ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Viewfromthe42]

Now I'm curious how the travel speeds would have been affected had we had roll, and been able to even gently bank corners. Then again, the "smooth ride" selling point might have been moot if any noticeable banking took place. I'm always just a bit shocked and saddened at the quantity of really low speeds on the route, feel like I never see anything outside of 10-30kph.

[Coke6pk]

How will the tracks crossing the roadway before/after underpass be controlled for vehicle traffic? Similar crossovers elsewhere are in intersections, and controlled by the lights... I really hope there are not gate arms here......

Coke

[Canard]

Now I'm curious how the travel speeds would have been affected had we had roll, and been able to even gently bank corners. Then again, the "smooth ride" selling point might have been moot if any noticeable banking took place. I'm always just a bit shocked and saddened at the quantity of really low speeds on the route, feel like I never see anything outside of 10-30kph.

You can also thank the simplified fixed-bogie configuration for those low speeds - as well as the complexity of designing the entire line transition spirals in and out of every single curve.

Nose hunt at higher speeds is something to watch for, especially on the shared freight Southbound alignment on the Waterloo Spur, where that track will take more of a beating than the Northbound one.

Acceleration rate is also something that drove some of the very low speeds in some areas, coupled with the curve geometries.

[Canard]

How will the tracks crossing the roadway before/after underpass be controlled for vehicle traffic?  Similar crossovers elsewhere are in intersections, and controlled by the lights... I really hope there are not gate arms here......

Coke

Great observation; the transition happens in the middle of that particular intersection, just like at Charles/Benton, so I can't imagine it would be any different.

   

[timc]

AC motors like this can be very accurately controlled by their drive (called a Variable Frequency Drive, or VFD); it's what makes the high-pitched quiet "squeal" or "whine" on newer trains as they accelerate and decelerate.  Some really nerdy folks like myself even get a kick out of the different noises that these types of systems make - my favourite being the 90, 120, 180, 240, 360 Hz startup tones of the Montreal metro trains...  

I spent one summer in Montreal 20 years ago, and I still remember that sound. :-)

[Coke6pk]

How will the tracks crossing the roadway before/after underpass be controlled for vehicle traffic?  Similar crossovers elsewhere are in intersections, and controlled by the lights... I really hope there are not gate arms here......

Coke

Great observation; the transition happens in the middle of that particular intersection, just like at Charles/Benton, so I can't imagine it would be any different.

So I assume this picture is from McDonalds and not the Google building [Which was where I was picturing it]

   

I kinda forgot about Moore, it hasn't been an option in so long....

Coke

[Canard]

That's right; from the steps of the McDonald's! The new fence there where it kicks over to the left in the background is Moore.

[KevinL]

Looks like wiring work got done over the weekend - the northbound messenger wire is in place from Charles, around down Benton and Frederick, and well up Duke.

[Canard]

There's a ton of wiring, yes! The full Messenger/Contact wire combo is up on the run from Borden/Chrales down to Hayward area, too! They are really cranking now.

[Markster]

I just got back from San Diego, and after riding the trolley there (their word, not mine!) I'm sad again about all the speed limit signs we're seeing on our line.

The trolley was regularly going 40km/hr on city streets, 65km/hr along the Green Line's separated right of way, and even hit a speed of 88km/hr on the stretch between Barrio Logan and Harborside stations (which had level crossings!).

The speed limits on our line, with the same levels of grade crossings, are excessively conservative in comparison.

[tomh009]

Are those speed limits determined by the MTO, or someone else?

[Canard]

I think a big part of it is the fact our line can't have any superelevation (banking) due to the geometry of the trains. The curve geometry along the line coupled with the acceleration capabilities also severely limits it in the downtown areas. Fixed bogie is fine for curves but not curves+speed. Articulated bogie (San Diego) is great for speed but not so much for tight curves where you have a much longer car body.

[KevinL]

More progress to note today - southbound overhead (messenger and contact) is going up today on the stretch along Mill station.

Also, at Frederick station, the feature wall frame is going up.

[KevinL]

The reliable website Transit Toronto has just posted a comprehensive article on rail transit in our Region, from the early horse-drawn days up to the planned completion of Ion. Some of our community helped out, as well.

A HISTORY OF ELECTRIC TRANSIT IN WATERLOO REGION, INCLUDING THE ION LRT

[Canard]

James did a great job on it!!

CTV has a piece from Millhaven: http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1078839