Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[SgtCampsalot]

2 hours ago, XRZ.ME said:

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-04-17-sugar-creek-bridge.aspx

Sugar Creek Bridge has finally been finished

So who knows when Craighead will permanently closed (R.I.P.)?

[uptownliving]

I was on a Lynx train up front the other day and was able to see into the operator cab where at every stop the operator would count to 5 before pushing the button to open the doors. Not sure why this is happening but it is very intentional and part of their policy. A very annoying policy at that. Let me off this damn train!

[Scribe]

1 hour ago, uptownliving said:

Not sure why this is happening but it is very intentional and part of their policy. A very annoying policy at that. Let me off this damn train!

There needs to be an reaction emoji for times like this...

[Desert Power]

2 hours ago, uptownliving said:

I was on a Lynx train up front the other day and was able to see into the operator cab where at every stop the operator would count to 5 before pushing the button to open the doors. Not sure why this is happening but it is very intentional and part of their policy. A very annoying policy at that. Let me off this damn train!

What the hell

[Matthew.Brendan]

Anything they can do to slow the ride down 

I routinely see people pushing the "door open" buttons after we arrive at the station and of course they don't work anyway, so..... 

[Rufus]

5 hours ago, uptownliving said:

I was on a Lynx train up front the other day and was able to see into the operator cab where at every stop the operator would count to 5 before pushing the button to open the doors. Not sure why this is happening but it is very intentional and part of their policy. A very annoying policy at that. Let me off this damn train!

This is actually pretty standard, even in NYC. There's usually a delay before the doors open to help mitigate the slam that happens when people on the train crowd the door, and people off the train crowd the platform. It allows for some calming to make sure there isn't a stampede. Not sure what the volumes look like at the stations to require this on LYNX, but it isn't out of the norm. 

[uptownliving]

Trust me the 5 second wait time is not normal for any rapid transit line. I've ridden subways and rails on 4 continents of this Earth and none of them have had a 5 second delay. Also trust me it doesn't prevent crowding as it allows more time for more people to walk up to the door and wait for it to open. A 1 second delay is normal. 5 second delay is obnoxious.

[videtur quam contuor]

I rode the LRT to UNCC and back today as an outing. At UNC while stretching legs the operator was also outside and I chatted briefly. I told him I was a former operator of Car 85 and he MAY HAVE invited me into his cab, although that would be a BREACH OF SECURITY so he probably DID NOT do so. It is a newer car purchased for the extension line and it has a single door operating switch on the right that toggles up and down for left and right. He said some operators are a bit confused/familiar with the other cars that have left side door switches on left side and right side switches on right side. They sometimes open doors on the wrong side, a serious safety issue. Also related to the slowness of progress near stations he said the safety staff requires this approach. There is ATP all along the line, which means it is operator control completely, overriding the automatic smooth function meant to deliver speed and seamless feeling to passengers. Again, a safety overriding decision.

I timed his route from UNCC to 7th street and he was 1-2 minutes behind at 7th compared to the published schedule. There was one auto crossing where he stopped completely with the gates down nonetheless.

[uptownliving]

Well I could certainly see where that would be confusing considering how otherwise similar the trains are. But that also seems like something that could be remedied with training and extra signage on the dashboard. When you add it up this extra 5 sec wait adds almost 2 minutes the travel time.

[Nick2]

They shouldn't stop or even have to slow much at the at-grade crossings. Let drivers who ignore the gates win some Darwin awards and eventually people will wise up. I'm mostly kidding (mostly) but it's ridiculous that they have to stop. That's the main cause of slower times.

[tozmervo]

I highly highly recommend contacting [email protected] with this complaint if you feel like this supposed "safety" issue is uneccessarily adding time to a trip that is already several minutes longer than what CATS promised. 

[elrodvt]

It not like there are ever enough people to worry about a stampede either except during special events. WHEN THEY SHOULD STACK UP MORE TRAINS!!!

[grodney]

14 hours ago, uptownliving said:

Trust me the 5 second wait time is not normal for any rapid transit line. 

And it wasn't happening until about a month ago.  

[Desert Power]

3 hours ago, grodney said:

18 hours ago, uptownliving said:

Trust me the 5 second wait time is not normal for any rapid transit line. 

And it wasn't happening until about a month ago.  

Started after the All-Star game

[kermit]

21 hours ago, tozmervo said:

I highly highly recommend contacting [email protected] with this complaint if you feel like this supposed "safety" issue is uneccessarily adding time to a trip that is already several minutes longer than what CATS promised. 

