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I don't have detailed knowledge, but it's clear that the problem that the new entity has to solve is public dissatisfaction with poor service and unreliability. I can't see the entity being able to cede control of operations, given the obstacles that would create to directly driving performance...

Exactly. Using the city's transit infrastructure as a substitute for proper infrastructure and services for the homeless and mentally ill is a cop-out and encourages the city to overlook, instead of addressing, those needs. The city needs to do the heavy lifting on those problems, not undermine...

There wasn't as much head to head competition as one might think. More often, the various franchises were regional or route based. Complaints and poor service stories abounded. A business doesn't have to be a monolith to be disorganized and indifferent to the customer. Having said that, there...

It's encouraging to see so much happening in the spring. Here's hoping that ML and its contractors get off to a fast and productive start as soon as the ground thaws. The Kitchener and Barrie line work has overlaps also, which hints at track work between Parkdale and Strachan. For that matter...

You do know that the UK is backing away from this model and the private operators are being wound up and train service amalgamated into a single operator as their current franchises expire ? - Paul

The pols (regardless of party or affiliation) have no understanding or personal investment in transit beyond getting their picture taken. And they have a horde of handlers and PR people assuring them that the narrative can be spun to their advantage. What is actually delivered, in terms of cost...

I’m a cynic also, but I have to think that the other more senior members of the consortium would have insisted on some contract language or governance that would protect their interests and not allow Air Canada to unilaterally drive pricing Alto is only in part a proxy for air travel and a...

All quite true, but I'm willing to give ML a bit of slack here. I suspect they understand the need for change and would like to see someone make those changes for them - however, they may or may not have the internal expertise to make that case on their own. I have a feeling that the situation...

When I was across the pond a few months back, I watched an EMU set pull into a stub end platform at a large city terminal and unload. Almost immediately a second EMU set pulled into the same track, stopped a few feet short of the first trainset, coupled on, and then unloaded its passengers as...

Agreed. I wasn't saying that PTC is the right product....just that if ML said they were going with it, the regulator would already know to say "OK, sure...." whereas if they named something more esoteric, the response might need a lot more investigation. - Paul

Or something along these lines.... - Puaul

If First Capital can put 11 towers on the 28 acre Christie Lands, think what they would do with 210 acres. - Paul

I would ask the question s little differently.. it’s not like shopping for the newest and best smartphone. Something proven and popular may beat out something newer but technically unfamiliar. There will be lessons learned out of PTC installation in the US, and HSR experience in Europe. Canadian...

There’s no question that LRT is under the microscope and bears the onus to prove its worth in the Toronto environment. But gee, didn’t TYSSE do marvellously as an on-time, on budget subway project? Didn’t the underground portions of Crosstown - which for all intents was subway construction -...

There are two different functions being confused here. One is traffic control, ie enforcing the LRV's right to proceed through intersections and ensuring motorists cede right of way. The other is entry gates to prevent motorists from erroneously driving into and down the LRT tracks, especially...

Absolutely, I was thinking just as much about Line 6 when I wrote that. For that matter, I would also include the legacy tram lines such as 501 Queensway and 504 King, where similar signalling is possible but TTC and City staff are dug in in their apathy about pushing for faster service. When...

Great views. Interesting detail is the presence of a passenger coach, which dates from the days when the Toronto chapter of the CRHA stored preserved equipment down that way. That was long before we hd a roundhouse museum down tht way. - Paul

As does NJT, MBTA, and plenty of others. Rush hour (and that's not just 8 AM or 17:00. it also includes when Skydome lets out at night) is a maximum capacity situation and long trains are perfectly reasonable in that situation. Off-peak, where ridership is less, and headway argues for more but...

I know many are sick of the theme.... but bear with me for a little more history. I will stop now. But those with their half baked partisan conspiracy theories of how Toronto fell behind in transit planning ought to do a little fact checking. Those who do not study history etc. And btw, the...

We are past the point where some unknown issue blocked putting parts of the line in service before the rest. At first glance - If we are now at the point where surface operation is the critical missing element, it seems possible to open the line from Mount Dennis to the first above ground...