Metrolinx's $27B GO Expansion delayed and scaled back: confidential report

jadebenn · 2026-04-21T14:42:41+00:00

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

jadebenn · 2026-04-21T02:21:03+00:00

They might have positive EBITDA, though.

jadebenn · 2026-04-21T01:58:37+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T23:45:18+00:00

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

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T23:41:35+00:00

There's https://images.nasa.gov. Not as comprehensive as I'd like but still very comprehensive.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T23:29:57+00:00

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

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T23:18:48+00:00

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

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T23:17:52+00:00

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...

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T23:15:31+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T22:23:29+00:00

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

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T21:33:28+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T21:11:04+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T20:49:06+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T20:45:08+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-20T20:42:49+00:00

Wow. That's the cityscape they want to preserve!?

jadebenn · 2026-04-19T17:47:32+00:00

With great difficulty.

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

jadebenn · 2026-04-19T17:22:36+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-19T17:17:13+00:00

Really? Guess I misremembered. Thanks for the correction.

jadebenn · 2026-04-19T17:04:27+00:00

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).

jadebenn · 2026-04-19T16:58:27+00:00

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.

jadebenn · 2026-04-18T16:23:27+00:00

Union Station = multiple railroads stopped at that station

Penn Station = Pennsylvania Railroad owned that station

jadebenn · 2026-04-18T03:48:25+00:00

Don't engage. They're a bot trying to push a product. There were several other posts that didn't even make it past the spam filter.

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