From: fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu (Aaron Priven)
Newsgroups: ba.transportation
Subject: Re: We need an FAQ list
Keywords: FAQ frequently answered question proposed
Date: 28 Aug 92 07:58:27 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz (College Eight)
NNTP-Posting-Host: am.ucsc.edu

Some people suggested by e-mail that I separate Bay Area and 
general terms, which strikes me as a good idea, and mention 
Amtrak as the new operator of CalTrain, which I will do. 
 
In article <p1bq9dg@sgi.sgi.com> jeremy@classic.asd.sgi.com (Jeremy Higdon) writes:
>In article <17e1adINNlsi@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>, fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu (Aaron Priven) writes:
>> 
>> Metro -- term used for rail rapid transit in various areas, i.e., 
>>    Washington D.C., Paris, San Francisco's "Muni Metro." 
>
>San Francisco's Muni Metro is actually a light rail system.  BART is
>basically a Metro system, as is MARTA, CTA, etc.  Metro is generally
>synonymous with heavy rail (but not commuter rail).  It generally
>operates completely grade separated.
 
This was MTC's definition, including Muni Metro.  (I added 
Paris.)  I'd be happy to replace it for a better one...  Maybe 
it's one of those things that doesn't really need to be defined; 
I'm not sure.
 
In article <1992Aug26.183214.20372@ntmtv> adrian@ntmtv.UUCP (Adrian Brandt) writes:
>In article <17e1adINNlsi@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>, fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu (Aaron Priven) writes:
>|> CalTrain -- A diesel-powered railroad on standard gauge rail from 
>
>CalTrain seems more like a "service" than a "railroad" to me.  I'd
>start the entry: "A diesel-powered commuter rail *service* ..."
 
Right.  Of course.  Consider it done.
 
>|> Fixed guideway system -- a transit system with an exclusive passageway 
>
>This definition suggests that street-running light rail system is not
>a "fixed guideway system".   The term "fixed guideway" suggests only
>that the guideway is fixed, and says nothing about exclusivity of the
>passageway.
 
Okay.  How about:
 
Fixed guideway system -- a transit system with a set route and 
   and vehicles which cannot operate off this route.  Usually a 
   rail system, but not always.
 
>|> Gauge 
 
>Right, 56.5 inches = 4 ft. + 8.5 inches.   You could say standard
>gauge is what most railroads in the *world* use (vs. just N. America).
 
Oh.  Okay.
 
>|> Guideway -- a supporting physical structure in or upon which transit 
>|>    vehicles travel. 
 
>A guideway is that which "guides" the transit vehicle.  So a road is
>more of a guideline than a guideway since a bus driver can always veer
>off the road if he/she likes :-).  I suppose if the road has good crash
>railings and/or highway/sound walls, you could argue it is a guideway!
>Guideways are almost always tracks, but could be other things like a
>mono-rail guideway or the guideway that pulls your car through a car wash.
 
Wouldn't the use of "fixed guideways" imply that other guideways 
like roads would not be "fixed"?
 
>|> Heavy rail ...
>|>
>|> Light rail ...
>
>The light/heavy distinction is tricky and somewhat blurry in the middle.
> ...
 
That was interesting but I don't know how to put it in the 
definition list.  What I wrote originally, before I started 
putting MTC's definitions in, was "Heavy rail -- rail with big 
cars" and "Light rail -- rail with small cars".  Sounds like I 
was pretty much right.
 
I wish one of you nice knowledgeable folks would take a minute 
and do this.  So far, I have
 
Heavy rail -- See light rail for definition.
 
Light rail -- Light rail and heavy rail actually refer to the 
   kinds of vehicles, not the tracks themselves.  Light rail 
   usually means relatively small rail cars with their own 
   engines; in other words, a modern streetcar.  Heavy rail 
   usually means everything else, but especially regular 
   railroad equipment that is designed to run on the same tracks 
   and systems as standard freight rail.  These are fuzzy terms.
 
 
>|> Off peak period -- the period in the day when the demand for transit 
>|>    and highway space is the least (non-commute hours). 
>                           ^^^^^^^^^
>Not necessarily when demand is the least, but when demand is less than
>the "peak".  
 
Right.
 
Off peak period -- not at the commute times when demand for 
   transit and highway space is the most.  In practice, this 
   means any time but 6-9 a.m. and 3:30-6:30 p.m. weekdays. 
 
>|> Park and ride -- an auto parking facility for the transit user at 
>|>    transit stops or terminals, to pick-up or drop off passengers. 
>                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Pick-up/drop-off is increasingly being refered to as "kiss-and-ride".
>This is different from park and ride in that only short-term parking
>is required for these folks, since they don't park a car there all
>day (their significant other drives it away after the kiss).
 
Right.  I really dislike the term 'kiss-and-ride' for some 
reason I can't explain.  It just seems condescending somehow.  
Oh well, I suppose it's just me.
 
Park and ride -- an auto parking facility for the transit user at 
   transit stops or terminals, where the automobile is stored
   until the rider returns.
 
Kiss and ride -- a very short-term parking facility where 
   passengers are dropped off or picked up by motorists.
 
>|> Rapid transit -- passenger trains propelled by on-board electric 
>|>    motors drawing power from a third rail or other external power 
>|>    source.  Has exclusive grade-separated right-of-way and platform 
>|>    loading at stations. 
>
>The only thing rapid transit has to be is rapid and transit.  I'll
>conceed that it almost always refers to rail of some kind (sorry
>Jeremy), but the rest of the requirements given in the above
>definition are questionable.  If BART were nuclear, or if BART had
>some at-grade crossings (it does, they're just not public) it wouldn't
>be rapid transit?
 
Someone e-mailed me about this.  It's another one of MTC's 
definitions.  I wouldn't have put it in at all except I had been 
thinking about what to call BART technology except "BART 
technology."  It's not light rail, it's not heavy rail, "subway" 
doesn't really describe it, it's... it's... I thought, briefly, 
perhaps "rapid transit" was a term transit types in general used 
for it.  Of course, this isn't true, and if I'd considered it at 
length I'd have realized that the "rapid" is just a term of 
wishful thinking, that other agencies like Southern California 
RTD use the term, and so on.  I'll get rid of it.
 
>|> SPTCo -- Southern Pacific Transportation Company.  Same as "SP", 
>|>    "SPT". 
>
>Same as SPRR too.  Isn't it known as a railroad by most people?
 
Okay, SPRR, and also "The Octopus" :)
 
Thanks everyone for the comments.  I'll post an updated version of
the whole list soon.

 =Aaron=
-- 
Aaron Priven, aaronrp@ucscb.ucsc.edu or fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu
  Bring in the workers, and bring up the rails;
  We're gonna lay down the tracks, and tear up the trails. 
  Open her heart, let the life-blood flow,
  Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow.
    -- Gordon Lightfoot, "Canadian Railroad Trilogy"