W. K. Lis
Superstar
There would be a train to the Rogers Centre every 15 minutes to and from Weston and Bloor, during the next Blue Jays' games.
TOareaFan
Superstar
this has been true for a while now
Forgotten
Active Member
Bravo, drawing parallels between human beings and creatures that act based only on instinct.
salsa
Senior Member
Over a year later, Metrolinx still hasn't cleaned up graffiti on noise walls despite assuring residents that they had a graffiti action plan.
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...d-by-inaction-on-noise-wall-graffiti/-v1/-v1/
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...d-by-inaction-on-noise-wall-graffiti/-v1/-v1/
Attachments
christiesplits
Senior Member
The moment those transparent noise barriers were built I knew it was only a matter of time they would get tagged.
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Palma
Senior Member
what they should have done is commissioned some artist to do a mural. They did a mural west of Caledona along Lawrence on the uderpass
dowlingm
Senior Member
Sonoma-Marin to delay start of service, all engine crankshafts being replaced as a result of the UPX engine failure diagnosis
http://main.sonomamarintrain.org/wp.../Update-on-the-Start-of-Passenger-Service.pdf
Has Metrolinx had anything to say about this, or are they opting to tough it out to mid-life refurb or EMU rebuild because they, like SMART, are scheduling up to the limits of equipment availability?
http://main.sonomamarintrain.org/wp.../Update-on-the-Start-of-Passenger-Service.pdf
Has Metrolinx had anything to say about this, or are they opting to tough it out to mid-life refurb or EMU rebuild because they, like SMART, are scheduling up to the limits of equipment availability?
steveintoronto
Superstar
Incredible find! It's been a while since I've dug on the Bay press, been some in-depth stories, even in the SF press on the Sharyos. Any info I've gotten locally has been from Vegeta Skyline, Metrolinx have a lock-down on anything to do with those trains, or much of anything technical on any of their equipment, save for what they want you to know.
Edit to Add: Report attached, having trouble editing it, so posted in full. We have a long way to go in Ontario to matching the government accountability available in the US, in this case, California.
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steveintoronto
Superstar
Odd, any animal that's been in my company on transit has been remarkably well behaved and people usually fawn over. You're the kind of person, evidently, for who the headline "Scientists amazed that dogs understand up to 200 words" appeals to.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/dogs-amazingly-large-vocabularyBe careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to learn words for new objects as easily as a 3-year-old child would. Its word-learning skill is as good as that of a parrot or chimpanzee.
[...continues...]
Anything more to add as per "creatures that act based only on instinct"?
steveintoronto
Superstar
That's on Dundas just north of the Wallace Street bridge, just up the street from here. Actually they have been cleaning those panels, at one time that pic you post would have been completely graffiti, I've seen the cycle at least three times now. Best approach is:
If you can't beat them (and you can't) best to allow it, but make it actually art, not self aggrandizing spittle.
smallspy
Senior Member
Metrolinx has been replacing the components - and in some cases, complete engines - as they have failed. They've been in regular communication with both Nippon-Sharyo and Cummins about the issues. The availability and reliability of the equipment has improved quite a bit in the past year, although it's still not quite at the point that Metrolinx would like them to be.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
drum118
Superstar
They have the same fleet as UPX and was schedule to start service by year end.
SMART start to be delayed until late spring 2017; engines being rebuilt
SMART start to be delayed until late spring 2017; engines being rebuilt
steveintoronto
Superstar
Mark Dowling posted this copy of the story a few days back:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6193635-181/engine-failure-on-toronto-rail?artslide=0SMART spurred by engine failure on Toronto rail car to replace engines on its brand-new cars
DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | October 14, 2016, 3:03PM
Officials at the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District said Friday every engine on 14 new rail cars — which, combined, cost nearly $50 million — are potentially at risk of failing and must be replaced. The stunning development will further contribute to delays in delivering passenger service promised nearly a decade ago under a taxpayer-funded rail initiative.
SMART had been aiming to launch passenger service by the end of the year, but Friday revised that plan and is now targeting late spring of 2017 to finally bring paying customers on board.
However, Farhad Mansourian, the agency’s general manager, conceded that even the new launch date may not be realistic, depending on resolution of the engine problems and progress made on safety testing.
“We’re giving ourselves a target, and at this point, the target looks good,” Mansourian said. “On a monthly basis, I’ll provide the public and (SMART’s) board with an update.”
Besides frustrating potential riders, the delays carry financial implications for the rail agency, which among other things loses out on fare revenue each day that passenger service isn’t being offered.
There were signs prior to Friday that SMART was going to have trouble meeting its self-imposed deadline to start service in 2016. The agency has ramped up safety testing on the green-and-gray trains and at crossings, but is still months away from simulating fare service and getting final approvals from federal railroad authorities to begin fare operations.
The news that the rail agency also is dealing with a potential major problem related to train engines came more than three months after Mansourian and other SMART officials first were notified that a nearly identical rail car in Toronto had experienced a catastrophic engine failure with passengers on board. No injuries were reported.
