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2 hours ago, dowlingm said:

The UPX cars, I believe, lack traps for low platforms, so if they would be non-trivial to add, not much use for VIA. 

Well since the cars are short they could just make part of the platform higher so that passengers can board.  Kinda like the GO platforms for the accessible coach. 

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44 minutes ago, Shaun said:

Well since the cars are short they could just make part of the platform higher so that passengers can board.  Kinda like the GO platforms for the accessible coach. 

That would require Via to modify every platform in the Corridor.

(unless they were isolated to a single route like Sudbury <-> White River or *Ottawa <-> Montreal *which currently has High platforms at 2 of the stations ) 

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The routes with Less ridership are Sarnia VIA Kitchener. They are looking at a new route near Halifax, and maybe if that becomes a reality they can be used there.

I am more concerned about the fact that the current terminal is setup for high floor boarding, and the curves are very tight.  Are they planning on building a new terminal building? The way it is currently designed is very convenient for everyone. Why change it if it's not broken?

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7 minutes ago, Shaun said:

I am more concerned about the fact that the current terminal is setup for high floor boarding, and the curves are very tight.  Are they planning on building a new terminal building? The way it is currently designed is very convenient for everyone. Why change it if it's not broken?

The trains are over-crowded, the current vehicles aren't electrified, and at best they need to buy more rolling stock to run 3-car trains. And a single platform at Union is problematic.

I'd think lengthening and modifying the current Pearson platform would be the biggest issue. I suppose there's cost for modifying Union - but they'll need to add capacity there one way or another anyway.

I wonder if there's a way with the upcoming rebuilds of the convention centre and the Skywalk, to put two dead-end tracks for 6-car trains north of Platform 3.

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2 minutes ago, Shaun said:

Why not just extend the high platform to platform 3.  One more car length would be possible since the locomotive usually takes up that space when a GO train is there.

I don't see how you'd increase frequency just by extending the platform (which yes, could be extended ... in the other direction as well).

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3 hours ago, Shaun said:

Why not just extend the high platform to platform 3.  One more car length would be possible since the locomotive usually takes up that space when a GO train is there.

The train length issue is principally a Pearson problem, I think? To add length you would have to significantly alter the APM terminus, if not get rid completely.

image.thumb.png.292db85c28dfca8dc978ec74f2f934c0.png

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They could build a new station at Viscount and have people take the APM. If they are going to build a new hub at Pearson, they really have to decide where this hub will be located. Terminal 1 would be an ideal location for air travellers but more difficult to access commuters to access the train service. Buses won't have to run around in circles just to get to the terminal.

They also have to move away from two doors per car to at least 4 doors to get people on faster.

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18 hours ago, dowlingm said:

The train length issue is principally a Pearson problem, I think? To add length you would have to significantly alter the APM terminus, if not get rid completely.

image.thumb.png.292db85c28dfca8dc978ec74f2f934c0.png

Is there no space between the building and the cross over? Why not move the cross over to farther down the bridge. 

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2 hours ago, Shaun said:

Is there no space between the building and the cross over? Why not move the cross over to farther down the bridge. 

And put it into the middle of the curve?

 

Why not spend a minute on Google Maps and see what the lay of the land is?


Dan

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5 hours ago, smallspy said:

And put it into the middle of the curve?

 

Why not spend a minute on Google Maps and see what the lay of the land is?


Dan

couldnt the crossover be on the curve? or cross after the curve. How much does the station need to be extended ideally?

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15 hours ago, Ber said:

couldnt the crossover be on the curve? or cross after the curve. How much does the station need to be extended ideally?

The railroads try their damnedest to avoid putting any specialwork in curves. Besides the obvious geometric difficulties with doing so, it prevents the use of standardized hardware and fittings, and also requires more maintenance to ensure that everything stays within tolerances - plus, those tolerances may very well be tighter to boot. If you ever see a switch on a curve, that is because there is simply no other place to put it.

 

(Even the TTC knows this and does this on the subway. Check out how many curved or non-standard switches there are on the subway system - you can probably count the number on two hands.)

 

As for how much the station needs to be extended - no one knows. That's dependent on what kind of equipment GO ends up picking up upon electrification, and whether it will also be suitable for this kind of purpose.

 

Dan

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  • 11 months later...
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  • 7 months later...

