[T3G]

With the streetcar network, the TTC often shuts down stretches of road for months at a time to perform track and road maintenance, and streetcars are replaced by buses. With the crosstown having at-grade sections, do you guys anticipate the same having to be done for line 5, with buses substituting the surface section for weeks or months?

They don't shut stretches of road for months to do maintenance, they do it for full-scale track replacement. The Crosstown will not require that for 20 years or more, and when it does, it will be on both the at-grade and underground sections, and I suspect it will be done piecemeal like on the subway, due to the political ramifications of shutting down a "rapid transit" line for weeks or months.

 

[crs1026]

With the streetcar network, the TTC often shuts down stretches of road for months at a time to perform track and road maintenance, and streetcars are replaced by buses. With the crosstown having at-grade sections, do you guys anticipate the same having to be done for line 5, with buses substituting the surface section for weeks or months?

Can't say it will never happen, but one would hope that such full-scale replacement of end of life components is a long way off. One would hope that with an unpaved dedicated row that isn't shared with auto traffic, much more can be done incrementally without shutting down the entire line for long periods....similar to how the subway is maintained.
Those who endured the lengthy 501 outages on the Queensway rebuild may beg to differ, but let's hope.

- Paul

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Can't say it will never happen, but one would hope that such full-scale replacement of end of life components is a long way off. One would hope that with an unpaved dedicated row that isn't shared with auto traffic, much more can be done incrementally without shutting down the entire line for long periods....similar to how the subway is maintained.
Those who endured the lengthy 501 outages on the Queensway rebuild may beg to differ, but let's hope.

- Paul

The one place where slightly more frequent maintenance might be required is at intersections, but even then railroad crossing repairs can usually be done fairly quickly.

What makes the streetcars complicated is that many major intersections also are junctions between streetcar lines, requiring the entire intersection to shut down while they replace switches. That's not the case here

 

[ShonTron]

The one place where slightly more frequent maintenance might be required is at intersections, but even then railroad crossing repairs can usually be done fairly quickly.

What makes the streetcars complicated is that many major intersections also are junctions between streetcar lines, requiring the entire intersection to shut down while they replace switches. That's not the case here

Yeah. There are a few switches for emergency turnbacks, but it’s all in open track. Simplifies things considerably.

 

[nfitz]

They don't shut stretches of road for months to do maintenance, they do it for full-scale track replacement.

Both the dedicated ROWs on Spadina and St. Clair were recently closed for months, and they weren't doing full-scale track replacement (or much in the way of track replacement at all, as far as I could see walking alongside).

Sooner or later this will start happening once it's all not brand-new. Though is the surface section and roadway brand-new any more?

 

[urbancog]

Probably designed to "save money" by ignoring future expansion possibilities. Unless the Sheppard Subway is extended east AND west.

A bit harsh! This config allows for a 50% increase in capacity without any construction work at the stations. Simply add a 3rd car to the otherwise 2-car train.

Agree that the Sheppard Line should be extended east (at least to McCowan with interchange to Line 2) and west (to Woodbine GO for Line 6 and KI GO) to add E-W capacity.

 

[nfitz]

Agree that the Sheppard Line should be extended east (at least to McCowan with interchange to Line 2) and west (to Woodbine GO for Line 6 and KI GO) to add E-W capacity.

At that point it might as well go one more stop (2.5 km) to Viscount station.

 

[TOtramz]

Both the dedicated ROWs on Spadina and St. Clair were recently closed for months, and they weren't doing full-scale track replacement (or much in the way of track replacement at all, as far as I could see walking alongside).

Sooner or later this will start happening once it's all not brand-new. Though is the surface section and roadway brand-new any more?

Spadina was closed because of work at the station right? But not necessarily because the track was bad

 

[nfitz]

Spadina was closed because of work at the station right?

Among other maintenance projects.

 

[jordanmkasla2009]

Given all the issues with signal software integration with the Flexity vehicles, are we pretty much locked into the Flexity line for future orders if we want to avoid more lengthy signal related issues?

