SkyTrain on the fritz again.
A switching problem may happen on a LRT/streetcar Ai??line but would never cause the chaos that happens whenAi??switch fails on a driverless SkyTrain line. The simple design of an at-grade/on-street tram/light rail switch means it can be operated safely manually if need be.
SkyTrain delays this morning were due to switching problem near Nanaimo station
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun – April 10, 2012
METRO VANCOUVER – SkyTrain is beginning to return to normal after delays of 20 to 30 minutes on SkyTrain’s Expo line this morning because due to a switching problem near Nanaimo station.
TransLink is acknowledging 20 to 30 minute delays east of Broadway station.
“Once you’re past there it’s [OK],” tweets TransLink official.
TransLink suggests that passengers needing the Millennium line transfer at Columbia or Commercial streets.
TransLink is informing passengers delays are being caused by switching problem in Nanaimo-station area.
There are reports that delays are 20 to 30 minutes at some stations.
There are some unhappy transit users.
AML tweeted that she woke up at 6 a.m. to get to school early. “NOPE, skytrain delays. I hate you [Skytrain],” she said.
Vancouver blogger Rebecca Bollwitt reported on twitter from King George station that there are massive delays there, people are angry and there are no TransLink officials anywhere.
Karen Jouhal tweeted that even if you get on a SkyTrain expect the train to be stalled at other stations. “Sitting here in silence, no announcements from [TransLink],” she says.
Not all delayed passengers are angry at TransLink.
Ashley Vaughan tweeted a thanks to TransLink “for keeping us up to date on this morning’s craziness!!”
TransLink has been tweeting updates and advising people how to connect with the Millennium line.
A number of passengers noting that the SkyTrain delay comes just after TransLink has proposed a 12.5 per cent fare increase for 2013.
“Going to be a hard sell for that this morning,” tweeted Wendy Leung.
More to come.
Ai?? Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun—————————————————————————————————————Updated
UPDATE: Track problem fixed; still expect delays on SkyTrain
Service on the Expo Line has been restored
UPDATE:Ai?? SkyTrain Expo Line switch problems have been fixed and service is being restored. Continue to expect delays and crowds.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Brace yourself for big delays if you plan on taking the SkyTrain this morning.
Expo Line trains are running on a single track between Broadway and Nanaimo because of a switching problem.
“This is really starting to back things up, especially at stations like Broadway and Patterson,” explains TransLink‘s Derek Zabel. “We’re starting to see some pretty big delays especially at some stations in Surrey. Anywhere upwards of 30 minutes people are reported to be waiting for trains.”
“One of the options that people can try is to take the Millennium Line,” adds Zabel. “You’re still going to experience some delays on the Millennium Line, but it may not be as bad. You’re going to have to transfer trains at Commercial Station or over at Columbia Station.”
“I do apologize to those people,” says Zabel. “It certainly hasn’t been a very good commute today. You certainly don’t want these problems to happen during the morning commute, and I know that this can frustrate a lot of people. Hopefully we’ve earned the right to serve them again and get this problem rectified quickly.”
Transit riders at the Broadway Station are not very happy with the delay.
“There’s too many hamsters in a hamster cage. Everyone is going nuts and pushing each other. It’s crazy,” says this rider.
This woman says she’s experienced problems for years. “I’ve been riding this system for almost 15 years since I was a kid, and there’s been problems all the time.”
(Zwei comments: The previous statement is telling and indicates that there are far more problems with TransLink than that they would admit too!)
Zabel says at this time, there is no update on when this problem will be fixed.
Now I admit this comment is just for stirring the pot but I really doubt you would want to directly compare reliability of Skytrain with the vast majority of LRT systems (because I am lazy I will not catigorically say any system). Say what you want about it but reliable it is (so much so it makes the news if there is a significant delay, delays in Portland, Seattle or even Calgary or other N.American LRT systems rarely make the news anymore because it really isn’t news). I would bet the reliability info is available for most systems including assumptions as to what the agency considers reliable…feel free to suggest some systems for comparison.
