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Post by masonite on Nov 22, 2013 18:13:00 GMT -8
Another broken-down Siemens tonight, at Normandie Ave. Single-tracking around it in the area. Where will the Siemens trains go once the new cars are available? They can't all go back to the Green Line, which is where they perform well (no ATP here). If they go to the Gold Line, then they will have 3 different kind if cars on one line, which seems inefficient.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 22, 2013 18:48:07 GMT -8
Another broken-down Siemens tonight, at Normandie Ave. Single-tracking around it in the area. Where will the Siemens trains go once the new cars are available? They can't all go back to the Green Line, which is where they perform well (no ATP here). If they go to the Gold Line, then they will have 3 different kind if cars on one line, which seems inefficient. I don't know but this is funny: I was in Car 103, which has the fresh new Metro light-rail livery and the new LED displays with the aqua dots on the sides and front. When the driver announced that there was a disabled train and we would wait and be single-tracking around it once the track clears, some guy made a comment: "How come these brand-new trains break down?" I explained him the new paint job and showed him the 1989 emblem on the cab door. When we passed by the broken-down train, I told him that it was a different kind of train, the less reliable Siemens, despite being newer than the Japanese train we were in.
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Post by TransportationZ on Nov 22, 2013 20:54:43 GMT -8
Another broken-down Siemens tonight, at Normandie Ave. Single-tracking around it in the area. Where will the Siemens trains go once the new cars are available? They can't all go back to the Green Line, which is where they perform well (no ATP here). If they go to the Gold Line, then they will have 3 different kind if cars on one line, which seems inefficient. Hopefully Metro goes with the plan to replace every LRV in the fleet - including the Siemens and Breda's. The newer LRVs are simply crap. It would be great to have unified, awesome fleet of Kinkis. Sell the Bredas to Argentina or something.(Like San Diego MTS) At least get rid of the Siemens, if anything. Frankly, the Siemens' should be retired before ANY Nippon is pulled from service. When the regional connector opens, there is going to be be hodge podge of LRVs going down those tracks.
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Post by skater on Nov 22, 2013 22:52:58 GMT -8
Where will the Siemens trains go once the new cars are available? They can't all go back to the Green Line, which is where they perform well (no ATP here). If they go to the Gold Line, then they will have 3 different kind if cars on one line, which seems inefficient. I don't know but this is funny: I was in Car 103, which has the fresh new Metro light-rail livery and the new LED displays with the aqua dots on the sides and front. When the driver announced that there was a disabled train and we would wait and be single-tracking around it once the track clears, some guy made a comment: "How come these brand-new trains break down?" I explained him the new paint job and showed him the 1989 emblem on the cab door. When we passed by the broken-down train, I told him that it was a different kind of train, the less reliable Siemens, despite being newer than the Japanese train we were in. well that is funny. my brother also told me to have a look at the "new train" hooked to the old ones. I told him it was the same type of car as the one we were riding in, but with a new paint job. Really, the new paint gives the cars a fresh look and makes them look so much less dated. I remember that after riding the ansaldobredas every day when I got on an expo train for the first time it was a contrast to have the brand new station but old train car. The interior of the nippon sharyo cars has held up quite nicely, just like the exterior of the subway cars has. The interior of the red line cars are what could use an upgrade. I remeber that before I knew anything about LA's transit system history I thought that the subway cars must have been from sometime in the 70s! (one car I don't know which has had the floor resurfaced to a floor like the buses, it is a good improvement) To me most of the system had always been there because I was too small to really remember most of it being built. Now I still have a hard time picturing LA without the trains, even the expo line which is fairly new still feels like it has been there much longer. Anyways back to the topic. Both the Siemens and Nippon Sharyos, from riding from 103st/watts towers to allen on the blue, red and gold lines today, I have realized are much quiter than the ansaldobredas. The sound combined with the wide open views along some parts of the blue line especially, make the ansaldobredas seem faster. Although both the blue and expo lines reach 55mph just like the gold line in the fast sections, it never feels to me to be quite as fast as the gold line. On the dead straight sections on the blue line, I'm reasonably sure the train was going 55, but because of the wide 4 track right of way and less noise the train seemed to be going slower. By contrast the gold line is in a relatively narrow right of way along fair oaks, and it is louder, but it seems to be moving quicker there. Of course overall the gold line is faster, but in terms of top speed, it also seems faster. The noise doesn't seem to bother anyone, and on the red line, the loudest of all, no one seems to complain when they hear the loud screeching as a train rounds a curve in a tunnel. Any way I think the Nippon Sharyos are pretty decent, and I hope they will be around for a while. And aslo the ansaldobreda can't be that bad. Really I think they won't replace the rolling stock when there isn't enough to go around.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Nov 22, 2013 22:53:03 GMT -8
How a frog works:
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Post by bzcat on Nov 25, 2013 12:31:06 GMT -8
Took Expo from La Cienega station on Saturday morning around 11 AM towards Downtown LA. Came back at 2:30 PM and the work was already completed with trains going all the way to Culver City. Kudos to a good job and speedy installation.
