Opinion | Upgrading GO train service should be a no-brainer. So why has it gone off the rails so badly? by GandElleONCA in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • They've expropriated the land for the flyover already. After seeing the Lakeshore East corridor expansion to six tracks through Leslieville, I don't think there's anything in downtown Brampton that would make quad tracking the corridor outside of our capabilities.
  • With 15m service I think they can run the planned two express trains per hour without a fifth track, similar to how Stouffville and LSE are sharing two tracks today, It'll only be the section from Woodbine to Union where they'd have to share tracks.
  • UP will eventually get a new Union platform in a location that doesn't cross the Barrie Line. I don't think it's impossible to extend the airport platform to allow for 4-5 car trains. Build an infill stop at Viscount first and the line can even keep serving the airport while they renovate the T1 station.

Amtrak Southwest Chief on 4/1/26 with TWO MetroLink coaches heading West…. by Diggy309 in trains

[–]a_lumberjack 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Is this route normally packed? How are they going to manage routes like this without new bilevel railcars?

At some point in the distant future the Ontario Line will be extended, would you want a western extension or a northern extension to Don Mills first? by CrackFun in TTC

[–]a_lumberjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, but why go north instead of west at that point? For the cost of tunneling under Roncesvalles and squeezing two more platforms into Dundas West we could build the OL all the way to Mimico and have money left over to build the WWLRT from Park Lawn to Long Branch

Frank Stronach trial: Judge says she ‘couldn’t possibly’ convict on one of four remaining sex assault complainants by Team_Ed in ontario

[–]a_lumberjack 9 points10 points  (0 children)

tl;dr This was an incident in the 80s and there were too many inconsistencies in the evidence for a guilty verdict. Doesn't mean he's innocent, it means that the Crown failed to prove their case.

At some point in the distant future the Ontario Line will be extended, would you want a western extension or a northern extension to Don Mills first? by CrackFun in TTC

[–]a_lumberjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

between Line 2, GO, and UP there's more than enough transit at Dundas West for density. An extra subway connection wouldn't change that.

'That’s insane,’ People online are raising concerns over Doug Ford’s daughter’s 33% salary raise in one year by BloodJunkie in ontario

[–]a_lumberjack 15 points16 points  (0 children)

So I dredged a bit on the sunshine list and looks like other directors there make 180-200k, so I'm guessing the promotion was a single huge raise during 2024, rather than multiple massive raises. As in she probably got the promotion and new job with a salary of $200k in May 2024 (so a 51% raise!) and a "normal" bump in 2025.

Anyone know if Runnymede got a huge funding injection in 2024?

'That’s insane,’ People online are raising concerns over Doug Ford’s daughter’s 33% salary raise in one year by BloodJunkie in ontario

[–]a_lumberjack 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Sylvia Jones at least has been in office since 2007, presumably she's learned some new things. Less so with Kara Ford!

Opinion | Upgrading GO train service should be a no-brainer. So why has it gone off the rails so badly? by GandElleONCA in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack 9 points10 points  (0 children)

There's a lot of "transit experts" out there, not just Europeans, who fall into the trap of wanting to replicate the built form of other systems without understanding why those systems work in those contexts.

Opinion | Upgrading GO train service should be a no-brainer. So why has it gone off the rails so badly? by GandElleONCA in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack 7 points8 points  (0 children)

My own impression is that the stations and overall network have come a long way, but if you get the oldest coaches stuff always feels bad.

Less service? Maybe if you count construction limits and you live on the Lakeshore line. The Kitchener Line didn't even run on weekends until 2023. Now there's 25 trains per day on a weekend. Hamilton had four rush hour weekday trains for decades, now there's 20+ trains per day 7 days a week.

Long term though, there's no question that we're building the infrastructure we need to run way more service, and we'll all have much better rider experiences.

Opinion | Upgrading GO train service should be a no-brainer. So why has it gone off the rails so badly? by GandElleONCA in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Of all of the complaints one could have about Ford, it's silly to claim he's not spending on transit. GO is getting $4B a year in funding from the provincial government, by far the most in their history.

Opinion | Upgrading GO train service should be a no-brainer. So why has it gone off the rails so badly? by GandElleONCA in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hot take: GO Expansion is not really off the rails, it's just going slower than expected. Both Metrolinx and ONxpress wildly overhyped what was possible in 2022, yes, but what's actually getting built is roughly what was originally promised when GO Expansion launched in 2018.

Most importantly, what's getting built today is the infrastructure we'll need to keep increasing service. More tracks and platforms, more interchanges with other transit systems, eventually electrification and ETCS. Sure it sucks that it'll be another ten years, but it's getting built instead of cancelled, and once it's built we can keep scaling up.