The damn thing crapped out again. I just do not know why TransLink keeps claiming that SkyTrain is the best transit mode around when it keeps breaking down. If the car wasn’t in the shop, I would not have been inconvenienced at all.
Trusting transit is like trusting a conman.
You will not probably believe this, but automatic metro systems tend to fare worse than light rail systems because the automatic operation makes them unreliable. When a switch fails or some other minor problem happens, the system is thrown into chaos, LRT on the other hand can operate mostly without delay when a minor problem arises.
Feel free to pick a system to directly compare, should I look up Ctrain? I remember a report about Seattle’s Link and it did not compare well so lets not look there. Obviously some problems will be more severe on automatic metro systems, just as obviously there will be fewer things like stalled traffic on the tracks.
Because I just read it I will post it here. Skytrain had 24 delays of greater than 1/2hour last year, I imagine quite a few LRT systems are in that range feel free to let me know which ones have fewer delays greater than 1/2hr for similar amounts of track. However where I would expect the big difference is in those 5 to 15min delays, I bet there is a huge difference between Skytrain and LRT systems in that area. That does not make LRT bad but it does seem silly to pick on Skytrains reliability (especially since it is 25years old….bet there were very few of those delays on the Millenium section of track). For the record Skytrain continued to run, just single track….probably the same way a LRT system would have (granted it probably would have been fixed faster).
@zweisystem
How about posting some research or evidence that backs that up. Anecdotes like this or stories of LRT incidents are really not helpful.
Automatic metros, by their nature are problematic in operation. As a computer cannot think and only deal with problems it has been programed to deal with, makes a driverless metro prone to stoppages, unlike LRT with a driver that can deal with problems on the fly. A broken switch can be operated manually on a light rail/streetcar system, but not on a driverless metro. To keep driverless metro’s operational a large number of attendants must be hired, many more than if there were drivers instead.
I rather doubt it, unless there was an accident (suicide) or power outage. Light rail systems just trundle on and on like the Ever Ready Bunny. The simplicity of light rail ensures efficient operation and the more complicated the system (signaling especially) makes an automatic transit system prone to work stoppages. The Portland LRT only shut completely down twice in its operational history, both due to ice storms. The first time, the weight of the ice brought down the overhead on a badly tensioned section of line and on the second time the ice build up in the flangeways downtown insulated the tram wheels from the track breaking the circuit and stopping the train. Portland did not have flangers to clear the ice from the flangeways, unlike European LRT systems in Northern Europe and Canada.
Just a note: If there was an ice storm in Vancouver and the ice buildup on the reaction rail was greater than 1 cm, Sky Train service would be suspended as TransLink has no way of clearing ice from the reaction rail and not doing so would cause expensive damage to the LIM’s.
Several transit studies have pointed to the fact that automatic transit systems are less reliable than light rail systems.
Lets talk specifics. How about you pick a system in N.America to directly compare, it may take a while but I will try and dig up as much comparable reliability info as I can.
Hard to compare because SkyTrain, is part of the journey of 10 or so bus routes, most LRT lines just replace one bus route. If Seattle cascaded every bus route it could on their hybrid light rail/metro system, like TransLink does, ridership would be very much higher than it is today, but then transit authorities listen to their customers and their wants, unlike TransLink, which forced unpopular transfers from bus to SkyTrain to bolster ridership numbers. Hard to make comparisons.
I’m certainly cuiuros about the 85% of work commutes thing. In the article you link to, it states 85% of evening peak period trips originating from the Langleys end in the SoF, but that’s not necessarily the same as saying 85% of SoF residents work on this side of the river. For one thing, how many of those trips are actually commutes to and from work, or trips that should be factored into transit planning? And for those that do work on this side of the river, how many of those jobs are located in the SoF’s sparse industrial areas where transit simply is not economical?I find it incredibly hard to believe that only 15% of the SoF workforce manages to completely clog the Port Mann and the Expo Line across the river every rush hour.