[M II A II R II K]

Unless the stations have side tracks for trains to stop at and the middle tracks would be the regular tracks for other trains to bypass the stations, that way there would only be extra tracks in the stations only. This would also have the additional benefit of one train being stopped for some reason doesn't hold the whole line up.

 

[gweed123]

Since it's not built yet perhaps they can include express trains in it.

If any line should be 4-tracked in Toronto it should be the DRL (east and west). The DRL east is going to avearge at least 20,000 pphpd on opening, which is double the minimum needed for subway. Add a couple extra tracks to that, and it could easily be 30,000 pphpd. I have no doubt in my mind that the demand is there.

The only catch is, in order for a 4 tracked DRL to be truly effective, it would need to go at least from Eglinton to Eglinton, hopefully going out to the airport as well (an express subway to the airport would be pretty awesome, and I'm pretty sure Weston residents would be in favour of that, haha).

 

[gweed123]

Unless the stations have side tracks for trains to stop at and the middle tracks would be the regular tracks for other trains to bypass the stations, that way there would only be extra tracks in the stations only. This would also have the additional benefit of one train being stopped for some reason doesn't hold the whole line up.

Works well with BRT, not so much with fixed rails. If you have switch problems, the line is screwed.

 

[Mapleson]

Works well with BRT, not so much with fixed rails. If you have switch problems, the line is screwed.

If you have switch problems, the whole track is FUBAR anyway, regardless of where the stations are. Pocket tracks have been a long mainstay in the rail industry for passing. There is very little difference putting a station platform on one to any other siding use.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Would be cool to not only have express routes but several to choose from to allow more stations to be express.

 

[gweed123]

Would be cool to not only have express routes but several to choose from to allow more stations to be express.

It would be interesting to see this applied to Davisville, Summerhill, and Rosedale on the Yonge line, just so that every 2nd train could run express from Eglinton to Bloor, only stopping at St. Clair. It would in essence turn the Yonge line north of Bloor into an express subway, because north of Eglinton it pretty much already is an express subway.

 

[toraerach]

1) Let's not forget that many older subway stations, including all YUS stations south of Bloor, have no fare-paid connections to surface routes.

2) We don't even know at this point how the Eglinton - STC line, if built according to the new plan, will handle fares. There was an idea to use POP on all Transit City routes, but with Eglinton going fully grade-separate, they might change that and install automatic entrances at all stations. STC stations are in the fare-paid zone already.

There are pros and cons to making the stations on the Eglinton-STC line fare-paid areas. One of the biggest pros I can think of is the fact that each LRV trainset will have much more capacity than the surface routes south of Bloor and will be dumping larger amounts of people off at Kennedy, Eglinton, and Eglinton West stations. If those transfers are switching from the non-fare-paid LRT platforms to the fare-paid subway platforms, it could cause a bottleneck and make those transfers more difficult and time-consuming. Transfers should be kept as seamless as possible.

Which gets me to the biggest con - making every station along the line a fare-paid zone accessible only through automatic entrances would make it difficult/impossible for bus-to-LRT paper transfers. It would also make extending the line at-grade beyond Black Creek more difficult if we eventually decide to go down that route.

They could always do the fare paid areas like they do on the Canada Line in Vancouver. They simply paint a line on the floor, and if you cross it without proof of payment, you can be ticketed.

I like this idea. It's a good compromise and easy enough to implement. I do think that the busier stations (Scarborough Centre, Kennedy, Eglinton, Eglinton West, possibly some others) should remain fare-paid zones in the tradtional sense: manned gates, connections to surface/subway routes within the fare-paid zone, etc. This infrastructure already exists at the four stations I've highlighted above so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[SlickFranky]

With the new legacy fleet replacements coming there will be POP routes all over the core interacting with all sorts of other routes. Eglinton's fare policy will be decided there.

 

[Amy Rose]

It would be interesting to see this applied to Davisville, Summerhill, and Rosedale on the Yonge line, just so that every 2nd train could run express from Eglinton to Bloor, only stopping at St. Clair. It would in essence turn the Yonge line north of Bloor into an express subway, because north of Eglinton it pretty much already is an express subway.

