12-08-2023, 05:00 PM
(12-08-2023, 10:11 AM)SF22 Wrote:(12-07-2023, 04:09 PM)Rainrider22 Wrote: I have watched the Hayward crossing a number of times. To me there is no sound reason to take as long as it does for advance warning and post train delay... They can shorten those times up and make it more efficient. There must be some rule that we are unaware of with respect to timing and duration.
I was under the impression that the intersections that take a long time are the ones that are paired with a freight line. Hayward has the train yard right there. Same thing with why the Northfield Station lights and the Erb/Caroline/Bridgeport corner has such a big lead. I thought I heard that the requirements for freight train safety were basically imposed upon the ION since they run the same tracking.
They only share track from Waterloo Town Square to Northfield. There are places where there is effectively a single level crossing but the tracks themselves are completely isolated (e.g. Hayward).
When I say something can be done, I don’t always know who has to give permission. I’m pretty sure some of my complaints relate to safety paranoia from people within the Region (e.g. limiting to 50km/h along King St.); while others might relate to various regulatory authorities. I think a full discussion, with facts, would be very interesting.
I’m not sure about when gates should drop, but I think they should rise no later than as soon as the train clears the crossing. Actually I think a case can be made for having them rise as soon as the front of the train reaches the far side of the crossing. The idea is that the gates should be a warning that a train is coming; if the crossing is actually occupied by a train, no gates are needed as drivers are expected to avoid obstructions in the roadway. In multi-track situations, this would mean that people would know whether a second train was approaching by whether the gates go down again.