Swadian Hardcore
Engineer
Jim, you were in the armed forces?
Proudly served 4 years in the U,S. Navy plus my Dad was Career Air Force so I lived on Many Bases and Places while Growing up.Jim, you were in the armed forces?
Navy? Air Force?!? The man said "Armed Forces", not "Armed Farces"!!!Proudly served 4 years in the U,S. Navy plus my Dad was Career Air ForceJim, you were in the armed forces?
As I remember Ryan, You were a Naval Officer and had one of the Best Lines ever here on an exchange with a Retired Master Chief that said: "You would have called me Sir!" Marines are the ones who think that all the other Armed services are "Soft"Navy? Air Force?!? The man said "Armed Forces", not "Armed Farces"!!!Proudly served 4 years in the U,S. Navy plus my Dad was Career Air ForceJim, you were in the armed forces?
Now I understand "exceptions that proved the rule"!Proudly served 4 years in the U,S. Navy plus my Dad was Career Air Force so I lived on Many Bases and Places while Growing up.Jim, you were in the armed forces?
But my Government Service I refer to was with the Dept. Of Labor (Federal/ NationalJob Corps Office ) and the Dept. of Health and Human Services (State of Texas!)My Formal Education (Bachelors and Masters) was in Public Administration/Govt.
Ok, so you've managed to move two aditional train loads of passengers in the morning, now how do you get them back in the evening?Not mid-day. The first two ACE trains arrive SJC at 6.32am and 7.47am, well in time to use them for additional Caltrain services. For example, these are the morning departures for Caltrain out of SJC during peak commute hours-So, the ACE equipment would be available for extra service during the midday, which is the same time that Caltrain already has extra equipment sitting around because of lower demand.
6:20, 6:45, 6:50, 6:57, 7:03, 7:18, 7:45, 7:50, 7:55, 8:03, 8:20, 8:40 (bold indicates Baby Bullet express services)
The first ACE train set can now be used as a new service inserted between the 7.18am limited and 7.45am Bullet since there is a nice big 27 minute gap between trains. Similarly the second ACE train can be used for an additional service between the 8.03am Bullet and 8.20am limited, or between 8.20am and 8.40am limiteds.
This is a very simple example, with proper resources in hand, one can come up with an even more streamlined schedule that can help commuters across both corridors, but it requires one thing that's very difficult to get- co-operation between different transit agencies.
Not sure if serious or trolling. As I said, this was just an example of how rolling stock can be used more efficiently. I just spent five minutes to insert two new services into existing timetable, but if a serious interest exists, Caltrain and ACE can definitely do much better than this with all resources (schedules, maintenance, crew timings etc) at their disposal.Ok, so you've managed to move two aditional train loads of passengers in the morning, now how do you get them back in the evening?Not mid-day. The first two ACE trains arrive SJC at 6.32am and 7.47am, well in time to use them for additional Caltrain services. For example, these are the morning departures for Caltrain out of SJC during peak commute hours-So, the ACE equipment would be available for extra service during the midday, which is the same time that Caltrain already has extra equipment sitting around because of lower demand.
6:20, 6:45, 6:50, 6:57, 7:03, 7:18, 7:45, 7:50, 7:55, 8:03, 8:20, 8:40 (bold indicates Baby Bullet express services)
The first ACE train set can now be used as a new service inserted between the 7.18am limited and 7.45am Bullet since there is a nice big 27 minute gap between trains. Similarly the second ACE train can be used for an additional service between the 8.03am Bullet and 8.20am limited, or between 8.20am and 8.40am limiteds.
This is a very simple example, with proper resources in hand, one can come up with an even more streamlined schedule that can help commuters across both corridors, but it requires one thing that's very difficult to get- co-operation between different transit agencies.
