New York City Considers Articulated Subway Cars 237
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Many of New York City's subway cars are well past their prime and due for fleet replacement, most strikingly those on the C line, known by their model number, R32, and for the tin-can siding that will continue rolling beneath Eighth Avenue for at least a few more years. Now the NYT reports that transit planners have urged the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to consider articulated subway cars for any future fleet upgrades. Articulated cars, already adopted in cities like Berlin, Paris, and Toronto, have no doors between cars, allowing unrestricted flow throughout the length of the train that could increase capacity by 8 percent to 10 percent. Adam Lisberg, the authority's chief spokesman, says that increased capacity could also improve 'dwell time' — the period during which a train is stopped in a station, often because of overcrowding — and allow more trains to run. 'We're one of the largest systems in the world that doesn't do it,' says Richard Barone, the director of transportation programs at the Regional Plan Association. 'Our trains don't function right now to allow people to circulate.' Articulation also has the benefit of making empty trains feel safer. By allowing passengers the ability to move between cars easily and to see passengers throughout the train, the isolation that can sometimes feel dangerous on a late-night subway is less of an issue, simply because the whole train is joined together like one huge car. But not everyone embraces the idea. Elizabeth Kubany who works in the Flatiron district, expressed a fondness for the current configuration, suggesting that the separated cars were more 'intimate' binding passenger to passenger in an increasingly antisocial age. Then she reconsidered. 'You don't really want to be intimate with people on the train.'"
People could already move car to car (Score:5, Informative)
The doors are there. The transit authority just doesn't allow people to use them because most people are too stupid to use them safely.
On Septa and Metro North you can move between cars while the train is stopped to facilitate boarding, and on Amtrak you can move between cars at will.
Then she reconsidered again (Score:0, Informative)
"Some of the best sex I've ever had was on the C line at night. That hobo watching us made it so hot."
Re:This is a bad idea and you should feel bad (Score:5, Informative)
Paris has some very wicked curves and grades in its subway as well, and articulated cars are planned for a city-wide deployment within 5 - 10 years.
Make of that what you will.
Hint: articulated means precisely what it means - trains are able to curve almost 360 degrees.
Details on the Toronto "Rocket" (Score:5, Informative)
... Which is the articulated train that we use is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Rocket
It's got more going for it than just being articulated. There are electronic signs that allow people not familiar with the subway system in Toronto to navigate the system better. Plus it's easier for those who have mobility issues.
Umm, the current trains are... (Score:5, Informative)
...already articulated, they just don't have a flexible enclosure built around the articulation point.
I don't think that having the coupling area enclosed will make the entire train any less articulated than it is now.
Re:hmm (Score:4, Informative)
Re:hmm (Score:4, Informative)
any failure along the 8 (I'm assuming it's 8 in nyc) would send the entire train to the maintenance yard.
That's going to happen anyway -- where else on a city metro system would you take apart a train?
But anyway, I don't think that's how trains are maintained any more. The carriages are unlikely to be uncoupled except in very rare circumstances (fire/accident, or infrequent maintenance). This article [railwaygazette.com] shows a small part of a lifting machine that is "able to raise a complete eight-car trainset" for London Underground. This The manufacturer [windhoff.it] has some better pictures, including whole high-speed trains (much longer).
No one would want to sit on the articulated section anyways. The suspension between the two and the floor moving near where you're sitting would probably be unnerving to some.
Every articulated train (and tram for that matter) that I've seen has only standing room in the articulated sections. There's usually a semicircular joint where the floor moves -- just don't stand on both sides of it :-)
Re:The New New York is Screw York (Score:5, Informative)
without the conductor there to yell at people to get the hell in or out of the car, the trains would never, ever leave the station. There will always be that one last person trying to get in.
In London they have someone standing on the platform to do that (shout at people). They are in a much better position: they can see the whole train, and can walk along the platform if necessary.
Also, they're only at busier stations, and only when it's busy.
Re:Outdated trains (Score:4, Informative)
Re:People could already move car to car (Score:4, Informative)
In Bucharest, most of the subway cars have been replaced with articulated ones. I love them. There's less noise, more space, easier way to access; you don't care where you get up, because you can move inside for the whole length of the train. You can tell someone to meet you in the subway and they can hop in without having to figure out which wagon you're in first. Also, during off-peak hours, if someone in a different wagon faints or has a health issue, you can move across to help them. There's no such thing as overcrowding anymore. There's less noise.
Wear and tear is a non-issue. It depends more on the materials used rather than time. Shitty materials used on non-articulated cars will wear faster than good materials used on articulated cars.
As for "if there is a problem with a single car, the whole train is unusable" - this is totally false. They're just as modular; maybe it takes 15 minutes more to detach one wagon, but that rarely, if ever, happens. It's been years since they were introduced and there were exactly 4 malfunctions that required a train to stop between stations, and they were all due to the underside of the cars, not the articulations.
Extending trains does not exist around here. They are all same length. It's actually helpful because you can wait for it anywhere you want, you don't have to run towards a side because the length is smaller.