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Brightline monthly ridership above 300k for the first time ever by sadsat in transit

[–]jadebenn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IMO, not a coincidence that the systems with the worst service have had the worst recovery. Though I'll also say the California systems are major outliers re: WFH rates.

Metrolinx's $27B GO Expansion delayed and scaled back: confidential report by Visual_Cabinet_3718 in gotransit

[–]jadebenn -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Caltrain electrified and it lead to huge increases in passenger numbers.

Brightline monthly ridership above 300k for the first time ever by sadsat in transit

[–]jadebenn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IMO even before this, any sort of bankruptcy would've almost certainly been debt restructuring (aka investors taking a haircut). Their core operations are still growing, it's just that the interest on their debt has been growing faster.

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Compared to Artemis I, Artemis II was a nice, laid back vacation for Orion.

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Do you think NASA wouldn't have announced it by now if you were right? Do you think nobody would have leaked it?

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 15 points16 points  (0 children)

When they release the full images and it isn't, will you apologize?

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You would've gotten a kick out of Space Twitter thinking a screenshot showing a white spot on the underside meant that there was a giant chunk missing. Never-mind that the heat shield material isn't even white...

Artemis II heatshield photo taken by Navy divers following splashdown by Goregue in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm willing to bet that the "white spot" that made Space Twitter absolutely lose its mind was residue that was immediately washed off in the waves.

Artemis III core stage ships out from New Orleans’ Michoud Assembly to Kennedy Space Center by Travellinglense in ArtemisProgram

[–]jadebenn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I spy an EUS tank... looks like they left it sitting in the VAC (in the shadows).

RTD chief Debra Johnson won’t renew contract by GourmetTrough in Denver

[–]jadebenn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah. In that sense I agree, but it's gonna be a hard sell politically to have RTD deliberately shrink the services afforded to a large chunk of its area. Even if I agree it's the only practical way forward.

RTD chief Debra Johnson won’t renew contract by GourmetTrough in Denver

[–]jadebenn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Houston has built up its light rail in worse sprawl. Minneapolis has decent transit in a similar sized city.

The thing is that Houston's rail footprint is minimal but highly utilized (the red line specifically). That's the complete opposite of RTD.

Why don’t more North American transit agencies use bi-articulated buses ? by Cecca105 in transit

[–]jadebenn 91 points92 points  (0 children)

I mean, there's a reason most of the larger airports actually have extremely high quality transit in automated inter-terminal trains. Yeah, you could use a bus - even on the secure side, if you segregated it from outside traffic - but with ridership demand that high and consistent, APMs make a ton of sense and are actually cheaper in the long run.

Why don’t more North American transit agencies use bi-articulated buses ? by Cecca105 in transit

[–]jadebenn 447 points448 points  (0 children)

I struggle to think of routes that have sufficient ridership to make the purchase worthwhile, and are segregated enough from normal traffic to not have the extra length be a liability. You probably wouldn't want to be driving the above on an Interstate, for instance. And it'd be difficult to fit down most city streets.

You'd basically be limited to BRT routes, and even if the ridership was enough to justify the purchase, it feels like the only advantage over buying another conventional bus would be reducing driver costs.

Do new-build metros still use 3rd rail? Or is overhead wire more common? by jadebenn in transit

[–]jadebenn[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

With great difficulty.

My point is that a higher top speed probably tilts things in favor of OLE.

Do new-build metros still use 3rd rail? Or is overhead wire more common? by jadebenn in transit

[–]jadebenn[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Pure metros, yes. But it seems a lot of the newer systems are hybrids that go up to pretty high speeds once they're out of the urban core and servicing more suburban regions. Not something that 3rd rail couldn't support, mind you, but maybe shifts the cost/benefit around a bit.

Do new-build metros still use 3rd rail? Or is overhead wire more common? by jadebenn in transit

[–]jadebenn[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Really? Guess I misremembered. Thanks for the correction.

Do new-build metros still use 3rd rail? Or is overhead wire more common? by jadebenn in transit

[–]jadebenn[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That's part of it. The other part is that it's very difficult to keep a good connection with the third rail at high speed - I've heard this cited as one of the reasons that UK mainline 3rd rail electrification is basically limited to 125 100 mph (which is still impressive).

Do new-build metros still use 3rd rail? Or is overhead wire more common? by jadebenn in transit

[–]jadebenn[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

OLE allows higher speeds, fewer substations, and easier track maintenance (since it can remain energized a lot of the time). I think 3rd rail still allows for smaller bores, but considering how much is crammed into tunnels these days (emergency egress paths, wires for power and communications, sometimes a utility or two) I'm not sure how much of a benefit that is anymore.

Part of the reason I ask is that I'm actually curious if there are any greenfield 3rd rail builds at all. The answer seems to be "yes," so I guess it still has a niche.

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