01-22-2016, 11:09 PM
(01-22-2016, 10:29 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: While it would be very cool to have a monorail in town, the transit system has to be a system — which means there has to be a very good reason for different parts of it to use different technologies. Each new technology introduces an additional set of maintenance and knowledge costs over and above the per kilometre costs. It also reduces flexibility because it is impossible for vehicles to travel between technologies.
This is actually the main reason why I am a big LRT fan. For any given project, there may be several appropriate technologies. But to cover a wide range of situations, I don’t believe you can do better than LRT. Once a city has one LRT line, it’s easier to add more, and this can be done even if the new lines are quite different, for example in capacity, or level of separation from traffic, or vertical elevation, or style of service (frequency, speed, stop spacing). All without introducing another technology.
This is the same reason why most airlines will standardize, on Airbus A320 series or Boeing 737 series, for example. Purchasing power, pilot training, mechanic training, engine suppliers, parts inventory, other suppliers etc, are all in common -- not to mention easy flexibility to substitute equipment. Much easier and much more cost-effective than using multiple different models (or technologies).