I just now realized what a circuitous route the CP / Milton line takes from Kipling to Dundas West/Bloor. I never really thought about how ridiculous that routing is. Maybe some day they could just build another tunnel under Line 2 and route the Milton trains through there to save all that backtracking the Milton line does going north and then south again.
 
Money, crews, and time slots
Money and crews, yes.

Time slots? Not so much.Those time slots that GO currently uses to run their service on Monday to Friday? They also exist on weekends.

I just now realized what a circuitous route the CP / Milton line takes from Kipling to Dundas West/Bloor. I never really thought about how ridiculous that routing is. Maybe some day they could just build another tunnel under Line 2 and route the Milton trains through there to save all that backtracking the Milton line does going north and then south again.

You probably shouldn't look too closely at the Richmond Hill line then. Or around Hamilton.

Dan
 
I just now realized what a circuitous route the CP / Milton line takes from Kipling to Dundas West/Bloor. I never really thought about how ridiculous that routing is. Maybe some day they could just build another tunnel under Line 2 and route the Milton trains through there to save all that backtracking the Milton line does going north and then south again.
It's a bit circuitous but it still gets you from Union to Kipling in 18 minutes vs. 40 minutes on the subway.
 
Money and crews, yes.

Time slots? Not so much.Those time slots that GO currently uses to run their service on Monday to Friday? They also exist on weekends.



You probably shouldn't look too closely at the Richmond Hill line then. Or around Hamilton.

Dan
Talking about all day on the weekend for time slots that don't exist today other than peak time. Is CP willing to allow hourly service or very 2 hours or so???
 
It's a bit circuitous but it still gets you from Union to Kipling in 18 minutes vs. 40 minutes on the subway.

A 4.7 mile tunnel would save about a mile, or 2 minutes of travel at a huge cost. It's comparable to what might be required in Montreal for a second tunnel past Mount Royal, but there the distance and time savings are several times greater. I don't think it will ever seem like the lowest hanging fruit.
 
I just now realized what a circuitous route the CP / Milton line takes from Kipling to Dundas West/Bloor. I never really thought about how ridiculous that routing is. Maybe some day they could just build another tunnel under Line 2 and route the Milton trains through there to save all that backtracking the Milton line does going north and then south again.

Let's look at facts.

Google maps says the straight line distance from the Kipling bridge (MP 9.37 Galt Sub) to the Bloor bridge (MP 3.81 Galt Sub) is 4.41 miles. So the rail route (5.56 miles) is only 1.15 miles less direct. At 50 mph, that's a cost of a little over a minute.

Do you think that a tunnel would be perfectly straight? (The Humber River and High Park present some interesting obstacles).

This just isn't a realistic concern. The idea of a tunnel (easily $1B, maybe $2B) is the ridiculous routing.

- Paul
 
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Not to mention, the BiLevels are very long, so the turning radius to link the line onto the existing Galt sub would be substantial.And where would such a tunnel surface, and connect? I don't usually sit on that side of the train when I ride the Milton line, but I don't recall there being much in the way of surplus space along the trackside.
 
Let's look at facts.

Google maps says the straight line distance from the Kipling bridge (MP 9.37 Galt Sub) to the Bloor bridge (MP 3.81 Galt Sub) is 4.41 miles. So the rail route (5.56 miles) is only 1.15 miles less direct. At 50 mph, that's a cost of a little over a minute.

Do you think that a tunnel would be perfectly straight? (The Humber River and High Park present some interesting obstacles).

This just isn't a realistic concern. The idea of a tunnel (easily $1B, maybe $2B) is the ridiculous routing.

- Paul

TBH I was mostly joking. Although the real joke is the service that the Milton line gets and the fact that it's still worse than pre-Covid and has actually gotten worse with the buses and now the further degradation of the bus service. It's proof in real time about how to drive away ridership.
 
Are there slow orders on the airport spur? I was using the UP Express today and that portion seemed slower than usual. cc @smallspy @crs1026
That spur has always been terrible and it's hard for me to imagine the UPX could go any more slowly than usual without being stopped completely. Also a brutal way to end the trip to the airport if you're running late for your flight.

I wonder if the overall speed issue is due to the spur curve not being super-elevated, or if there is another cause.
 
That spur has always been terrible and it's hard for me to imagine the UPX could go any more slowly than usual without being stopped completely. Also a brutal way to end the trip to the airport if you're running late for your flight.

I wonder if the overall speed issue is due to the spur curve not being super-elevated, or if there is another cause.
I think it's a combination of the grade and the curve and is a (possibly unavoidable) 'design flaw'. I agree it would be hard to go much slower and still move :->
 
I didn't have a chance to take a picture of it, but I thought on saw green flags after the curve that I don't remember seeing the past.
 
I wouldn’t know if there is a new TSO on the spur, but as noted the design is proving problemmatic and the permissible speed is certainly much slower than first intended.

- Paul
I thought they figured out a way to reduce the vibration with different rail fasteners?
 

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