Also, lots of Metro employees on hand to direct confused passengers and they had adequate buses to ferry everyone. All in all, good planning and customer service.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 25, 2013 14:14:02 GMT -8
The frog is in. There are no issues, but there is still some work to be completed. However, I don't know its nature and if it will require another shutdown.
The 20 MPH speed restriction is still in place.
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Post by Gokhan on Nov 27, 2013 15:14:49 GMT -8
Today our eastbound Siemens with a male driver did a harsh but brief braking when we were about the enter the crossing-arm-protected Arlington Ave at-grade crossing at approximately 55 MPH. I though it could be due to drive-system problems of Siemens's. I looked from a left window and saw a little dog, which appeared to be a Chihuahua, zipping in front of us in the northbound direction. He then tried to cross the street in front of the cars at Exposition Blvd. It looked like the cars waited for him and he was probably OK at the end. There are a lot of stray dogs in South LA. Moral of the story: Expo Line -- thankfully -- brakes for dogs.
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Post by bobdavis on Nov 30, 2013 23:34:56 GMT -8
We who live closer to the Rose Bowl than the Coliseum are curious--how did Expo do on handling the crowds for the cross-town rivalry tonight? (full disclosure: My mother was one of the first graduates from the UCLA Westwood campus, and my older daughter is a USC alumna)
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Post by bobdavis on Dec 5, 2013 0:13:27 GMT -8
Haven't heard about any tie-ups or melt-downs on Saturday, so one would guess that the Expo Line did its job before and after the game.
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Post by thanks4goingmetro on Dec 13, 2013 12:40:18 GMT -8
Haven't heard about any tie-ups or melt-downs on Saturday, so one would guess that the Expo Line did its job before and after the game. I was on the Expo Line that day going to a business meeting. It was just fine, the 6 minute frequent service was great!
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 16, 2013 13:34:46 GMT -8
LA drivers: a car accident involving at least three cars at Expo/Vermont, despite the traffic-light-controlled left turns. Train operations were not affected:
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Post by rajacobs on Jan 1, 2014 18:01:53 GMT -8
New Year's Eve in Long Beach via the Expo & Blue line -- Last night, 6 of us left the Culver City station about 7:00pm going to the Skyroom at the Breakers Hotel in Long Beach for New Year's Eve. Dressed in suits and ties, party dresses and heels, we transferred to the Blue Line and enjoyed the ride to Long Beach, enduring a ticket check by 3 Sheriff's Dept officers and witnessed a rousting of 3 teen-age turnstile jumpers before we arrived, only one block from Breakers. Riders were friendly; the train only added to the night's experience.
Had a great time! Drank, danced, partied until past 1:00AM. Walked back to the Blue Line terminus at 1st Street and boarded the train at 2 AM--too inebriated to drive. An older guy wanted to sell a couple of us perfume; a younger guy was pretty high and was dancing in the aisle. Again--folks were really friendly and yelled "Happy New Year" as we got off the train at Pico to board the Expo Line.
LA is changing--the train can beautifully lace the city together in a new way, ...unimaginable just a short time ago.
Hope many more take advantage of this link to Long Beach next year. Hope we do too!
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 6, 2014 16:59:51 GMT -8
A new Kinkisharyo train at the Culver City Station. (OK, actually an old Nippon Sharyo train with the new livery, to which a new Kinkisharyo train will look very similar.)
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Post by bzcat on Jan 7, 2014 10:53:50 GMT -8
I thought they would replace the scroll sign with the new LED and blue dot display when they repaint the trains?
