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Trains

All aboard! There are trains of all shapes and sizes from the magnificent Royal Hudson steam locomotive to the crowded Chicago ‘L’ transit cars. It’s an amazing way to take a journey, and it’s how our country was built by opening new routes for commerce and travel.

SkyTrain service change in downtown Vancouver

Frederick Linsmeyer • October 13, 2009 • Local, News, Trains

Beginning on October 14^th 2009, TransLink will be performing repair work in the Dunsmuir Tunnel on the route used by Expo and Millennium Line SkyTrains, to address water seeping into the 77 year old tunnel. This work is scheduled to be completed by December 11^th, 2009

Starting at 9:45 PM PDT until the end of service, trains headed to Waterfront will stop at the Stadium-Chinatown Station. A shuttle train has been setup to run on the outbound track and will stop at Granville, Burrard and Waterfront Stations running on 12 minute intervals.

TransLink recommends taking an extra 15 or 20 minutes during travel during this time. SkyTrain Attendants will be available to assist during the service changes.

SkyTrain service will be running at normal levels on October 28^th, November 5^th, and November 11^th, 2009. Canucks fans may experience some minor delays as the work also falls on a number of home games at GM Place.

Full details are available on the TransLink web site.

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CTA Fare Hikes and Service Reductions

Frederick Linsmeyer • October 13, 2009 • News, Trains

Passengers could be paying $3.00 for one of these.

Chicago commuters are facing fare hikes and service reductions on the CTA. Due to declining sources of public funding and the current economy, CTA President, Richard L. Rodriguez, detailed changes for bus and rail service for the 2010 budget.

The good news is that no bus or rail routes will be removed. However, service will be at lower frequencies and either start later or end earlier – Night Owl and rush hour service will not be impacted.

Bus fares are expected to rise 25 cents to $2.50 and rail fares will increase by 75 cents to $3.00. Passes will also increase – $8 for the 1-Day pass, $18 for the 3-Day pass, $30 for the 7-Day pass and $110 for the 30-Day pass. Reduced and Transfer fares will remain unchanged.

All service changes and fare increases are set to take place starting February 7^th, 2010.

This budget will be presented during a meeting in November 2009 to the RTA and Cook County Board. The transit authority must submit a balanced budget to the RTA before November 15^th, 2009 and must be approved by the RTA before the end of the year.

See the full proposed budget on the CTA web site.

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Evergreen Line progressing

Frederick Linsmeyer • September 20, 2009 • News, Trains

SkyTrain at Waterfront Station

The latest extension of the SkyTrain, the Evergreen Line — which will run from Lougheed Station on the eastern edge of Burnaby, through Port Moody and up to Coquitlam, is slated to have construction start in late 2010.

Although TransLink is struggling to obtain additional funding to maintain existing services, both the Provincial and Federal governments have earmarked $800 million dollars for the 11km project. The Province will work with the Metro Vancouver-based transit company on how to raise the estimated $400 million needed for completion.

The Evergreen Line will use the same Mark I and II cars that run on the Expo and Millennium Lines and is expected to be completed sometime around 2014.

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Possible new Green Line stop

Frederick Linsmeyer • September 16, 2009 • News, Trains

CTA Pink Line at Quincy

The Chicago Sun-Times overheard the CTA talking about a new station on the Green Line near the Museum Campus and Soldier Field. While there are no plans for this stop at either Cermak Road or 18^th Street in the immediate future, there is a need for a station on the Near South Side in the 2.5 mile gap between Roosevelt and 35-Bronzeville-IIT. Unfortunately, the Green Line is plagued with a few significant stretches of track where there are no stations.

Up until 1978, there was a station on Cermak Road, but was closed and removed due to budget cut backs.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

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Canada Line

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 23, 2009 • Photography, Trains

Canada Line

I finally had the chance to ride Vancouver’s latest addition to its rapid transit system, the Canada Line. This line runs from Waterfront in downtown Vancouver before branching off to the west to YVR Airport, or south to Richmond-Brighouse. I brought my camera along, so many of pictures I took are available on Gallery.

Even though the Canada Line opened last Monday, people were still crowding the platforms to catch a ride. Considering this was a Sunday afternoon, most of the station platforms were pretty packed, although it was good to see people out and exploring the new system and taking the initiative in planning future commutes.

Inside the train

The train cars are much wider and feature lots of room for bicycles, strollers and wheelchairs. There are more stanchions for standing passengers and the seats are pretty comfortable. The seats have more leg room to store excess baggage instead of taking up seating space or obstructing the aisle. As an aid for noisy commutes, there are interior digital destination signs announcing the next and terminal stations. What really is noticeable, is how quiet and smooth the ride is. It’s hard to determine when the train starts up until you look out the window and “Hey, we’re moving!” This smooth ride is quite possibly the highlight of the trip. The same safety features — the yellow silent alarm strip on the windows and speaker phone by the doors are still there for those familiar with the setup on SkyTrain. However, these are not SkyTrain cars, so don’t expect to see them making the run out to Surrey or into Burnaby — the Canada Line cars were built using different technology by the Korean group, Hyundai/ROTEM. Looking at the tracks, the familiar aluminum centre “rail” is missing, and the dual third rail used for power is a single rail, so it’s incompatible with the existing Millennium and Expo Lines.

