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

[nfitz]

Correct. There's lights and bells (no gates) at either end of the platform. The ones at the north end are for crossing the northbound track to exit the platform east to Phillip St, the ones at the south for exiting west to R&T Park. I suspect they were mandated by Transport Canada.

So where's the vehicle crossing? That wasn't there a few months ago.

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

So where's the vehicle crossing? That wasn't there a few months ago.

The station is here on a map

ION Station: Research & Technology · Waterloo, ON N2L 3X2, Canada

âââââ · Train ticket office

www.google.ca

 

[nfitz]

The station is here on a map

Yeah, but I don't see a vehicle crossing, near the track.

Surely they aren't going to have endlessly ringing bells every time there's a pedestrian crossing off an island platform ... because there's always a pedestrian crossing off an island platform! That would be a whole new level of streetcar fail!

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

Yeah, but I don't see a vehicle crossing, near the track.

Surely they aren't going to have endlessly ringing bells every time there's a pedestrian crossing off an island platform ... because there's always a pedestrian crossing off an island platform! That would be a whole new level of streetcar fail!

it's a Transport Canada requirement for the grade separated sections

 

[nfitz]

it's a Transport Canada requirement for the grade separated sections

Grade separated?

I thought heavy rail operations were temporally separated from streetcar operations.

Also, there were numerous crossing there previously ... I don't recall any bells or lights for the pedestrian crossings ... say at UW to the plaza .... or at Old Albert - or the middle of Waterloo Park (for example).

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

Grade separated?

I thought heavy rail operations were temporally separated from streetcar operations.

Also, there were numerous crossing there previously ... I don't recall any bells or lights for the pedestrian crossings ... say at UW to the plaza .... or at Old Albert - or the middle of Waterloo Park (for example).

Sections that are ballasted track require grade crossing signals at all points where pedestrians or vehicles cross the tracks. Before ION construction there was reduced risk of interaction between pedestrians and vehicles due to the twice a day trains. Because frequency of trains is now considerably higher every crossing requires at least lights and bells

 

[nfitz]

Sections that are ballasted track require grade crossing signals at all points where pedestrians or vehicles cross the tracks. Before ION construction there was reduced risk of interaction between pedestrians and vehicles due to the twice a day trains. Because frequency of trains is now considerably higher every crossing requires at least lights and bells

I thought trains were even more uncommon now - and were only in the middle of the night. They used to run in daylight!

It seems ass backwards to be applying rules about much more stringent crossing requirements, when all the extra vehicles are streetcars.

Also, there are no such bells even where roads cross ballasted TTC tracks - even with more more frequent service than on ION (though is there any left now that they rebuilt 501 along the Queensway - though there certainly was recently).

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

I thought trains were even more uncommon now - and were only in the middle of the night. They used to run in daylight!

It seems ass backwards to be applying rules about much more stringent crossing requirements, when all the extra vehicles are streetcars.

Also, there are no such bells even where roads cross ballasted TTC tracks - even with more more frequent service than on ION (though is there any left now that they rebuilt 501 along the Queensway - though there certainly was recently).
View attachment 189220

ION isn't classified as a streetcar.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

ION isn't classified as a streetcar.

The problem is that Ion shares a federally regulated railway and is subject to those rules, the TTC streetcars aren't bound the same way. It's also why the trains themselves have to ring their bells as they enter/leave the station.

The Trillium line in Ottawa is similar, which is why the city decided against any level crossings and removed the only pedestrian one (with lights and bells) a while ago.

 

[nfitz]

The problem is that Ion shares a federally regulated railway and is subject to those rules, the TTC streetcars aren't bound the same way. It's also why the trains themselves have to ring their bells as they enter/leave the station.

I don't see a problem with trains ringing their bells, given they are so rare (though when I used to live by the track there was an exemption so that trains didn't whistle at crossings) - but it seems total overkill with the Ion cars.

I thought the temporal separation between the mainline trains and the Ion cars would have eliminated the need for such an unnecessary requirement!

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Nope

I don't see a problem with trains ringing their bells, given they are so rare (though when I used to live by the track there was an exemption so that trains didn't whistle at crossings) - but it seems total overkill with the Ion cars.

I thought the temporal separation between the mainline trains and the Ion cars would have eliminated the need for such an unnecessary requirement!

Nope. There's a similar temporal seperation in Ottawa (despite the Lints actually being mainline trains in their native Europe). That separation exempts them from meeting mainline crashworthiness standards, but not any of the other regulations.

However off the shared track the rules don't apply, but did Ion decide to keep operations similar in those sections? I think it would make it simpler for the operators if they don't have to operate under different rules in different sections

 

[W. K. Lis]

It would be an irony to see Doug Ford at the "official" ribbon cutting ceremony for the ION light rail, as we know of his dislike of anything on rails where he can see plebs riding from the inside of his SUV.

 

[robmausser]

It would be an irony to see Doug Ford at the "official" ribbon cutting ceremony for the ION light rail, as we know of his dislike of anything on rails where he can see plebs riding from the inside of his SUV.

Doug has shown he doesnt mind LRT; outside of Toronto.

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

I don't see a problem with trains ringing their bells, given they are so rare (though when I used to live by the track there was an exemption so that trains didn't whistle at crossings) - but it seems total overkill with the Ion cars.

I thought the temporal separation between the mainline trains and the Ion cars would have eliminated the need for such an unnecessary requirement!

Temporal separation of freight and passenger doesn't exempt any rail section that falls under the regulations from the requirements for access control, trespass mitigation and risk management

 

[nfitz]

Temporal separation of freight and passenger doesn't exempt any rail section that falls under the regulations from the requirements for access control, trespass mitigation and risk management

Sure - but the bells/lights weren't required for pedestrian crossing before the Ion cars started to run.

It seems odd and unnecessarily bureaucratic to apply the rules which only seems to be triggered by the Ion frequency, when those are temporally separated. One can ask for exemptions.

However off the shared track the rules don't apply, but did Ion decide to keep operations similar in those sections? I think it would make it simpler for the operators if they don't have to operate under different rules in different sections

Was that a statement or a question? I'd assume that this bell ringing and lights thing was only on the shared piece from near King/Erb to Northfield. It doesn't really roll down residential streets like King Street (and Charles and Duke, Ottawa, etc.) with bells and lights at every intersection does it? That would get old fast ...

What about driveways?