Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Subways -- underground or above-ground

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 13
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 template Next
  • #31
    Originally posted by lord of the mark
    I live in the area, however for professional reasons I cant comment on the specifics in too much detail. I do think you are oversimplifying FTA's position, which addressed issues of cost, timing, and etc.
    I only had a couple paragraphs before people started asking for summaries. So sue me.
    I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

    Comment

    • #32
      Re: Subways -- underground or above-ground

      Originally posted by DanS
      The federal government generally is hostile to heavy rail -- it's full of diesel bus "rapid transit" lovers.

      There are some fairly strong arguments for BRT (bus rapid transit) in terms of cost, flexibility, etc. Im not certain it would have been the wrong solution for the Dulles Corridor, and it certainly could make sense elsewhere.


      One of the problems with the Dulles corridor, is that to make the thing affordable, its going to be placed in the median of a major highway (the Dulles toll road) which means there WONT be stations in the center the major hirise centers along the way - in Reston Town Center, most notably. Its going to get less ridership as a result, and much of that is going to be car to rail, on the overcrowded local road system.

      Now thats not to say it shouldnt be built, or that BRT is superior to the heavy rail solution, but its to give some more info.

      The elevated part is for Tysons Corner, the densest part of the line (the biggest employment center between DC and Atlanta?) where it would make no sense to follow highway medians, cause youd miss your most important stations. So its tunnel or el. what some folks may not realize, is that Tysons is currently an edge city with wide roads, no urban type street grid, and little pedestrian activity. That MAY change.
      "A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber

      Comment

      • #33
        Originally posted by Patroklos
        This is good news

        As for underground/aboveground, I prefer above ground in less dense areas because 1.) It is cheaper and 2.) it is much easier to replace repair when that decade old line becomes an eyesore.
        On the other hand, maintenance costs are much higher aboveground (about 2x, IIRC, even considering the absurdly long escalators of the belowground stations).

        Also, as the Canadian posters pointed out, factoring in the weather decreases the reliability of the system somewhat.
        I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

        Comment

        • #34
          Street level. Judging from Dallas' DART, elevated platforms get less use. I would assume underground would be the same, here anyway.
          Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
          "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
          He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

          Comment

          • #35
            Originally posted by GePap
            That is true of many systems. Both in Chicago and NYC you get janitors and financial analysts riding the trains. in fact I can't think of a major subway system I have ridden in which you could say that only the poor or the rich ride it. Maybe in LA, but not in densely packed cities.
            DC is definitely more upscale than NY. Partly cause of the original construction, it has fewer total stations, more widely seperated, a much larger portion of park n ride passengers versus walk to stations, more suburban stations and fewer stations in DC (large parts of which rely on buses to get downtown - for example the Georgia Avenue corridor) and higher fares. Its hardly all rich (I doubt youd find ANY high falutin lawyer-lobbyists on a typical day) more civil servants, idealist young people working at low paying NGO's, grad students, govt contractors, military enlisted personnel, etc. But definitely a different feel from NYC.
            "A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber

            Comment

            • #36
              LOTM: I notice that you didn't gainsay my observation that the feds hate heavy rail and love BRT.
              I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

              Comment

              • #37
                In Ruhr valley they´re mixed.

                Below the city centers they run underground, but in most cities in ruhr valley they surface as soon as the housing density allows it.
                Exceptions are only largest cities like Dortmund or Essen, where in large areras around the city centre the subways are alsmost exclusively underground.
                Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
                Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

                Comment

                • #38
                  Just build a monorail and be done with it.
                  "The DPRK is still in a state of war with the U.S. It's called a black out." - Che explaining why orbital nightime pictures of NK show few lights. Seriously.

                  Comment

                  • #39
                    Originally posted by DanS


                    On the other hand, maintenance costs are much higher aboveground (about 2x, IIRC, even considering the absurdly long escalators of the belowground stations).

                    Also, as the Canadian posters pointed out, factoring in the weather decreases the reliability of the system somewhat.
                    you think its ever gonna snow here again? Anyway, metro is usually able to keep the above ground parts of the system open during storms. And if they cant, then the Dulles line is closed anyway, as its in median and exposed on BOTH sides of the proposed tunnel. Whatcha gonna do, spend the snow storm shuttling between Tysons East, and Tysons West?
                    "A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber

                    Comment

                    • #40
                      I'm a big proponent of mass transit. I wish more people would use it.
                      "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow
                      "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

                      Comment

                      • #41
                        Originally posted by SlowwHand
                        Street level. Judging from Dallas' DART, elevated platforms get less use. I would assume underground would be the same, here anyway.
                        Washington's system has very few steps. Mostly escalators and elevators for both underground and belowground stations. For belowground stations, the escalators can get longish, however. Wheaton, where I lived for a year, has an escalator that took 5 minutes to get from bottom to top.
                        I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

                        Comment

                        • #42
                          Originally posted by SlowwHand
                          Street level. Judging from Dallas' DART, elevated platforms get less use. I would assume underground would be the same, here anyway.
                          given the layout of Tysons, impossible. Theres no old rail tracks or similar lying around, youd have to take away two lanes of Rte 7, which IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, and this is full heavy rail, 8 car trains, etc, not LRT, you cant run it in the street.
                          "A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin Buber

                          Comment

                          • #43
                            I'd say Boston's subway/light rail system works. LA's is to small and doesn't stop in enough places plus it is route is subject to the most tortured special interest lobbying imaginable. Such and such neighborhood shouldn't be hooked up to the subway (despite being along the way) because it is to poor and we don't want criminals on the subway. That sort of thinking.

                            Most of BART is above ground (other then the trans-Bay tunnel system) so it's more light rail then subway.
                            Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

                            Comment

                            • #44
                              Originally posted by DanS


                              Washington's system has very few steps. Mostly escalators and elevators for both underground and belowground stations. For belowground stations, the escalators can get longish, however. Wheaton, where I lived for a year, has an escalator that took 5 minutes to get from bottom to top.
                              Are you serious? That's retarded.

                              Surely you lie!
                              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                              Comment

                              • #45
                                DART is modeled after BART. What a surprise, huh?
                                Light rail that rocks.
                                Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                                "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                                He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

                                Comment

                                Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 template Next
                                Working...
                                X