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 7, 2014 12:14:59 GMT -8
I thought they would replace the scroll sign with the new LED and blue dot display when they repaint the trains? That's being done independently from the paint job. Some trains without paint job get it and vice versa.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 18, 2014 18:03:04 GMT -8
A crowded westbound rush-hour Expo train but only because it missed its headway by 50%, so 50% more packed than normal:
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 30, 2014 10:15:41 GMT -8
Car 104 at the Culver City Station:
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Post by Gokhan on Feb 11, 2014 11:18:34 GMT -8
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Feb 11, 2014 13:46:10 GMT -8
Nothing like a little religious guilt trip to go with your morning commute. If he shows up yelling that again, ask him how that "command" argument squares with Exodus 21, puts an end to that idea real quick—or at least gets him to shut up and move to the next car.
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Post by Gokhan on Feb 25, 2014 10:45:43 GMT -8
It looks like Crenshaw Line construction is already affecting the Expo Line operations. Cars are now being backed up across the Expo tracks because of lane reductions on Crenshaw Blvd.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 3, 2014 10:05:39 GMT -8
Rain broke the Hayden Ave switch and Expo Line has been single-tracking between the Hauser Blvd switch and end of line.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 10, 2014 9:55:16 GMT -8
The latest version of the new Metro livery that will also be used in the new light-rail vehicles is looking very good. In fact, I think it would be hard to tell the old Nippon Sharyo's apart from the new Kinkisharyo's.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 31, 2014 11:25:51 GMT -8
I was thinking how the lack of signal priority badly affects the travel times. You miss one light and it adds 2 minutes. They really shouldn't build these lines without crossing gates or signal priority.
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Post by darrell on Mar 31, 2014 11:56:37 GMT -8
I was thinking how the lack of signal priority badly affects the travel times. You miss one light and it adds 2 minutes. They really shouldn't build these lines without crossing gates or signal priority. I've been riding the Gold Line from Pasadena lately and have appreciated how all the grade crossings except the short section in Highland Park are gated. It's a reliable 20 minutes from Del Mar to Union Station. Given that most of the street sections of Expo are fenced, what would it take to gate more of them? Or at least improve the signal priority to anticipate a train coming and generally give it a green light.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 31, 2014 12:19:24 GMT -8
I think gating the Flower St segment is no-brainer.
If they had gated the Exposition segment also, chances are that there would be less delay on traffic, as currently the cycles are too long. They could also reduce the cycle and give signal preexemption in exchange, which shouldn't add too much additional delay.
However, LADOT is very car-friendly and always reluctant for pedestrian and transit benefits.
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Post by masonite on Mar 31, 2014 19:18:21 GMT -8
I was thinking how the lack of signal priority badly affects the travel times. You miss one light and it adds 2 minutes. They really shouldn't build these lines without crossing gates or signal priority. I've been riding the Gold Line from Pasadena lately and have appreciated how all the grade crossings except the short section in Highland Park are gated. It's a reliable 20 minutes from Del Mar to Union Station. Given that most of the street sections of Expo are fenced, what would it take to gate more of them? Or at least improve the signal priority to anticipate a train coming and generally give it a green light. The Gold Line is a nice ride no doubt. I remember the hubub about it being so slow, but really only the Marmion Way portion would be considered slow and even that isn't bad, compared to Expo. The stations are so much nicer than the plain Expo stations, especially with some showing next trains and even though I don't like the Bredas all that much, they are newer and more modern than the old Nippon Sharyos. If you dropped a stranger into LA, they would definately say the Gold Line is the newer line not Expo.
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Post by bobdavis on Mar 31, 2014 22:21:47 GMT -8
When it comes to operating speed, the Gold Line Foothill Extension will really shine. It's on private right of way with about a dozen gated crossings (which were gated when this was the Santa Fe 2nd District). When the Super Chief was running through here the authorized speed was 60 to 65 mph from Pasadena to Claremont. We could even say that the new segment will be more like electric suburban (for example, Metra Electric in Chicagoland) than light rail.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Apr 8, 2014 12:28:40 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 8, 2014 15:47:18 GMT -8
This is sad. It took a lot of volunteer effort in the mid 70s to rescue the museum from graffiti freaks and other vandals and move it from the Expo right-of-way at Vinton Ave to the museum. Unfortunately, every total idiot drives a car.
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