Quote:
Originally Posted by tete
Wow, this is ambitious, didn't see this coming.
Can anyone speak to the use of low-floor LRV's and not going with the current trains? I like the idea, but wonder what will happen with breakdowns on the new line - you can't use cars from the red or blue line, so how many will CT need to have as extra?
|
New high-floor LRT lines just aren't being built anymore, and really haven't been since the mid-eighties. Since Calgary, Edmonton and a couple other cities were very early adopters, they have lines that were high floor from the outset, and thus every time they are extended (i.e. Crowfoot, Saddleridge, even the WestLRT was an operational extension of the NE line), they have had to build new high-floor platforms and buy high-floor trains.
The Green Line NC-SE will be operationally separate from the rest of the system, and thus is not mandated to built as high-floor. It will not share cars nor maintenance facilities with the rest of the system, nor will it likely be physically connected with it (as in the ability to shuttle cars throughout all lines on the system via track connections). Perhaps train parts and components could be shared though.
As for extra trains. The model Calgary and most other systems use currently is to have about an 83% availability rate. That is, during the busiest peak periods, about 17% of the cars are back at the maintenance and storage facilities undergoing various levels of repair, maintenance, cleaning and/or being kept in reserve to act as backups should breakdowns occur and trains need to be taken off the line. The practical availability rate right now is likely more than that, as there are a number of cars being used sparingly and awaiting retirement when the next order comes in.
Anyway, the scale of the current fleet and the scale of the new fleet that will be needed for the Green Line are large enough that they shouldn't see too many negative effects of not being able to share cars. Besides, as things are now, Calgary Transit currently operates 3 different types of cars that cannot be matched together to form consists.