SRT: What To Look Forward To
With the funding deferment pushing back the conversion of the SRT until after 2015, the plan includes buying some used ICTS Mark-I cars from Vancouver.
Want a look at what is in store for us, take a look at this article which details a recent derailment in Surrey. Of course, with drivers on the SRT, the result would not be the same, but we are still talking about purchasing used equipment that has things like brake calipers falling off of it.
June 8th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
What will the total cost of the referb of these units. Would it not be less expensive to lease or rent a fleet of Articulated Buses? Will the Vancouver units replace some of the current units or all or will just be a top up of the current fleet to get by?
In short what is the price tag?
Cal’s comment: The plan is to extend the service of the current line by a few years with the addition of used cars from Vancouver. The current fleet will be 30 years old in 2015 and there are no spares during rush hours - every car is in service. Even though the ATO system could allow more frequent service (and thus, more capacity), there are simply not any more cars to make up additional trains. There will have to be some refurbishment to keep the fleet going until the line is shut down for LRT conversion after 2015. I have no idea just what this will cost, but I do suspect that the used Mark-I cars will have a minimal cost as there is not much of a market for them.
Keep in mind that existing train sets will have to be broken up and remade with Vancouver cars positioned in the middle as they have no driver’s cab. This is not a trivial job as it will involve breaking up pairs, which are coupled semi-permanently. Like our subway cars, the coupler at the cab end is designed for quick coupling and uncoupling. The coupler at the other end that marries a pair of cars together is essentially a bolted-on drawbar and requires more work to uncouple and re-couple.
June 8th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
The problem as I see it is even if they refeurb the cars, they will evenually have to replace it with buses while the conversion take place. IT is all about timing and cost. If they under estimate the cost of repair and take too long to do the conversion then it would not be worth it. I would rather see them do the following.
A) Get a fleet of Articulated buses to run express from Scarborough town to Kennedy with no stops (Rush Hour only). That would allow them to increase capacity with the current fleet of SRT still running without buying junk cars.
B) When it comes time to shutdown the line they can get more articulated buses to add to the fleet as they will need them during the shut down anyways
C) Once the conversion is complete the buses can be refurbished and sold or sold as is.
I would also be intrested how many articulated units you would need once the system is shut down>
Cal’s comment: Of course, articulated buses are one of those things that the powers that be at the TTC has an aversion to. Along with things like ballasted tie construction for tracks, and just about anything they don’t think of themselves (routing Lakeshore streetcar service to Dundas West and routing streetcars to the new Ashbridges Bay facility via any route other than Leslie Street come to mind).
June 9th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Vancouver’s Mk.1 SkyTrain cars are now 25 years old and with the recent derailment, some cars maybe in slight disrepair. The present Mk.1 stock is driverless, but Toronto could make 3 car train-sets with little difficulty, the problem may be with the ATO and its ability to accept 3 car trains.
Was the ATO designed to operate 3 car trains?
Cal’s comment: I don’t know enough about the ATO system used, but my background in software would have me surprised if it were this restricting (unless Microsoft wrote it!). The big problem is the stations that are only four cars long which would limit a 3-car set to a 3-car length. The SRT line had original intentions to have longer stations, and the original configuration at Kennedy would have fit a 6-car train, as would Scarborough Centre and, I believe, McCowan. The other stations were built shorter, though Midland has a longer platform length that is only finished and covered for a 4-car length. 3-car sets would mean that capacity gains from added trains would be reduced by 25%.
What will likely happen is that pairs will be broken up and remade with an existing SRT car married with an ex-Vancouver car. Pairs will then be coupled together with the ex-Van ends coupled together making up a 4-car train with a cab at each end. There will likely have to be other work (and costs) on the ex-Van cars to make them compatible anyways.
Though Vancouver’s SkyTrain system does operate 6 car trains, such service has been problematic as the ATO system saw a 6 car train as a 4 car train with a 2 car train following very closely. Too may 6 car trains in operation caused the computer to have a nervous breakdown and stop the system.
Maybe Microsoft has a finger in the ATO software!
I wonder what the TransLink ‘garage sale price’ of a Mk 1 car is?
June 9th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
If TTC wants to know how to run articulated buses tell them to talk to VIVA, Hamilton Transit, Mississauga Transit. Ottawa transit and many other accross North america and around the world. By using 40 foot buses you need 50% more at least and 50% more drivers at overtime rates.
Cal’s comment: It’s not a case of not knowing how to run them, it’s another case of the powers that be at the TTC have set their minds on not wanting anything to do with artics so they stick their fingers in thier ears and shout, “la la la la la…”
In any event I would like to see the costing for the Vancouver cars and how long they think they will be able to use them.
It also helps if they get better quality articulated vehicles not the garbage they bought last time.
Lets see:
Subway Cars that develop cracks
SRT units that do not work in the winter
Electric buses that could no longer hold their charges long before the manufactures end dates
easily rustable articulated buses
Not bad
October 8th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Oh boy! Oh boy! More ICTS stuff Yay!
JUST CONVERT THE DARN THING TO LRT FOR GOD’S SAKE!
Cal’s comment: The plan is to still convert it, just after 2015 instead of sooner.