ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

Confirmed that our LRV passed through the Wolverton yard and is making its way to London this morning.

It'll get picked up by a local switcher and head back to Galt next.

[trainspotter139]

That was probably the train i heard this morning. could have been here today if it wasn't lashed to a non-stop to London.

[trainspotter139]

Decided to take a drive up to Alliston, Ontario today to see our first train! It was here all day at the Spence Yard, just south of Alliston. Rumour has it that it'll leave here sometime tonight.

Standard disclaimer: All photos taken from public property (11th Line). Finally got to give my 600mm lens a good workout!



That paper in the window is quite ironic isn't it? "Metrolinx Car #001 R.O.W" 

[KevinL]

Remember, our order was a piggyback on Metrolinx's. So technically they're still on the invoice.

[nms]

Just had a look at that - it is huge, but a big patch in the middle of it is empty! Curious.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.8041942,-...a=!3m1!1e3

This looks like a decommissioned hump classification yard to me.  Incoming trains would be pushed through the throat of yard (likely the lower/SW corner) and cars would roll downhill singly or in pairs on their own to their next train.  It was probably taken out of service when CP rationalized some of their network and/or changed their car movement patterns.

[nms]

Thanks, Rainrider!  The next few days will be challenging, for sure.  There's going to be a lot of shuffling around and I don't think it's going to be so easy to track... but, a big, shiny new train in Cambridge should be fairly easy to spot!  I just wish we knew with a little more certainty when exactly things will be happening.  I didn't realize just how "dynamic" and "flexible" the whole freight industry is.

1/2 Monday, February 20, 2017

Here are just a few more photos from today - I've tried to just pick and choose a couple as so not to flood the forum too much (sorry!).


At the Fairway terminus, things are shaping up great.


Both anchor walls and canopy structures are up.  There are snap lines installed for lining up the glass, so I'm sure they're getting to install those panels very soon.

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.

[Markster]

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.

It hasn't been explicitly described yet, but there will be digital displays on each platform. Presumably they will have a message on them to let you know. I've seen that on other systems. "NEXT TRAIN: OTHER PLATFORM" or less helpfully, each platform will have their own countdown "NEXT TRAIN: 18 MIN" on one, and "NEXT TRAIN: 4 MIN" on the other.

Still, not as simple as if it were an island platform.

[ijmorlan]

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.

[tomh009]

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.

In case we want to extend the track beyond the current termini in the future?

[KevinL]

Our own Canard has been cited for his dedicated tracking: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-...97?cmp=rss

[KevinT]

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.)

[KevinL]

HIghly impractical, especially at our termini. At Fairway they would have to back (at lest partially) across Wilson Ave; at Conestoga it's the Conestoga/King intersection, which is even worse.

[ijmorlan]

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.

In case we want to extend the track beyond the current termini in the future?

Space could be left for the second track but the expense of actually building and maintaining it deferred until needed.

On a larger scale, it is my firm opinion that major Regional roads should be built so that they are compatible with LRT plans. Building an LRT down Fischer-Hallman, for example, should be a simple matter of installing it in the pre-determined location, with no utility moved required.

[Pheidippides]

The "snake" curing tent came down from King to about Cora's restaurant.

The street lighting has been transferred from the wooden poles on the east side of king between willis and William. The wooden poles remain for now, but only a matter of time before they are gone. I am not sure I like the black bulbous fixtures on the matte grey catenary poles.

[timc]

Last time this talk came around, someone said it takes less space to build two side platforms than it does to build one centre platform with tracks on either side.

And, if the schedule has variations throughout the day, then might there be overlap during transitional times where there are two trains at the platform?