[smallspy]

Do we know for sure that the tracks aren't ballasted? Keep in mind that the ballasts could be covered by concrete after they've been installed. That's how the TTC does them for streetcars:

View attachment 43685

The only stretch of ballasted track on the TTC streetcar system is the section between Humber Loop and Sunnyside, along The Queensway. Everything else is rail encapsulated in concrete.

What you are showing in that photo is the rail attached to the ties, sitting on the cured, poured concrete slab. The nest layer covers the ties, and the third fills up to the top of the rail.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[W. K. Lis]

A look at Boston's Green Line. Originally built in 1897 using the streetcars of the time, now using light rail vehicles (shorter than the Flexity Freedom) in an underground subway, surface right-of-way, and in mixed traffic.

[video=youtube;AYsRo4vigGw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYsRo4vigGw[/video]

 

[Palma]

looks like a streetcar

 

[W. K. Lis]

Here's a time lapse from the Edmonton light rail.

[video=youtube;PVya5wnJpVg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVya5wnJpVg[/video]

Too bad it's a light rail line not a heavy rail subway, which some anti-transit folks prefer.

 

[11th]

Here's a time lapse from the Edmonton light rail.

Too bad it's a light rail line not a heavy rail subway, which some anti-transit folks prefer.

I hope you're not comparing the Edmonton light rail with the in-median LRTs we are getting.
Anti-transit folks might not want this, but there sure to be those who will prefer this over Transit City style LRT lines.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Here's a time lapse of Seattle light rail. It's a fantastic system, and somewhat similar to the ECLRT

[video]https://youtu.be/sT9GJXv7NaA?t=2m20s[/video]

 

[Dan416]

Here's a time lapse from the Edmonton light rail.

Too bad it's a light rail line not a heavy rail subway, which some anti-transit folks prefer.

In what alternate reality is being pro-subway the same thing as being anti-transit? That's Republicanesque logic.

 

[nfitz]

Here's a time lapse of Seattle light rail. It's a fantastic system, and somewhat similar to the ECLRT

Though very lightly used. I counted 4 passengers boarding at 5 stations. Even in rush hour, it only runs once every 7.5 minutes, and drops to once every 15 minutes off-peak. The route is over 22 km and has ridership on par with the 7 km long St. Clair streetcar. Compare to the 19 km Eglinton line is forecast to have 5 times the ridership.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Here's a time lapse of Seattle light rail. It's a fantastic system, and somewhat similar to the ECLRT

[video]https://youtu.be/sT9GJXv7NaA?t=2m20s[/video]

The stations seem to be further apart than what the ECLRT surface stations would be like.

 

[nfitz]

The stations seem to be further apart than what the ECLRT surface stations would be like.

Yes, the average spacing of the 13 stations is over 2.1 km. Given it's only 2.5 km from the first station at Westlake (downtown) to the 5th station (Stadium - an average spacing of about 650 metres), then the remaining 8 stations have an average spacing of about 2.8 km.

Given the forecast ridership of the shorter Eglinton line is about 5 times higher, perhaps the lesson here is that spacing should be closer!

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Yes, the average spacing of the 13 stations is over 2.1 km. Given it's only 2.5 km from the first station at Westlake (downtown) to the 5th station (Stadium - an average spacing of about 650 metres), then the remaining 8 stations have an average spacing of about 2.8 km.

Given the forecast ridership of the shorter Eglinton line is about 5 times higher, perhaps the lesson here is that spacing should be closer!

And before people say the stop spacing needs to be wider:

According to the EA, increasing spacing only marginally improve travel times. This is because dwell time increases at the remaining stations when spacing is widened. Furthermore wider stop spacing reduces the number of people served.

 

[WislaHD]

That is why reducing stop spacing on Eglinton would be a poor decision.

But the stop spacing on Sheppard East is almost St. Clair like at points, which is where I think most of the sentiment for widening stop spacing comes from.

 

[W. K. Lis]

And before people say the stop spacing needs to be wider:

According to the EA, increasing spacing only marginally improve travel times. This is because dwell time increases at the remaining stations when spacing is widened. Furthermore wider stop spacing reduces the number of people served.

Line 1 has wide spacing north of Eglinton, requiring buses to provide local service. However, and this is a BIG however, the buses do not have the same headway service like the rapid transit service underneath it. At 15 minutes (even during the rush hours), it can be upsetting to miss a bus and then having to decide to walk to the nearest station or not. See link. Except when the subway is down for the morning, when the 320 Yonge Blue night runs.

Yet having the Line 2 extended further into Scarborough as a heavy rail subway would also mean wide spacing of stations. Another problem to come.

Wider spacing on the ECLRT may be a nice to have, until one considers that a local bus line might be required to fill in the gaps. But only if the headway matches the rapid transit line.

 

[ehlow]

That is why reducing stop spacing on Eglinton would be a poor decision.

But the stop spacing on Sheppard East is almost St. Clair like at points, which is where I think most of the sentiment for widening stop spacing comes from.

Sheppard spacing is much wider than St Clair. It's mostly 400m, with some 800m. You could argue that it should always be 800m (major roads only), but it's still basically at least double the 200m St Clair spacings.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

The stations seem to be further apart than what the ECLRT surface stations would be like.

That is true.

The best comparison for Eglinton, Finch and Sheppard LRTs actually exists right here in Toronto. It's the Queensway LRT. The three LRTs should be very similar to Queensway.

- They all run on private ROWs
- They all have signal priority. Through Queensway's priority is apparently somewhat troublesome. I'd expect it signal priority to perform better on our modern LRT lines
- The LRT lines will have higher usage than Queensway. This will have a negative impact on dwell times (when compared to Queensway), though all door boarding will likely negate this
- Stop spacing on the Queensway is significantly tighter than on the new LRT lines. About 380 meters vs. 400 to 600 meters.
- The average speed of Queensway and the expected speeds of the LRT lines are about the same.

If you've ridden on Queensway, you know how fast it speed down the ROW. It feels like you're on a rocket. I love it

Start about 1:00 in.

[video=youtube;6wELmKuaBjo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wELmKuaBjo[/video]

More:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xc52vHLtWk