The signaling system is vehicle agnostic. It's all hardware modules that are plugged into various equipment racks in the vehicle. The integration with the train control system software is the equivalent of programming hardware driver software for your computer. It's all about programming software that tells the train control system how to interpret the inputs from the signaling system modules and what to do when it receives those inputs (e.g. how to respond to a change in signal-permitted speed and how much deceleration/acceleration force is appropriate, how to handle the changeover from ATC-enabled to ATP-only, and how to manage driver vigilance checks, etc.) All that is immensely complicated code to perfect, but a lot of the code around that is reusable in other vehicles by swapping out the vehicle-specific system calls and APIs).

 

[cplchanb]

Was on the 34 this morning going head to head with a train. A few observations:
- too many random reds on the line. From Kennedy to warden it would blitz off but the bus would catch up when it stopped
-one way or another they really need to push for signal priority on the surface sections. When I got off at don valley west stop the red came for the train 15s before the red for cars.... makes no sense.
-theyre testing voice announcements at stations. Seems like they're using the same voiceovers that are used at go train stations
-service speeds are up for the trains. They can accelerate as fast as the 34 bus flooring it.
-the aga khan station next stop displays appear to be showing actual times
-they had a crew start pressure washing the glass sidings on the ramps.... a bit early for that since they won't be opening until q4?

 

[Admiral Beez]

I saw some for VIVA in York Region on Highway 7 near Richmond Hill Centre. The transit left turn signal is for left turns after a red light, before a green light for the cross traffic. Saves a lot of time compared to waiting for the advance left after the cross traffic cycle.

I don't think left turns should have been allowed anywhere on the above ground part of the Crosstown. Cars turning left will delay the trains/trams and encourage the city to give signal preference to vehicular traffic in order to clear the backlog of cars waiting to turn. Instead all cars should be forced to either go straight or turn right. Just like at Kingston Rd. and Midland, where if you're EB on Kingston and want to go north onto Midland you must first turn right Kelsonia Ave. and then onto Midland so that you cross Kington Rd. directly, see map https://maps.app.goo.gl/FrNWKjMeVtuQLh2q8

If all of Eglinton east is being terraformed into a new residential district this seems the perfect time to reconfigure the cross streets so that there are no left turns.

 

[DirectionNorth]

I don't think left turns should have been allowed anywhere on the above ground part of the Crosstown. Cars turning left will delay the trains/trams and encourage the city to give signal preference to vehicular traffic. Instead all cars should be forced to either go straight or turn right. Just like at Kingston Rd. and Midland, where if you're EB on Kingston and want to go north onto Midland you must first turn right Kelsonia Ave. https://maps.app.goo.gl/FrNWKjMeVtuQLh2q8

If all of Eglinton east is being terraformed into a new residential district this seems the perfect time to reconfigure the cross streets so that there are no left turns.

I wouldn't be against closing a few more left turns (Hakimi, Sinnott, Rosemount, Ionview) and leaving only the big ones open for lefts, but Kennedy to Wynford is a long distance to ban all left turns, and that would probably cause lots of crashes and/or traffic on streets not designed to handle them.

Lefts are only part of the delay (albeit the most egregious one), and you need enough intersections for cross traffic and for pedestrians to cross. Hm. I wonder how well pedestrian only crossings would work at some of the smaller intersections.

 

[Admiral Beez]

but Kennedy to Wynford is a long distance to ban all left turns...

In my idea you can still turn left onto Eglinton east or westbound, and you can still go proceed NB from EB (or SB from WB) Eglinton at all the intersections between Kennedy and Wynford, only that you must turn right first onto a (intentionally designed) side road, from where you can make your left turn without disrupting cross traffic and trains on Eglinton.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Trains are expected to run as often as every 5 minutes to every 3 minutes and 10 seconds at the busiest times, potentially even more frequently. That is plenty of time for cross traffic and left turns to be made.

A typical traffic signal cycle length for motorists ranges from 45 to 120 seconds, but can be as short as 30 seconds or as long as 180 seconds.