Thanks to toz's very helpful tip I emailed CATS earlier today. Here was the response they sent:

Quote

Hello Mr./Ms. Kermit

Thank you for bringing your concern with CATS Lynx to our attention.  We apologize for your displeasure regarding the door policy.  The door policies are state and/or federal transportation regulations and are unable to be changed.  Please use the online schedule to view all scheduled times.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.  Thank you for riding CATS Lynx.

Regards,

Rail Operations Administrative Assistant
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)

704-336-RIDE(7433) | [email protected]

So now I am even more ticked off than before. We all know that regulation is not the issue here. Why did they decide to outright lie about this?

Edit: I did follow up and asked for more specifics on the state or federal policy. No reply as of COB on Friday....

Edited April 26, 2019 by kermit

[Desert Power]

7 minutes ago, kermit said:

Thanks to toz's very helpful tip I emailed CATS earlier today. Here was the response they sent:

So now I am even more ticked off than before. We all know that regulation is not the issue here. Why did they decide to outright lie about this?

Ridiculous 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, kermit said:

Thanks to toz's very helpful tip I emailed CATS earlier today. Here was the response they sent:

So now I am even more ticked off than before. We all know that regulation is not the issue here. Why did they decide to outright lie about this?

They do this at my stop in Brooklyn, count to five.

[videtur quam contuor]

To be clear, in my conversation with the operator yesterday he did not say that the safety staff requires the five count due to the occasional mistakes on the operator panel by other operators. 

"They sometimes open doors on the wrong side, a serious safety issue. Also related to the slowness of progress near stations he said the safety staff requires this approach."

It is the approach slowness others have mentioned in the past that he said was required. The door issue was just a comment about equipment differences between train control panels.

[kermit]

Three people actually got off my rush hour, northbound train at 26th street. It appears Warp and Weft has actually generated ridership.

[LKN704]

A similar thing happened to Metro’s 7000 series trains in DC. I don’t know the background of the whole story (whether the operators were opening the doors on the wrong side or if the doors were opening automatically on the wrong side as the system is designed to have the train doors automatically open at every station) but anyways the train would be stopped at the station for 10-15 secs (or longer before the door would open) as the operator would have to push the door button to open it but then push another button to confirm the operator was opening the door on the correct side. I haven’t seen the long pause in a while though so I’m assuming they have this fixed. 

Edited April 27, 2019 by LKN704

[kermit]

Quote

Hello Mr./Ms. Kermit

Thank you for bringing your concern with CATS Lynx to our attention.  We apologize for your displeasure regarding the door policy.  The door policies are state and/or federal transportation regulations and are unable to be changed.  Please use the online schedule to view all scheduled times.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.  Thank you for riding CATS Lynx.

Regards,

Rail Operations Administrative Assistant

So I followed up on the "state and/or federal" regulation smoke blowing and asked them for specifics. Here was their reply today:

Quote

Hello Mr./Ms. Kermit,

Thank you for your response regarding the door policy.  This is actually a CATS (Charlotte Area Transit System) policy that coincides with our SSP (Safety Security Plan).  Our operators are required to wait five (5) seconds before opening the doors to ensure they are opening the doors on the correct side of the platform.  The operators will then keep the doors open for at least twenty (20) seconds before closing them to ensure riders have ample time to board or de-board the train; including individuals with disabilities.  If you have further questions, please reach out to CATS Marketing for written publications and additional materials.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.  Thank you for riding CATS Lynx.

Regards,

Rail Operations Administrative Assistant
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)

704-336-RIDE(7433) | [email protected]

I am at a bit of a loss as to why it takes five seconds to "ensure they are opening doors on the correct side"

Edited April 29, 2019 by kermit

[grodney]

55 minutes ago, kermit said:

I am at a bit of a loss as to why it takes five second to "ensure they are opening doors on the correct side"

And why it changed so recently.  I can only guess as a response to something bad happening.

[videtur quam contuor]

I posted Thursday that an operator on my car said other operators had opened wrong side doors. This was due to the newest cars with a single toggle switch while original cars have switches on both sides of console of cab. If the mistakes created the requirement directly, I cannot say, only CATS can answer that.

50 minutes ago, grodney said:

And why it changed so recently.  I can only guess as a response to something bad happening.

 

[kermit]

9 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

I posted Thursday that an operator on my car said other operators had opened wrong side doors. This was due to the newest cars with a single toggle switch while original cars have switches on both sides of console of cab. If the mistakes created the requirement directly, I cannot say, only CATS can answer that.

 

Yea, but it seems weird that its suddenly became a problem now. CATS has been running the dissimilar Siemens vehicle types for more than two years now.

[kermit]

People were left on the platform at 3rd street and Stonewall.

We need higher frequencies!