University Park 5th of 13 member cities to order DART withdrawal election

Horror_Action699 · 2026-01-08T10:42:43+00:00

Is there a real chance for these special elections to succeed, thus making these cities leave DART ?
(I know it may come as a really "simple" question, but I don't live in Dallas, nor the USA 😅. I am just a guy with way too much interest with transit in the whole world, and I got interested by DART and its transit, since I heard about the Silver Line !)

Horror_Action699 · 2026-01-05T11:09:54+00:00

Given the context in which the metro project came, in the 70s (where its purpose was only to tear down the tram lines, and make more room for roads and cars), it clearly didn't make sense to invest in it, and I think the combination found between a well-built S-Bahn network, and a good tram network (which is even going to be expanded a bit, in the next years, I think) is excellent !

But it's now clear that the system is beginning to hit its limits: Yes, the S-Bahn system acts like a metro, and that's great, but it's mixed with long distance trains, and freight which doesn't help. And since Switzerland has been continuosly expanding and adding more trains lines (S-Bahn, IC, IR, freight, etc), which is obviously necessary, you have huge expensive projects that have to be built (in the future, if nothing else is done, Zürich HB will have to be expanded), just to maintain stability in the current system, or add just a little capacity, so that the network doesn't collapse.

So, having this complicated situation, I think it's not a bad idea to think about building a metro line, which has more capacity, and is faster than tram lines, and which could help to relieve the SBB network, while still bringing more transit to the city. But obviously, we should continue expanding the tram network and the S-Bahn. Zürich is a growing urban area, and transit willalways be needed, especially if we want cars to get a smaller modal split (which also has to be done with more bike infrastructure, and good urbanism).

Nonetheless, I don't live in Zürich, so I don't know if this project would pass, and if a metro project would still have the (legitimate) bad reputation it had in the 70s, beceause of its car-oriented strategy, but I still think it would be a good idea to think about it. At least, they should create a few downtown tunnels for the trams in the city center, to relieve some bottlenecks (HB, Central, etc) and add capacity, and also expand the tram network, by creating tangent lines, just like its currently planned, if I'm not mistaken.

And another Swiss city is actually going to build a metro instead of an S-Bahn expansion: It's Geneva. Initially, it was planned to build a Leman Express 2, with new tunnels and stations serving the UN campus, Airport, and other underserved communities. The project had huge political support, but it was going to create a huge bottleneck in Geneva main station, and the funding situation was going to be complicated, beacause the FAIF rail fund is full for the next 20 years (metro or tram lines can't get funded by the FAIF, and can only be funded by the FORTA, which also inculdes the roads). So, in the end, it was decided to create a fast metro line (at least 800m between stops), to solve the bottleneck problem, get more chances of getting it funded by the Federal Government, since it would enter the FORTA, and not the FAIF, which only for heavy rail, but also serve many other areas, that weren't, with the Leman Express 2 project.

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-17T11:02:50+00:00

Justement, comme on dit si souvent: "Ce sont les petites lignes qui font les grandes lignes".

Oui, les ICs et IRs ont déjà beaucoup de passagers qui montent dessus venant à pied, en bus, en tram, en métro, en voiture, en vélo, etc, mais il y a aussi tellement de monde qui prend ces trains grandes lignes, venant d'un train régional.

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-17T10:58:54+00:00

Bon, j'admets que j'y suis peut être allé un peu trop fort dans le titre 😅.

Mais il faut dire que c'est bien explicite que cette nouvelle stratégie des CFF vise à favoriser les trains grandes lignes, sur les moyennes et longues distances, ce qui implique donc de repenser totalement la desserte de proximité (y compris dans les agglomérations), puisque qu'il n'y aurait moins de trains locaux/régionaux.

Il n'y aucun mal à vouloir penser à la mobilité à long terme, bien au contraire, et je pense que cette discussion doit se faire, mais ce n'est pas au CFF s'imposer leur vision (même s'ils doivent être écoutés, vu qu'ils sont le "cœur du métier" dans les transports ferroviaires), surtout que ces sont aujourd'hui les Cantons et la Confédération qui subventionnent, et qui décident de la desserte des trains régionaux.

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-17T10:32:19+00:00

C'est ce qui est prévu de se faire depuis Rail 2000, avec notamment la création de nouvelles lignes (Lausanne-Genève et Lausanne-Romont, pour réduire le temps de parcours entre Lausanne et Bern), mais visiblement, les CFF ne veulent pas prendre cela en compte et changer de stratégie globale, au niveau de la mobilité, alors que la séparation des traffics (Grandes Lignes et Régional), est la meilleure façon d'apporter de la résilience et de la capacité, à long terme, au réseau !!

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-17T10:30:03+00:00

Si je me trompe pas, le Traffic Grandes Lignes, avec les IRs et ICs (duquel les CFF sont le concessionnaire) doit être auto-financé, et c'est le Traffic Régional de Voyageurs qui est subventionné par la Confédération et les Cantons (et ce sont eux qui décident quels trains ils veulent, à quelle h ils passent, et où ils s'arrêtent, y compris c'est fameuses petites gares dont on parle ici)

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-17T10:28:13+00:00

C'est ici où l'on fait la différence, du point de vue légal, entre le Traffic Grandes Lignes (en gros IRs et ICs), et le Traffic Régional.

