Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

[smallspy]

Finally saw a 3-car train yesterday. I'm not sure how common these are, but I frequently see trains on the weekend when taking Lakeshore West, and this was the first 3-car one I've actually seen.

They have been running at least 2 3-car trains at the start of service for the past couple of months on a daily basis. Where there have been construction projects going on in the corridor and they are running a limited service (like a couple of weekends ago), they try to make sure that all of the trains in service are 3-cars long.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[narduch]

So the UPX trains have to run slower today because its too hot.

Bad design?

 

[ShonTron]

No. The rails are meant to sustain a range in temperatures, and at high heat levels, rails can warp. Rails in the GTA (which has a very wide range of annual temperatures) have to sustain temperatures as high as 30-45 degrees, and as low as -20--25 degrees. Beyond those extremes, track condition is an issue.

It's the rails, not the running equipment. GO Transit is slowing down too.

 

[smallspy]

It's the rails, not the running equipment. GO Transit is slowing down too.

Not just GO, either. VIA has a maximum speed of 65mph when the Hot Box Detectors read in excess of 31C. CN slows down to 45mph or so as well.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Not just GO, either. VIA has a maximum speed of 65mph when the Hot Box Detectors read in excess of 31C. CN slows down to 45mph or so as well.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

The TTC does it too sometimes with the SRT and open cuts.

 

[W. K. Lis]

No. The rails are meant to sustain a range in temperatures, and at high heat levels, rails can warp. Rails in the GTA (which has a very wide range of annual temperatures) have to sustain temperatures as high as 30-45 degrees, and as low as -20--25 degrees. Beyond those extremes, track condition is an issue.

It's the rails, not the running equipment. GO Transit is slowing down too.

Not just rails, but asphalt roadways and sidewalk heave as well.

 

[steveintoronto]

No. The rails are meant to sustain a range in temperatures, and at high heat levels, rails can warp. Rails in the GTA (which has a very wide range of annual temperatures) have to sustain temperatures as high as 30-45 degrees, and as low as -20--25 degrees. Beyond those extremes, track condition is an issue.

It's the rails, not the running equipment. GO Transit is slowing down too.

Well I got tired of waiting for late UPX at Bloor today, there were no announcements, and the screen got stuck at 4 minutes to arrival for five minutes, then 3 mins arrival time for another. I gave up, took the GO instead up to Weston with bike, it was on time and running at the regular speed for that stretch.

I don't feel the heat like some I guess.

 

[mdrejhon]

No. The rails are meant to sustain a range in temperatures, and at high heat levels, rails can warp. Rails in the GTA (which has a very wide range of annual temperatures) have to sustain temperatures as high as 30-45 degrees, and as low as -20--25 degrees. Beyond those extremes, track condition is an issue.

It's the rails, not the running equipment. GO Transit is slowing down too.

Will GO be re-calibrating the equilibrium temperature for future track installations -- due to global warming possibly combined with higher urban temperatures (heat island effects from densification)? Not meaning to talk about a warming topic -- just simply if a recalibration of track tensioning is going to be needed.

If I understand it correctly, tracks are pre-tensioned to be zero tension at a specific temperature, usually something like a median/average temperature. That's why tracks in hotter countries (like UAE) do not warp as easily, since their tension is calibrated to a higher temperature (But they would snap into brittle broken sections if ever encountered a true Canadian winter...)

Also, I see concrete ties being installed in the Stoufville doubletracking.
Are these more resistant to heat kinking?

 

[crs1026]

Opened the door this morning and found that the Summer edition of On the UP had been delivered along with my Globe and Mail.

I sure hope this thing covers its costs through advertising revenue. The masthead suggests there are a lot of people working on it.

- Paul

 

[steveintoronto]

Opened the door this morning and found that the Summer edition of On the UP had been delivered along with my Globe and Mail.

I sure hope this thing covers its costs through advertising revenue. The masthead suggests there are a lot of people working on it.

