A very powerful ending. I always love reading your articles and this was no exception!!
One point I would like to ask about. You state that "If stations are too far apart, then the automobile comes in play as a competitive mode". Could you perhaps expand on this? My understanding is that if the stations are too *closely* packed, then a train ride becomes slow compared to driving. Hence, people would prefer cars if stations are too close, but how does far apart stations affect things?
Hey Ahasan, always appreciate your support. I think Metro systems where stations are too closed are usually surrounded by dense housing or commerce in the immediate vicinity (in the US, such close station distances are usually reserved for downtowns only). In dense neighborhoods, cars suffer due to traffic. If stations are too far apart, a potential rider behaviorally may prefer automobile solutions, whether it be their own car or a taxi/rideshare.
Observation #5 is the one that always kills me. Local planners and city governments can struggle for years to do what, in many cases, a national level policy/decree/funding splurge can do much faster and on a broader scale. Sometimes makes me wish we had some kind of equivalent Transit Czar in the US!
it’s a hard pill, especially if you work in the industry. I believe localism and regionalism can certainly improve transit experiences in meaningful ways but to transform the systems it requires national level interest and funding -- and for a sustained period, like decades -- to yield the true fruits many developed countries are now reaping
For sure! You need both, and I certainly don't want to undervalue the local-level actors. Just somewhat lamenting that if you only have one without the other it's hard to achieve those "fruits" that you're talking about
I will come back to study more, but train length depends a lot on the location and demand too. Hong Kong trains are so long that it can take 3 or more minutes to walk the length of the platform, but train frequencies are never more than 8 minutes long, and most of the day run under 5 minutes, with peak times of about 1 minute. One can argue that more tracks are needed but the narrow zones of development make it difficult except maybe in the N.T. area.
100%. I didn't discuss the long platforms (which Paris, Madrid and Barcelona have in spades too). Dense central location + great frequencies = high ridership, every time it seems
Yes, I think there is this false economy where they couple and de-couple trains to bring in differing lengths through out the day. I noticed this in the UK and USA in particular. In Hong Kong there is only one line which has a platform longer than the trains that currently run on it, but in all cases they keep the trains the same size for the whole day.
Service / Signage was a nightmare in both Berlin and Hamburg when I visited in 2020, and the most frustrating item was twice we went down long twisting passages only to find at the end they were closed off for maintenance. My other frustration was the refusal to cue up on platforms during rush hour but rather a mad shoving match between people disembarking and embarking, not something I expected in Germany of all European nations. Seems a small investment in infrastructure and paint might help bring some order.
A very powerful ending. I always love reading your articles and this was no exception!!
One point I would like to ask about. You state that "If stations are too far apart, then the automobile comes in play as a competitive mode". Could you perhaps expand on this? My understanding is that if the stations are too *closely* packed, then a train ride becomes slow compared to driving. Hence, people would prefer cars if stations are too close, but how does far apart stations affect things?
Hey Ahasan, always appreciate your support. I think Metro systems where stations are too closed are usually surrounded by dense housing or commerce in the immediate vicinity (in the US, such close station distances are usually reserved for downtowns only). In dense neighborhoods, cars suffer due to traffic. If stations are too far apart, a potential rider behaviorally may prefer automobile solutions, whether it be their own car or a taxi/rideshare.
Observation #5 is the one that always kills me. Local planners and city governments can struggle for years to do what, in many cases, a national level policy/decree/funding splurge can do much faster and on a broader scale. Sometimes makes me wish we had some kind of equivalent Transit Czar in the US!
it’s a hard pill, especially if you work in the industry. I believe localism and regionalism can certainly improve transit experiences in meaningful ways but to transform the systems it requires national level interest and funding -- and for a sustained period, like decades -- to yield the true fruits many developed countries are now reaping
For sure! You need both, and I certainly don't want to undervalue the local-level actors. Just somewhat lamenting that if you only have one without the other it's hard to achieve those "fruits" that you're talking about
Very helpful. Thanks!
Thoughtful post, thanks for writing it (and jealous of your vacation!)
excellent as usual
I will come back to study more, but train length depends a lot on the location and demand too. Hong Kong trains are so long that it can take 3 or more minutes to walk the length of the platform, but train frequencies are never more than 8 minutes long, and most of the day run under 5 minutes, with peak times of about 1 minute. One can argue that more tracks are needed but the narrow zones of development make it difficult except maybe in the N.T. area.
100%. I didn't discuss the long platforms (which Paris, Madrid and Barcelona have in spades too). Dense central location + great frequencies = high ridership, every time it seems
Yes, I think there is this false economy where they couple and de-couple trains to bring in differing lengths through out the day. I noticed this in the UK and USA in particular. In Hong Kong there is only one line which has a platform longer than the trains that currently run on it, but in all cases they keep the trains the same size for the whole day.
Service / Signage was a nightmare in both Berlin and Hamburg when I visited in 2020, and the most frustrating item was twice we went down long twisting passages only to find at the end they were closed off for maintenance. My other frustration was the refusal to cue up on platforms during rush hour but rather a mad shoving match between people disembarking and embarking, not something I expected in Germany of all European nations. Seems a small investment in infrastructure and paint might help bring some order.