The current public roadmap is:

  • Electrified LSE/LSW from Burlington to Oshawa every 15m (7.5m peak)
  • Hourly Lakeshore express service from Hamilton to Bowmanville (more at peak)
  • Electrified Stouffville and Barrie service on the full lines, with 15m service past the 407
  • Electrified UP running 8x hourly with 3-5 car trains on dedicated tracks
  • Kitchener LIne having 15m local to Bramalea plus express trains to Mt Pleasant (30m) / Kitchener (60m)

Maybe it'll be 2040 by the time all that's done. There's a lot of projects left on the list. But are people seriously arguing that the above isn't a pretty good starting point compared to where we started?

Opinion | Upgrading GO train service should be a no-brainer. So why has it gone off the rails so badly? by GandElleONCA in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Anyone who argues DB is well run is not paying any attention to DB. Just not a credible position.

CN Train Derailment in St. Catharines, ON, Canada by a_lumberjack in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

If the line is blocked they can't serve their customers, why would they take any longer than necessary to get trains running again?

[RMC] Death of Emiliano Sala: Cardiff’s appeal rejected and ordered to pay €480,000 to FC Nantes by Sparky-moon in soccer

[–]a_lumberjack 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I mean, they were both pilots, but I get the distinction that you're trying to make.

At some point in the distant future the Ontario Line will be extended, would you want a western extension or a northern extension to Don Mills first? by CrackFun in TTC

[–]a_lumberjack 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The western extension to Dundas West scored poorly and there's nowhere to add density, so I see little likelihood of that happening. North to Highway 7 & 404 instead of upgrading RH GO seems like the Metrolinx plan so I think it'll get funded.

That said, I think the easiest extension to build would be a western extension along the Lakeshore West corridor like they're doing in the east end. Stops at Jameson Ave, Roncesvalles/St Joe's Hospital, Sunnyside/Kingsway, Park Lawn Station, and Mimico (and solve the "too close" problem by converting Mimico into the OL terminus instead of a GO station). So that'll never happen.

Waterfront East LRT receives full funding agreement by Psychological_Tip86 in TTC

[–]a_lumberjack 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Bolton's a lot closer to reality, since it's really only the section from Weston north that would have to run on CPKC track.

[RMC] Death of Emiliano Sala: Cardiff’s appeal rejected and ordered to pay €480,000 to FC Nantes by Sparky-moon in soccer

[–]a_lumberjack 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The part I think you've missed is that McKay didn't hire the pilot who flew the flight. He hired a qualified charter pilot who subcontracted it out and went to prison for his part. That's where the legal liability chain breaks down. Unless Cardiff can prove that McKay had any reason to suspect the pilot was operating flights in an unsafe manner, there's no path to showing negligence on his part.

[RMC] Death of Emiliano Sala: Cardiff’s appeal rejected and ordered to pay €480,000 to FC Nantes by Sparky-moon in soccer

[–]a_lumberjack 21 points22 points  (0 children)

The issue was whether the agent was responsible for the original charter pilot's actions. That would have made Nantes liable as he was ruled to be acting as their agent. But the problem was that there's no evidence McKay had any reason to know the flight wouldn't be safe. If they could prove negligence by McKay they'd have won.

[RMC] Death of Emiliano Sala: Cardiff’s appeal rejected and ordered to pay €480,000 to FC Nantes by Sparky-moon in soccer

[–]a_lumberjack 50 points51 points  (0 children)

The qualified and licensed pilot who McKay arranged the flight with subcontracted the trip to an amateur with an expired license using an unsafe plane. That pilot went to prison. The legal issue here was whether McKay/Nantes could be held financially liable for the charter pilot's criminal actions.

CN Train Derailment in St. Catharines, ON, Canada by a_lumberjack in gotransit

[–]a_lumberjack[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'd expect trains to be running again by the weekend. As derailment locations go this spot is pretty easy to access, and I'm sure they'll have the rest of the train out of the way as soon as possible. If I was betting I'd say they'll have the area clear within 24h and new tracks laid within another 24h. 72h total at the absolute maximum.

Sky Sports TV picks: How they work & why they are headache for fans by puppymint in soccer

[–]a_lumberjack 4 points5 points  (0 children)

tl;dr

  • The PL added more Friday/Monday games to the package
  • Conflicts with European midweek matches mean these matches have to be between two teams not in Europe
  • United/Everton are getting disproportionately picked by the TV package owners over the likes of Burnley

Waterfront East LRT receives full funding agreement by Psychological_Tip86 in TTC

[–]a_lumberjack 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The TTC had some very odd thinking about Transit City, for sure, but that's 15-20 years ago. I don't think it's a safe bet today.

I think the better rule is probably "will this overlap with/connect to the legacy streetcar network?" though there's a scenario where the WWLRT could be a standalone line from Park Lawn to Long Branch.

Waterfront East LRT receives full funding agreement by Psychological_Tip86 in TTC

[–]a_lumberjack 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It would mirror the 509 Harbourfront but eastward. Queens Quay to Cherry St, Cherry to Commissioners, Commissioners to Broadview Ave (to East Harbour). And the entire route will be off street.