urbanMSP

I thought I would start a new topic on the New LRV. Here is the link from the old fourm topic. http://minnescraper.com/forums/viewtopi ... 9a2cd27800

LRV# 202 will be delivered today.

The new Siemens S70 LRV will be revealed to the public on Wednesday Oct. 10, 2012 at Target Field Station. The new Siemens S70 LRV # 201 and the repainted Bombardier Flexity Swift LRV # 104 will pull in to the station at 1:30 pm. The LRVs will be painted in the new METRO brand.

Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh will be on hand with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, St Paul and Minneapolis mayors, and commissioner from Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

I am looking forward to seeing both the new LRV and the repainted Bombardier LRV. I am going to try to go to the ceremony and get some photos...

A few shots from today as #201 sat in the yard at the Franklin Avenue maintenance facility. I had initially gone down to Lake Street since I wanted to see if the new unit arrived early like the last time, but it wasn't there yet. However, it did look like the tail track had been realigned to make way for the new electrical substation (and that site is now fenced off).


img_6109 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6110 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6114 by Mulad, on Flickr

^ sure does look pretty!

Although I don't see the LED sign on the side of the LRT train! ...does that mean they will not include a side sign option to identify the blue from the green lines? ... If not it's not the end of the world again the only confusion would be all of 5 downtown stations. That and maybe they will have a loud speaker voice at the station announcing the color line? ... and again why do I keep bringing it up like it's front page news!

Nice!
The first of many more to come.

I, too, am hoping for automated train announcements at the platforms.

"This is a Green Line train to St. Paul Union Depot"
"This is a Blue Line train to Mall of America"
"This is a Blue Line train to Target Field"
etc.

I'm sure that they're all snazzy and new, but I think that I prefer the look of the old trains. They seemed more aerodynamic and fluid -- these ones feel a bit more boxy.

I, too, am hoping for automated train announcements at the platforms.

"This is a Green Line train to St. Paul Union Depot"
"This is a Blue Line train to Mall of America"
"This is a Blue Line train to Target Field"
etc.

I was thinking more "Beep" 1-2 sec. pause "St. Paul Union Depot. Green Line"
I think after a few months the whole thing "This is a blank line" would get pretty "Uncool" really fast!

I, too, am hoping for automated train announcements at the platforms.

"This is a Green Line train to St. Paul Union Depot"
"This is a Blue Line train to Mall of America"
"This is a Blue Line train to Target Field"
etc.

I was thinking more "Beep" 1-2 sec. pause "St. Paul Union Depot. Green Line"
I think after a few months the whole thing "This is a blank line" would get pretty "Uncool" really fast!

I dunno man, I'm thinking it should be more something like what you said, but instead of a 1-2 sec. pause maybe a 2-3 sec. pause and maybe add a beep to the end of it too.

How bout instead of a single beep, it does that riff from Funkytown?

Edit: you know, bee-beep-boop-BEEP-boop, boo-boop-beep-boo-boop.

I do legitimately think it would be a good idea to ditch the current cut-to-the-bone buzzer noises with nicer chimes. I'm fond of the SNCF jingle:

[BBvideo 425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbDwzNN2PuA[/BBvideo]

How bout instead of a single beep, it does that riff from Funkytown?

Edit: you know, bee-beep-boop-BEEP-boop, boo-boop-beep-boo-boop.

Oh, yeah. I know. I'd cook up bogus excuses to ride the LRT if it did that.

The ultimate in city branding -- sort of like the twangy banjo music on the Denver airport tram.

I'm sure that they're all snazzy and new, but I think that I prefer the look of the old trains. They seemed more aerodynamic and fluid -- these ones feel a bit more boxy.

I agree, I also like the look of the Type I. The Portland Max Type 4 LRVs are also Siemens S70 units, but I think they look a lot sleeker than our units.

Does each LRV feature a driver cab on each end? The Portland LRVs have a driver cab on one end and extra seating in a U configuration on the other end. This would work great on the Central Corridor unless they are planning on operating 1 car trains during certain hours.

Car two is currently sitting next to the lrt tracks between Franklin and Lake.

How bout instead of a single beep, it does that riff from Funkytown?

Edit: you know, bee-beep-boop-BEEP-boop, boo-boop-beep-boo-boop.

Oh, yeah. I know. I'd cook up bogus excuses to ride the LRT if it did that.

The ultimate in city branding -- sort of like the twangy banjo music on the Denver airport tram.

Once we hear "Soliciting and gambling are prohibited on Metro vehicles." we'll know we're all growns up.

The Portland units are unique for being single-ended. Aside from heritage streetcar operations, I don't think there are many single-ended light rail vehicles anywhere, really. I think operators outside the U.S. tend to purchase longer vehicles when they need additional capacity, but I'm not aware of any companies making longer LRVs for U.S. consumption.

I believe the Portland Siemens LRVs always run as married pairs of 2-car trains. The short block length of Downtown Portland prevents trains longer than 2 cars. I suppose Metro Transit could have 2 single ended cars together, and add a third when it is needed, but that seems like it would be logistically hard to organize. For instance, the third car would have to be facing the correct direction when it would be coupled onto the 2-car train, and 1-car trains would be impossible (not that they are frequently used here). A few extra seats may not be worth the added complexity.

How bout instead of a single beep, it does that riff from Funkytown?

Edit: you know, bee-beep-boop-BEEP-boop, boo-boop-beep-boo-boop.

Oh, yeah. I know. I'd cook up bogus excuses to ride the LRT if it did that.

The ultimate in city branding -- sort of like the twangy banjo music on the Denver airport tram.

Once we hear "Soliciting and gambling are prohibited on Metro vehicles." we'll know we're all growns up.

CTA says this, right? I was also pretty impressed that even their buses have prerecorded stop information.

Some shots from today:


img_6135 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6158 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6174 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6176 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6181 by Mulad, on Flickr

The new trains use video cameras instead of rear-view mirrors:


img_6177 by Mulad, on Flickr


img_6182 by Mulad, on Flickr

The middle section is the only part where seats face each other. It's also where the mid-vehicle destination board is mounted. It has room for at least 16 people, unlike the middle section of the Bombardiers which only holds 4.


img_6155 by Mulad, on Flickr

The seating up on the high-floor section now all faces toward the middle section. Note also the off-white interior rather than yellow and the traditional straps rather than the weird plastic ones on the Bombardiers.


img_6183-rotate by Mulad, on Flickr

And just because this is the only shot I got of Chris Coleman smiling, I figure I may as well use it:


img_6170 by Mulad, on Flickr

I'm sure that they're all snazzy and new, but I think that I prefer the look of the old trains. They seemed more aerodynamic and fluid -- these ones feel a bit more boxy.

The Bombardiers are French-Canadian; the Siemens are German. Of course the French ones were more aerodynamic and fluid; but the new ones will probably put in more years of gruntwork service.