3104 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

^ Kinda like saying it is only a 12 minute flight from YYJ to YVR!

[dasmo]

Let's wait for the schedule first. Then place our bets. At this early stage it ridiculous to expect so much. All it needs to do is provide an alternative. It doesn't NEED to get people out of cars. That won't happen. It's not like no one drives in Europe.... plenty of cars driving all day in Rotterdam. It was nice not having to join them....

[sdwright.vic]

These guys are this far away? I've got news for you. You can not drive a bus down a trail and then use the crossing arms and lights. That requires an entire re-write of provincial traffic regulations and laws. It would take 5 years to do.

The do make a bus that has both tires and rail "wheels"... whatever they are called.

[On the Level]

http://www.goldstrea.../405706536.html

 

Every half to one hour?  Why would I wait for that?  The #50 bus goes in at 9-minute intervals starting at 6:50am, then goes to every 6 minutes from 7:08 until 8:00am.  And it goes right into downtown, saves me a 2km walk.  From 5:45am to 8:30am I have 19 departures to choose from

 

Sometime in the future, I'm going to have to explain this to my grand kids.  I will try not to scare them.  

 

Me: "People used to stand on the side of the road in the rain.  They would then cram themselves into a large rectangular vehicle called a bus, to then have it drive them a very short distance so they can just sit in traffic and not go anywhere"

 

Grandkid: "Grandad......why would they do that?"

 

Me: "Oh it get's worse, just when those people thought it might start to move, it keeps pulling over and stopping to taunt them."

 

Grandkid: "Grandad that's horrible!"

 

Me: "I know.  It wasn't pretty.  Then they would pull out in front of all of the moving traffic and stop once again." 

 

Grandkid: "Grandad...no...you're scaring me."

[VicHockeyFan]

Well, to be fair, your grandkid will at the time be whisked around in self-driving vehicles.  Not a train.

 

Me:  One time - believe it or not after the year 2010 - people thought having a vehicle that only drives on steel tracks laid down for it would be a new solution, even though that solution lost favour by the 1950's in the rest of North America.

 

Your Grandkid:  You are scaring me VHF, I'm outta here (in my autonomous pod).

[Bingo]

Year 2035

 

Grandson:  Hey Grandad I sure enjoy getting on the train and travelling to all of the neat cities on the island,,,cause it' sooo relaxing.

 

Grandad: Yeah I can remember back in the day when they shut the train down because people wanted to cycle everywhere. 

                In fact some people wanted to tear up the tracks.

 

Grandson:  Why don't they build a road over the Malahat for all of those self driving cars.

 

Grandad: Well they used to have a road over the Malahat but those automated cars kept getting into accidents so they closed the road down as it was to expensive to keep redesigning it.

 

Grandson: Wow! Thank-you for thinking of all the grandchildren.

 

 

[VicHockeyFan]

Year 2035

 

Grandson:  Hey Grandad I sure enjoy getting on the train and travelling to all of the neat cities on the island,,,cause it' sooo relaxing.

 

Grandad: You're telling me.  The Island is great.  I slept in my pod while it took me to Courtenay overnight last night.  So where are you, grandson?  

 

Grandson:  Still waiting for the train in Victoria.  It's so weird, it leaves on something called a "schedule" (we learned that word in history class at iSchool) where eveyone has to take it together, they have no choice!

 

Granddad:  You're scaring me grandson!

[Bingo]

Year 2035

 

Grandson: Hey Grandad I sure enjoy getting on the train and travelling to all of the neat cities on the island,,,cause it' sooo relaxing.

 

Grandad: I know, the schedules are so efficient with triple tracking and the scenery and dining is superb as is the on board casino.

 

Grandson : I am proud of you grandad for promoting rail travel for the past 25 years as the best way to see Vancouver Island.

 

Grandad: Yeah, six months ago a friend of mine was trying out one of those pod thingy's, where you take the red eye overnight to Long Beach.

                They found him in his capsule in the back of the maintenance repair shed in Courtenay weeks later, feeling fine, but undernourished.

 

Grandson: That's scary!

 

[On the Level]

As reported in the TimesCycist, Sep 5, 2035

 

It's been a rough week for automated pod enthusiasts.  On Monday, Shelley Zoomaround went out for groceries in her pod to find herself face to face with one of the neighbours dogs.  "I hate going past that house, that dog is always going bananas and I knew it would get out one day", says Zoomaround.  The dog managed to bite one of the rotating wheels, rolling the pod onto it's side.  "It started to shake it's head back and forth, throwing me and my pod around like a rag doll."

 

This comes just 2 days after 3 incidents where deer have attacked and stomped on 15 automated pods. "Deer are very territorial, and automated pods are seen by male deer as competition during rutting season" says Bob Ilovebikes, director of the YMDA.  "Deer and Pod conflicts are common in Oak Bay, but we are seeing it more in other areas now too".  Gerry Ridealong was taking the train into Victoria from the Westshore and has noted the increased deer activity.  "I take the kids on the train and it's quite exciting to watch the deer and pod interaction.  There is usually at least one occurrence you can watch on the trip into town.  The kids get a big kick out of it but I have to remind them, there are people in those pods so we shouldn't be clapping."  

Edited by On the Level, 11 December 2016 - 09:22 AM.

