GO Transit: Construction Projects (Metrolinx, various)

[Megaton327]

Future Maple Station (From link):

Funny that the train in the render has the old style cab car painted in the new livery, not a CEM cab.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

nfitz‏@nfitz1 17h17 hours ago
Replying to @nfitz1 @chrisjamesdrew and
BTW @femwriter, is there any update on the connection between Dundas West and Bloor? Asking for a friend. @iamdavidmiller 2/2

Metrolinx‏Verified account@Metrolinx 45m45 minutes ago
We're working with the City & local stakeholders on preliminary designs, acquiring necessary portions of property, and tendering the project

 

[dowlingm]

Future Maple Station (From link):

Can't wait for the Kirby GO render complete with heroic-scale statue of Del Duca

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Barrie Line double tracking update from Sunday 14 May 2017, riding northbound from YorkU to Rutherford.

Great pics and video, thank you!

Do you think they'd do a 75 minute schedule, or short turn-every-other-train? (60 min Aurora, 120min Newmarket)

At least till the extra siding gets built.

I was thinking 60 minute Aurora service would come first, but there has been a fair amount of outcry from Newmarket residents about the current arrangement. Extending the 75 minute trains up to Newmarket GO might be a worthwhile olive branch. We'll see.

Since last month (during which time there have been 2 weekend closures), they've completed the second track through Rivermede Road and installed the switch just south of Rutherford station. There may have also been some work further south, but I don't know because last month's video conked out south of Rivermede.

At Maple Station, there's little indication of the pedestrian tunnel work - just two suspiciously fresh segments of platform and some weird pillars sticking up beside the tracks.

Looking north at the south end of the station:

Looking north from the station building, a second similar site:

Looking south from the station building, you can clearly see where the second track will go.

With the current/under-construction track layout you can have 60-minute service to Aurora (using the YorkU-Rutherford siding), or 75-minute service to Newmarket (using the Maple-King City siding). To get service every 60 minutes to Newmarket you'd need another siding exactly 30 minutes north of York University station. Definitely a worthwhile investment, but not going to happen within a year.

I tried my hand at some conceptual schedules showing the various scenarios.

First, the current schedule. The 16:56 northbound is a deadhead that meets the 16:48 southbound train at the York University siding. It can't be in service because there's no platform on that track.
On top of each run, I've indicated my best guess for the trainset that might be operating it. Numbered trainsets originate from Barrie yard, while "U" trainsets originate downtown. Trainsets 1 and 3 are 6-car sets, while trainsets 2 and U are 10-car sets.
View attachment 109479

Next, the 60-minute Aurora schedule. As far as we can tell, the current plan is to move to something like this within a year.
With service moved from York U to Downsview Park, I took the liberty of switching the current deadhead to an in-service run to Aurora, which allows the Barrie-bound train to operate express, providing a very respectable 1:28 travel time from Union to Barrie Allandale - a 77 km/h average speeed.
View attachment 109480

The alternative to that would be a 75-minute schedule to Newmarket, which is basically identical to the schedule currently in use, except that trains continue north to East Gwilimbury rather than sitting around in Aurora for 46 minutes. Again I've switched the northbound deadhead to an in-service express, but this time it has to be the Aurora trip based on the siding locations.
View attachment 109481

I tried to do a 60/120 turnback schedule, but I couldn't get it to work out. It doesn't seem practical to get the trains evenly spaced in both directions south of Aurora.

Finally, once we get double track at Aurora and Downsview Park stations, we could run an hourly service to Bradford. I've shown Trainset 1 heading back to Barrie in the afternoon, with the corresponding southbound trip being handled by Trainset 4 which deadheads from the yard to the siding at Bradford before the northbound trip gets there.
View attachment 109482

Interestingly, all four of these schedules have the same equipment requirement: four trainsets (and the last one could equally be run with three sets by not sending Trainset 1 back to the yard in the afternoon). Based on that, my guess is that their operating costs would only be slightly higher than today, while their potential ridership is far greater.

