News   Apr 25, 2024
 324     0 
News   Apr 25, 2024
 1K     4 
News   Apr 25, 2024
 1K     0 

Ottawa Transit Developments

Really when Kingston was doing ION and Edmonton cars? Kingston was to built 20+ cars for TTC to the point they only built 7 to handle ION and Edmonton cars.
If you're talking about the Flexities for the legacy network, it was only 10.

Putting all the eggs in one basket is only asking for trouble and only have to look at TTC late deliveries and miss dates to see it.
So instead you would use two sets of different equipment, with different components, different tools and different maintenance practices? And two (or more) smaller orders, meaning that you would have to pay even more per unit than you would over a big order?

Calculated over the lifespan of a fleet, that seems foolish.

Ottawa Line would had end up opening almost a year later than it did which was already over a year late going with BBD.
Based on what, exactly? The line already opened well over a year late as it was.

Dan
 
It's too bad we didn't take a look at Finland who developed their own tram for their equally cold winter northern climate. I'm sure Skoda/Transtech's Artic Tram would've found itself in a good position over here.

At least the new Stadler Flirts for Ottawa seemingly took a lot of knowledge gained from Helsinki’s (and now VR’s) order:
The Sm5 units are designed for the Finnish winter conditions. They are fitted with 50–100% thicker thermal insulation compared to previous FLIRT models, and the incoming fresh ventilation air is preheated with the outgoing warm air to recover heat. The entrance areas are fitted with fan heaters in order to preserve the interior climate as passengers enter and leave during cold weather.
Source

Also, there’s this article from Railway Gazette from 2008 (sorry for the paywall):
Winterised wider Flirt
 
The PCC streetcars from the 1935 to 1952 (USA/Canada) and 1949 to 1978 (Europe) had various sizes and feature.

From link.

Body variations​

Two main body standards were made, 1936 and 1945, sometimes called pre-war and post-war, the most prominent difference being the windows.

The pre-war cars usually had a right side arrangement of front door, five windows, center door, five windows, and one large rear quarter window. These cars were 46 ft (14.0 m) long and 8 ft 4 in (254 cm) wide. There were variations, Washington, D.C. ordered shorter cars, at 44 ft (13.4 m), with one less window, while Chicago ordered longer and wider cars, at 50 ft 5 in (15.4 m) by 8 ft 9 in (267 cm), with a three-door arrangement

Post war cars had a rationalized window arrangement. The windows and pillars were narrower, and there were small "standee" windows above each window. Right side arrangement usually was front door, 7 windows, side door, four windows, and two rear quarter windows. Most post-war cars had a length of 46 ft 5 in (14.1 m). Other body differences were a recessed windshield and wider doors. There were far fewer variations of this style, width being the most common.

Most double ended cars, at 50 ft 5 in (15.4 m) long by 9 ft (270 cm) wide, were larger than standard, with different door arrangements. Only Dallas ordered standard size double ended cars. All double ended cars retained the pre-war style body until the end of production.
1280px-Toronto_PCC_streetcar_4602_and_Haagsche_Tramweg-Maatschappij_%28HTM%29_1329_at_the_National_Capital_Trolley_Museum..jpg

North American (Toronto) versus European PCC (The Hague): European PCC-cars had narrower bodies and (often) larger windows.
 
Great idea, but what decade would those cars have show up in considering all the issues with TTC and ION??
So Bombardier could deliver 76 Flexity cars for Eglinton in 3 years and 78 Flexities for TTC in 2019 alone, but couldn't have delivered 17 more (closer to the 26 cars built for Edmonton specs) in 2022? That's just unbelievable (which is why Metrolinx lost the court case, and had to pay huge penalties.

Personally, I'd have preferred the government saving hundreds of millions and sticking to the Flexities.
 
The sad comedy that is the Confederation Line just keeps giving. The thing is like Santa Claus but this one comes every month to deliver something new.
 

Back
Top