rbrome

Has anyone else read the M5 specs from SEPTA? There are some interesting details in there. The M5s will have offset doors, for example, and route-map displays inside (showing the next X stops and which side the doors will open), and destination displays on the front. They haven't decided the seating arrangement yet; they want the manufacturer to propose three different options. But there will be one bicycle area per car. Sadly, they will be in married pairs with end doors; I see no mention of open gangways.

For the most common type of PSD, yes. But there are other types, such as vertical and adaptable: https://www.go-straffic.com/solutions/ground_transportation/psd_vpsd.html?ckattempt=3 https://www.masats.es/en-uk/platform-adaptable-screen-doors/

I can't think of any better way to do the fairest possible side-by-side comparison of the two types.

Then it's exactly like pretty much any ATM or other payment terminal in the US. They used to read the magnetic stripe; now they read the chip. The card needs to stay in to read the chip. The chip is much more reliable, more secure, and more difficult to duplicate. That's why they don't need the zip code.

I'd love to know as well. It's impossible for most of us to say for sure, and it's unlikely the MTA or manufacturer will detail it for the public. With that said, it is fun to speculate... I can imagine a scenario where it's quite simple. People have said oil is leaking. Perhaps there's just a gasket that's poorly manufactured, or poorly designed, and replacing with a new one will fix it. Or it could even be process... something isn't being tightened enough at the factory, etc. But there are also a thousand ways it could be more complicated and more difficult to fix. The fact that they're shipping these thinking they're fine, and then they're failing so quickly and so dramatically... to me that indicates either a huge mistake somewhere, or a more complex interaction of things in a way that was difficult to predict and possibly also difficult to diagnose and/or fix.

Exactly what I mean. That would make more sense, (although the MTA might need to move to five digits for that to work well).

Two things can be true: The MTA has always done it this way. Passenger rolling stock is named by contract number, and those contracts include all kinds of random things like shop equipment. R25 was for "one wheel truing machine". Therefore the numbers have rarely been consecutive (for passenger rolling stock). They were never intended to be. It is weird how the MTA refers to passenger rolling stock fleets by contract numbers that include things as unrelated as shop equipment. It makes a teensy bit of sense at the time the contract is awarded, then zero sense for the rest of history. In any other system, these would have been the R50 or something. Just look at how every other system in the world names their passenger rolling stock, and the MTA is a complete outlier.

Right, and there was a similar situation in England. But they decided they needed 30 tph in CrossRail, and ETCS (their equivalent of PTC, I think) wasn't going to cut it. So they got creative and found a way to use CBTC. Now maybe the FRA would just never go for it. But if some transit agency here decided they really needed that, (Amtrak & NJT with the Hudson Tunnels, for example,) one would hope the FRA would consider some way to work with them on that.

Not sure this is 100% the same, but FWIW there are ways to put CBTC on a RR. I believe that was one of the more interesting things they did with CrossRail (Elizabeth Line) in London.

I've lived in Philly for almost 20 years and literally never heard that once. I think you, or someone you know, misheard "droves". No worries. Easy mistake to make.

Huh? Makes less sense to me. I assumed it was a typo and you meant "droves".

Exactly. The benefits of open gangways have been proven all over the world for decades. Is has been the standard for quite some time everywhere but here. All I hear are lazy excuses, which is really sad for a city that wants to think it's the greatest in the world.

This is the first I've heard of it. Source? The B-IVs may be old as dirt, but they still seem to run quite well. I wouldn't be surprised if SEPTA replaced the M4s before the B-IVs. ...and how are we defining NTT here? AC traction?

I reeeaaally hope the MTA waits until they can properly evaluate open gangways using the new test trains before placing any new train orders. Otherwise this whole experiment in open gangways will have been for nothing. (I think they should have waited before placing option order 1, but whatever.)

I can imagine two reasons. Without that disclaimer, someone seeing the photos might assume the photographer trespassed to get them. (They don't all always have visible fence like that.) So: 1. If the viewer was an MTA employee or police officer, they might assume the photos were evidence of the crime of trespassing and take action that could be turn into quite a hassle for the photographer. Best to avoid that just in case. 2. If the viewer were some stupid kid looking for stupid sh-t to do (as kids often do) it might inspire them to trespass. Better to set a good example by not trespassing, and to make that clear to everyone.