(02-21-2017, 03:37 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(02-21-2017, 02:52 PM)nms Wrote: Does anyone have any idea how passengers at either terminus will know which platform to wait on for the departing train? I assume that an incoming train will arrive on Track 1, detrain everyone and then the driver would exit for a break/washroom stop. While that is happening a train on Track 2 would depart. Since the platforms flank the tracks, it will be a little more involved than passengers just turning around if they happen to have guessed wrong on the departing track. While the decision is easy if there is already a train at the platform, but if there are no trains in the station, hopefully passengers will have a "Next Train: Platform 1" sign.
No inside information here, but with peak frequency being only every 7 minutes, one platform is amply sufficient. So my expectation would be that only a single platform would be used at each end of the line. They may use “step-back” crewing, where a driver arrives on one vehicle, takes a break, and leaves on the next.
It occurred to me that a loop at the end of the line would also work fine for LRT. Minimum turning radius is much smaller than on a subway.
Actually, it’s not at all clear to me why we have two-track termini, or indeed why the line is two-track all the way to the end. It seems to me that the two tracks could merge into a single track 2-3 minutes travel time from the terminus and continue as a single track to the end. This would involve one switch and no crossovers of specialwork, as compared to the actual four switches and one crossover. This is how the Santee Town Centre station on the San Diego Trolley works, except that the station itself actually does have two tracks. However, the second track was not in regular use when I visited (track was all rusty). It’s not a bad idea to have a siding into which to push a disabled vehicle.
My assumption is that the crossover will always take the inbound train over to the outbound track for offload / reload. It's only if vehicles begin to bunch up that a train would pull into the terminus 'inbound' platform to offload passengers, because a train is already sitting at the 'outbound' platform. After the outbound train has left (and note that I'm still assuming stuff here, not saying that this is how it will actually be) then it will use the cross-over to get onto the outbound track, and back into the outbound platform for loading and departure. That way trains will consistently load and depart from the 'outbound' platform.
(The only hiccup in that plan is the backing up required, as it would likely require the driver to switch ends three times. Not sure they'd be allowed to do it on camera feeds alone.)
...K