(10-10-2019, 08:15 AM)MidTowner Wrote: It's been well over three months of service, and apparently there are still vehicle reliability/automatic control/or maybe some other issues that haven't been disclosed that is preventing Ion from running at the frequency specified in the project agreement.
I'm venting a little about that, but I'm curious if I'm missing some method of communication that GRT is using to provide updates? Does anyone know if we have received any recent info about what the specific problem is and when it's expected to be solved?
I believe the main issue was that service started without ATC being enabled. This resulted in the drivers having to operate trains at a slower speed due to a fair amount of manual control being used. They haven't released any official news about whether or not that is still an issue, but if it is, then it will probably still take a few weeks as they only have limited hours each night to work on large parts of the system/trains.
All things considered, at least we did have a fairly smooth launch. This has been the scene on the Ottawa LRT twice this week simply due to someone holding open the doors for a few seconds in rush hour so they could jump off. The entire network ground to a halt, making thousands of people late. I don't understand how that can happen, because in any other transit system, the doors just try again and then unless you're desperately squeezing yourself between the doors for some pathological reason, they slam hard enough to make you get the hell out of the doorway.