ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Bob_McBob]

The damage:

https://www.twitter.com/leahjohansen/sta...8828823557

[KingandWeber]

That looks like more than $20k damage unfortunately. I really hope this doesn't delay opening day. Does anyone know if we can we start service without 508 if need be?

[timc]

That looks like more than $20k damage unfortunately. I really hope this doesn't delay opening day. Does anyone know if we can we start service without 508 if need be?

Yes, this was covered in the CBC article:

"It shouldn't impact our start. We do have spare vehicles. We essentially need 10 functioning vehicles for our summer level of service," said Thomas Schmidt, the commissioner of transportation and environmental services for the Region of Waterloo.

He added damage from the May 31 crash was apparently repaired within a couple of days, and a minor "paint scrape" that happened during a collision on the weekend was repaired the following day.

[KingandWeber]

That looks like more than $20k damage unfortunately. I really hope this doesn't delay opening day. Does anyone know if we can we start service without 508 if need be?

Yes, this was covered in the CBC article:

"It shouldn't impact our start. We do have spare vehicles. We essentially need 10 functioning vehicles for our summer level of service," said Thomas Schmidt, the commissioner of transportation and environmental services for the Region of Waterloo.

He added damage from the May 31 crash was apparently repaired within a couple of days, and a minor "paint scrape" that happened during a collision on the weekend was repaired the following day.

Great to hear, thanks! And the funny thing is I read that article and missed that important piece somehow...whoops!

[KevinL]

At least the repair staff are getting run through their paces...

[embe]

I suppose the 'silver lining' could be that these incidents aren't happening with passengers on board.  But still...

[ijmorlan]

They should keep all the twisted bits of broken LRV and once we have enough join them together to make some form and add another piece of artwork to the line. I’m not sure what the title should be; maybe “Dangerous Driving”.

[embe]

...CBC is reporting WRPS statement that it was indeed an illegal U-Turn...

I've seen more U-turns in the last couple months than I have in the rest of my life.  Did the rules recently change or maybe it's a more common practice in other parts of the world that's starting to catch on here?  Illegal or not they are something you need to watch for at just about any intersection now.

[jeffster]

From the picture on CTV's web site, it looks as though the driver must have been trying to make an illegal U-Turn from north/west-bound King to south/east-bound King. That's not uncommon there, either.

rant

Not uncommon, but certainly illegal (at least westbound (northbound) on King).

I've lived in Hamilton, Troy (Ohio) and Scarborough and I still sense that the people of Tri-Cities are the stupidest drivers anywhere. Where else do you yield at a STOP sign, don't bother to even Yield at a Yield (treating it as a right of way or green light) and FREAKING STOP when you have the right of way! (Case in point, Fischer-Hallman and turning right onto Ottawa towards Sunrise Shopping Center!) Doing U-Turns when not allowed, and being given the finger when you U-Turn at a permissible U-Turn spot (anywhere on Hespeler Road Southbound before the Delta in Cambridge). Not to mention the stunt driving that is done every single day at Victoria and West/Strange Street (that would be turning in front of someone when the light turns green). Not to mention the right on a red when not allowed!

Really, stricter enforcement needs to be done for these types of violations, and less speed traps. In fact, if they were to enforce Victoria at West/Strange you probably could have police services paid for within a couple days.

/rant

[MidTowner]

I thought the estimated time from Willis Way to Allen seemed pretty generous at 4 minutes. I think this is a reasonably conservative schedule.

The schedule in the My New Ride planner is not the same as the PDF 301 schedule that has been uploaded. The latter now shows the time between Willis Way and Allen at three minutes. But it shows the time between Allen and Grand River Hospital as three minutes as well, which seems very generous: that's only seven hundred metres and two stop lights.

The other discrepancies are between Conestoga and Northfield (six minutes in the planner; four minutes in the PDF); and Grand River Hospital and Central Station (two minutes in the planner; three minutes in the PDF); and Mill and Block Line (seven minutes in the planner; five in the PDF).

[KevinT]

I thought the estimated time from Willis Way to Allen seemed pretty generous at 4 minutes. I think this is a reasonably conservative schedule.

The schedule in the My New Ride planner is not the same as the PDF 301 schedule that has been uploaded. The latter now shows the time between Willis Way and Allen at three minutes. But it shows the time between Allen and Grand River Hospital as three minutes as well, which seems very generous: that's only seven hundred metres and two stop lights.

The other discrepancies are between Conestoga and Northfield (six minutes in the planner; four minutes in the PDF); and Grand River Hospital and Central Station (two minutes in the planner; three minutes in the PDF); and Mill and Block Line (seven minutes in the planner; five in the PDF).

I believe these schedules have a lot of padding built into them to deal with occasional issues without trains getting behind or bunched.  I do appreciate the non-bunching, but not so much the 'a lot slower service than it could be' part.

Two or three weeks ago as I'd follow an LRV from Manitou to Waterloo Public Square on my drives in to work it was difficult to keep up to it even though it stopped and cycled its doors at every station.  This week I've routinely been catching up to and then getting ahead of an LRV because it dwells what seems like forever at every station.  I think the difference is that now the operators are running to the schedule on their 'copilot' (a term I've heard multiple times on the radio) whereas a few weeks ago they weren't.

I'll take the May service for $200 Alex.

[JJTL]

...CBC is reporting WRPS statement that it was indeed an illegal U-Turn...

I've seen more U-turns in the last couple months than I have in the rest of my life.  Did the rules recently change or maybe it's a more common practice in other parts of the world that's starting to catch on here?  Illegal or not they are something you need to watch for at just about any intersection now.

I think it has to do with the LRT being centre run down the middle of many streets. This has effectively created more "divided roadways" in the region, where cars can no longer make left hand turns into destinations anywhere they like. Motorists are now more constrained in these areas to making left turns at intersections, or legal U-Turns where allowed to double back to their destination.

[MidTowner]

If there is padding in the schedule specifically to avoid bunching, then I find that encouraging. My understanding is that bunching occurs mostly as a result of delays imposed by passenger boarding and alighting, since that's the factor that is not predictable in the schedule. Those delays should be a lot less with Ion- more doors, level boarding platform fare payment, fewer stops overall.

I guess I also have to hope that the planners are being intentionally very conservative, and when they see that bunching is not such an issue (assuming it's not) they get a bit more aggressive in scheduling.

[KevinT]

I guess I also have to hope that the planners are being intentionally very conservative, and when they see that bunching is not such an issue (assuming it's not) they get a bit more aggressive in scheduling.

Agreed, that's been my hope too since observing the longer dwells in the past week or two.

[trainspotter139]

Canard will be happy to hear that I've seen trains out with Bombardier emblems on them. 503 and 512 are two of them that I've seen with the emblems.