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Caltrain's new electric trains

fastcompany.com

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Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#41

Post by piva00 »

pikma wrote: post #40
Jalad wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, last week the blog pointed out that the new trains take an extra 8-10 seconds after stopping at a station to begin opening the doors Anecdotally, this is also true of the San Francisco Municipal subway. The subway cars take a long time to open and close doors because there is a mechanical bridge that closes the gap between the train and the platform. This is also a pretty big time sink for the subway s…

In contrast, in the metro in Paris, the doors open a few seconds before the train stops, so that the doors are fully open by the time the train is stopped - and passengers in a hurry can jump out while the train is still moving.

In Berlin (and probably other German subway systems, can't recall) you can trigger the open doors handle/button a few moments before the train completely stops, similar concept to Paris.

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#42

Post by gmueckl »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #30
jwr wrote: post #13

As a European, this article is outright bizarre, and makes me appreciate what we have much more. I will complain less about trains from now on.

> makes me appreciate what we have much more. I will complain less about trains from now on European trains are lovely. But coming from New York, where our regional rail runs with Swiss on-timeness, the tolerance for delays in the U.K. and Germany is wild.

I think most Germans see the train delays with silent resignation. The delays have been a constant for a long time now despite everlasting promises of improvements.

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#43

Post by inferiorhuman »

Jalad wrote: post #33
kderbe wrote: post #23

Anyone interested in Caltrain operation should check out the Caltrain HSR blog, https://caltrain-hsr.blogspot.com/ . It's not just about high-speed rail. For example, last week the blog pointed out that the new trains take an extra 8-10 seconds after stopping at a station to begin opening the doors. Which chews up 12% of the trip time savings achieved by the move from diesel to electrified trains!

> For example, last week the blog pointed out that the new trains take an extra 8-10 seconds after stopping at a station to begin opening the doors Anecdotally, this is also true of the San Francisco Municipal subway. The subway cars take a long time to open and close doors because there is a mechanical bridge that closes the gap between the train and the platform. This is also a pretty big time sink for the subway s…

That delay wasn't an issue with Muni's previous trains which also had moving stairs.

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#44

Post by cogogo »

pikma wrote: post #40
Jalad wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, last week the blog pointed out that the new trains take an extra 8-10 seconds after stopping at a station to begin opening the doors Anecdotally, this is also true of the San Francisco Municipal subway. The subway cars take a long time to open and close doors because there is a mechanical bridge that closes the gap between the train and the platform. This is also a pretty big time sink for the subway s…

In contrast, in the metro in Paris, the doors open a few seconds before the train stops, so that the doors are fully open by the time the train is stopped - and passengers in a hurry can jump out while the train is still moving.

Not sure if they still have the wooden cars on the A (blue) Subte line in Buenos Aires. I lived in Caballito for a little while in 2007 and got a huge kick out of opening the doors early, hopping off the train and sliding on the platform with my crappy slippery shoes.

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#46

Post by rootusrootus »

A few weeks ago I was visiting UK & France, and had several opportunities to experience both LNER and Eurostar trains. I have no illusions that the US is ready for actual HSR, and we'd probably subject it to TSA security as bad or worse than what the Eurostar has now. But LNER ... now that is something I'd like to see here. Not HSR, but 125 mph is still half again as fast as most Amtrak trains. No security hassle, just hop on like you do with the tube. I'd even import the British rail class 800 trains that support both diesel as well as pure electric. Smooth and straighten existing 80mph lines so they're 125mph capable. Run electric in the metro areas and diesel in between.

That's a dream. I know. But I do recall Amtrak saying something about making the existing tracks capable of >80mph between Portland and Seattle, and the Talgo trainsets they have now are rated for 120mph IIRC. So maybe we'll get something that doesn't suck.

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#47

Post by Lammy »

> Instead of the rumble of a diesel engine, the trains now run on 100% electricity.

What fuel is used to generate the electricity? (Honest question since I have no idea how electricity markets work)

> Caltrain […] was the first service to convert from diesel to electric in the West. (A handful of other passenger trains in the country run on electricity, including an Amtrak line in the Northeast.)

This is so misleading that I wonder if the author did any research at all. There were too many electric interurbans to even list here, but even if you try to narrow it to heavy main lines it was not the first by any possible interpretation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Electric_railways_in_...

The saddest electric-mainline loss in Caltrain's territory is the old Sacramento Northern, part of which forms the Western Railway Museum trackage:

https://www.abandonedrails.com/sacramento-northern-railroad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento_Northern_Railway

https://old.reddit.com/r/rustyrails/comments/vij28p/route_of...

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#48

Post by ak217 »

solardev wrote: post #28
kderbe wrote: post #23

Anyone interested in Caltrain operation should check out the Caltrain HSR blog, https://caltrain-hsr.blogspot.com/ . It's not just about high-speed rail. For example, last week the blog pointed out that the new trains take an extra 8-10 seconds after stopping at a station to begin opening the doors. Which chews up 12% of the trip time savings achieved by the move from diesel to electrified trains!

> As seen in the timeline graphic, allowing the step to deploy and retract while the train is in motion would remove this wasted dwell time. It's interesting... I wonder if extending the step while the train is in motion has the potential to knock people down who's currently on the platform and standing too close to the train. > since the step itself does not extend over the platform (it reaches only 63.5 inches from…

The delay observed happens after the train has stopped. The delay is due to laggy software and can be eliminated without extending anything from the train while it's moving.

The old trains have no moving steps.

Re: Caltrain's new electric trains

#49

Post by inferiorhuman »

browningstreet wrote: post #8

I was just looking at Caltrain routes yesterday wondering how there’s a route from Sunnyvale to SF that takes over 2 hours. Driving (at times) should be about 45 minutes. Didn’t make sense to me.

San Francisco to Sunnyvale is 40+ miles. 45 minutes is unrealistic unless you're right next to the freeway and traveling when there's zero traffic.
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