GORDOOM

9 hours ago, Express691 said:

Then there is the issue of proximity where the first trains need to be put into service really early from Langley (estimate 04:45am first train westbound). Cant always guarantee the first train comes from the pocket tracks.

With maintenance windows, you might not see trains from Langley that early. My guess is that first train from Langley Centre will be the same time as now (05:00–05:10) and that you'll see a train or two enter service in each direction from King George at the same time. You might even see morning service begin from King George in both directions, with first train not reaching Langley until 05:30 or so.

The next question is: what happens to the NightBus network? But that's for another thread.

Just saw a full-length consist (301-302-328-329) in Millennium Line service. Is this a normal rush-hour tripper or something unusual?

Masks mandatory throughout the system again, starting officially tomorrow. (And not a moment too soon.)

The Expo Line is no longer single-tracking between Columbia and Scott Road. Normal service to King George has resumed. (A day early!)

47 minutes ago, martin607 said:

I agree that any interim order would need to be carefully specified as a pilot to test out IMC in anticipation of the main replacement order to be placed in the middle of this decade. But given that the new NFI brochure advertises batteries capable of doing 22 miles (35km) off-wire for the XT40 and 15 miles on the XT60, they would be worthwhile demonstrators right now, e.g. tests on the R4 or using battery-trolleybus on the 9 showing how the IMCsystem can deal with wiring gaps.

The rumour we're discussing, though, is for an emergency order to replace the ExxLFRs now because they can't be used in summer without A/C anymore.

13 hours ago, anyfong said:

The R4 won't be a trolley route because it needs to overtake the regular 41 buses, and there's only one set of trolley wires per direction.

You could always make the less-used #41 the diesel/battery route.

That said, there's a lot of other routes I'd prioritize even higher:

• #9 and #14 to Brentwood
• #19 out of the loop at Metrotown
• #4 to Chancellor Blvd. and VCC-Clark to replace the #44/#84
• run more of the NightBus routes with trolleys

On 8/10/2021 at 11:14 PM, Community Shuttle said:

Take this with a grain of salt but I heard from one source that the order of Nova LFSe+s was cancelled and a new order of trolleys was placed. If true, I guess the heat waves made them reconsider because every current trolley has the potential to become an oven on wheels.

This actually makes me a bit nervous vis-à-vis the future of the trolleybus network. My worry is that an emergency order like that will be very much a status quo order without taking the time to think through what would be best for us to get in the medium-to-long term. This means inter alia no consideration of changing the mix of 40' and 60' coaches and no consideration of implementing extended off-wire capability à la Kiepe's In-Motion Charging. This risks the trolleybus network becoming irrelevant sooner rather than later, even with the expense of all-new rolling stock.

@8010 You remember correctly. The other big issues with the RAVExpress bid were:

• The terms of the competition didn't allow for equipment commonality to be taken into account
• The wider loading gauge used by InTransitBC is better for mobility devices — and bear in mind that Vancouver had a quadriplegic mayor at the time

16130 on the #R1 this morning. At least it's not a weekday.

The Burrard station upgrades are much more substantial. Essentially, they're completely redoing the entire station entrance and mezzanine. If anything, it's more like the upgrades they did to Main Street and Metrotown, where only the platforms themselves were left intact — except that, with Granville and Waterfront so close, they can afford to close Burrard entirely, and with it having only the single entrance, they basically have to.

I though we were done with all this anti-TransLink BS when Corrigan left?

(Mods: how strict is the "no politics" on this one? The gondola has now firmly become a political issue.)

18 hours ago, 8010 said:

That won’t happen when there’s a Mayor’s Council holding the leash.

Then we need a true two-tier regional government with the region having authority to override local NIMBYs. But at that point, the discussion turns political.

S18166 on the #R1 today. Glad I don't need to ride that during rush hour...

On 6/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, 8010 said:

Out of curiosity, does anyone know just how neglected the Expo Line has been when it comes to maintenance and overall upgrades? We have pressure plates that may or may not work (they can supposedly detect soda cans yet they couldn’t detect a dog at Nanaimo Stn a few years back) as track intrusion, stations that still aren’t fully-sheltered, and majority of the problems on the Expo/Millennium system tends to happen along the Expo Line. I could be wrong, but I could’ve sworn there was an article about a piece of the SkyBridge falling into the river a few years back.

I doubt that's the issue. The heat is a nightmare for power infrastructure that wasn't designed for it. The entire Portland Streetcar is shut down for the same reason.

XN40 S18204 on the #R1, just left King George Station NB. That’s going to go really well…

3 hours ago, nname said:

According to the latest Mayor's Council agenda, TransLink is starting to phase out printed timetable.  Starting this fall, only 10k copies will be made (compred to 75k before), and will only be available in selected locations or by request.

Supposedly this actually represents an accommodation measure: CMBC’s original intention was to do away with printed timetables altogether, but many transit-dependent seniors and disabled don’t have easy access to online timetables.

Expo Line trains currently single-tracking on the outbound side through Surrey Central.

7 hours ago, Phillip said:

They are rerouting the SB 3's to turn right from SB Main st to WB Marine Dr[.]

Which turn drivers will need to be trained to take very wide, so as not to dewire and/or damage overhead.

According to Twitter, VCC2 is inop this morning, so there’s no train control (and thus no service) on the Expo Line east of Metrotown.

@8010: There’s no specific route planned because, unlike the other services, there’s no natural corridor to serve. The Hastings/Forty-First/King George/Marine Drive Rapidbuses serve major corridors; while Lougheed is more about connecting Maple Ridge to the SkyTrain, the obvious natural corridors for that are either Lougheed Hwy. or the nearby Dewdney Trunk Rd (already well-served by the #701). The #430 OTOH exists to connect Richmond and Burnaby rather than to serve a specific corridor, and so it’s worth examining where makes the most sense to run it.

2 hours ago, Zortan said:

Construction costs for trolley wires may be higher, but I believe that they have lower maintenance and operational costs than battery-electric once they get built. 

There’s also the fact that trolleybuses don’t require the same quantities of heavy metals and rare earths for those massive batteries, and that the lower curb weight reduces wear and tear on the roads, which again reduces resource use.

2 hours ago, 8010 said:

Wouldn’t it make sense for them to put a charger at every timed stop (bus bays and regular stops like Knight Street Bridge) served by BEBs to alleviate queues for the chargers? At least that way if a bus is late then it wouldn’t have to queue up at a terminus for charging, assuming whichever route the bus is on has a charger somewhere along the route between the termini.

Except that AIUI the long-term plan is to move FTN routes away from a strict timetable and move to headway-based scheduling. That would mean less mid-trip dwell/recovery time and thus less opportunity to charge mid-trip.

How does the Vicinity stack up against the Flyer Midi? Given the relationship between TransLink and Flyer, I could see the alternative being compelling.

S7455 on the #314, still antlered. (We’re only half-way through Christmastide, after all.)

6 hours ago, VancouverTrolleybus said:

R5 to Duthie again due to snow, shuttles Duthie-SFU. Noticed it be happening every time it gets snowed.

It’s either that, or try to run the #R5 with all 40-footers. Any artic climbing Burnaby Mtn. right now will jack-knife on the way up.