SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA | Public Transport

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by FDW

I don't think that we should hire a local for the SFMTA director. Hell, I don't even think we should even consider hiring an American for the job, we should look abroad for someone who really knows how to run a transit system.

Yeah that might be nice in terms of bringing some fresh ideas. However, looks like Debra Johnson is next general manager, at least for interim, looks like she comes with approval of Muni union, which wasn't a big fan of Nate Ford.

[trainrover]

Frisco's beautiful

Originally Posted by FDW

Southern portal of the D.T Oakland subway. (The Steam train is not a regular occurrence.)


Orinda station.

Love the first picture.

The second one literally made me jump outta my skin, since it hit a childhood nerve of riding the Expo Express. Anyhow, that train
was mighty long and it puzzles me how modern that picture appears

MUNI's acquisition of other operator's trams is impressive (and thoughtful too ).

[FDW]

Originally Posted by trainrover

Frisco's beautiful


Love the first picture.

The second one literally made me jump outta my skin, since it hit a childhood nerve of riding the Expo Express. Anyhow, that train
was mighty long and it puzzles me how modern that picture appears

MUNI's acquisition of other operator's trams is impressive (and thoughtful too ).

Yeah, though the bulk of the Trams operating on the F-Line right now are either the Philadelphia PCC's or the Milan Peter witt's, as the Newark PCC's are currently having their electrical systems replaced and most of the other historical trams still need some refurbishing before they can enter regular service themselves.

[trainrover]

Oh, I thought the acquisitions were merely for novel purpose/s as opposed to regular service

[jchernin]

Originally Posted by trainrover

Oh, I thought the acquisitions were merely for novel purpose/s as opposed to regular service

...the famed historic streetcars of the F-line, and the national landmark cable cars... carry more than 40,000 riders per day.

source: http://www.streetcar.org/about/

[FDW]

Originally Posted by trainrover

Oh, I thought the acquisitions were merely for novel purpose/s as opposed to regular service

It's kinda both really, given the novelty of having such a variety of vehicles operating, while at the same time having the service function like a regular line.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by trainrover

MUNI's acquisition of other operator's trams is impressive (and thoughtful too ).

Yeah, but as usual with MUNI, owes less to thoughtfulness than need.

SF's PCCs were truly timeless & great. But as with most of the modes, they weren't very well maintained by MUNI.

Indeed, toward the end of their service, MUNI was forced to borrow PCCs from other cities, I think Toronto & maybe Philly.

I'd be surprised if many, if any, of the current PCCs on Market Street are from MUNI's original stocks.

The paint jobs on the vintage PCCs are really spectacular though & the maintenance is good.

[khoojyh]

well done

[FDW]

Originally Posted by bayviews

Yeah, but as usual with MUNI, owes less to thoughtfulness than need.

SF's PCCs were truly timeless & great. But as with most of the modes, they weren't very well maintained by MUNI.

Indeed, toward the end of their service, MUNI was forced to borrow PCCs from other cities, I think Toronto & maybe Philly.

I'd be surprised if many, if any, of the current PCCs on Market Street are from MUNI's original stocks.

The paint jobs on the vintage PCCs are really spectacular though & the maintenance is good.

Well, the Philly trams weren't purchased until the 1990's, for the opening of the F-Line. Currently MUNI operates 3 of it's pre 1970's PCC's and and is in the process of refurbishing 4 more for regular service. It also has another two dozen or so PCC's on it's property that it's planning to refurbish at one point or another.

[lolstebbo]

BART released the concepts for their new trains and is seeking people's input. http://bart.gov/cars

[manrush]

Those interiors look similar to the interiors found in Australian suburban trains.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by lolstebbo

BART released the concepts for their new trains and is seeking people's input. [url]http://bart.gov/cars]

Nice, but....I'd like to see the concepts for the new computer system.

[FDW]

I like option B.

[bayviews]

This good, practical MUNI project to speed up service of the heavy 5 Fulton trolleybus line connecting downtown to the northwestern districts has been completed. Its now in service, with new overhead wiring in place & inbound operations on McAllister St.

The SFMTA Announces Reconfiguration of McAllister Street
Targeted News Service. Washington, D.C.: Aug 1, 2011.

Copyright © Targeted News Service. All Rights Reserved.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency issued the following news release:

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all surface transportation in the City, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), today announced that, effective Thursday, Aug. 4, McAllister Street east of Hyde Street will be reconfigured. Also, Charles J. Brenham Place (7th Street north of Market) will be converted to two-way. The traffic reconfiguration and correlated completion of the overhead contact system (OCS) rehabilitation in this area mean that the nearly 16,000 annual 5 Fulton Muni trolley bus customers will now have a more direct trip downtown. The change will save the Agency more than $200,000 a year in operating expenses.

