[nfitz]

No, they are lazy. I've cursed boarding trying to step over people sat on the stairs, only to get to the top and found empty seats. When I've come back to get off, I've taken a strip off the same idiots sat on the stairs ... who weren't even going to the next station. If they wanted to be first off the trains, they'd be standing.

What kind of trailer trash sits on the steps of train!?!

 

[crs1026]

It would be nice if the train crew made an announcement that there are plenty of seats a few cars away. I bet some people might take them up on the offer.

- Paul

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

As it sits now the line for public consumption is that UP cost +/- $450mil and none of the $1.3B is allocated to UP. I imagine that is because if they were to say (using your numbers) "the total spent was $1.75B and $1.25B of that was UP" then the heat/public opposition to UP would be much higher than it is presently.

Told you this would happen.

 

[drum118]

It would be nice if the train crew made an announcement that there are plenty of seats a few cars away. I bet some people might take them up on the offer.

- Paul

I guess the CAS have x-ray vision to see the number of empty seats as well where.

 

[Jonny5]

It not people being lazy, but how close to their car is as well how fast they can get out of the station. The longer you are away, the longer it takes to get out of the lot.

I would expect a good CSA to know these things and react to them accordingly. It doesn't require clairvoyance for a CSA to see 20 people board his car at rush hour and look down the tracks to see 1000 cram on to the first four cars. If it really is so hard GO should years ago arranged for passenger flow and boarding data to be relayed to CSAs to help them mitigate this problem.

The "get out of the station quickly" explanation is not logical based on the facts. The same train car I boarded at York street every day was very lightly loaded every trip, often less than 50% seated. After the Bay concourse closed it has been crush loaded every day. The cars adjacent to the old Bay concourse stairs, which were crush loaded before the closure, are now shockingly deserted. People aren't maximizing efficiency on exit. It's clear a very large number of riders have switched the car they ride on far to the west based solely on where the stairs take them.

We shall see if it is a permanent change or not. I suspect it is.

 

[smallspy]

I would expect a good CSA to know these things and react to them accordingly. It doesn't require clairvoyance for a CSA to see 20 people board his car at rush hour and look down the tracks to see 1000 cram on to the first four cars. If it really is so hard GO should years ago arranged for passenger flow and boarding data to be relayed to CSAs to help them mitigate this problem.

That's pretty funny. You really expect the CSA to be able to see crowds when they only have a very slight height advantage over the rest of the crowds trying to get off of the train and the ones lined up to get on?

And of how much use is historical ridership data when you're dealing with a station that is under construction and is not its regular configuration? Or with one-time-only ridership surges due to special events?

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[TOareaFan]

That's pretty funny. You really expect the CSA to be able to see crowds when they only have a very slight height advantage over the rest of the crowds trying to get off of the train and the ones lined up to get on?

And of how much use is historical ridership data when you're dealing with a station that is under construction and is not its regular configuration? Or with one-time-only ridership surges due to special events?

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

Actually...the CSA on the first westbound train after yesterday's TFC match did a terrific job (or at least gave a terrific effort) to get people to move to the far east end of the train......not sure how successful he was but he gave it a grade A effort.

 

[nfitz]

Just before that westbound train left, the long line of people just west of the train was no more (I was on the eastbound platform waiting).

The main failing was that it was only a 10-car train, and GO did nothing to announce it was going to be a short train, or to shift the packed crowd on the platform expecting a 12-car train down the platform.

 

[TOareaFan]

Just before that westbound train left, the long line of people just west of the train was no more (I was on the eastbound platform waiting).

The main failing was that it was only a 10-car train, and GO did nothing to announce it was going to be a short train, or to shift the packed crowd on the platform expecting a 12-car train down the platform.

Generally the biggest failing of the construction has been the communication.....I suspect they did not announce the 10 car train was coming because they did not know.

