion of the line are limited to a little over 84 metres due to short block lengths. I do recall reading that the suburban stations (including the elevated Davies station) would be built at 120-125 metre lengths to eventually accommodate 3 car trains, but I may be misremembering because that doesn’t make much sense if the downtown section remains a limiting factor - unless some streets are closed to accommodate platform lengthening. Did a bit of a search just now but couldn’t find much. Perhaps an Edmonton forumer could chime in haha.

Thanks for the info!

[biguc]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Ottawa’s choice to build its stations around low floor LRVs was a very shortsighted decision. The system is a fully grade-separated metro basically running streetcars.

I hope they solve this issue in future LRV orders. Maybe some kind of unit that’s the full length of the platforms (96 m), with some creative positioning of the trucks and doors so that you can have high floor sections above the trucks and accessible entrances in the low floor sections.

The big advantage of low-floor, grade-seaparated systems is that they don't have to stay grade separated. In suburban areas, or even areas with easier terrain, they can break out and branch off into a number of tram/streetcar lines as is appropriate. But once you automate the system you eliminate that possibility. It's definitely a confusing choice--there's no good reason to use low-floor rolling stock on a line like this. I'd love to know what they were thinking.


That said, low-floor LRVs don't have to be cramped and narrow. The Basques make a nice low floor that's popular around Spain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAF_Urbos#CAF_Urbos_2

They use these in the Seville Metro, which, like the Confederation Line, is low floor and grade separated. I thought the trains were surprisingly spacious; CAF seems to make wide-profile models. Seville might have just dug bigger tunnels.

[J.OT13]

The original intent was to run partly surface in the suburbs (at grade crossings), but after a major OC bus-VIA train accident in September 2017, the City decided to make all future O-Train extensions 100% grade separated.

There might have been cost-saving reasons as well, with LRT being able to climb steeper grades and turn sharper corners, making the tunnel cheaper.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The original intent was to run partly surface in the suburbs (at grade crossings), but after a major OC bus-VIA train accident in September 2017, the City decided to make all future O-Train extensions 100% grade separated.

There might have been cost-saving reasons as well, with LRT being able to climb steeper grades and turn sharper corners, making the tunnel cheaper.

This is a case of planning one thing and then the realities set in and then changing what the plan is. There is no reason the current LRVs cannot handle the loads. There is no reason they cannot source longer LRVs.

[J.OT13]

Stage 2 Ottawa O-Train images.

Tunney's Pasture, Confederation Line's current western terminus. A new bridge will be built to replace the berm separating the rail line from the busway.







https://twitter.com/rail613/status/1312810059429228544

Bayview, transfer between the Confederation and Trillium Lines. Trillium will be double tracked between Bayview and Beach Street, about 1.5 kilometers.





https://twitter.com/rail613/status/1312816277090697217

Gladstone, a future infill station along the newly double tracked section.




https://twitter.com/rail613/status/1312823710018154503

New Queensway overpass, allowing for double tracking and multi-use pathways on both sides.


https://twitter.com/rail613/status/1312832020473688068

South Keys, the transfer point between the main Trillium Line and airport spur. Transfers between the Trillium Line and South-East Transitway are also possible here (one of two "official" transfer points, with Greenboro one stop north, one of the original 2001 O-Train stations, being the other).

Originally Posted by TheMatth69

Went over at South Keys last Thrusday to check over the construction of the station, foundation works are still ongoing:

[J.OT13]

Carleton University station. Demolishing the pedestrian underpass south of the station to build wider infrastructure as part of Stage 2.



https://twitter.com/deellisd/status/1314708731586842624

[scryer]

I woke up this morning and Winnipeg decided to surprise the hell out of me with some awesome concepts for their BRT system:









You can read all about it here on this pdf from the city. Like I said in the MB forums, what sent me over the moon is that the city is prioritizing the downtown connection like the elevated transitway into Union station.

[J.OT13]

Looks great. Glad to see Winnipeg stepping-up. I hope they build it in a way to allow for easy conversion to rail in the future.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Looks great. Glad to see Winnipeg stepping-up. I hope they build it in a way to allow for easy conversion to rail in the future.

Transit has prioritized designing the system to accommodate eventual conversion to rail (the first leg to the University of Manitoba was built that way), but I would think that is something that won't happen until the distant future.

[Coldrsx]

'Truly moving forward': One more hurdle cleared for west LRT
Author of the article:Lauren Boothby

(Fuchsia West 2021 start - Blue u/c opening mid-2020)

https://mastermaq.s3.amazonaws.com/p...ew/lrt_wse.gif

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...-to-start-2021