Union Pearson Express debuts

[bikkuri bahn]

Airport access line in Toronto. This past Saturday, June 6. Nippon Sharyo built, powered by Cummins.

Edited June 8, 2015 by bikkuri bahn

[miyakoji]

I was pleasantly surprised when that high platform came along :)

[bikkuri bahn]

It seems a segment of rail transit activists in America dislike high platforms- typically ones that want European low-floor designs.

[kvp]

High platform rolling stock is easier and cheaper to build, but thanks to the US freight clearance requirements much harder to deploy on mixed use tracks. Low floor stock is harder to build well and can be more expensive, but platforms are cheap and there are no problems with clearances. Japan solved this problem with very tight freight clearances, something that is not realistic in the USA. It's interesting that double decker trains can be built to both high and low floor platorms without extra work and there are some variants that support both.

 

Personally i think since the conventional platform heights in Europe were low (even as low as being level with the rail heads), so using low floor stock makes sense. In the UK and Japan, where only high floor platforms and stock were used for the mainlines, having high floor only is the logical way. The US has a history of mixing both, having high platforms for urban and suburban lines, while using low platforms for interurbans and streetcars and even convertible stock for long distance trains. The latter is not really barrier free thanks to the steps, so each line must standardize on one by considering existing infrastructure, interoperability and any ovearhead/freight clearances present.

[E6系]

So sorry, but it looks like a "Decepticon" ... so I'm sending my "Railbot" to take it out !!! ;)