We are talking about commuter trains here, not long distance Amtraks that need a long time for people and their baggage to get off and get on. Here people are so used to running a rural railway line with decent frequency as "commuter line" that they don't realize how real commuter lines work across the world. Around ten to fifteen minutes is comfortably sufficient time to turnaround a commuter train. BTW, I don't know if you ever saw Caltrain schedules- Caltrain's Baby Bullet services turn around in San Francisco in twelve to fifteen minutes in the morning.A 10 minute layover is barely enough time to get everyone off and back on, let alone clean or do anything else. What happens if they're even the tiniest bit late? You just shot all the scheduling straight to hell.
Yes, and that is why I said twice, and I repeat a third time, what I gave was just sample of what can be done regarding efficient use of resources. If Caltrain and ACE can come together with all the operational constraints they have, they can churn out a more efficient running than what exists now, if there is the will to do so.There's a lot more to running trains then just finding slots to fill, you need time for padding, maintenance, crew rest / changes, cleaning, servicing, etc.
The Long Island RR does that all the time. A train pulls into Penn Station, discharges, picks up new passengers, crew swaps out, and the train is on its way 10 minutes later. During rush hour, NYP can't afford to have a train that sits on a platform for more than 10 minutes.A 10 minute layover is barely enough time to get everyone off and back on, let alone clean or do anything else. What happens if they're even the tiniest bit late? You just shot all the scheduling straight to hell.
I agree with Alan. When there is a commuter railroad involved, most folks understand the concept of get out and get in. This includes passengers and crew. The next driver, ideally, is waiting at the platform, ready to do a pre-flight and take over the controls as soon as the inbound arrives. 10 minutes should be plenty of time.The Long Island RR does that all the time. A train pulls into Penn Station, discharges, picks up new passengers, crew swaps out, and the train is on its way 10 minutes later. During rush hour, NYP can't afford to have a train that sits on a platform for more than 10 minutes.A 10 minute layover is barely enough time to get everyone off and back on, let alone clean or do anything else. What happens if they're even the tiniest bit late? You just shot all the scheduling straight to hell.
Metrolink operates on a ton of single track with grade crossings, and at the mercy of UP. It's a miracle they do as well as they do.The contrast is Metrolink which is through running more trains now. Sometimes a delay due to a grade crossing incident on one line can now cascade into other lines, affecting their service.
More likely countermeasure against litigation-happy society- "Why didn't you announce it is not my train? I missed an hour's productivity and I will sue Caltrain, ACE and Amtrak for eleventy gazillion dollars!" :angry2:I tried a different station yesterday. This one serves ACE, Caltrain, and Amtrak.
When the ACE train stopped, there was a loud announcement that "This is an ACE train. This not Caltrain. This is not Amtrak." I would have thought the colors would have been obvious but I suppose there are blind passengers.
This happens all around the country, but especially here in the NE. Many people simply pay no attention to details like that. Most Amtrak conductors will state several times when arriving at stations like Trenton, Metropark, Newark, Stamford, and New Haven that "this is an Amtrak train, not a MN or NJT train." If they don't, when the doors open, people just board the train without paying any attention to what train it is that they've boarded.I tried a different station yesterday. This one serves ACE, Caltrain, and Amtrak.
When the ACE train stopped, there was a loud announcement that "This is an ACE train. This not Caltrain. This is not Amtrak." I would have thought the colors would have been obvious but I suppose there are blind passengers.
In my (admittedly limited) travels on the NEC, I've noticed this practice (of specifically stating "this is an Amtrak train, NOT an NJT train") more in NJT-land than anywhere else (MARC, MNR, MBTA, SEPTA, etc). Any idea if that's just been a fluke, if in fact it occurs throughout the NEC in commuter train territory, or if there are more problems with NJT passengers boarding Amtrak trains than other commuter rail passengers?This happens all around the country, but especially here in the NE. Many people simply pay no attention to details like that. Most Amtrak conductors will state several times when arriving at stations like Trenton, Metropark, Newark, Stamford, and New Haven that "this is an Amtrak train, not a MN or NJT train." If they don't, when the doors open, people just board the train without paying any attention to what train it is that they've boarded.
It becomes an even bigger problem if Amtrak is running late and arriving right around the time that a commuter train was expected.