The second home game of the season (after having been stuck at the #12 sign in week one) I had a conversation with one of the GO staff at the station....asked him "is the next car a 10 or 12 car"....his answer "How would I know"....when I said that since it was due in 10 minutes someone must know already.....he said to me "what would we do with that information if we did know"...I said that, for one, it would defeat the purpose of pushing everyone east of the #10 sign if it meant there was going to be 2 car lengths of platform not used....on a personal level, I said, I would just be the first person by the yellow line at the #12 sign......he told me to just move east as he did not know...when I asked if he could radio someone to find out...he just turned away from me and started ushering everyone else to move to the east.

So, I am pretty sure that they did not announce it was a 10 car train because they did not know.

Interestingly when I have asked GO about 10 car trains rather than 12 car trains they say it is unpredictable and sorta just your luck.....I would correct them on that as it is almost always a 10 car train that serves the WB Lakeshore with the first post TFC train.....if I was betting on "just my luck"...i would always bet 10.

 

[Jonny5]

Lakeshore West service suspended because a train hit a pedestrian "west of Exhibition". That's an unusual place for someone to be hit, though I recall it happening along the Gardiner a few years ago too. Not sure what people would be doing along the tracks there.

 

[nfitz]

Not sure what people would be doing along the tracks there.

I'd suspect they'd chosen to be there.

 

[drum118]

Lakeshore West service suspended because a train hit a pedestrian "west of Exhibition". That's an unusual place for someone to be hit, though I recall it happening along the Gardiner a few years ago too. Not sure what people would be doing along the tracks there.

Trying to cross the tracks to get to the other side by a short cut. Happen more than enough.

Sorry for the crew as they will be out of service for some time to the point not returning at all. Kill the spare board badly.

 

[mdrejhon]

Sorry for the crew as they will be out of service for some time to the point not returning at all. Kill the spare board badly.

So the crew is put out of commission for the day? Or longer than that?

And that would possibly cause them to quit the job, because they are not paid for their downtime caused by people running in front of trains? Talk about salt in the injury.

 

[vegeta_skyline]

I would expect a good CSA to know these things and react to them accordingly. It doesn't require clairvoyance for a CSA to see 20 people board his car at rush hour and look down the tracks to see 1000 cram on to the first four cars. If it really is so hard GO should years ago arranged for passenger flow and boarding data to be relayed to CSAs to help them mitigate this problem.

I've worked with CSA's who occasionally make those kinds of announcements and the difference it makes it marginal at best. One summed it up pretty good, couldn't tell if more people were actually coming or if it was just the usual ebb and flow of pedestrian traffic.

Lakeshore West service suspended because a train hit a pedestrian "west of Exhibition". That's an unusual place for someone to be hit, though I recall it happening along the Gardiner a few years ago too. Not sure what people would be doing along the tracks there.

To further nifitz post, it's call "suicide". Not always, but more than 50% of the time.

Actually that's not an unusual place at all for it to happen at all. To the contrary it's an ideal place and possibly the most popular one on the entire system. I know of at least a dozen incidents occurring in that general area over the years, not exaggerating and this just adds to the running tally. It's ideal because trains are operating at a high speed(zone speed of 70) coming around a blind curve - meaning there is no time to stop if there's a person or obstruction on the tracks. Access to the track is easy and there is a mental health hospital nearby. Perfect combination really. What's much more usual is someone getting hit east of Exhibition, since the tracks are straight and speeds are generally much lower but even in that area its happened on occasion.

So the crew is put out of commission for the day? Or longer than that?

And that would possibly cause them to quit the job, because they are not paid for their downtime caused by people running in front of trains? Talk about salt in the injury.

The current policy is 3 days off paid leave, plus the rest of the shift off course, whenever you get back that is. Usually stuck there for a couple of hours while the police investigate. This is better then a few years ago - zero extra days off. Any additional time off, which seems to about running at about 50/50 is dealt with through the WSIB.

 

[TOareaFan]

So the crew is put out of commission for the day? Or longer than that?

And that would possibly cause them to quit the job, because they are not paid for their downtime caused by people running in front of trains? Talk about salt in the injury.

I think, as we should, we recognize with compassion that it cannot be "easy" on a crew that, through no fault of their own, just "took another life"......so I would bet the statement by drum is that they get time off to address their own mental state.....and that, reading between the lines, some people just never get over it and are never able to return.