02-25-2020, 10:45 AM
(02-25-2020, 09:48 AM)trainspotter139 Wrote: When reverse running on the northbound track the crossover for LRVs to rejoin the southbound track is further south of the crossover used by CN freight trains. There would be an exclusive interlocking block that spans both switches and well past them in both directions that can't be occupied by an LRV if the freight train is using freight crossover or the switches won't operate.
Yes, I am well aware of the layout of the interlocking. As far as I can tell it actually starts at the corner of William/Willow on the freight line and just past the Public Square stop on the LRT, and extends up to near the Perimeter Institute. On the southbound LRT track it appears to end just north of Caroline/Erb.
My point is that southbound LRVs could hold at Seagram until the freight train enters the interlocking, then proceed until they reach the BUR 2S signal and wait there for the freight to clear the interlocking. There is no need for them to hold 600m up the track. Holding at Seagram if they have to wait for the freight to even arrive makes sense because it allows people to get on or off if they want to, but once the freight is on scene it makes sense to proceed closer to the actual point of conflict.
That being said, if they are waiting at Seagram for more than a couple of minutes they should simply set the interlocking to allow the LRV through and have the freight wait for a gap in LRV traffic.
Really there are 2 separate issues: (1) the need for LRT traffic to use a single track while the freight is travelling along the line, and (2) the need for LRT traffic to stop entirely to allow the freight to cross over to its track. The problems with (1) are inherent to running a service more frequent than twice the time to traverse the single track segment, while I suspect the problems with (2) are mostly related to safety paranoia which ignores the fact that there is a difference between a mainline freight train travelling at 100km/h and the small trains travelling on our line at barely more than a jogging speed.