Waterloo Region Transit Developments (ION LRT, new terminal, GRT buses)

[nfitz]

I was taking VIA to Kitchener next week, and I figured the new station must be progressing. But I looked on the Wikipedia page, and says they haven't started construction yet (except for the streetcar stop)! And won't open until at least 2022?

Is that correct? Wow ...

Looks like we should edit the thread title - as the name of the terminal is simply "Central Station".

 

[innsertnamehere]

I believe it only got funding a short while ago.

 

[nfitz]

Will be interesting to see how the Confederation Line in Ottawa fares with the Alstom trains. If Alstom hits it out of the park why would Metrolinx even bother with Bombardier anymore?

Cheaper?

 

[innsertnamehere]

Yea, bombardier's price was something like 50% less.

 

[nfitz]

Yea, bombardier's price was something like 50% less.

Though Bombardier's price per car since went up, as a penalty for reducing the order.

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

Though Bombardier's price per car since went up, as a penalty for reducing the order.

They're not really comparable vehicles though... the Alstom one ordered is 48m long while the Felity Freedom they ordered is 30m long. Had Metrolinx changed to a 7-module variant of the Flexity it would be more comparable.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Conversely, the Citadis Spirit can be had in a 30m length (two long end modules, one short). You don't have to have the 48m variant, Ottawa just picked it because it was the most appropriate since the Confederation Line is starting out at around a 12k/pphd capacity. Metrolinx matched Ottawa's length and end unit "face" which is fully customizable, I think because they were in a rush to find a replacement and figured it was faster to get what was already being built.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

The big difference between the Flexity and Spirit (in any length) is turning radius. The Flexity can make a sharper turn then the Spirit can. That might be something that precludes the Spirit from KW, as it makes some tight 90 degree turns. Other Citadis models could make those turns though.

EDIT: Maybe not. According to Wikipedia, the Freedom and the Spirit both have 25m minimum turning radii, where as the Flexity Outlook is 11m. I would have figured the Freedom would be able to turn sharper as it has shorter sections.

 

[KevinT]

Looks like we should edit the thread title - as the name of the terminal is simply "Central Station".

I prefer to think of it as Berlin HBF.

 

[KevinT]

Had a good lunchtime scouting mission today.

First I spotted 503 hiding near the back of the yard with its panto down:



Then caught 504 running north on the southbound track through Bearinger Rd, past Quiet Place, and through the Weber St crossover:

The crew at Quiet Place said that it was continued signals testing today. The signals at Bearinger Rd worked perfectly but the ones at the Quiet Pl and Old Albert St pedestrian crossings still clearly needed some tuning.

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

Had a good lunchtime scouting mission today.

First I spotted 503 hiding near the back of the yard with its panto down:



Then caught 504 running north on the southbound track through Bearinger Rd, past Quiet Place, and through the Weber St crossover:

The crew at Quiet Place said that it was continued signals testing today. The signals at Bearinger Rd worked perfectly but the ones at the Quiet Pl and Old Albert St pedestrian crossings still clearly needed some tuning.

The speeds they are still doing aren't very useful to tune signals tbh.

 

[KevinT]

The speeds they are still doing aren't very useful to tune signals tbh.

Presumably they'd use a modern 'predictor' type system that takes train speeds into account; in which case slow, medium, and high speed testing will all be necessary.

 

[reaperexpress]

Had a good lunchtime scouting mission today.

First I spotted 503 hiding near the back of the yard with its panto down:


Then caught 504 running north on the southbound track through Bearinger Rd, past Quiet Place, and through the Weber St crossover:

The crew at Quiet Place said that it was continued signals testing today. The signals at Bearinger Rd worked perfectly but the ones at the Quiet Pl and Old Albert St pedestrian crossings still clearly needed some tuning.

How did you know when to go out to see the LRV running? I'd be interested in seeing it in person but don't want to stand around all day waiting

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

How did you know when to go out to see the LRV running? I'd be interested in seeing it in person but don't want to stand around all day waiting

they have lately been testing from around 10 AM - 2 PM on weekdays. That might change in a few weeks as testing progresses.

 

[KevinT]

How did you know when to go out to see the LRV running? I'd be interested in seeing it in person but don't want to stand around all day waiting

I work a few blocks away from the OMSF, so I check the yard and the power disconnect switches at the Bearinger Rd TPSS on my morning drive to the office*. If the yard gate is open and the switches are on, it's a good sign and I take another drive on my lunch break to scout the line between the OMSF and Erb/Caroline. Some days I get lucky, some not. Of course once they start venturing beyond that section, doing a scouting drive becomes a lot less practical.

If you have access to a trunked radio scanner (I wish I had the disposable cash to buy one), the details for listening in on the Ion team's radio chatter are here:

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=1783

That would make playing the 'find an Ion' game much easier...

* I've been called a foamer in the Facebook group, ironically by someone who's profile says he works for A&B Rail Services Ltd., a company that did work for GrandLinq on the Ion system. You'd think he'd appreciate someone that appreciates his work, but apparently not.