SEATTLE | Public Transport

[tampasteve]

Originally Posted by Rational Plan

No the problem is that FRA crash requirements are designed around conflicts with the US extremely long and heavy freight trains. For a variety of reasons Europe has a passenger dominated rail system while the US has a freight one.

So you end up with extremely heavy and slow fuel guzzling passenger trains in the US, while European trains are light and accelerate quickly.

European regulations stress the importance of avoiding a crash in the first place and the reality that any collision between a passenger and freight train at speed is going to have one conclusion. Kinetic energy always wins!

You are essentially correct, but at the same time not completely. There is no conceivable reason that one could not design a "good" looking train that meets FRA standards. Transit agencies choose not to pay additional for a more inventive design because they do not have the cash to do so.

Originally Posted by Youngplanner

Without wanting to open a can of worms, have a look at the trains in Australia... They share tracks with extremely long and heavy freight trains, yet they are light like in Europe...

It can be done in the USA with some waivers, both of these systems (and there are others) share mainline freight tracks. Generally they are time separated from freight running trains.

Austin:


San Diego:
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SPRINTER by rjmcconnell, on Flickr

[Woonsocket54]

I never noticed it until now, but that Sprinter train (currently out of service during the Sprinter-Ruption) looks like a blue/green Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

[Woonsocket54]

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First Hill Streetcar northern Terminus track excavation by Gordon Werner, on Flickr

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First Hill Streetcar northern terminus under construction by Gordon Werner, on Flickr

[Rational Plan]

Originally Posted by Youngplanner

Without wanting to open a can of worms, have a look at the trains in Australia... They share tracks with extremely long and heavy freight trains, yet they are light like in Europe...

So you have trains like this...


Sharing tracks with trains like this...
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http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6203/6...a6826299_z.jpg

Just saying.

Well yes, I did not fancy trying to construct an extremely long essay.

The US also suffers from low investment levels in public transport so there is little business for a innovative transport supply business. The market is also dominated by the freight business and hence they have all the pull in Washington and they are not interested in installing fancy signalling or building decent quality track so passenger trains can run along them. The FRA rules suit them fine as it makes it expensive for passenger rail to expand.

Australia on the other is a small market, with stronger state control over it's railways and a long history of commuter rail systems in it's big cities. While it has local manufacture it has long accepted the reality of importing trains wholesale or even just their designs from Britain, or now Asia, it could not afford to be so protectionist as the US, if it wants an affordable train system.

[ode of bund]

Originally Posted by Woonsocket54

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First Hill Streetcar northern Terminus track excavation by Gordon Werner, on Flickr

I wonder if the trolley wires are deenergized or not?

[mhays]

They'd have to be. You can't work that close to live wires.

Some trolley buses are running diesel and/or hybrids for portions of this project.

[ode of bund]

Originally Posted by mhays

They'd have to be. You can't work that close to live wires.

Some trolley buses are running diesel and/or hybrids for portions of this project.

I know the 70 has been dieselized for several years already, what else is dieselized?

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by ode of bund

I wonder if the trolley wires are deenergized or not?

They are not, otherwise the workers would have been electrocuted.

[Woonsocket54]

On 24 April, Seattle's King Street Station waiting room reopened after a remodeling. The station serves Amtrak and Sounder commuter rail trains.

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 001 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 008 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 015 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 009 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 004 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 031 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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KingSt_GrandReopening_42313 045 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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IMG_0230 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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IMG_0229 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

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IMG_0228 by SDOT Photos, on Flickr

[Woonsocket54]

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King Street Station HDR by Pedalhead'71, on Flickr

[greg_christine]

Originally Posted by Youngplanner

...
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...

The following video gives an idea of how small locomotives in other parts of the world are compared to North American locomotives. The examples in the video are for Indonesia, but the Australian locomotives probably aren't much larger.

[Woonsocket54]

On 26 April 2013, Sound Transit broke ground on a 1.6-mile extension of the light rail line from the airport to 200th Street in the SeaTac municipality. This will be an elevated station:



Story: http://www.soundtransit.org/About-So...reaking-042613

Project page: http://www.soundtransit.org/x6728.xml

[Sopomon]

Originally Posted by greg_christine

The following video gives an idea of how small locomotives in other parts of the world are compared to North American locomotives. The examples in the video are for Indonesia, but the Australian locomotives probably aren't much larger.

You're comparing narrow-gauge passenger units with standard-gauge frieght trains.
The locomotives in Australia are, in fact, roughtly the same size, just not quite as tall.

[greg_christine]

A GE C44aci heavy freight locomotive for Australia weighs about 138 tons. The GE Dash 9-44CW heavy freight locomotive from the same family built for US railroads weighs about 212 tons.

[hmmwv]

Originally Posted by Woonsocket54

image hosted on flickr

King Street Station HDR by Pedalhead'71, on Flickr

I remember going through the old dreadful waiting room more than ten years ago as a college student, what a difference!

[Sopomon]

Originally Posted by greg_christine

A GE C44aci heavy freight locomotive for Australia weighs about 138 tons. The GE Dash 9-44CW heavy freight locomotive from the same family built for US railroads weighs about 212 tons.

Thanks to FRA regulations which force everything to be massively overweight

O/T, back to starbucksland PT

[Woonsocket54]

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First Hill Streetcar Pioneer Square terminus track concrete pour by Gordon Werner, on Flickr

The concrete pour for the First Hill Streetcar southern terminus has begun on Jackson St in Pioneer Square

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Jackson St, looking east from 2nd Ave by Gordon Werner, on Flickr

Southbound First Hill Streetcar track construction between 2nd & 3rd ave on Jackson St.