I know this is kind of old, but I wonder what it would take to get 60 min service to Barrie on the weekdays until 12:30am? Another siding? or double track?

 

[SaugeenJunction]

So I went to check out progress on Metrolinx's upgrading of the Canpa Subdivision (connects the Lakeshore West and Milton Lines in Etobicoke). I was pleasantly surprised to see that the work is esentially complete. Some key things I noticed:

• There is now a newly installed fence separating the road and the tracks between Evans Ave and the Queensway along Wickman Road
• Both tracks are now continuous weld (minus right near road to rail crossings) and look very mainline calibre-eqsue
• The road to rail crossing at Evans Ave is now upgraded

I know we have discussed these mysterious upgrades here before, but now that the work is esentially done I am very curious as to what Metrolinx is planning to do here. In its upgraded form, Canpa looks like a mainline, and when considering the fences and continuous weld rail, I'd assume that the plan is to run trains along here quickly. Also, due to the quality of the work it seems like Metrolinx has a longer-term vision for this corridor.

Lets put our thinking caps on and all try to figure out what is happening here and why. It is exciting to see these upgrades coming along, but I am confused as to why they are happening. Pics below.

From Evans Ave to the Queensway along Wickman Road:

Looking south at Evans Ave. Note that tracks are bolted immediately before the crossing, then are continuous weld elsewhere.

Looking north from Evans Ave:

Brand-new fence (no fence before):

Peaking in through a hole in the fence along Wickman Road further north, looking south towards Evans Ave:

At Canpa and Horner Ave:

Looking north. Track is upgraded however the crossing is not.

Looking south at Horner Ave:

Some preassembled track and new fencing:

 

[cplchanb]

Forgive my ignorance to past posts but for RER are they planning on going high floor in their medium to long term plans?

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Forgive my ignorance to past posts but for RER are they planning on going high floor in their medium to long term plans?

No, for RER today's platform levels will be used. GO's current fleet will still be used along with EMUs so there needs to be compatiblity.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Forgive my ignorance to past posts but for RER are they planning on going high floor in their medium to long term plans?

No, for RER today's platform levels will be used. GO's current fleet will still be used along with EMUs so there needs to be compatiblity.

I'm just curious but can a low floor vehicle be made to run on a conventional railroad track? I know some LRV type vehicle use disused railroads but what about in mixed traffic?

 

[mdrejhon]

I'm just curious but can a low floor vehicle be made to run on a conventional railroad track? I know some LRV type vehicle use disused railroads but what about in mixed traffic?

I think they meant the existing GO height (approx 20" above rail), rather than VIA/HSR/UPX height (approx 48" above rail).

No, for RER today's platform levels will be used. GO's current fleet will still be used along with EMUs so there needs to be compatiblity.

Technically, high-platform will exist -- UPX as RER.

Most RER routes (Lakeshore) will remain low platform, but there's a long-term wildcard on the Kitchener route, given UPX and the eventual HSR.

See The Great Platform Height Debate.

 

[steveintoronto]

I'm just curious but can a low floor vehicle be made to run on a conventional railroad track?

Absolutely, and there are many examples.. Couple them together, and they are termed "tram trains". They can run "bi-modal" on 750vdc like Crosslink, and on RER type voltage 25 kVAC, and on both, transitioning from mainline tracks to tram tracks.

A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run through from an urban tramway network to main-line railway lines which are shared with conventional trains. ... There is also a train-tram, which is a train modified to also run on tramlines.
Tram-train - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram-train

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

I know we have discussed these mysterious upgrades here before, but now that the work is esentially done I am very curious as to what Metrolinx is planning to do here. In its upgraded form, Canpa looks like a mainline, and when considering the fences and continuous weld rail, I'd assume that the plan is to run trains along here quickly. Also, due to the quality of the work it seems like Metrolinx has a longer-term vision for this corridor.

Lets put our thinking caps on and all try to figure out what is happening here and why. It is exciting to see these upgrades coming along, but I am confused as to why they are happening.

