12-11-2020, 02:52 PM
(12-11-2020, 01:44 PM)taylortbb Wrote:(12-11-2020, 01:36 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: It makes me downright angry that the LRV is limited to a lower speed limit than the surrounding traffic in many places. But it kind of demonstrates what I said in another thread, our regulations for ground transport are an abject failure.
I don't think that's a regulatory issue, that's the design speed of the track. ION phase 1 was all about reducing costs, and higher speeds cost more. Higher speeds require the track be straighter, which then requires more expropriation to straighten out the street, and so on. Or you use high-floor trains, which have significantly more flexibility with track geometry, but then you spend more on the stations.
There are perfectly straight sections of track where this is an issue. Slowing down around turns is reasonable but trains going straight along Northfield which last time I was there, were limited to 50km/h when surrounding traffic is limited to 60km/h and routinely exceeds 80km/h. They are separated from the road with fully controlled cross traffic, and the track is straight.