Effective Aug. 4, the new configuration will allow Muni, commercial vehicles and bicycles to travel eastbound on McAllister Street between Hyde Street and Charles J. Brenham Place. All other eastbound McAllister traffic will continue to turn right at Hyde Street. Only bicycles, taxis and Muni vehicles will be allowed to turn east on Market Street from McAllister Street. All other traffic will be required to turn right onto Market Street. All traffic will be able to make a right turn from northbound Charles J. Brenham Place (7th Street north of Market Street) onto eastbound McAllister Street to access the block between Charles J. Brenham Place and Jones Street. The attached maps show the changes in the traffic configuration.

The current 5 Fulton route requires inbound vehicles heading downtown to make a right on Hyde Street and then a left on Market Street. The new route, made possible by new overhead wires in the eastbound direction, will allow buses on this route to go straight to Market Street, saving up to three minutes per trip. The changes to the 5 Fulton route will take effect after the testing of the new OCS in August.

The SFMTA's Capital Investment Program includes the rehabilitation of the aging trolley bus OCS in various parts of the City. This vital work includes replacing existing poles and overhead wires. Rehabilitation of the OCS improves safety and service reliability and helps keeps Muni in a state of good repair. The OCS construction began last summer and was part of the 21 Hayes Pole Replacement project.

[FDW]

Originally Posted by bayviews

This good, practical MUNI project to speed up service of the heavy 5 Fulton trolleybus line connecting downtown to the northwestern districts has been completed. Its now in service, with new overhead wiring in place & inbound operations on McAllister St.

The SFMTA Announces Reconfiguration of McAllister Street
Targeted News Service. Washington, D.C.: Aug 1, 2011.

Copyright © Targeted News Service. All Rights Reserved.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency issued the following news release:

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all surface transportation in the City, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), today announced that, effective Thursday, Aug. 4, McAllister Street east of Hyde Street will be reconfigured. Also, Charles J. Brenham Place (7th Street north of Market) will be converted to two-way. The traffic reconfiguration and correlated completion of the overhead contact system (OCS) rehabilitation in this area mean that the nearly 16,000 daily 5 Fulton Muni trolley bus customers will now have a more direct trip downtown. The change will save the Agency more than $200,000 a year in operating expenses.

Effective Aug. 4, the new configuration will allow Muni, commercial vehicles and bicycles to travel eastbound on McAllister Street between Hyde Street and Charles J. Brenham Place. All other eastbound McAllister traffic will continue to turn right at Hyde Street. Only bicycles, taxis and Muni vehicles will be allowed to turn east on Market Street from McAllister Street. All other traffic will be required to turn right onto Market Street. All traffic will be able to make a right turn from northbound Charles J. Brenham Place (7th Street north of Market Street) onto eastbound McAllister Street to access the block between Charles J. Brenham Place and Jones Street. The attached maps show the changes in the traffic configuration.

The current 5 Fulton route requires inbound vehicles heading downtown to make a right on Hyde Street and then a left on Market Street. The new route, made possible by new overhead wires in the eastbound direction, will allow buses on this route to go straight to Market Street, saving up to three minutes per trip. The changes to the 5 Fulton route will take effect after the testing of the new OCS in August.

The SFMTA's Capital Investment Program includes the rehabilitation of the aging trolley bus OCS in various parts of the City. This vital work includes replacing existing poles and overhead wires. Rehabilitation of the OCS improves safety and service reliability and helps keeps Muni in a state of good repair. The OCS construction began last summer and was part of the 21 Hayes Pole Replacement project.

I've heard about this, maybe I'll go check it out soon.

[SydneyCity]

Option A looks almost identical to the interior a TransPerth B Series, the only exception being that the B series has some longitudinal seating near the doors.

[manrush]

Originally Posted by SydneyCity

Option A looks almost identical to the interior a TransPerth B Series, the only exception being that the B series has some longitudinal seating near the doors.

In essence, BART is the third-rail version of Australia's suburban rail systems.

Speaking of which, why did they go for third-rail rather than overhead electrification when BART was being designed?

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by manrush

In essence, BART is the third-rail version of Australia's suburban rail systems.

Speaking of which, why did they go for third-rail rather than overhead electrification when BART was being designed?

Well for one, a good portion of BART is in subway.

Overhead caternary is fine for light rail or surface heavy rail, but not that great for subway tunnels.

[Nexis]

Originally Posted by bayviews

Well for one, a good portion of BART is in subway.

Overhead caternary is fine for light rail or surface heavy rail, but not that great for subway tunnels.

What are you talking about look at the Tokyo , Shanghai , and Seoul metros all overhead wires.

[trainrover]

Originally Posted by lolstebbo

I see neither Option A nor C being favoured because for half the journeys seated passengers'd be facing backwards...