12-07-2023, 04:14 PM
(12-07-2023, 03:18 PM)timc Wrote:(12-07-2023, 02:54 PM)coriander Wrote: 5 minute headways would be phenomenal and put the ION truly in the category of urban rail. I don't imagine it'll be that long before that kind of demand emerges, especially with so much transit-oriented development going on. Then again, Stage 2 will increase the need for more vehicles.
I can't imagine how a 5 minute headway would work with the nightmare that is the Northfield Drive crossing. If there is a train every five minutes, that means there is one each direction an average of every 2.5 minutes.
The original plan called for two car trains starting in 2025, which also calls for 20 vehicles.
The timing for Northfield could be refined by about a minute, if that, to get both trains to pass through the intersection at the same time. There's always one train that leaves Conestoga Mall, makes the bend to Northfield, and then the train heading to the mall arrives at the intersection about 45 seconds later. Once in a blue moon, they pass through at the same time. This would mean you are only 'stopping' the intersection once for every two trains, and only once every 10 minutes if sticking with 10-minute headways, or once every 5 minutes if we upgrade to 5-minute headways.
OR we could take a leaf from the Stage 2 plan and just elevate the train starting at Kraus, make the corner in the sky, and then drop down again somewhere along King St. That won't be expensive, right?