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

That parking garage at 17:04 is insanely massive.
 
Neutrino said:
That parking garage at 17:04 is insanely massive.
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As more and more people, not just passengers, use the ever expanding Pearson Airport, a Pearson Transit Hub (aka Union West) is more and more needed, along with the Crosstown LRT and Finch West LRT going to it. See link.
 
robmausser said:
I really wish they had bought enough cars to make all of the consists 3 car lengths.
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In fact they did. And one spare set and one set in for service. They have 18 units. One can only guess that they are unable to put out four three-car sets for some reason unknown to most of us.

Anyone care to have a go at the math?
 
steveintoronto said:
One can only guess that they are unable to put out four three-car sets for some reason unknown to most of us.
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They've regularly been putting out three 3-car sets for service the past couple of months. It appears that after several years, that they're finally approaching the reliability that they'd been promised.

For the record, there are five sets in service every day, not four. That only leaves one set spare.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
smallspy said:
They've regularly been putting out three 3-car sets for service the past couple of months. It appears that after several years, that they're finally approaching the reliability that they'd been promised.

For the record, there are five sets in service every day, not four. That only leaves one set spare.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
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Only about half the sets are three car. They run past my window. Haven't done an actual count, but from boarding them a couple of times a week, many are still two car sets.
 
steveintoronto said:
In fact they did. And one spare set and one set in for service. They have 18 units. One can only guess that they are unable to put out four three-car sets for some reason unknown to most of us.

Anyone care to have a go at the math?
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I think they break down and need repair a lot more often than expected, was the explanation I got for why they have so many cars and so little being used at one time.

Also the explanation why the factory that made them closed their doors.
 
robmausser said:
Also the explanation why the factory that made them closed their doors.
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That was due to a massive fail on their Amtrak coach order:
Rochelle rail-car plant loses $352 million Amtrak contract to California

I highly recommend reading the entire story at the link above, but this just caught my attention:
The cars to be built are now single-level instead of double-decker. According to the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, single-level cars are safer and better able to protect passengers in the event of a crash.
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There's a story alone in that....

Addendum: Tracing this story through, and references to "Brightline" appearing in some copy, and prior reference to Brightline coaches as per VIA Fleet Renewal:
November 09, 2017

Caltrans announced that the order for new passenger coaches for California and Midwest corridor trains will now be filled by Siemens. The joint order by Caltrans and Illinois Department of Transportation is for 137 cars, 88 of which are for the Midwest. The coaches are expected to be similar to the cars Siemens is delivering to Brightline. The press release touts "spacious, modern interiors that focus on passenger comfort and convenience, such as Wi-Fi, spacious seats with convenient power outlets, large windows with great views for all passengers, bike racks, overhead luggage storage, work tables, state-of-the-art restrooms with touchless controls and full ADA accessibility throughout the cars."

There are a number of technical and operational details about the Brightline cars that may change for this new order. The Brightline cars are designed to meet a high-level platform, but the Midwest and California cars will need stairs and an accessible lift to serve low platforms.
[...]
Two-level cars have a number of serious disadvantages. Passengers must navigate a cramped staircase when boarding or leaving the train, which makes station stops longer. People with limited mobility are confined to seats or rooms on the lower level and are unable to move around the train, because the passages between cars are on the upper level.

Modern, single-level coaches are safer, protecting passengers better in a crash. They are strong yet light, allowing them to accelerate quickly and ride more smoothly on rough track. They operate as unified trainsets, which allows means better management of forces in case of a collision or derailment. The sealed passageway between cars eliminates the hazardous vestibule, which is slippery during rain and snow. Locomotives or driving cabs on both ends allows a train to simply head back the way it came when it reaches its destination, instead of requiring a slow and expensive turn-around move in a yard. [...]
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https://www.midwesthsr.org/new-midwest-trains-will-be-modern-single-level-siemens-design

That's equally applicable to RER and Metrolinx.

^Cross posted to VIA string.


 
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steveintoronto said:
Only about half the sets are three car. They run past my window. Haven't done an actual count, but from boarding them a couple of times a week, many are still two car sets.
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I'm not disagreeing with you - two-of-five or three-of-five is approximately half, right?

But my point is that those sets are now staying in service for the full day, and we're seeing 3-car trains out consistently and for full days. Even last summer when they were able to put three 3-car trains out, it wasn't uncommon to have one or two of the trains swapped out before the end of the day.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
smallspy said:
I'm not disagreeing with you - two-of-five or three-of-five is approximately half, right?

But my point is that those sets are now staying in service for the full day, and we're seeing 3-car trains out consistently and for full days. Even last summer when they were able to put three 3-car trains out, it wasn't uncommon to have one or two of the trains swapped out before the end of the day.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
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Thanks for clarification. The 'promise' was to get all of them out as three car sets, which would only be rational considering the 18 in the fleet and a maximum of five three-car-sets being used in regular service.

What's curious is the complete absence of any accounting for the inability to achieve the many times promised goal. Any logic in paying a premium to order more direct from Japan is debased by the apparent problems in the present stock, even if the degree of the problem(s) is less than it was.

I see the UPX as an achievable, relatively affordable way to offer SmartTrack/RER light to the lower Georgetown Corridor by increasing the fleet size. Far from being my first choice, it should have been electrified from the get-go, but no use looking forward in the rear-view mirror.

Let me ask you this: What is your best info on the minimum headway or interval with the present pathing and signaling on the UPX and trackage used? Would 5 mins be achievable?

If so, it would offer the present Con regime a relatively affordable and later upgradable to electric start on serving a form of RER to Bramalea. Of course, it would be nice to go beyond there, but there are budget and operational restraints, of course, and the present DD service to Mt Pleasant could/would continue. Every fifteen mins to Pearson would also continue, and the Bramalea service would be slotted in between.

If Nippon Sharyo Japan is unable to provide more units at a reasonable price, (it's a given that they'd be above market price) then perhaps alternatives could use the UPX slots presently available to serve not only Bramalea, but do through-running service at Union to perhaps Unionville if numbers of stock permit.

RER: The economy model. (Which may even consider the RDCs until replacement)
 
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steveintoronto said:
Let me ask you this: What is your best info on the minimum headway or interval with the present pathing and signaling on the UPX and trackage used? Would 5 mins be achievable?
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As with many/most corridors, the limiting factor is the terminals - and specifically the one at Union. They can run a 10 minute headway through there, although any slip-ups would almost certainly lead to cascading delays. There simply is not enough room for any growth there, and not enough of a margin for error at that kind of headway. Pearson is far less of a concern from that standpoint.

The rest of the corridor is about a high-capacity as one can possibly conceive of on a North American railway with our current regulatory environment. All else being equal (and assuming equipment of roughly equal performance), 5 minute headways shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
My question is why haven’t they laid at least one more track between the Parkdale junction (Barrie Line split) and USRC? With UPX, Kitchener, Barrie and Milton services, wouldn’t extra track give the room for more daily/frequent service?
 
cbrown2009 said:
My question is why haven’t they laid at least one more track between the Parkdale junction (Barrie Line split) and USRC? With UPX, Kitchener, Barrie and Milton services, wouldn’t extra track give the room for more daily/frequent service?
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For a time there were some projects that were literally in the way - eg the Dufferin underpass. As things currently stand, it’s not a dealbreaker for either line because there are other pinch points that remain that prevent added service.
But if I were King for a day, yeah, it would have been done by now - just to get it out of the way. Low hanging fruit indeed, and one less turnout to keep clean especially in winter.

- Paul
 
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