- Paul

Excellent heads-up. It's beyond curious. Maybe there's a business case to be made for it, I'll dig on that later, as I get a strong whiff of 'elitism' surrounding this whole thing, which if it does pay its own way, great. But I have serious doubts.

There are 'lingering' connections to the the Globe and Mail, more on that later, but Tyler Brûlé is the force behind this mag:
[...][Overview

In one of our most comprehensive projects, we helped build the Union Pearson Express brand from its inception, with work that spanned strategy, naming and identity and extended to station architecture and uniform design. With the train service up and running, we created the onboard quarterly magazine On the UP, showcasing the best of the city and province through themed issues, engaging reporting and striking art direction.][...]
http://www.winkreative.com/project/up-express/

Not to cast aspersions on the commercial validity of this or not, but Brûlé's column in the Globe some years back didn't exactly strike a 'fashionista' vein. He has friends still at the Globe. Let's just say that their sense of 'fashion' trumps engineering and realism. Let alone the plebe's interest in getting their money's worth.

And that's exactly where the UP went off the rails. Catering to 'the effete and elite'. Just look at the uniforms, which, btw, I haven't seen worn in months. Reality has a habit of crashing flying machines based on fluff.

Very curious indeed, I'll dig more later.

Wikipedia:

[...]
In 1996, Brûlé took out a small business loan and launched Wallpaper, a style and fashion magazine which was one of the most influential launches of the 1990s. Time Inc bought it for £1m in 1997,[5] and kept Brûlé on as editorial director. During this time at Wallpaper, Brûlé focused his attention on a branding and advertising agency he'd started, called Winkreative, which he still runs and which has counted among its clients companies like American Express, Porter Airlines, British Airways, BlackBerry and Sky News.

In 2001, he became the youngest ever recipient of the British Society of Magazine Editors' Lifetime Achievement Award. That year he and Winkreative were hired to design the "look and feel" of Swiss International Air Lines at their relaunch, after the collapse of Swissair.[6]
[...]

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

 

[crs1026]

It's entirely possible that the contract with whatever creative/production people produce this thing has a longer term or a stiff cancellation penalty, so it didn't get killed when they made the big readjustment to fares. If so, hopefully it ends when the contract is up, or gets enough ad revenue to justify its continuance.

Just to be clear, I live in a neighbourhood that is an unlikely catchment for actual business for UPE. I can get to Kipling, and on to the 192, much faster than I could get to the Bloor UPE station. Why this area would be considered a valid market for advertising the UPE option, I can't imagine.

- Paul

 

[mrxbombastic]

I recall we had discussed the mechanical issues Metrolinx as having with the Shariyos. Can anyone speak to which cars in particular?

I'm riding 1011 and have used it before and someone who riders those route everyday I can say it is the loudest most whiny car as if the engine put through is not being matched in acceleration.
The train did not have the acceleration it usually does today while the noise was louder.

Can anyone speak to whether this car is a one of the problem cars?

Also I am much more frequently seeing 3car sets which might imply they have been getting better reliability out if the units.

 

[smallspy]

Also I am much more frequently seeing 3car sets which might imply they have been getting better reliability out if the units.

That definitely seems to be the case, on both counts. They seem to be doing fewer mid-day change-offs due to equipment problems as well (although there was one that went particularly pear-shaped on Saturday).

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[mdrejhon]

They have finally started repairing the ceiling at Pearson UPX, at least during late shifts. Men inside were working as of 12:28am. There was a cherrypicker and at least a couple men working inside, presumably prepping for their next piece or so.

We'll finally say goodbye to the netting at some point. No more falling wood panels!

 

[dowlingm]

I took UPX for the first time last week from YYZ to Bloor at around 5.25. Packed two car set, people standing in the vestibules. Found the engine note from the diesel noticeable. Only saw two people on the platform leaving Weston.

Also, when getting a GO from Bloor to Malton around 8.30, noted a sizeable number getting on a UPX heading downtown. Because of the platform layout it was hard to say exactly how many.