Montreal has had computerized subway operation since before 1976 (it was in place by the 76 Olympics).
No train operators' jobs were lost. They still sit at their post with a big red mushroom button ready to be pushed in case an emergency stop is required. Along with one other train operator (who sits in the driver's compartment of the last car) he also operates the passenger doors. I am sure that if Seattle or any other city implemented automatic operation of their subways operators would still be required as a "set of eyes" for emergencies, even if some sort of hazard sensing system were installed. A few have mentioned how close to the platform edge some in this photo are. Some of Toronto's older stations have very narrow platforms. I guess they didn't have the foresight in the early fifties to see today's crowds. Even so, with one person standing against the wall there is barely room for a person to pass by without being on the yellow warning strip. I know I feel uncomfortable. When a train comes into this station and others with narrow platforms I prefer to stand with my back flat against the wall; not that I'm afraid of a "pusher" as much as an inadvertent bump by a passerby. Very poor design no matter when they were made... Thanks to all who commented and looked! cheers, frank --- Original Message --- From: Joseph McAllister <[email protected]> Sent: February 25, 2013 2/25/13 To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: PESO - I See The Train A'Coming IMHO having computer controlled car sets would make this easy to implement. Unfortunately, at least here in Seattle, I don't believe unionized drivers would give up the controls, knowing management would want to pay them less for working in a less dangerous environment. So goes the world. On Feb 24, 2013, at 20:05 , Bob Sullivan wrote: > Not to difficult if all the cars run on the line, old and new, have > the same length and > doors in the same place on the car. It's a matter of physical dimensions > on the capital equipment you already own. > > On Sun, Feb 24, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Bob W <[email protected]> wrote: >>> From: PDML [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Sessoms >> [...] >>>> >>>> I saw on TV recently a shot of a subway station somewhere where they >>>> had fully enclosed the platform with doors that match up with where >>>> the train stops (imagine like a horizontal elevator). May have been >>>> the series about great cities hosted by Gryff Rhys Jones. Something >>>> tells me it was Tokyo but I'm not sure. >>>> >>>> It made me wonder why other cities haven't done this. >>>> >>>> Cheers, >>>> Dave >>> >>> The subways in Hong Kong and Beijing both had those kind of barriers. I >>> can't remember if Nanjing had them or not, but I think they did. >>> >>> It would probably be *very* expensive to retro-fit them to existing >>> systems. You not only have to install the door mechanism, but find some >>> way to make the trains stop in exactly the right spot every time so >>> they line up with the doors. >> >> I don't think it would be particularly difficult. The trains have to stop in >> more or less the same place anyway, and regulars get to know where the doors >> are. >> >> When they built the Jubilee Line extension here a few years ago they put >> platform doors on at the new stations, but the old stations still don't have >> them, so there is a mixture on the one line. For a few weeks after the new >> ones opened there was the occasional delay while they lined the trains up, >> but that was just teething trouble, presumably until they got the tolerances >> right and all the drivers fully trained. >> >> It's far more convenient than having unpredictable delays and line closures >> because some selfish sod has thrown themself in front of a train. >> >> B Joseph McAllister [email protected] “If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug a camera.” –Lewis Hine -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
