tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post2635339103040580989..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: Light rail in New York City?Cap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-50432031777223126422014-05-03T17:19:18.010-04:002014-05-03T17:19:18.010-04:00I think there are only a few places where it would...I think there are only a few places where it would make sense to build streetcars in NYC, and where it would be political possible, as well as fiscally affordable. I think it is possible that we could upgrade a few of the best performing Select Bus Service routes to streetcars. Most of the infrastructure which was put in for SBS could be reused for a streetcar. All of the off-board fare collection machines would be kept, the improved bus stops would be kept and modified with a ramp for boarding, and since most of the SBS routes already have dedicated lanes, the streetcars or light rail could run in the dedicated lanes and not have to deal with all of the political opposition from drivers, while we can still also run buses in the streetcar lane, so that overall the service improves. Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05663230262490428694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-29796709792976603572014-04-08T11:34:09.982-04:002014-04-08T11:34:09.982-04:00There's a few factors that go into making elev...There's a few factors that go into making elevated trains quieter. You covered:<br />1) Weight of the train, especially the unsuspended components.<br />2) The material of the structure. There's a few different effects here though.<br /><br />What you didn't cover is:<br />a) Eliminating or reducing rail gaps by using continuously welded rails, frog switches, and higher quality turnouts.<br />b) Steerable bogies on the cars.<br />c) Improved track maintenance. BTW, lighter rail cars also help keep the track up to spec.<br /><br />I haven't experienced transit in New York, but I've experienced both Skytrain in Vancouver and the Chicago 'L'. Growing up in Vancouver, I didn't understand why people, and especially New Yorkers, were so vehemently opposed to elevated rail. Chicago convinced me that traditional els are a detraction.<br /><br />Around New York, compare the 7 to the JFK airtrain. The latter of follows at least the first 4 or 5 points above (using the same technology as Vancouver).<br />fbfreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05055354576439140125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-85529088612831289532014-04-03T00:18:06.857-04:002014-04-03T00:18:06.857-04:00A streetcar either in a dedicate street lane, or i...A streetcar either in a dedicate street lane, or in lane dedicated to light rail and express buses but closed to mixed vehicle traffic, would offer substantially better more predictable rail transit than a mixed-traffic streetcar, which translates to quicker turns, tighter layovers and so more trips per vehicle per day ... but even at a five minute frequency, the route would have to be intermediate between a regular bus route and a route that can support a four car or longer commuter service to be appropriate for that role ... more along the lines of a circumferential route that connects to mass transit stations and secondary employment centers than a main backbone route to a primary employment center.BruceMcFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08502035881761277885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-81360034014461435242014-04-02T01:59:37.277-04:002014-04-02T01:59:37.277-04:00Freight traffic on Long Island is increasing prett...Freight traffic on Long Island is increasing pretty rapidly. On the average weekday the Lower Montauk sees about 10 different freight trains (most of which traverse the Lower Montauk during the day) and daily traffic is close to 180-200 cars these days.<br /><br />It also wouldn't be that unreasonable to apply this idea to the Bushwick Branch too. That would link a small, but under-served area of the city, and the former Bushwick Terminal is only about a block away from the Montrose Avenue L station. This segment also sees a substantial amount of freight traffic, however, despite it's short length. <br /><br />And all of this could also be applied to the Bay Ridge Branch, and all the arguments about the Triboro RX would surface (and many of those arguments would probably also apply to any sort of rail, light rail, or subway implementation on the Lower Montauk, Rockaway Beach, or Bushwick Branches as well).The LIRR Todayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02603282134514125522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-63354943750515818912014-04-02T01:44:40.760-04:002014-04-02T01:44:40.760-04:00Independently of FRA issues, there's a simpler...Independently of FRA issues, there's a simpler reason not to do tram-trains in New York: the tram segment would be too slow or not connect to anything interesting. If you're building rail on the Rockaway branch, you want to connect it to Manhattan. This can be done by subway or LIRR; if it's light rail, then you'd needlessly putting the line on-street for a couple km on Queens Boulevard and the Queensboro Bridge. Connecting the line to the Lower Montauk means missing the Forest Hills/Rego Park business district, and having to again slog on-street to get to the Queensboro Bridge.<br /><br />The specific use of tram-trains* is for when,<br /><br />a) You have a rail ROW that goes almost to but not quite where you want to go, and<br /><br />b) The projected ridership doesn't justify putting the connection from the ROW to the destination underground.<br /><br />The first condition holds for the HBLR, where the legacy ROWs are close to Exchange Place but require some additional segments to get to where the highest density is. The second... meh. The HBLR's construction costs make the line look entirely greenfield on-street, rather than 80% on existing ROW.<br /><br />East of the Hudson, there is not a single place where the first condition holds. The railroad terminals outside Manhattan fail both conditions. West of the Hudson, I can kind of sort of see a tram-train from the Erie Lines to either Newport or Exchange Place, but honestly the projected ridership for an underground Manhattan connection is high enough that it should be built instead.<br /><br />*These can be mainline tram-trains as in Karlsruhe, but also separated light rail, as in North America. The key here is that a tram-train is light rail that's fast on the outside and slow on the inside, the opposite of a subway-surface line.Alonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267294744186811858noreply@blogger.com