tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737980321158585254.post3551468270291154273..comments2024-03-22T16:45:17.544-04:00Comments on Acts of Minor Treason: Tunnel Visions: San Francisco's Muni MetroPhoebe Bartonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10457452561340581723noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737980321158585254.post-16441829804522669282013-03-28T18:27:22.663-04:002013-03-28T18:27:22.663-04:00The real reason the Muni Metro stations not shared...The real reason the Muni Metro stations not shared with BART are long is because of the original Boeing Vertol LRVs that the system used. These trains were actually shorter than the current trains. What this allowed was three car trains in the stations, rather than the maximum length two car trains now. It actually used to be common for a two car train of one line to be linked to a one car train of another line while in the subway. Once reaching West Portal station the cars would be unlinked and go their separate ways. This provided better headways because some of the cars of the different lines didn't need to keep a buffer distance between them in the subway. Sadly, because the new LRVs are longer they can't be linked this way because three car sets of these trains would be too long for the platforms that aren't shared with BART further out at Church, Castro, Forest Hill, and West Portal.<br /><br />Trains now wait in the tunnels outside the station to A) provide greater safety distance between trains, and, more importantly, B) keep people from getting upset that the train has entered the station but hasn't opened its doors yet to let them out. This would also mean people would come running down the platform from the boarding area to get ON, and the driver would have to wait for them rather than being able to pull up to the proper boarding area. In the end this could add cascading delays into the system.Lun Esexhttp://twitter.com/LunaticSXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737980321158585254.post-56986153223519505102011-06-22T00:51:02.959-04:002011-06-22T00:51:02.959-04:00Second, the stations are long because sometimes tw...<i>Second, the stations are long because sometimes two or even three separate trains are in the station at the same time. When I lived at Castro St. in 1993, you would often see one train enter, stop, and then a second train creep in behind it.</i><br /><br />Thanks for the note! Does explain a bit - though I didn't observe anything like that while I was there; instead, it seemed like the next train would wait just outside the station until the first one departed, and only then would it enter itself.Phoebe Bartonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10457452561340581723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737980321158585254.post-37005359078530206702011-06-21T12:53:14.538-04:002011-06-21T12:53:14.538-04:00A couple of points:
First, there is a Google app ...A couple of points:<br /><br />First, there is a Google app that show the routes through San Francisco. The F route, when you bring it up, not only identifies the position of the cars, it also has a small icon showing which car is at each position. See<br /><br />http://www.nextmuni.com/googleMap/googleMap.jsp?a=sf-muni&r=F#<br /><br />Second, the stations are long because sometimes two or even three separate trains are in the station at the same time. When I lived at Castro St. in 1993, you would often see one train enter, stop, and then a second train creep in behind it.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06534842755063770798noreply@blogger.com