Richmond-Brighouse

The platforms at all stations are short, as all the trains are basically two cars. There isn’t much room to expand running four car trains because it would be a tight fit, and six car trains are totally out of the question. The stations are each unique featuring a lot of steel, glass, concrete and some wood for ceiling decorations (except in the subway stations). There are lots of signs designating exits, waiting areas, safety processes, but the lettering for the station names are pretty small, while all other text sizes are much more visible.

If you get a chance, go take a ride. The Canada Line is a two-zone trip, but try and catch a ride outside of peak hours to make use of the lower fares and avoid possible crowds. Existing Fare Savers and transfers work with the Canada Line, so there’s no need to purchase different tickets or cards.

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Canada Line running August 17

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 4, 2009 • News, Trains

Canada Line at YVR

TransLink has announced that the Canada Line, the new rapid transit line from downtown Vancouver to YVR/Richmond, will be up and running on August 17^th, 2009. From 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm PDT, passengers will be able to make the 25 minute journey for free.

The Canada Line uses different cars from the existing Millennium and Expo Line trains, making use of Hyundai Rotem’s technology for longer, more spacious cars with electronic destination signs and air conditioning. These trains use electric traction motors powered by an electrified third rail instead of Bombardier’s linear induction motors which is already in place with SkyTrain.

Actual revenue service begins on August 18^th.

Source: TransLink

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Second Amtrak Train between Vancouver and Seattle

Frederick Linsmeyer • July 4, 2009 • Trains

After months of hope that the federal government in Canada would drop the $1,500 CAD fee on a second train, it was announced that the second train would be part of a new pilot project. The additional train would give visitors to Vancouver the ability to extend their stay in the city as well as those heading state-side.

The second train will run from August until the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and if there is enough positive feedback, the service would be kept.

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New SkyTrain map display

Frederick Linsmeyer • July 1, 2009 • Trains

With the new Mark II series cars being rolled out, TransLink posted a video of the new display maps over the doors. The maps feature an overlay and LED lights that show the line, station and direction of travel. You can also hear the announcements as they cycle through the different recordings. Keeps your ears opened for some of the lesser heard stations and warnings.

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Armitage

Frederick Linsmeyer • May 29, 2009 • Trains

The renovated station house

Opened on June 1^st, 1900 and located in Chicago’s trendy Lincoln Park neighbourhood, Armitage station was one of the first to serve the Northwestern Elevated Railroad. Originally named Center Street, the Armitage station house was designed by William Gibb. The street-level station house was based on the Classical Revival style; being constructed of brick and finished with an elegant terracotta trim. The platforms are wooden planks with edges capped off using blue plastic to enhance visibility when boarding or alighting trains. The platform canopies feature corrugated sheet metal roofs which cover a short section where the stairs and new elevators are located.

On the north end of the inbound platform is a former control tower that was used to manage the interlocking for the northern portal of the State Street subway. The interlocking is now controlled at a tower further up the line at the Clark Junction, where the Brown Line diverges from the Red and Purple Lines.

Armitage serves the Brown and Purple Express lines on the outer tracks, while Red line trains pass through without stopping on the centre tracks.

In 2006, work began on the Armitage station to enhance it for the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. This project would give the station longer platforms to allow eight car trains, elevators, and an expanded station house for increased crowds during rush hours. Much of the station house’s original design was left unaltered and the interiors were replicated to give passengers the true feeling of days gone by.

Personally, this is one of my favourite stations (the other being the historic Quincy station) and is located in a beautiful neighbourhood. Stop by and take a look!

Old KDR Armitage signage
A replica of the original signage found at the station before the reconstruction.

Sources: Chicago-L.org, Chicago Transit Authority

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Quincy

Frederick Linsmeyer • May 29, 2009 • Trains

The elevated station house

Opened on September 3^rd, 1897, the Quincy station stands over Quincy Street and Wells Avenue (formerly Fifth Avenue), just east of the Sears Tower. Quincy showcases how the ‘L’ system appeared back at the turn of the century when rapid transit was in its infancy. Unlike other stations in the Chicago Loop, Quincy was rebuilt with replicas of the original wood and tin panelling, lighting mounts, and signage. Of course, the station features modern amenities such as turnstiles, fare card machines and digital marquees, which all fits nicely into the magnificent character of the structure.

The platform canopies feature corrugated metal roofs with decorative supporting posts. Along the fences guarding the platform edges, there are period advertisements and maps of the ‘L’ system. The lighting fixtures are not originals, but are shaped like canes and alternate with newer box-shaped mounts to provide illumination.

The station serves the Brown Line on the outbound (western) platform, while Pink, Purple and Orange Line trains are served on the inbound (eastern) platform.

All in all, it’s a very beautiful station and perfect for the history buff who’s curious to take a trip back in time on this bustling metropolitan transit system.

Quincy is one of my favourite stations along with Armitage up in Lincoln Park. Stop by and take a look!