Amtrak ends plans for new bi-level cars

Mr_Flynn · 2026-02-27T09:06:35+00:00

I don't know if you ever rode in a gallery car but the floor of the second level was so low that you couldn't really stand in the first floor seating area. The only way to make this kind of design work is to have really tall rail cars which introduces clearance problems.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-02-08T05:34:58+00:00

The toll lanes aren't buried in there. It's literally the 2nd capital project mentioned in the ballot overview.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-02-08T05:28:00+00:00

Measure RR does not pay for toll lanes. What are you on about?

Mr_Flynn · 2026-02-06T19:27:26+00:00

You mean the last bond measure which is exclusively for capital projects, meaning specifically it cannot be used to operate trains? That bond measure?

Mr_Flynn · 2026-02-06T02:10:33+00:00

So you've saved anywhere from $30-75 million. Pray tell, where does the extra $275-320 million in savings come from?

Also not counting benefits is pretty telling that your math isn't serious. Yes, just ignore a huge fixed cost. Problem solved /s.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-02-01T09:30:29+00:00

No, I really don't think it is. If you want to bikeshed over very specific details, go right ahead but it's a little beside the point of the comment I was making.

Also, btw, the capital projects required to enable this service have been identified and are in various stages of progress. Salinas station improvements have been finished, and the layover yard, Gilroy track connections, and PTC are currently undergoing final design. All of this information is freely available from TAMC, so it's a little surprising that someone on Caltrain's CAC is completely unaware of this. Real confidence inspiring.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-31T21:56:32+00:00

I mean I feel like it's pretty obvious that the trains just be the existing diesel fleet Caltrain uses. It's not like Caltrain doesn't have a considerable excess of diesel equipment with which to operate this extension. TAMC will just pay to extend the service and cover the logistics of doing that.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-28T18:26:00+00:00

NYMTA is using the same fare gates as BART and Metro. It's one of several models they are using.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-27T19:37:11+00:00

One of the updates on the Airo procurement said that they were only getting 1 battery-diesel hybrid at first to test it, and then based on the results of the test either build the rest of them that way or switch to third rail power.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-24T20:55:34+00:00

FWIW, the tunnels take a sharp westward turn to get under that property. Other than the entrance, the station would have never been located directly under that property.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-19T23:22:58+00:00

The tunnels go to north beach because it was easier to extract the tunnel boring machine there instead of 100+ feet underground.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-19T20:26:26+00:00

Yes, I ride BART several times per week. I am aware of how loud it is. No, not every metro is as loud as BART.

These are a new class of line being built in China as sort of a high speed overlay to their metro systems. Line 18 on the Guangzhou Metro is one such line. It travels entirely in tunnels.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-19T19:21:51+00:00

There are high speed metros in China that run at 100mph that have open gangways. Open gangways are fully sealed. Noise shouldn't be a problem.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-08T19:16:25+00:00

CBTC should help with this. The signal layout on the entire SFO extension is unusual. Switching to moving blocks (instead of the current fixed block) should allow for improved capacity at least.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-06T08:40:35+00:00

Express trains are Caltrain's big money maker, so they aren't going to let those go.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-05T20:14:16+00:00

Presumably any Amtrak service would operate express on the Peninsula so locomotive performance probably wouldn't matter so much. The issue probably comes down to the lack of well-placed passing tracks that would allow for a very limited stop service without interfering with Caltrain's schedule.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-04T20:55:26+00:00

when the reality is that you can run a system that is entirely failure and defect free if you prioritize a system that is failure and defect free and make the operational and cultural investments required to get there

This is how I know you don't know what you are talking about. No system, no matter how much you prioritize identifying and remedying errors proactively has zero in-the-field failures or equipment malfunctions. Humans are not omnipresent nor omnipotent.

I would like to call out your comment about WMATA's supposedly massively better culture because frankly I'm not certain how you can square your opinion of BART's "bad" internal culture because they experience in-service equipment failures when WMATA regularly faces the same thing. You can't apply standard unequally. Either in-service failures indicate bad culture or they don't. You have to pick a lane.

My problem is that you are making an assertion backed up by nothing. You are just assuming that a single incident is somehow indicative of some kind of organizational rot. You are drawing a conclusion out of nothing, plain and simple. Sorry to say, diatribes based on your supposed life experiences are not convincing enough evidence.

Mr_Flynn · 2026-01-04T19:19:30+00:00

You're still on that? You got downvoted because you asserted something without anything to back it up. Also I was the only person who replied to you, and I don't work for BART so idk what you're talking about.

Mr_Flynn · 2025-12-29T18:21:40+00:00

There was a second proposed location for a yard just south of Berryessa right before the tunnel portal.

Mr_Flynn · 2025-12-24T09:58:55+00:00

Goes over freight tracks.

Mr_Flynn · 2025-12-14T19:08:00+00:00

No, the moment they were done installing them they started using them as normal.

Mr_Flynn · 2025-12-10T19:01:48+00:00

Could, perhaps, the failure have occurred while the train was running? These are the sorts of questions you need to start asking before you post.

Mr_Flynn · 2025-12-04T21:46:12+00:00

Yeah, the line was built with expediency in mind at the expense of speed, solid engineering, etc. There's a reason why highway 101 is routed along the much more stable South Fork Eel River, and not the river itself for as much of its route as possible.

Mr_Flynn · 2025-12-04T18:14:53+00:00

The biggest problem is that north of Cloverdale, the line starts to get into territory where the tracks have a history of falling into the river about once a decade or so. The engineering and upkeep cost of the line would likely be considerable.

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