1604 Posted February 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 Pretty neat! Love seeing stuff like this. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downbeat Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 Unplanned interruption today … Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transit Fan Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 Changes to 69 Street and Sirocco Station Park and Rides Effective March 1 2019: 104 free parking spots in the parkade converted to reserved at 69 Street 38 reserved parking spots converted to free at Sirocco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick B Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 2 minutes ago, Transit Fan said: Changes to 69 Street and Sirocco Station Park and Rides Effective March 1 2019: 104 free parking spots in the parkade converted to reserved at 69 Street 38 reserved parking spots converted to free at Sirocco It'll be interesting to see how station ridership changes with this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRT Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 1 minute ago, Nick B said: It'll be interesting to see how station ridership changes with this... There must be a need for reserved parking up there.. if the spaces are going to be filled with reserved parking It might actually improve ridership Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTrainDude Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 Just now, LRT said: There must be a need for reserved parking up there.. if the spaces are going to be filled with reserved parking It might actually improve ridership There's literally thousands on the waiting list for 69th Street. It's a no brainer they'd make their money there on reserved, rather than make nothing on empty reserved elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandeWest_B35G Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 How often do these get refilled? Never seen one so low before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTrainDude Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 1 hour ago, Imgursdownvote4love said: How often do these get refilled? Never seen one so low before. In theory, it would get refilled every day in the service lane. Although I imagine with the very slippery conditions it gets used much faster than usual. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandeWest_B35G Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 1 hour ago, CTrainDude said: In theory, it would get refilled every day in the service lane. Although I imagine with the very slippery conditions it gets used much faster than usual. It was being used at least once at every station, so I'd imagine it empties pretty quickly. Wouldn't surprise me if it ran out on at least one car somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1604 Posted March 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 There's a new and very bright LED 'no right turn / TRAIN' sign at 4 Ave and 9 St SW for cars continuing onto 10 St. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chills_on_the_train Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 I just spent a couple of days in Edmonton attending a workshop at NAIT. In this time I used the ETS LRT a few times, and wanted to share my thoughts on the experience and how it compares to Calgary's system. What Edmonton Does Better There has obviously been a lot of care and attention to detail in how the ETS LRT operates. From 3-car trains that stop in the middle of the platforms to door tones and announcements that are carefully planned, to consistent seating layouts between the SD-160 and U2 fleets, kudos to the operations management of Edmonton's system. Calgary's polyglot of models has clearly caused some operational inefficiencies to crop up. Edmonton's U2 fleet is of course fantastic. Aside from a few visible places such as the interior door buttons, you'd never know those cars are older than Calgary's. Despite the questionable wallpaper, it's almost easy to forget if you're riding a U2 or an SD-160. The underground stations also obviously had some architectual love given to them, though they are clearly aging. Security guards present on the platforms is a welcome sight. And I now have a full appreciation for the educational infrastructure in Edmonton. Being able to access South Campus, Health Sciences, University, and NAIT stations all from a single LRT line is pretty fantastic. And while the Ctrain crosses the Bow much like ETS crosses the North Saskatchewan, I gotta give better style points for the Edmonton experience! Equal Points Obviously both cities operate very similar rolling stock. I think the overall experience inside the trains themselves is a wash. A U2 is a U2, though Edmonton's are obviously nicer. But the shared seating layout across both generations of train is not optimal for accessibility. People grouse about Calgary's Series 8 and 9 seating, but they offer clearly superior mobility/stroller accessibility and better overall passenger flow. Both systems sorely need to be extended to serve their respective airports, though that's coming! Cleanliness and repair across the infrastructure is pretty comparable. With similar weather I'm sure it's hard keeping everything maintained and clean in these winters. Edmonton's underground stations have a lot of expensive escalators to maintain. What Calgary Does Better I'm probably going to get a fair amount of disagreement here, but I don't like all the underground stations. While clearly safer overall, they are more difficult to access and can take a significant amount of time, especially if you're considering a short trip. In particular, University station is quite a journey (I got off here and walked around a bit), and cellular reception suffers. I think Calgary's open-air 7th Avenue corridor and hop-on, hop-off free-fare zone offers some significant advantages over Edmonton's subway, and its largely at-grade system is better overall in terms of passenger comfort - a ride with a view is much better than one without. Spending 4 days commuting on the DC Metro before this trip only reinforces this belief. The new northbound Metro line leaving downtown... well it's almost