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Metrolinx: Other Items (catch all)

crs1026 said:
Is the Bala Sub work that was previously announced part of that?

- Paul
Click to expand...
There is no such work on the Bala Sub - yet. At least not for any signalling changes or installations regarding ETCS.

All they announced was that they were going to use the Bala Sub for their testbed, in advance to rolling the system out system-wide.

Dan
 
Northern Light said:
This could go in the GO service thread, or here, I'll plunk it here:

www.thestar.com

GO train near Oakville was seconds away from ‘worst-case’ derailment, internal Metrolinx report shows

Experts raise concerns about the GO network’s safety infrastructure and Metrolinx’s transparency.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

Long and short, there was an 'incident' on January 5th that involved a near derailment of a GO Train at speed, near Oakville Stn.

The trail blew through a stop signal at 112 km/ph and then through a switch, changing tracks, at that speed, whereas the switch was rated for 24km/ph.

Excerpts of the article follow:

View attachment 721588

Gareth Dennis, a UK-based railway engineer w/Mx experience is quoted:

View attachment 721589

In the piece we find:

1) A internal report from Mx was due within 60-75 days, said report has not been published or made public.

2) The Federal Transportation Safety Board is not investigating

3) Alstom declined to comment. Mx offered the usual fluff.

***

Also discussed, a past committing to delivering modern Train Protection systems such as ECTS, but that they are not in place and that no timeline for delivery has been announced.

and

That the TSB is concerned about regulatory oversight of GO. From a 2023 Report:

View attachment 721591

****

Overall, an excellent, insightful piece from @atakagi1 I highly commend it.

@crs1026

@smallspy
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How did two crew members miss the signal 🚦? Was there a malfunction?
There were passengers on board?
 
urbanclient said:
That's the Connecting the GGH: A Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which was done by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario MTO.

Similar, but not the same as the Regional Transportation Plan 2051 done by Metrolinx. RTP 2051 is an update to RTP 2041, the latter is publicly available.
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Well, the 2041 one is... But the 2051 one has been long awaited.
 
Metrolinx should be converting more GO Train level crossings to either railway overpasses or underpasses. So that there would be less incidents like this...

Young boy dies after being struck by GO train in Mississauga​

See https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/person-fatally-struck-by-train-along-lakeshore-west-go-line/article_b611a9c5-253a-4daa-adf5-4b7791b44823.html

The child, 12 to 13 years old, was riding a motorized bike with another boy when he was struck Wednesday afternoon, police said. A young boy has died after being struck by a GO train in Mississauga on Wednesday afternoon.
The boy was 12 to 13 years old and was riding a motorized bike with another young child, Peel police Const. Tyler Bell-Morena told reporters Wednesday evening at a news conference.

“This is an absolutely horrible situation for the family involved,” said Bell-Morena.

He confirmed later Wednesday night that the second child is also a 12- to 13-year-old boy who was uninjured and did not cross the tracks. The boys were riding a pocket bike, he said, describing the bike as a cross between a dirt bike and motorcycle Bell-Morena said during the news conference that it did not appear the children were accompanied by an adult at the time of the incident.

Peel police arrived at the scene, near the train crossing at Alexandra Avenue and Fourth Street, around 2:45 p.m. Bell-Morena said preliminary information indicates the child drove the bike around the traffic signal barrier and was struck by the westbound train on the Lakeshore West line. He added the traffic signal was functioning at the time, with the arm down and lights flashing.

“It would be remiss of me not to remind motorists in the area, especially during this time of March break, there’s a lot more kids out and about to be mindful of your surroundings,” Bell-Morena said.

“But this is a time, unfortunately, to remind our kids that when they’re on these bikes to really mind the crossings, particularly at railway passings here,” he added.
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1773940524755.png
 
generalcanada said:
toronto.citynews.ca

Ontario government signs $1.3B deal with Alstom to operate, maintain GO Transit and UP Express trains

Alstom has been operating and maintaining GO Transit and UP Express trains on an interim basis after its previous contract ended in 2024.
toronto.citynews.ca toronto.citynews.ca

5 year agreement with Alstom.
guess were staying with them for decades then?
Click to expand...
Interesting to me:
- 5 years only. Usually with these stuffs I see much longer contracts.
- This works out to 260 million per year for O&M. This feels low to me, given in 2025 Metrolinx paid out 600 mil. in Operations and 150 mil. in Equipment Maintainence... I wonder if the discrepancy is entirely made up of the bus fleet handled directly from MX??
 
lastcommodore said:
Interesting to me:
- 5 years only. Usually with these stuffs I see much longer contracts.
- This works out to 260 million per year for O&M. This feels low to me, given in 2025 Metrolinx paid out 600 mil. in Operations and 150 mil. in Equipment Maintainence... I wonder if the discrepancy is entirely made up of the bus fleet handled directly from MX??
Click to expand...


The former contract that went to the end of 2023 was for ~$100mm per year based on its press release. I don’t know if there was inflation or cost pass through provisions that made the cost higher throughout the life of the contract.
 
lastcommodore said:
Interesting to me:
- 5 years only. Usually with these stuffs I see much longer contracts.
- This works out to 260 million per year for O&M. This feels low to me, given in 2025 Metrolinx paid out 600 mil. in Operations and 150 mil. in Equipment Maintainence... I wonder if the discrepancy is entirely made up of the bus fleet handled directly from MX??
Click to expand...
PShells said:
The former contract that went to the end of 2023 was for ~$100mm per year based on its press release. I don’t know if there was inflation or cost pass through provisions that made the cost higher throughout the life of the contract.
Click to expand...

This is what you get when you only have one firm/supplier that is ably to do the work in a close market.
 
drum118 said:
This is what you get when you only have one firm/supplier that is ably to do the work in a close market.
Click to expand...

I’m sure the service levels and general costs in the economy are much higher than the original contract signed in 2012.

Outside of data in a press release I don’t have an ability to assess if it’s a good or bad renewal as headlines do not convey useful information (maintenance staffing numbers, operational staffing numbers, current and expected service levels etc.)

I hope the air conditioning on the fleet is in better condition this summer.
 
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