[UrbanRail]

2035

 

Grandson

 

they have these pods that now raise children, vote, and you can even shower, eat and listen to music download info via your bioport while you are whisked away to your destination. Heck even the deer use them to get around Oak Bay.

 

Grandad

that sounds pretty scary, whats a bioport?

 

Grandson

Yeah I know, oh a bioport is a plugin that now comes standard in all human beings.

 

And the great thing, you dont need a schedule, or some silly train, as now you can kidnap, stalk people, shop for groceries.

[57WestHills]

Someone posted this link on Facebook. While I'm confident it won't happen, Ottawa is selling used Canadian- heavy rail approved equipment with generally speaking low mileage. It's from the OC Transpo line which actually had a history somewhat reminiscent of the E&N, and also a very complicated development into the first phase of a now growing rail rapid transit network.

http://ottawacitizen...line-workhorses

This equipment is literally a shoe-in for service on the Southern portion of the E&N, would require minimal track improvement at least initially, and they'll likely sell cheap.

A pipe dream. But an interesting one.

Edited by 57WestHills, 30 December 2016 - 07:48 PM.

[Bingo]

Someone posted this link on Facebook. While I'm confident it won't happen, Ottawa is selling used Canadian- heavy rail approved equipment with generally speaking low mileage.

It's from the OC Transpo line which actually had a history somewhat reminiscent of the E&N, and also a very complicated development into the first phase of a now growing rail rapid transit network.

http://ottawacitizen...line-workhorses

This equipment is literally a shoe-in for service on the Southern portion of the E&N, would require minimal track improvement at least initially, and they'll likely sell cheap.

A pipe dream. But an interesting one.

 

Yes, I suppose the powers to be are working on something besides their lunch.

[VicHockeyFan]

Residents of Vancouver's Strathcona neighbourhood are concerned after Canadian National Railway increased train traffic on an East Vancouver railway line that crosses a number of busy streets.

 

As of Jan. 2, 2017, traffic increased on the Burrard Inlet spur line from an occasional train to a total of six trains daily. CN said the change was made to restore service to Vancouver's intermodal terminals.

 

The railway line crosses a number of busy streets including Glen Drive, Venables Street, Union Street and Cordova Street.

 

Pete Fry, a longtime Strathcona resident and community advocate, says the disruption means increased delays for commuters and increased danger for cyclists and pedestrians.

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...3922308?cmp=rss

 

Damn you, industry, you are screwing up our lives!

[Nparker]

....Damn you, industry, you are screwing up our lives!

One presumes the rail line was there when the majority of residents purchased their properties, so there has always been the potential for increased traffic.

[On the Level]

One presumes the rail line was there when the majority of residents purchased their properties, so there has always been the potential for increased traffic.

Well I suppose the alternative is to have a continuous convoy of trucks drive through the neighbourhood side streets......  or shutdown Vancouver's port and intermodal terminals laying off everyone that works there.

[VicHockeyFan]

Well I suppose the alternative is to have a continuous convoy of trucks drive through the neighbourhood side streets......  or shutdown Vancouver's port and intermodal terminals laying off everyone that works there.

 

Ya.  The trains run dead slow in town like that (like our commuter train will have to!).   There are no safety issues.  And they are much more efficient than trucks with regard to emissions etc.

[Baro]

Level crossings are no good,  but I doubt the residents would foot the tax increases to grade-separate the line.  Hell they'd probably complain if the province paid for overpasses over the rail line because the construction was noisy and disrupting their commutes.

[jonny]

Could you imagine moving to a neighbhourhood that contains a major international port, only to realize that it is one of those pesky major international ports that has shipping, receiving, transport, sounds, people, machinery, etc.? It’s almost like East Vancouver isn’t Sechelt.

 

Seriously though, are they talking about the tracks there that are right along Vancouver Harbour? The ones I am familiar with in East Van go right along the water all the way to Port Moody. I’m trying to think of where the level crossings would be. I thought It went right along the harbour in East Van. There’s also a spur that goes across the inlet at second narrows to North Van. Maybe around there?

Edited by jonny, 05 January 2017 - 04:20 PM.

[Nparker]

Could you imagine moving to a neighbourhood that contains a major international port, only to realize that it is one of those pesky major international ports that has shipping, receiving, transport, sounds, people, machinery, etc...

You don't have to travel to Vancouver to experience this type of this NIMBYism. How often do we hear the cries of anguish from James Bay residents regarding the presence of cruise ships at Ogden Point - and that's for only 6 months out of the year.

[On the Level]

Seriously though, are they talking about the tracks there that are right along Vancouver Harbour? The ones I am familiar with in East Van go right along the water all the way to Port Moody. I’m trying to think of where the level crossings would be. I thought It went right along the harbour in East Van. There’s also a spur that goes across the inlet at second narrows to North Van. Maybe around there?

 

https://www.google.c...!4d-123.0567298

 

Hopefully this link will work.  It's the line that eventually becomes a single line going straight up to the terminal.  I believe it's only line CN has going up to the terminal as the main line along the waterfront is CP no?  

 

EDIT: I just checked the "Rail Capacity" link from the CN web site and yes, the only tracks that CN owns come over from the Willingdon junction in Burnaby then and then up through town. 

Edited by On the Level, 05 January 2017 - 05:30 PM.