Willybru21 said:
Before leaving Toronto tonight I thought it would be a fun idea to check how many individual wayfinding standards are being used across Union Station. Turns out theres 8 different standards in use!
Click to expand...

I love that there are other people out there who think like I do. A journey from last January, approaching from Royal Bank Plaza:

1. Maybe unfair b/c this is a private building, but this set of doors is a major gateway to the station

Union subway station: "Subway"
Union train station: "Union Station" - We're playing on the ambiguity of this one. Kind of clever - it could also be referring to the subway station - but not an extensible system for other locations
No iconography
No mention of streetcar, regional or intercity rail
IMG_2287.png


2. First sign inside of Union subway. The tight ceiling clearance is an opportunity for a bespoke sign design! /s And we're doing logos!

Union train station: "Union Rail Station"
GO: GO logo + "Regional Transit"
UPX: 2015-era UPX logo + "Airport Train"
VIA: VIA logo + "National Rail"

IMG_2288.png


3. The best one (with the worst photo) - we haven't left TTC property yet, but why not try a different design?

UPX: Modern UPX logo in a different colour than ML uses. And to start off our train pictograms - an unnecessarily-detailed MPI locomotive icon that UPX definitely doesn't use
GO: Off-brand green with a white GO logo
VIA: Also what appears to be a non-standard monochrome VIA logo on yellow. Love the creativity with this one!

A pin on a map? What is this icon here for? Traveller's aid?

And we've lost the mode text. But I guess those visitors have memorized our agency logos from the last sign

IMG_2289.png


4. We've barely gone 20 feet, but new turf requires new, different logos, right? The Green GO on a white background is a nice (inconsistent) touch
IMG_2290.png


5. Finally - we've arrived in the belly of the beast. This one is so hilariously chaotic I don't know where to start. Maybe Willybru knows if they've updated this one to the new standard
IMG_2291.png
 
Another problem with the signage is the contextual environment it is sitting in - they simply cannot compete with the hyperkinetic video ads. Not in size, certainly not in brightness nor in the sense of movement. The only thing is that they are numerous - as if it would compensate for these weaknesses.

AoD
 
ward10 said:
I love that there are other people out there who think like I do. A journey from last January, approaching from Royal Bank Plaza:


5. Finally - we've arrived in the belly of the beast. This one is so hilariously chaotic I don't know where to start. Maybe Willybru knows if they've updated this one to the new standard
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Oh god it’s even worse than I thought! The 5th sign was switched to the new standard, it makes much more sense now.
 
chrisw said:
So, in Reece Martins public substack he sharing that one of the problems with GO electrification is electrifying underneath the train shed. Such a big problem that they're considering battery trains for the ones that go under the shed.




open.substack.com

The Union Station Train Shed Should Go.

A historical structure that hurts Toronto.
open.substack.com open.substack.com
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So this post is confusing, because as far as im aware this train shed electrification issue was solved almost 5 years ago now

GO Transit Electrification | Metrolinx

Good Good Good
toronto.skyrisecities.com toronto.skyrisecities.com
This was part of the heritage impact from the platform 20/21 changes. So it's not like they cant touch the heritage stuff

Did they discover this just doesnt work?
That would be something weird that popped up so late.

Even weirder is how this is litterally in the EPR TPAP from 2017
Page 67-75

The one problem with metrolinx is they dont publicize any information, people only find out with community notices. Which causes people who say random stuff to be taken as truth like the Eglinton station water leaks for the crosstown.
 
generalcanada said:
So this post is confusing, because as far as im aware this train shed electrification issue was solved almost 5 years ago now

GO Transit Electrification | Metrolinx

Good Good Good
toronto.skyrisecities.com toronto.skyrisecities.com
This was part of the heritage impact from the platform 20/21 changes. So it's not like they cant touch the heritage stuff

Did they discover this just doesnt work?
That would be something weird that popped up so late.

Even weirder is how this is litterally in the EPR TPAP from 2017
Page 67-75

The one problem with metrolinx is they dont publicize any information, people only find out with community notices. Which causes people who say random stuff to be taken as truth like the Eglinton station water leaks for the crosstown.
Click to expand...

RM is someone who is in the know.

AoD
 
Keep in mind that this was presented publicly at the TRACCS rail day conference, he might be in the know, but this information came out before he said anything. The conferences were recorded, I’ll try and find them.

This was the first post about it: https://bsky.app/profile/jedwin.bsky.social/post/3lp54d2sz5s2o

I read some of the plans on Union's electrification 6 months ago, basically what Reece has been saying, but without the knowledge of why they weren’t planning on electrifying the north side of the USRC. Up until yesterday I assumed it was just deferred to a later date for cost reasons.
 
Willybru21 said:
Keep in mind that this was presented publicly at the TRACCS rail day conference, he might be in the know, but this information came out before he said anything. The conferences were recorded, I’ll try and find them.

This was the first post about it: https://bsky.app/profile/jedwin.bsky.social/post/3lp54d2sz5s2o

I read some of the plans on Union's electrification 6 months ago, basically what Reece has been saying, but without the knowledge of why they weren’t planning on electrifying the north side of the USRC. Up until yesterday I assumed it was just deferred to a later date for cost reasons.
Click to expand...
EMUS? HAHAHH Someone got jebaited oh god here comes 50 pages of "we should have went battery" here.

Nevermind the fact that battery electric trains are somehow back in conversation.

It's like someone took rumors and the business case from 2018 and never heard anything else.

Somehow that G&M article is like the main source behind this.

Nevertheless Lakeshore was always going to be the 1st to electrify. Barrie and Kitchener were always 2nd priority
 
here’s a highly charitable and conspiratorial take on the whole shed thing:

Someone at metrolinx really wants to push the organization into EMU/BEMU adoption and is leveraging the shed to do so.

The admission that they are considering EMUs for lakeshore now is really interesting.
 
I don't follow... what about EMUs makes them more conducive to electrification of the shed than locomotives??
 
T3G said:
I don't follow... what about EMUs makes them more conducive to electrification of the shed than locomotives??
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EMUs aren’t double height cabs and can be a bit shorter? Just guessing.

Until right now the plan was for electric Locos hauling the existing car fleet as far as I know. A shift to EMUs means shorter trains.
 
goodcitywhenfinished said:
here’s a highly charitable and conspiratorial take on the whole shed thing:

Someone at metrolinx really wants to push the organization into EMU/BEMU adoption and is leveraging the shed to do so.

The admission that they are considering EMUs for lakeshore now is really interesting.
Click to expand...
Considering how much work is already underway in preparation for electric infra (OCS base structures, substations), axing that for strictly battery operated trains seems very wasteful.

Also a reminder for some that EMU =/= battery operated. There are locomotives and EMUs, then there are battery powered and catenary powered. Any combo of those can exist.
 
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