[kettal]

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_15178764

Electric train plan granted key waiver

Caltrain officials have convinced federal safety authorities to allow quick European-style electric trains to zip from San Francisco to San Jose, a national first that paves the way for fast electric commuter and high-speed trains in the Bay Area and around the country.

Although common in Europe, the smaller electric trains are illegal in the United States because federal officials have long considered them too small, poorly designed and unsafe. But after three years of tests and research, Caltrain will become the first railroad in the nation to use the technology after being granted a waiver, a copy of which was obtained by the Bay Area News Group, on Thursday.

Caltrain will essentially be a pilot operation for the trains, called electric multiple units. If successful, commuter railroads and planned high-speed rail networks throughout the nation would have access to cheaper, greener and faster trains.
"People thought they could only get this level of service by having BART. This out-BART's BART." said Bob Doty, head of the joint Caltrain-high-speed rail program. "This tiny little streak of rust out here will be the first in the United States to allow mixed operations of service."

The waiver allows all passenger trains, whether diesel or electric, to run on the same tracks. Freight locomotives can continue to operate in the wee hours while passenger trains are parked.

Read more ---- http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_15178764

If Caltrain can do it, then what excuse does GO Transit have for further ignoring this option?

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

Short answer, not much of an excuse. Long answer, it will probably take some time before more widespread use is adopted so I wouldn't expect much from GO right away. However, this is a huge step in the right direction though.

 

[Second_in_pie]

I don't see why Go can't be a leader in this field. We shouldn't be held back by US commonalities, and starting the EMU bandwagon in Canada could mean that we could get a foothold in the manufacturing industry. That would be a very, very important industry to be in control of in the future, if it means we can sell trains to US cities trying to expand their transit systems.

 

[kettal]

I don't see why Go can't be a leader in this field. We shouldn't be held back by US commonalities, and starting the EMU bandwagon in Canada could mean that we could get a foothold in the manufacturing industry. That would be a very, very important industry to be in control of in the future, if it means we can sell trains to US cities trying to expand their transit systems.

Haha, we'd not be a trailblazer even if we tried. Montreal has had EMUs on the Deux-Montagnes commuter line for a long time, although, they're not double deckers as many European models are.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Ok. So that's like 2 or 3 other North American cities using EMUs? Still plenty of room for Toronto to stand out from the dozens of other NA cities that have regional rail systems and are still using diesel locomotives.

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

Haha, we'd not be a trailblazer even if we tried. Montreal has had EMUs on the Deux-Montagnes commuter line for a long time, although, they're not double deckers as many European models are.

The big difference with the European EMUs is that they are somewhat smaller, such as the case of the Talent, better looking, faster, and can be bought off the shelf essentially. Because they are not as heavy they are much more nimble and suitable for regional rail with regular stops.

Toronto, and Montreal should really capitalize on the chance of introducing European EMUs into the North American market on a large scale. Not just using them in their transit systems, but building them also. Bombardier would probably be able to easily adapt many of their existing facilities to start producing them quickly. And with the number of cities that these could be used that is a huge market that could open up quickly.

 

[kettal]

Ok. So that's like 2 or 3 other North American cities using EMUs? Still plenty of room for Toronto to stand out from the dozens of other NA cities that have regional rail systems and are still using diesel locomotives.

Chicago, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Long Island, Staten Island, and Montreal are the ones I am aware of.

In Europe, Asia, or Australia, no agency would even consider a locomotive-hauled commuter rail service over EMU. Bombardier is the top manufacturer of EMU in Europe, so it should be easy for them to start building their models in Thunder Bay or Quebec... if only Transport Canada and FRA would fix their regulations.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Okay, so Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Montreal. I'm not sure why Toronto shouldn't be glad to join that club and ditch Austin, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles. Perhaps not innovative, but a good ideological standing.

 

[Hipster Duck]

I think Caltrain was planning on using Siemens Desiro units. Unlike blunt-nosed FRA-compliant cabs that look like rolling BFI dumpsters with hazard stripes painted on the front, the Desiro cars are quite...desiro-ble.

 

[golodhendil]

Okay, so Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Montreal. I'm not sure why Toronto shouldn't be glad to join that club and ditch Austin, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles. Perhaps not innovative, but a good ideological standing.

Kettal's list missed Metro-North which runs into Connecticut. Connecticut's own Shore Line East will also start using EMUs this year, though I suppose that can still be considered New York-ish.
Austin actually uses DMUs. So does Sprinter in San Diego and RiverLINE in NJ.

 

[waterloowarrior]

Doty said the electric cars passed each safety test laid out by the FRA, which had never tested its assumption that the European cars were less safe.

.



Ottawa also has European DMUs (they have a special safety agreement with Transport Canada)
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-utsp-otrainlightrailproject-973.htm

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

Ottawa also has European DMUs (they have a special safety agreement with Transport Canada)
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-utsp-otrainlightrailproject-973.htm

The more exceptions the better. The FRA doing actual tests is important as now they can no longer use that as an excuse for rejecting EMU use (at least the one(s) they have tested), and gives transit agencies a reason, and hope, to push for further tests that will allow an even wider range of European EMUs/DMUs to be used.

 

[kettal]

Kettal's list missed Metro-North which runs into Connecticut. Connecticut's own Shore Line East will also start using EMUs this year, though I suppose that can still be considered New York-ish.
Austin actually uses DMUs. So does Sprinter in San Diego and RiverLINE in NJ.

Do you know if Austin's trains are to FRA requirements, or do they have a special waiver?

 

[drum118]

Do you know if Austin's trains are to FRA requirements, or do they have a special waiver?

Non FRA and same as the River Line in NJ.

 

[Justin10000]

Austin's uses the Stadler GTW DMU's, so I do not think they are FRA compliant. There is also some street-running.