ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

I know I must sound like a broken record for continually bringing it up, but I really hope we'll get markings like this:



I have hope, because this system (Gold Coast Light Rail, or G:Link), was built by many of the same system partners as our system. In fact, the manager at Keolis for ops came straight from Gold Coast.

The one in Toronto in that article is particularly bad because with that median there, and the same "width" of lane (rapidway vs. road), it really is confising to someone not familiar with the area.

1/5 - Saturday, November 12, 2016

   
I think the crossover at Conestoga is finished off!  I wasn't sure what type of construction we'd see, here - but the E-Clips tell us that there will not be another pour to "top up" the concrete pad to bring it up to the rail head height.  This is the finished deal.

   

   
Here, you can see now both platform canopies and anchor walls have been installed as well.

   

   

[Canard]

2/5 - Saturday, November 12, 2016

   
Wow - nice to see pavement in UpTown Waterloo!

   

   
Weekend work on the embedded track curve onto the Waterloo Spur.

   
Another pedestrian bridge has been installed.  I love these - they are great viewing points for taking photos!

   

[Canard]

3/5 - Saturday, November 12, 2016

   
The sidewalk is going to be very wide, here!  I think that will make a lot of people happy.

   
That track that was all jackhammered up last time I was here has been fixed, repoured, and is now curing.

   
I'm still having a hard time imagining how these "soil cells" will work.

   
Now we're over to Frederick. This is finally really coming along!

   
This is more of a "before" shot. And I've always kind of had a place in my heart for that weird building in the background. My husband tells me there's actually an older building hidden inside, and that cladding is just a façade?

[Canard]

4/5 - Saturday, November 12, 2016

   
Embedded trackwork, already poured and curing! Less than a week, here; there were no tracks at all when I came by last weekend.

   

   
Here's where the "old track" meets the "new track"!

   
Track on Duke is complete; all that is needed is the track curve from Frederick.

   

[jamincan]

I think the idea with the soil cells is that they allow the sidewalk to be built without the soil below them being first compacted. This will allow for healthier tree root structures as they will be able to spread out fully instead of being inhibited by heavily compacted soil. I may be mistaken, though; other's on here seem to be pretty knowledgable about them.

[Canard]

5/5 - Saturday, November 12, 2016

   

   

...and I don't want to end this on a low note, but it was at this point where I noticed a guy marching around inside the construction zone, snapping away taking pictures.  There's a reason it's fenced off.  There's a reason the construction crews working inside are trained, and wear Personal Protective Equipment.  Please respect the rules (and the law) and don't trespass to take photos.  I hope it wasn't a member of our forum.  Stay safe out there.

   

   

[KevinL]

I think the crossover at Conestoga is finished off!  I wasn't sure what type of construction we'd see, here - but the E-Clips tell us that there will not be another pour to "top up" the concrete pad to bring it up to the rail head height.  This is the finished deal.

This method is also being used for general trackage within the tunnels for Ottawa's Confederation line - rails clipped to a concrete pad.
Might the Fairway crossover get the same approach?

[tomh009]

I think the crossover at Conestoga is finished off!  I wasn't sure what type of construction we'd see, here - but the E-Clips tell us that there will not be another pour to "top up" the concrete pad to bring it up to the rail head height.  This is the finished deal.

This method is also being used for general trackage within the tunnels for Ottawa's Confederation line - rails clipped to a concrete pad.
Might the Fairway crossover get the same approach?

So why did they use this method at Conestoga, and fully embedded method at Cameron?

[KevinL]

This method is also being used for general trackage within the tunnels for Ottawa's Confederation line - rails clipped to a concrete pad.
Might the Fairway crossover get the same approach?

So why did they use this method at Conestoga, and fully embedded method at Cameron?

The Cameron one is in the middle of a roadway with embedded all around. They still want emergency vehicles, etc to be able to use the right of way.

[Canard]

I had the same thought, standing at Conestoga - and arrived at the same conclusion, Kevin!

[Smore]

I assume the extra wide sidewalk will facilitate patios, sidewalks sales, etc...but how obtrusive will the trains every few minutes be?

[panamaniac]

I assume the extra wide sidewalk will facilitate patios, sidewalks sales, etc...but how obtrusive will the trains every few minutes be?

Not very, I suspect.

[danbrotherston]

I assume the extra wide sidewalk will facilitate patios, sidewalks sales, etc...but how obtrusive will the trains every few minutes be?

Not very, I suspect.

Indeed!  I've sat on a patio along a street with a tram, it was far less annoying than high volumes of car traffic.

[ijmorlan]

Not very, I suspect.

Indeed!  I've sat on a patio along a street with a tram, it was far less annoying than high volumes of car traffic.

I remember at the 2011 public Council meeting former mayor of Waterloo Joan McKinnon made an amazingly ridiculous presentation complaining about massive loud trains rolling up King St. and making the outdoor patios unuseable. OK, maybe true of constant large freight trains but the idea that an LRT lane is more obnoxious than a general traffic lane with trucks is just absurd. Some people don’t know when to stay retired. King St. will be wonderful with the LRT running up it. I just wish they had thought ahead when rebuilding the west side of the street. If those new buildings had been placed maybe 7m further back then there would have been plenty of room for both directions of LRT traffic to run on King St.

[Canard]

I assume the extra wide sidewalk will facilitate patios, sidewalks sales, etc...but how obtrusive will the trains every few minutes be?

Yeah - Tim Mollison of TriTag confirmed they're for patios.

...you're kidding about the obtrusive thing though, right?!



Isn't it so awful?  

(...and if you've been wondering "what's that high-pitched squeal I always hear with new-ish LRV's?" - the noise comes from the motor controller: a Variable Frequency Drive, a very common and efficient way of controlling large AC motors. My favourite is still the controller used on Montreal's MR-73 trains, though! Nothing beats hearing the first three notes of Fanfare for the Common Man every time a train leaves a station.)