The rail car was operating on a new line serving Toronto’s airport when a piston-rod penetrated the engine block and caused the train to lose power, Lisa Cobb, a paid SMART consultant, wrote in a letter attached to Mansourian’s staff report to the rail agency’s board of directors.
The car, operated by Metrolinx, is functionally identical to those used by SMART, and was purchased through an option on SMART’s procurement contract with Sumitomo Corp. of America.
The Diesel Multiple Units, as they are called, were developed at the Nippon Sharyo factory in Toyokawa, Japan and assembled at Sumitomo’s plant in Rochelle, Illinois, to comply with SMART’s federal funding requirement to manufacture and assemble the cars in the United States. The engines were built by Cummins, Inc.
According to Cobb, Sumitomo notified SMART officials about the Toronto engine failure on July 6. Two months later, on Sept. 7, the company alerted SMART that the underlying problem was a design flaw in the engine’s crankshaft.
The parties agreed at a Sept. 14 meeting at a Cummins facility in Indiana that the engines would need to be rebuilt.
Several SMART directors said Friday they were not notified about the engine problems until recently.
Judy Arnold, a Marin County supervisor and chairwoman of SMART’s board, said she was apprised of the problems about two weeks ago. She defended the timing of the notification on the grounds that SMART staff needed time to diagnose the problem and to figure out what steps to take to remedy it.
“I don’t think there have been any secrets kept,” Arnold said Friday. “I think staff did what they needed to do.”
Mansourian said he didn’t alert his board earlier while the engine failure was being investigated because “you don’t have information.
“There was an engine failure in Canada, but why? What is it you are notifying?”
Mansourian said the decision to replace the engines does not require approval from SMART directors. The matter is listed on the board’s Wednesday meeting in Petaluma as a topic for discussion and not one requiring formal action.
In another letter attached to Mansourian’s report, a Cummins official stated that the company recommended “that it is possible to wait” to replace the engines until they have reached the mid-point of their expected life.
But Mansourian and other SMART officials argue it’s better to do the work now.
SMART’s plans call for operating six two-car trains along the initial 43-mile rail line form north Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael, leaving the rail agency with only one spare train in the event a problem should arise.
In the worst-case scenario, Cobb wrote in her letter to the board, passengers might have to be evacuated en route to their destinations due to an engine failure. She stated that in turn could spark a loss of confidence in the system.
Said Mansourian, “For us, it was very important that we deal with a known defect now, and not take the chance or risk and move forward. Getting the engines replaced is the best thing for us to do.”
Arnold agreed, citing the example of a new rail service in Denver that debuted in April and has been beset with problems ever since.
“We want to get it right the first time,” she said.
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Can't wait for the SMART train? Looks like you'll be waiting a little longer
Mansourian said the engines will be replaced one at a time, starting in November and continuing through April. He said testing in the meantime will continue on the rail cars that remain in service.
Meanwhile, the rail agency has been struggling to get warning systems at 63 crossings in Sonoma and Marin counties functioning as intended. Mansourian said Friday that the system is so complex that one problem can lead to a “domino effect that works on everything else.”
Taking trains out of service and then bringing them back online with new engines raises obvious concerns about the potential impact that might have on the testing regimen. Mansourian said he doesn’t believe that the testing process will have to be restarted on individual cars, or on the whole with the entire integrated network. But he couldn’t guarantee it.
“At this point, I don’t think we need to do it over again, but I always leave room for anything because it’s a complicated project and there are many variables,” he said.
He also couldn’t say for sure what the potential financial impacts are related to the engine problems and delays. SMART spent roughly $46.9 million on the rail cars, which are still under warranty.
Mansourian said Cummins has agreed to pick up the tab for replacing the engines. He declined to state whether SMART might in the future seek to recoup costs from the company or from the manufacturer of the cars related to lost revenue from service delays.
“Our first order of business is to take care of the problem,” he said.
Then there’s the matter of lost fare revenue. A majority of SMART directors in June adopted a fare structure based on zone travel, with a $3.50 base fare and $2 charge for each zone line crossed. That equates to an average overall fare of $5.25 with discounts factored in. Without discounts, the average fare is $7.50.
The rate structure is projected to generate initial annual revenue of $3.9 million, about 13 percent of the agency’s operating budget. Currently, about 85 percent of that $30 million operating budget is covered by sales tax from Measure Q, the voter-approved rail initiative passed by voters in 2008.
In July, SMART projected operating reserves of $18.9 million this fiscal year, an amount equal to 44 percent of the entire operations and administration budget, including debt service.
“I’m not having any financial worries at all,” Mansourian said Friday. “This is not a major financial issue. It’s a performance issue and we need to make sure it’s done as promised.”
You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 707-521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Ridership has tripled: http://torontoist.com/2016/10/ridership-is-up-on-torontos-airport-rail-link/
Palma
Senior Member
How long is a train ride that a person could not wait to get home to drink water - if one is riding subway from kipling to the east end thats at least 40-45min ride. No water fountains on those trains