How would you rate ION service so far?

[Bureaucromancer]

I rather suspect the inconsistent door thing won't go away. It's definitely that way in Toronto, and while you could chalk it up to mixed operation of Flexities and legacy cars I doubt there's much incentive to push operators toward consistency.

[ijmorlan]

I rather suspect the inconsistent door thing won't go away.  It's definitely that way in Toronto, and while you could chalk it up to mixed operation of Flexities and legacy cars I doubt there's much incentive to push operators toward consistency.

In winter there is a big incentive for riders. Not so much for managers or drivers.

[Bob_McBob]

GRT told me on Facebook they will be adding decals explaining the door function soon.

[ijmorlan]

I rode between Uptown and Northfield a couple of times this evening to try to understand how the freight interaction works. It turns out they do indeed operate reverse-running, but only for one trip (at least this evening) while the freight is occupying the shared track. I started at Waterloo Public Square and went north to Northfield normally; then a southbound train came, and gave an announcement about reverse-running (in addition to platform announcements about delays due to freight) and sure enough the signal went yellow and we crossed over. Then held at Laurier/Waterloo Park for several minutes until the freight was clear of the interlocking (note, we did not proceed to the interlocking in front of the Perimeter Institute until the freight was well past there; we held in station, not at the signal). Then we proceeded, crossed back over just north of Erb, and arrived at Willis Way. I then repeated the trip and except for some residual schedule slippage everything was back to normal.

Mostly a pretty smooth operation, although I did notice two incorrect features of the operation: (1) platform destination signs did not reflect the reverse running; we, a Fairview trip, arrived at a platform with signs indicating two Conestoga trips, and the other platform was still advertising Fairway trips. (2) while we held at Laurier/Waterloo Park for almost 10 minutes, the crossing protection at the south end of the platform remained activated. It is, as a matter of public safety, never acceptable for crossing protection to remain active for a significant period of time for a motionless train in routine operation.

[Bob_McBob]

CN was actually just in local news for noise complaints yet again because they've been idling the freight train right at the derailer for hours every night rather than coordinating with LRT operations before sending it out.

https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-st...ng-trains/

[MidTowner]

The paper shouldn't have had that guy stand so close to the tracks. It is an active railway, even if not used during the day.

Plus, it's a stupid photo to have taken.

[lestrome]

How would you rate ION service so far?

ION has been up and running for almost a week.  How would you rate it so far?  Feel free to leave thoughts and comments or reviews below too!

I will be happier when the free rides are over and as a regular commuter won't have to deal with the crowds and the rudeness of the crowds. Only then will I be able to give a fair rating of the service.

[Spokes]

I think a key thing they'll have to work on is how to deal with disruptions to service. For example, right now it sounds like there is some sort of delay at UW station. How quickly are they able to ramp up a substitute bus service? Are they able to run service on the rest of the line by short-turning at an earlier station? This is a key part of the network and they can't afford to have people wait while they troubleshoot problems.

I was stuck at Northfield headed to Conestoga.  They kicked us all off of the train because the switches at Conestoga weren't working well and they couldn't turn the trains around.  I think service was stopped for about 20 minutes.  People mostly took it in stride except for the man who was yelling about his taxes and how useless the system is.

Guarantee he isn't even a regular transit user

[ijmorlan]

CN was actually just in local news for noise complaints yet again because they've been idling the freight train right at the derailer for hours every night rather than coordinating with LRT operations before sending it out.

https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-st...ng-trains/

For once I agree with the complainants. The freight train can idle in the yard at Lancaster and only come up the spur line when Keolis is ready to give them clearance.

To be fair, I think they might have switched to this procedure — the last few nights I’ve notice the train idling for just a few minutes. So I suspect they wait at Lancaster, then come up the line when Keolis is ready, then proceed when the signal actually switches. This is a reasonable procedure.

I live just across the street from the person featured in the article so for me the train is not quite as loud but I’m in essentially the same situation.

[ijmorlan]

The paper shouldn't have had that guy stand so close to the tracks. It is an active railway, even if not used during the day.

Plus, it's a stupid photo to have taken.

Interesting that the derail appears not to be engaged. I wonder when the photo was taken? Lately the derail has typically been engaged except when the freight goes through.

[ac3r]

The paper shouldn't have had that guy stand so close to the tracks. It is an active railway, even if not used during the day.

Plus, it's a stupid photo to have taken.

He's technically breaking the law being that close haha, not that CN would really care enough to do anything. But generally, railways own a fair bit of land to either side of the track, it doesn't merely include the gravel stones and track itself.

[JoeKW]

I was stuck at Northfield headed to Conestoga.  They kicked us all off of the train because the switches at Conestoga weren't working well and they couldn't turn the trains around.  I think service was stopped for about 20 minutes.  People mostly took it in stride except for the man who was yelling about his taxes and how useless the system is.

Guarantee he isn't even a regular transit user

No he clearly took it to find things to complain about.
He complained about:

1.  there wasn't a referendum
   
2. The tap terminal was too far from the ticket terminal
   
3. The system was a year late
   
4. Going from mall to mall takes forver by lrt versus car
   
5. He will never personally take it
   

He was also extremely rude to a keolis employee.  I could never treat a human being that way.

[ijmorlan]

The paper shouldn't have had that guy stand so close to the tracks. It is an active railway, even if not used during the day.

Plus, it's a stupid photo to have taken.

He's technically breaking the law being that close haha, not that CN would really care enough to do anything. But generally, railways own a fair bit of land to either side of the track, it doesn't merely include the gravel stones and track itself.

In this case the right of way is owned by the Region of Waterloo and also contains a multi-use trail.

Given the nature of the right of way, I would consider any enforcement whatsoever of trespassing on that right of way, other than as a way to get at vandalism or actual interference with freight operations, to be an abuse of power. I don’t think we’re likely to see such enforcement — it is not in anybody’s interest.

[rickhd]

GRT told me on Facebook they will be adding decals explaining the door function soon.

That would help a lot.   Confusion over the doors seems to be a big issue at the moment.  I noticed one women trying to get off without success.   Even though people told her to push the button.    

I read one comment about having the doors on automatic may not be so nice in the winter.    Imagine a -30C day with a wind and the door stays open.  
 
The buttons are very low as well however I can see that to meet AODA guidelines.    

They could have made the buttons bigger.   Did they make them for children to push.  

Pushing a button can be difficult if you have arthritis or if you are visually challenged or even mentally challenged.

[ijmorlan]

I recently observed another problem with the doors. Even when they are enabled (meaning the button will open them), they close like a subway door, not like an elevator door. By this I mean that it doesn’t really want to re-open, unless you press the button. This is a problem when there are lots of people getting on or off — the first person presses the button, the next couple of people follow them through, then it closes on the next person, and somebody has to figure out to press the button. The way it should work is like an elevator door — anything in the doorway, and it re-opens. Once the driver presses the “door close” button, then it can act like a subway door which won’t normally re-open. Also, in the event that a door is blocked, only that door should re-open. This isn’t as big a problem on our vehicles as on the subway (4 doorways with 6 doors rather than 24 doorways with 48 doors).

Finally, the door chimes go for each door when it closes, even if the doors are still enabled. This leads to a cacophony when the train sits in station at the end of the line and people board one at a time. I think the chime should be reserved for when the doors are closing because the driver pressed the “close” button, not for when a door is closing because there is nobody occupying the doorway.

Overall, I find it surprising the number of obvious problems with the programmed-in behaviour of the vehicles.