7 ms·
What makes for a more pleasant experience is not necessarily the optimal choice for commuters as subway wins over trams by close to an order of magnitude in ter
by Tade0 2y ago
What makes for a more pleasant experience is not necessarily the optimal choice for commuters as subway wins over trams by close to an order of magnitude in terms of throughput.
In the city I grew up in during rush hour subway trains leave less than every two and a half minutes and pack well over a thousand commuters each. That is an impossible feat for even the best tram system, as they're limited both in vehicle and station length, not to mention speed, as you can't have 40 tonnes of metal hurtling at 80km/h through intersections.
- def_true_false 2y agoWhy can't you have trams travelling at 80km/h? That's around the max speed of some of the trams used in Europe.
- bombcar 2y agoBecause pedestrians and drivers are idiots (or if you want to be nice, have lapses in judgement). Whereas it is possible to have a subway where it’s completely impossible to get on the tracks without heavy equipment or the right keys.
- Tade0 2y agoBecause at that speed its braking distance is close to 200 metres, so you need to separate such a vehicle from the rest of the traffic. There exist implementations of this, but it's essentially a train with extra steps.