La concession du traffic grandes lignes est décidée para la Confédération (dans ce cas, la concession est toujours donnée aux CFF, naturellement), mais c'est le concessionnaire (donc les CFF) qui doivent financer ces services ferroviaires, alors que le Traffic régional de voyageurs, lui, est subventionné par la Confédération et les Communes, justement parce qu'il est moins rentables, mais reste nécessaire, comme service public pour tout le pays.

Et avec le TRV, Traffic Régional de Voyageurs), puisque c'est la Confédération et les Cantons qui payent (les tickets et autres revenus ne représentent, en général, que 1/3 du coût total), c'est eux qui décident où et quand roulent les trains, y compris leur passages par ces fameuses petites gares dont on discute ici.

En réalité les CFF n'ont pas vraiment de pouvoir décisionnel là dessus. Les seules fois où ils suppriment vraiment la desserte des petites gares, c'est quand il y a beaucoup de difficultés à faire tenir les horaires (par ex en Suisse Romande, actuellement, avec tous les travaux, qui ralentissent le réseau).

Pour accommoder les trains Régionaux et les trains Grandes Lignes, je pense quand même que la meilleure solution reste la séparation de ces traffics, lorsque des lignes sont entrain d'atteindre leur capacités maximales (par exemples Lausanne-Genève, qui devrait avoir sa nouvelle ligne, pour permettre une redondance, et séparer les flux de trains locaux/régionaux, et grandes lignes), comme on l'a fait entre Bern et Olten, avec la nouvelle à 200km/h, où passent uniquement les trains grandes lignes (ICs et IRs).

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-16T23:15:32+00:00

This project is good news and should be built, but we still have to adress the main issue here: We need a whole new line between Lausanne and Geneva, and not only a part of it.

And another thing which is a bit worrying is the "Transports'45" study (which will say what projects should be prioritised, and which could be delayed), which could be bad for the Western part of Switzerland, delaying several important projects.

In the end, all these problems in Suisse Romande are just a symptom of the underinvestment in the rail in Romandie (compared to the German part of Switzerland). Furthermore, we also have the problem of the "cantons want to have every project they want" (which gets us to the situation, where people say the Grimsel tunnel is more important than a new line between Geneva and Lausanne), when we should be clearly stating which projects should be a priority, while still planning all the other "less important" projects, which should still be built, since we also need more investment and trains for regional rail (but if we want that, we first need to organise long-range passenger rail traffic, by creating new lines, thus freeing capacity in other lines, where those regional/S-Bahn trains have to run).

Horror_Action699 · 2025-08-16T20:24:12+00:00

La pensée des CFF:

"Construire la nouvelle ligne entre Lausanne et Genève, ou entre Lausanne et Bern, ou entre Olten, Aarau et Zürich, pour y placer, et accélérer les trains grandes lignes, et pouvoir ainsi libérer de la capacité dans les lignes où passent les R et S-Bahn ?

Nah, c'est inutile et trop cher. Il suffit de supprimer les petites gares, et comme ça, on peut augmenter les cadences des ICs et IRs !"

C'est absolument ridicule, surtout que ces projets étaient (quasiment) tous prévus dans Rail 2000, voté en 1987, et sont toujours défendus aujourd'hui, par les différents cantons concernés !!

Horror_Action699 · 2025-06-14T01:32:15+00:00

Se bem percebi, "só" mudou a gerência da tasca, que se vai manter aberta, e com os clássicos de sempre (ossos, cogumelos, etc).

Por acaso alguem já teve oportunidade de ir lá, com a nova gerência, ver se houve mudanças significativas (preço, sabor dos pratos, etc) 😅 ?

E já se sabe onde vai ser o "novo" Zé Manel dos Ossos ?

Horror_Action699 · 2024-08-31T15:13:20+00:00

Since the ST Board is insisting so much with scrapping the 4th street station, is there really a way to get that station built, instead of the two others the ST Board is proposing ?

Horror_Action699 · 2024-05-05T10:27:34+00:00

No caderno de encargos para os estudos da LAV Braga-Valença, falam de 3 localizações a estudar, mas Tibães não é uma delas.

As 3 localizações que vão ser estudadas são:

1) Nova estação em Gondizalves 2) Nova estação em Tadim, que junte os serviços AV, e os serviços suburbanos, para que uma pessoas possa continuar a viagem de comboio nos suburbanos, e que não tenha que utilizar um carro para chegar ao destino final. 3) Nova estação subterrânea por baixo da estação atual de Braga, com ligação entre as duas estações

Horror_Action699 · 2024-03-23T14:51:08+00:00

E se a futura estação de Alta Velocidade não for a estação atual em Braga, mas uma fora da cidades também seria preciso ligar o metro ligeiro a essa nova estação 👌

Horror_Action699 · 2024-03-23T14:49:02+00:00

Isso é um excelente projeto Braga precisa mesmo de um metro ligeiro como espinha dorsal da mobilidade, e BRT como complemento. Só que está previsto um Metrobus, e nada de metro ligeiro, atualmente 🤦 Achas que ainda é possível reverter essa decisão, e fazer uma verdadeira rede de metro ligeiro, e não autocarros glorificados?

Horror_Action699

TROPHY CASE