I've definitely experienced situations where the conductor made a concerted effort to says which route. I've seen one case where a Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin train arrived at about the same time and actually in different directions (each train came in on the left). The conductor on the San Joaquin didn't just make and announcement but came out and yelled out that it wasn't the Capitol Corridor. I've also seen three trains at Emeryville. All were Amtrak and it could get confusing.This happens all around the country, but especially here in the NE. Many people simply pay no attention to details like that. Most Amtrak conductors will state several times when arriving at stations like Trenton, Metropark, Newark, Stamford, and New Haven that "this is an Amtrak train, not a MN or NJT train." If they don't, when the doors open, people just board the train without paying any attention to what train it is that they've boarded.I tried a different station yesterday. This one serves ACE, Caltrain, and Amtrak.
When the ACE train stopped, there was a loud announcement that "This is an ACE train. This not Caltrain. This is not Amtrak." I would have thought the colors would have been obvious but I suppose there are blind passengers.
It becomes an even bigger problem if Amtrak is running late and arriving right around the time that a commuter train was expected.
I don't know the exact details of what trackwork was going on, but the train probably used the UP Coast subdivision, which is the same route the Coast Starlight takes (the Starlight and Capitol Corridor normally do not use the same routes between Oakland and San Jose).When I got on, the train reversed direction and headed towards San Jose. I asked someone on board what happened, and was told that they bypassed the normal route to get past the station, and then backtracked to the Fremont station. I'm not sure how they would do it, but there are lots of tracks around the industrial areas of Hayward and Fremont.
Yeah, there is a switch a mile or so past the Coliseum station that takes you off of the normal CC route and then you rejoin it at the 'Y' that is at the slow turn that occurs just before the salt plant. If you are on the CC s/b, once past the Coliseum keep an eye out for the rental yard on the right-hand side of the train (usually has several man-lifts extended and sitting in the yard). Just pass that is switch off to the sub.I don't know the exact details of what trackwork was going on, but the train probably used the UP Coast subdivision, which is the same route the Coast Starlight takes (the Starlight and Capitol Corridor normally do not use the same routes between Oakland and San Jose).When I got on, the train reversed direction and headed towards San Jose. I asked someone on board what happened, and was told that they bypassed the normal route to get past the station, and then backtracked to the Fremont station. I'm not sure how they would do it, but there are lots of tracks around the industrial areas of Hayward and Fremont.
If I can continually punch holes in your "example" it's obviously not an example of anything. I can provide infeasible options all day.As I said, this was just an example of how rolling stock can be used more efficiently.
I'm not aware of any layover in San Francisco less than fifteen minutes, even during commute. Under the old schedule, it would take about two hours for any problem northbound to ripple out to cancelled southbound trains due to no equipment.BTW, I don't know if you ever saw Caltrain schedules- Caltrain's Baby Bullet services turn around in San Francisco in twelve to fifteen minutes in the morning.
Of course I have noticed engine number changes. My observation about 12-15 minute turnaround was based on seeing the schedules where incoming Bullets returning as outgoing Bullets. I do not commute upto 4th & King so haven't seen what happens in person but I can put a fairly confident bet that the 12-15 minute turnarounds I am seeing are the same train sets, because, 99% of the times Caltrain uses the Bombardier sets for Baby Bullet service and Nippon Gallery sets mix and matched with some Bombardier for everything else, so when I see a Bullet arrival and a Bullet departure at 4th & King in 15 minute period, I guess it is the same Bombarider set returning, though I could be wrong in some instances.I'm not aware of any layover in San Francisco less than fifteen minutes, even during commute. Under the old schedule, it would take about two hours for any problem northbound to ripple out to cancelled southbound trains due to no equipment.BTW, I don't know if you ever saw Caltrain schedules- Caltrain's Baby Bullet services turn around in San Francisco in twelve to fifteen minutes in the morning.
Caltrain doesn't assign particular consists to specific runs. In fact, in order to accomodate maintenance work, the trains move through the schedule during the week. I would have thought that, as a regular rider, you would have noticed your engine number change.
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