That will end up as a big news story about how locals are pissed off that they have to wait in the sun or in the freezing winter, the train is delayed, and that train bypasses their station since its express (this applies to the stations that are outside). Almost as controversial as transit city, because to bypass the stations, you need less capacity, unless you are proposing a really expensive method of building two more set of tracks that split and meet, you will have an even more stressed Yonge line

 

[Eug]

Hume fumes about lost Finch LRT

I can't say that video was very convincing.

"The true beauty of the LRT is that it would have connected all these disparate parts."

Meanwhile, he showed half-empty buses on wide open roads... I wonder what time of the day it was.

 

[Dan416]

Hume fumes about lost Finch LRT

I can't say that video was very convincing.

"The true beauty of the LRT is that it would have connected all these disparate parts."

Meanwhile, he showed half-empty buses on wide open roads... I wonder what time of the day it was.

Let's not forget kitties, transit isn't about getting people from point A to point B. Duh.

 

[sixrings]

of course its about getting people from point A to Point B...... I aM pretty sure christopher hume recognizes this as well.... However he is a architecture writer.... Hes looking at the ADDITIONAL benefits....

So like you say....

Benefit
1. A to B faster then bus
2. A to B more comfortable with more room then a bus and more convienent
3. (HUMES POINT) The potential of the area surrounding A and B to become actually liveable and likable Versus a suburban mess full of gas stations, strip plazas and low density run down housing.... (Forget it hes probably a DAMN sociallist)

 

[ssiguy2]

The ONLY reason why Finch is a mess is because of the planning dept NOT the TTC. If the planning dept would have required pedestrian friendly urban road design for Finch years ago then we wouldn't have to worry about "creating a community". Finch is a mess because of The City and not the TTC.
Building streetcar lines is no guarantee of good urban development if the planning isn't in place. Also it does not have to be a streetcar to build a pedestrian friendly liveable community as BRT can also do that as proven by the incredibly successful Healthline in Cleveland. Even in Cleveland where development is often taken at any price the Healthline connecting downtown withe University/Medical Centre has seen huge amounts of infill commercial and residential along the line which runs on the once mighty Euclid Ave. It was a decaying street which is common in Cleveland but the city wanted to bring it back to it's former glory. They couldn't afford LRT so went with BRT. Naturally it was laughed at by the LRT interest groups but Clevelanders are having the last laugh. It was the city's busiest bus route and ridership has soared by 50% in just 18 months. The beautified the street, widened the sidewalks, created infill incentives, and created a sense of place between these two large employment centers. It has greatly helped the downtown as well and has rave reviews from the citizens themselves.
Using top of the line articulated modern looking and feeling buses which are comfortable and quiet, POP, well sheltered stops, public art, and pedestrian firendly planning the street and immediate area are booming. There is a massive amount of low rise residential lofts, apts, condos being built despite the fact that Cleveland is awash with empty homes and extremely cheap housing.
My point is that a streetcar does not make an area all of a sudden desirable...........all it does it provide a potential impetus but BRT , as Cleveland has shown, can do that as well but is cheaper, faster to build, more flexible, and more expandable.

 

[Mapleson]

The ONLY reason why Finch is a mess is because of the planning dept NOT the TTC. If the planning dept would have required pedestrian friendly urban road design for Finch years ago then we wouldn't have to worry about "creating a community". Finch is a mess because of The City and not the TTC.

My point is that a streetcar does not make an area all of a sudden desirable...........all it does it provide a potential impetus but BRT , as Cleveland has shown, can do that as well but is cheaper, faster to build, more flexible, and more expandable.

Years ago? Like before 1997? I agree that good planning needs to go along side good transit. Finch is just another seam of the city that wasn't developed well because of political borders.

 

[Eug]

I thought I'd try the Bloor-Danforth crosstown route today, as I've never done it before. Unfortunately, the Kipling subway isn't running today for track maintenance. So I got on the shuttle bus from Kipling station at 12:34, and I'm on my way to Jane station. This express bus is making me nauseated…

EDIT:

Got to Jane at 12:53.

I think we got going at around 12:58, so:

12:34 - Kipling shuttle bus
12:58 - Jane
13:10 - Spadina
13:13 - Yonge
13:19 - Broadview
13:25 - Coxwell
13:30 - Victoria Park
13:37 - Kennedy

The TTC schedule states it should take 38 mins from Jane to Kennedy. That's almost bang on. Pretty good. Will the Jane to Kennedy trip on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT be as fast?