Still thinking that it's for an extended detour of Lakeshore West, and I haven't heard any other convincing theories.

 

[dowlingm]

Absolutely, and there are many examples.. Couple them together, and they are termed "tram trains". They can run "bi-modal" on 750vdc like Crosslink, and on RER type voltage 25 kVAC, and on both, transitioning from mainline tracks to tram tracks.

SNCF consider Line T4 a tram train, and it operates as single vehicles, not in multiple.

 

[steveintoronto]

SNCF consider Line T4 a tram train, and it operates as single vehicles, not in multiple.

The term is not specifically defined, multiple sections can constitute a "train". If a single unit tram of multiple sections is a "tram-train", then that is what the Alstom cars for Metrolinx are.

Here's a description that covers some of the T4 stock:

Vehicles in the Flexity Swift family vary in length, but are all articulated, usually with three sections. In most cases, the centre section is very short, but can be replaced with a longer section in order to increase capacity, as London is considering doing for future lines. The trams can also be coupled together into trains. Nevertheless, they are all bi-directional with cabs at both ends and doors on both sides. An emphasis is placed on speed with units capable of safely reaching speeds of 80 km/h (50 mph) when running on dedicated lines.

Most vehicles typically weigh between 35 and 40 tonnes (34 and 39 long tons; 39 and 44 short tons), though the ones made for the Minneapolis line are heavier due to stricter crashworthiness requirements in the United States (particularly buff strength) and the vehicles in Rotterdam and Karlsruhe are also heavier due to their use on a full, high-capacity rapid transit network and on mainline railway tracks, respectively.

The Flexity Swift family comes in two distinct versions with a 70% low-floor version to allow access to those in wheelchairs without requiring the construction of high platforms in city streets and a high-floor version with level boarding at raised platforms, generally to retain compatibility with stations built for older trams or trains. While they typically use DC overhead lines for power collection, the Rotterdam vehicles are also equipped with third rail power capability for use on the central sections of the network, while the Karlsruhe tram-trains are compatible with AC electrification which is used on the mainline railways.

Both the low and high-floor models were originally developed for use on the Cologne Stadtbahn in Germany. Other uses of Flexity Swift vehicles include London Tramlink, Manchester Metrolink,[2] the tram networks in Istanbul and Melbourne, Rotterdam Metro, Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, Stockholm light rail lines 12 and 22, and the METRO Light Rail in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexity_Swift

 

[nfitz]

I know this is kind of old, but I wonder what it would take to get 60 min service to Barrie on the weekdays until 12:30am? Another siding? or double track?

Barrie? Hourly to 12:30 AM?

Currently there's post-train bus departures at 7:30, 8:30, and 10:30. To change that to rail, and add 3 more departures, you'd need a significant increase in ridership. Also current travel time to Allendale is only 110 to 120 minutes on bus at those times compared to about 100 minutes on rail. So you'd also need a lot more traffic congestion.

Barrie only has population of 141,000 or so. And it's a long way from there to the next population centre. So another answer is, significant urban sprawl.

What % of people in Barrie commute to downtown Toronto? Probably not many with 2-hours of travel. Another possibility is faster trains.

The real answer might be - not in this lifetime. A more realistic scenario is express buses from Aurora (45 minutes) or King City (40 minutes), to meet the RER service from Aurora to Toronto. Union to Aurora on train is currently 49 minutes, and to King City is only 39 minutes. Add in a 10-minute bus connection and you are looking at a total travel time of only 89 minutes.

That's faster than any current trip to Barrie. And if the demand exceeds more than an hourly bus, they can run every 30 minutes, or every 15 minutes, to match the RER service.

 

[smallspy]

Lets put our thinking caps on and all try to figure out what is happening here and why. It is exciting to see these upgrades coming along, but I am confused as to why they are happening. Pics below.

http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/thread...-metrolinx-various.9023/page-220#post-1171840

Dan
Toronto, Ont.