hard to justify using it, particularly during off-peak times. The distance between stations is so short, the average speed is so low, and the frequency is so... well... infrequent, that it genuinely feels like you can get downtown faster on a bus, or even biking on a nice day. All of Calgary's lines keep a decent speed and extend virtually to the edge of city limits. The overall reach of the system seems more limited than Calgary, but I chalk that up to Edmonton simply being a smaller city overall, and there are a lot of big plans for the future, including the Valley Line. In spite of all their operational issues, I think Calgary's Series 9 trains are a step above the 160s. Minus points for overall seating comfort, but big pluses for universal accessibility, interior space, HVAC, and plain old cool factor. Finally, my first experience was soured a bit as I finished my first day at NAIT and approached the platform, only to realize I had no way of paying for a fare. Having arrived from Calgary that morning on the Red Arrow and an Uber, and not being a habitual cash-carrier, I was simply stuck there standing on the platform in a bit of disbelief, and a $3.50 LRT ride turned into a $13 Uber fare to my hotel. I understand that there are cost savings to consider here, and Edmontonians are used to this, but as a business traveler I was a little put off. Concluding Thoughts I'm happy to see more money coming from various levels of government for transit projects, and hopeful that some will be invested in both our great cities LRT systems. We both have growth aspirations and operational challenges to face. I'm happy where I live, and I see the potential in Edmonton as well. Thanks for reading! 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantograf Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Well, after some negotiations it would appear that at least one (hopefully restored) U2 car will be on permanent display in south Calgary. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRT Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 6 minutes ago, Pantograf said: Well, after some negotiations it would appear that at least one (hopefully restored) U2 car will be on permanent display in south Calgary. Permanent display? Like in a park or something? Montreal did that with their Metro cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantograf Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, LRT said: Permanent display? Like in a park ? Not a park but still a City property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianTransitTycoon Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 34 minutes ago, Pantograf said: Well, after some negotiations it would appear that at least one (hopefully restored) U2 car will be on permanent display in south Calgary. I wonder where in South Calgary? I'm guessing Anderson, since it was the original terminus when the system opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvarushin Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 16 minutes ago, CanadianTransitTycoon said: I wonder where in South Calgary? I'm guessing Anderson, since it was the original terminus when the system opened. Heritage Park would seem appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRT Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Pantograf said: Not a park but still a City property. I hope they sell burgers out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantograf Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 1 hour ago, CanadianTransitTycoon said: I wonder where in South Calgary? I'm guessing Anderson, since it was the original terminus when the system opened. You're very close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chills_on_the_train Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Pantograf said: Well, after some negotiations it would appear that at least one (hopefully restored) U2 car will be on permanent display in south Calgary. They ought to make it one of those vehicles that kids can crawl all over in one of the libraries. Granted it's a little bigger than a fire truck or helicopter. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick B Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 27 minutes ago, Pantograf said: You're very close. Fish Creek Library? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandeWest_B35G Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 20 minutes ago, Nick B said: Fish Creek Library? Submerged in Fish Creek? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyC62 Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 Was great to see an expanded CT presence at Supertrain this past weekend compared to some previous years. A new (to me) card model for the S200s was available (though simplified from previous versions), and a pantograph was on display (they lowered it up and down), as well as a wheel/tire exhibit with souvenir profiles. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chills_on_the_train Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 1 hour ago, TimmyC62 said: Was great to see an expanded CT presence at Supertrain this past weekend compared to some previous years. A new (to me) card model for the S200s was available (though simplified from previous versions), and a pantograph was on display (they lowered it up and down), as well as a wheel/tire exhibit with souvenir profiles. Aww man, I was busy all weekend and my youngest didn't want to go again this year but I would love to get my hands on one of those card models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyC62 Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 Oh I should also mention the card model is now double-sided - the reverse has the lines, but without colour, so you can use whatever colour you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandeWest_B35G Posted April 15, 2019 Report Share Posted April 15, 2019 39 minutes ago, TimmyC62 said: Oh I should also mention the card model is now double-sided - the reverse has the lines, but without colour, so you can use whatever colour you want! You could wrap it for Max (0, 255, 255)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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