Valley Line LRT | TransEd/Marigold | City of Edmonton

I'm puzzled by TransEd's revelation that there will be only one train in the Valley Line tunnel, traveling in one direction at a time for "safety reasons"...why?

Lately it seems like ETS's poor LRT service stems from a preoccupation with "safety" more than anything else. If we want an effective transit system, we have to draw the line somewhere, and remove any redundant layers of bureaucracy that are hiding behind the "safety" buzzword for PR's sake.

I can't even get to work on time from Belvedere, one of the original four stations. I start at 9:30 am, and the trains only run on a 15 minute frequency at this time on a weekday, which is unacceptable for a city of Edmonton's size. For every 3 trains going to Clareview in the morning, there is only one going downtown. At night, for every 3 trains going downtown, there is only one northbound to Clareview. Unacceptable, especially when one considers that Clareview is the city's busiest LRT station. It feels like priority is being given to the south leg of the Capital line as well as the Metro line. I've raised the issue with ETS and instead of providing me with a valid explanation for the delays (and frequently broken escalators on the station platforms), their response was something to the effect of "we are as frustrated as you are that our LRT system is predominantly above-ground and therefore subject to many unforeseeable delays of all types."

Some days I will miss my morning train by 2 minutes, and then the next day I will run 1 km from home in -20C weather to get there 2 minutes early, just in case, and that day it will be 7 minutes late. It's getting to the point where commuting on ETS is greatly affecting my quality and enjoyment of life, and yet prices will continue to increase. :mad:

It's no longer fun, and it's no longer funny.

Anyway, sorry everyone.
/rant is off

I'm just tired of the delays, especially with Valley Line construction. Hurry up, bridge.
 
Last edited:
.crystalised. said:
I'm puzzled by TransEd's revelation that there will be only one train in the Valley Line tunnel, traveling in one direction at a time for "safety reasons"...why?

Lately it seems like ETS's poor LRT service stems from a preoccupation with "safety" more than anything else. If we want an effective transit system, we have to draw the line somewhere, and remove any redundant layers of bureaucracy that are hiding behind the "safety" buzzword for PR's sake.
Click to expand...
It is possible at 400m they don't have enough smoke removal equipment or evacuation pathway to accommodate 2 trains, especially if they were stuck side by side. Given the frequency limitations imposed on the line, I don't think this will be an issue. But if they had thought of it earlier, they probably could have used a narrower bore and gauntlet tracks. I guess it somewhat future proofs it if they eventually push frequency up and modify the tunnels.
 
darwink said:
It is possible at 400m they don't have enough smoke removal equipment or evacuation pathway to accommodate 2 trains, especially if they were stuck side by side. Given the frequency limitations imposed on the line, I don't think this will be an issue. But if they had thought of it earlier, they probably could have used a narrower bore and gauntlet tracks. I guess it somewhat future proofs it if they eventually push frequency up and modify the tunnels.
Click to expand...
You mean the tunnels are wider than they needed to be, meaning they could improve service in the future? I guess that's looking on the bright side.

Meanwhile, "frequency limitations R us" should be ETS's new slogan, especially since they've retired "we'll get you there", for obvious reasons.
 
Yeah I feel like that bit of information is being overplayed. At 400m, one-train-at-a-time in each tunnel section isn't going to be that big of a bottleneck, even at the maximum 5 minute headways that are possible on the line.
 
.crystalised. said:
I'm puzzled by TransEd's revelation that there will be only one train in the Valley Line tunnel, traveling in one direction at a time for "safety reasons"...why?
Click to expand...

Isn't it obvious? They don't want a train collision in the tunnel, therefore it's one train only. The tunnel is only 400 m long, and a train is already 100 m.

If (God forbid) a collision did happen and you were asked why multiple trains were allowed in the tunnel, are you going to reply that you had to shave a minute off to make your frequencies? You'd go to jail for that.
 
Foolworm said:
Isn't it obvious? They don't want a train collision in the tunnel, therefore it's one train only. The tunnel is only 400 m long, and a train is already 100 m.

If (God forbid) a collision did happen and you were asked why multiple trains were allowed in the tunnel, are you going to reply that you had to shave a minute off to make your frequencies? You'd go to jail for that.
Click to expand...
It's not obvious, but @darwink provided a reasonable explanation.

TransEd is referring to having only a single train going in one direction at a time, unless I misunderstood their spokesman in the video. Why bother digging two tunnels if they're only planning to have unidirectional travel one at a time.
 
.crystalised. said:
I'm puzzled by TransEd's revelation that there will be only one train in the Valley Line tunnel, traveling in one direction at a time for "safety reasons"...why?

Lately it seems like ETS's poor LRT service stems from a preoccupation with "safety" more than anything else. If we want an effective transit system, we have to draw the line somewhere, and remove any redundant layers of bureaucracy that are hiding behind the "safety" buzzword for PR's sake.

I can't even get to work on time from Belvedere, one of the original four stations. I start at 9:30 am, and the trains only run on a 15 minute frequency at this time on a weekday, which is unacceptable for a city of Edmonton's size. For every 3 trains going to Clareview in the morning, there is only one going downtown. At night, for every 3 trains going downtown, there is only one northbound to Clareview. Unacceptable, especially when one considers that Clareview is the city's busiest LRT station. It feels like priority is being given to the south leg of the Capital line as well as the Metro line. I've raised the issue with ETS and instead of providing me with a valid explanation for the delays (and frequently broken escalators on the station platforms), their response was something to the effect of "we are as frustrated as you are that our LRT system is predominantly above-ground and therefore subject to many unforeseeable delays of all types."

Some days I will miss my morning train by 2 minutes, and then the next day I will run 1 km from home in -20C weather to get there 2 minutes early, just in case, and that day it will be 7 minutes late. It's getting to the point where commuting on ETS is greatly affecting my quality and enjoyment of life, and yet prices will continue to increase. :mad:

It's no longer fun, and it's no longer funny.

Anyway, sorry everyone.
/rant is off

I'm just tired of the delays, especially with Valley Line construction. Hurry up, bridge.
Click to expand...
Just a regular day here over at the TTC.
 
Coolstar said:
Just a regular day here over at the TTC.
Click to expand...
Really? You guys have the same probs with your subway? That makes me feel a little better.

Riding the Canada Line when I was in Vancouver for a work trip last September made me very sad for Edmonton, however. No silly "proof of payment" system. Trains ran on time. Transit was efficient, easy, comfortable and safe. And best of all - predictable.
 
.crystalised. said:
TransEd is referring to having only a single train going in one direction at a time, unless I misunderstood their spokesman in the video. Why bother digging two tunnels if they're only planning to have unidirectional travel one at a time.
Click to expand...

One train, per direction, per tunnel. He explicitly references that there are northbound and southbound tunnels, then clarifies only one train was allowed to occupy a tunnel. I thought his explanation was pretty clear in context.
 
Foolworm said:
One train, per direction, per tunnel. He explicitly references that there are northbound and southbound tunnels, then clarifies only one train was allowed to occupy a tunnel. I thought his explanation was pretty clear in context.
Click to expand...
Thanks. It appears I misunderstood him. One train per direction makes sense; I was angry at the thought of one train in one direction only.
 
.crystalised. said:
Really? You guys have the same probs with your subway? That makes me feel a little better.

Riding the Canada Line when I was in Vancouver for a work trip last September made me very sad for Edmonton, however. No silly "proof of payment" system. Trains ran on time. Transit was efficient, easy, comfortable and safe. And best of all - predictable.
Click to expand...
Frequency isn't a problem here but similar delay's and fare increases are big here. Fare evasion too.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top