5 ms·

I feel like people always approach this question from a cost perspective. Ive actually literally had people insinuate that if they used standard guage, they cou

I feel like people always approach this question from a cost perspective. Ive actually literally had people insinuate that if they used standard guage, they could somehow just repurpose existing trains or existing parts. I do wonder how much that plays a role. I suspect not much. Bombardier or Kawasaki or whoever is going to mill everything from scratch. And deck heights whatnot would probably make repurposing very expensive. Build for what makes sense.

bobthepanda 4y ago
To some degree, there is sharing of parts and carbodies. Most of the subway systems built around the era of the DC Metro have compatible specifications, most new systems today (and soon Caltrain) use a lot of slightly modified Stadler European rolling stock, etc. And even if not the entire car can just be taken, a lot of the pieces are also modular, but BART doesn't really benefit from any of that. The bigger issue is that they can't use existing railroad rights of way without expensively converting the gauge or building a whole new set of tracks. A bunch of proposed/new extensions are just regular standard gauge rail to deal with that issue.
- m0llusk 4y ago
  If your goal is to make cars that are 38% lighter than other rolling stock then you are not going to want to make use of the parts from the heavier cars.
  - gsnedders 4y ago
    Okay, but for example Stadler's Metro can be configured such that it's lighter than the original BART stock. (I don't believe there's currently any in operation in the US; most of what's in the US is FLIRT/KISS based, which are decidedly heavier stock designed for non-rapid-transit usage.)
    - bobthepanda 4y ago
      Atlanta just ordered some.
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    The issue is that the fleet is so custom that it took over 40 years to replace them, and the replacements had issues since a new company had to do it (the original exited the train business.)
legitster 4y ago
Not necessarily. Trucks are one of the most expensive parts of a train car, but can largely be interchangeable. As I understand it, they essentially have to be custom made for the BART.
the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
It plays a massive role for logistics. A compatible gage means you can transport a train by train. It’s quite common to even transport underground cars on tram networks if they exist to bring them closer to the destination. Sometimes tram networks are even completely connected to subway lines to allow trains to go on and off without lifting.
flomo 4y ago
This was the railfan argument for years, but BART replacement cars were priced similarly to standard cars. Modern mass transit cars are built on customized production lines, so there really isn't any economy of scales they are missing out on.

bobthepanda 4y ago

To some degree, there is sharing of parts and carbodies. Most of the subway systems built around the era of the DC Metro have compatible specifications, most new systems today (and soon Caltrain) use a lot of slightly modified Stadler European rolling stock, etc. And even if not the entire car can just be taken, a lot of the pieces are also modular, but BART doesn't really benefit from any of that. The bigger issue is that they can't use existing railroad rights of way without expensively converting the gauge or building a whole new set of tracks. A bunch of proposed/new extensions are just regular standard gauge rail to deal with that issue.

m0llusk 4y ago
If your goal is to make cars that are 38% lighter than other rolling stock then you are not going to want to make use of the parts from the heavier cars.
- gsnedders 4y ago
  Okay, but for example Stadler's Metro can be configured such that it's lighter than the original BART stock. (I don't believe there's currently any in operation in the US; most of what's in the US is FLIRT/KISS based, which are decidedly heavier stock designed for non-rapid-transit usage.)
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    Atlanta just ordered some.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  The issue is that the fleet is so custom that it took over 40 years to replace them, and the replacements had issues since a new company had to do it (the original exited the train business.)

legitster 4y ago

Not necessarily. Trucks are one of the most expensive parts of a train car, but can largely be interchangeable. As I understand it, they essentially have to be custom made for the BART.

the_mitsuhiko 4y ago

It plays a massive role for logistics. A compatible gage means you can transport a train by train. It’s quite common to even transport underground cars on tram networks if they exist to bring them closer to the destination. Sometimes tram networks are even completely connected to subway lines to allow trains to go on and off without lifting.

flomo 4y ago

This was the railfan argument for years, but BART replacement cars were priced similarly to standard cars. Modern mass transit cars are built on customized production lines, so there really isn't any economy of scales they are missing out on.