ICAMI (In case anyone missed it), contactless debit card payment is being rolled out on the UP Express for the first time:

Further reading: https://dailyhive.com/toronto/debit-card-tap-up-express

It's worth note that not only contactless domestic (Canadian) Interac debit cards are accepted, but contactless International Debit Cards (providing if they bear a Visa Debit or Debit MasterCard logo) are accepted too!

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  • 1 year later...

Due to issues with rolling stock, Union Pearson Express will be replaced with an express bus service between Union Station and Pearson International Airport for the reminder of the day. 

Service was originally hourly with one train before changing to bus replacement service. Seems like a mess in their communication especially for those that now have to take a longer trip to Pearson or downtown. 

 

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On 2/11/2023 at 3:55 PM, IRT_BMT_IND said:

The big downside of an orphan custom fleet. It should have been built to use the existing bilevel fleet.

I don't know if the support piers at Pearson were built to handle the weight of a bilevel.  Even then, it likely would only be able to handle a much shorter train.  The bilevels aren't as ideal for people with luggage as the lower level would likely fill up first.  Having to carry your luggage up the steps isn't too appealing.  Could they have borrowed a few train sets from VIA?  At least they have similar features to the UP Express trains.

When GO Buses are providing service instead of the UP Express trains, I presume there is an easy way for the PRESTO readers on board to be switched over to the UP fares?  Seeing as they were running express between Union and Pearson, any passengers to/from Bloor and Weston were out of luck and forced to use other means.

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4 hours ago, Gil said:

I don't know if the support piers at Pearson were built to handle the weight of a bilevel.  Even then, it likely would only be able to handle a much shorter train.  The bilevels aren't as ideal for people with luggage as the lower level would likely fill up first.  Having to carry your luggage up the steps isn't too appealing.  Could they have borrowed a few train sets from VIA?  At least they have similar features to the UP Express trains.

When GO Buses are providing service instead of the UP Express trains, I presume there is an easy way for the PRESTO readers on board to be switched over to the UP fares?  Seeing as they were running express between Union and Pearson, any passengers to/from Bloor and Weston were out of luck and forced to use other means.

The presto readers were not in use on the Up express bus shuttles on Saturday.

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20 hours ago, 2822 said:

The presto readers were not in use on the Up express bus shuttles on Saturday.

So how were fares paid/collected or were they comped due to the inconvenience?  Tapping on at the station and then running down with luggage to catch the bus doesn't sound like the best way to handle the difference in fares, especially if there's no way to verify that they had tapped.  Then comes the matter of tapping off at the other end.  I presume regularly if you fail to tap off at the other end the maximum/full fare would apply?  In the event of a visitor who doesn't have the balance for the full fare, but just enough to tap on what happens when they fail to tap off?  I'd imagine there'd be a lot of unpaid fares?  The setup at Pearson isn't such that you need to have a sufficient amount to complete the trip to exit the station like it is on BART or WMATA where there are stations to top up your card so you can exit.  Or have they modified it to such?

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8 minutes ago, Gil said:

So how were fares paid/collected or were they comped due to the inconvenience?  Tapping on at the station and then running down with luggage to catch the bus doesn't sound like the best way to handle the difference in fares, especially if there's no way to verify that they had tapped.  Then comes the matter of tapping off at the other end.  I presume regularly if you fail to tap off at the other end the maximum/full fare would apply?  In the event of a visitor who doesn't have the balance for the full fare, but just enough to tap on what happens when they fail to tap off?  I'd imagine there'd be a lot of unpaid fares?  The setup at Pearson isn't such that you need to have a sufficient amount to complete the trip to exit the station like it is on BART or WMATA where there are stations to top up your card so you can exit.  Or have they modified it to such?

There were probably no fares being charged. The loading location at Union Station (on Station Street) is not exactly close to the Presto machines in the UP concourse, and Ground Level at T1 is a very long distance from the UP platform on Level 3; so tapping on/off at the physical machines at either end is not really an option, and there's no way for Metrolinx staff to enforce every single passenger tapping on/off at both locations before and after riding the GO shuttle buses.

The Presto machines on buses are set up for individual trips; drivers need to log into a scheduled trip with a defined start/end point in order for fares to be calculated correctly. Given this was an unscheduled emergency closure, there was no way for staff to have preprogrammed in all the trips necessary to cover service, and therefore there would be nothing for drivers to log into in order to charge fares. I think Metrolinx would see the reduced fares as compensation to passengers for the longer trip time and reduced comfort that buses would provide compared to the train, and write off the lost revenue as part of the costs to fix the equipment.

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