Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Amtrak Hiwartha Current/Electric Zephyr sounds too good to be true...🤔 220
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 06/10/2026On my Empire Sevice train today: “...The train is packed today like usual, so please make all seats available” The coaches are literally twice my age, one to one replacement with Airos ain't enough, more like two or three to one 😭 020
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 02/10/2026cutest way I've seen anyone describing systems testing and trial runs 020
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Per the same press release, a second report on ridership estimate of the corridor is going to be released later. www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/news-rele...pbo-dpb.caPBO report assesses costs and economic impacts of Alto’s Eastern Corridor high-speed rail project 010
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/10/2026"The government adopted legislation with Bills C-5 and C-15 that aim to mitigate the types of governance, legal and project management risks seen in the UK and US." 120
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Per accompanying press release: "The PBO analysis assumes that planning and construction for the Alto route proceed in a manner consistent with past European high-speed rail projects, rather than the UK or US experience." 130
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/10/2026@chittimarco.bsky.social is asked by Radio-Can to comment on the report! Congrats! 150
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The Canadian Parliamentary Budget Office hased released a preliminary cost-estimate study for the Alto HSR Project with Transit Cost Project's HSR costs dataset, amongst many other professional and academic studies on the topic. www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/publicati...pbo-dpb.caCanada’s Eastern Corridor High-Speed Rail: A Cost Analysis using Global Data 231
Reposted by Franklin TangNolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 01/10/2026This thread has the video of the MTA rolling stock group chief's presentation to the MTA board; plus the slides as presented to the board; plus the letter from the Governor to the feds asking for a tariff exemption for Made in America (Buy America compliant) buses and trains. 183
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 28/09/2026If China Rail are to do nee commuter rail, it would almost always result in spending billions on emulating the worst NA commuter rail for different reasons. New mainlines suitable would almost always be re-emphasized to dual use corridors, which isnt helpful for frequency or reliability at all 020
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026China Rail's reluctance to perform commuter rail operations is also at a small partial fault. Their nation-sized, 155-220 mph of a New York City Subway is already complex enough to operate on a daily basis. There is also little historical precedent for them to do anything remotely commuter. 040
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The retreat of rapid transit based planning is both because rapid transit simply employs a smaller supply chain than EVs, circulating public money between CRRC subsidiaries and municipal coffers isn't efficient, and the wishful thinking of commuter towns never truly materialized. 140
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Suzhou and Ningbo, the former being the most prosperous municipality in China and the latter being the second most prosperous city after Shenzhen in the list of Municipalities with independent planning status, also have their future regional express metro plans currently on hold. 120
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Beijing's equivalent of Tokyo Airport Access Express (shown as dotted blue line in this image) is also in limbo. 110
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Guangzhou Metro Line 28 (Foshan-Guangzhou-Dongguan) Intercity Regional is also massively scaled back, with Foshan and Dongguan section delayed and the Guangzhou section currently misses a key transfer station with Guangzhou Line 10. 230
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026The express metro network (overlaid on Metro Phase 2/3 constructions) first teased in 2023 is pretty much dead for Shanghai. 120
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 27/09/2026If DC can get their stuff together, the US might be faster than China in re-establishing a high speed regional rail transit for the majority of its metro regions. Due to some hiccups, regional express metro in mainland China are all but on indefinite hold. 350
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Delta's A220-100 has its row 29 on the back the plane with extremely limited recline and results in every regular main deat in front of it having less than ideal seat pitch. Who are these seats for? Overbookes unfortunate Pax or the flight crew? 110
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 23/09/2026brb rebooking my flight back from Toronto to not miss this 020
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Jeez, I guess I dodged a bullet by flying out early in the morning 010
Reposted by Franklin TangRyan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 11/09/2026So, the Amtrak Cascades folks tried to get me to take down my post because I stepped on their rollout. 121847
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 02/09/2026I would believe its just "Fully Automatic Mode"? To signify GOA4 UTO 010
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 02/09/2026The new Chinese FAM standard is kinda dumb. Also Line 12 isn't that crowded even at peak to spillover into cab space 110
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026As always, chinese double island stations features spacious and decorated mezzanines. Line 18 Longze Xi龙泽西 and Line 17 Tiantongyuandong天通苑东 station. 040
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026The 3 door PSD array, like the standard 2 door PSD array features some of the biggest on-PSD information display - even bigger than those seen at Shanghai's airport line. The 3-door PSD array is a potential solution for NYCT IRT lines with the mismatched door locations on the R142/62s. 230
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Line 18 is Beijing Subway's latest addition. The line current operates independently but is planned to be permutated with the older Line 13. Line 18 stations feature a special, 3 door PSD array at portion of the stations. This is used to account for the door difference between 8 and 6 cars ends. 150
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Line 12 is currently an Automated Light Metro (ALM) running under supervised GOA4 UTO mode, complying with the current Chinese FAM standard. The cab is sealed off. Line 12 is provisioned to run as married Quads (4+4), so every line 12 station has PSD door 41 compared to a normal 8-car line. 240
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026On the other side, Line 12's Suzhou Qiao station plugs itself on either levels of Line 16 platforms. Img 3 shows the different access levels from Line 12 mezzanine. Line 12 station design employs the traditional Suzhou architecture motif seen in Suzhou heritage sites, a sharp contrast. 130
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Line 16's Suzhou Qiao Station design employs what I would describe as a gratuitous adaptation of 19th century modern. The arched ceilings are yellowish hue while the columns are red. Most notable are the humongous glass elevator shaft connecting every level of the station complex. 130
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026The stacked side configuration are almost half and full width of an island platform at certain sections. On a same horizontal level, each side platform have direct access to the mezzanine of Line 12, which is at the same height as the lower level of Line 16 and one level below the upper level. 130
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Line 12/16 Suzhou Qiao苏州桥 station is a gorgeous stacked side station perpendicular to a bi-level standard island platform station. Line 16 chose a special stacked side platform configuration due to the station box's proximity to 3rd Ring Road turning on the south/east side of the intersection 140
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Line 10/16 Suzhou Jie苏州街 Station is a complex mined station beneath an existing station. As the station diagram shows, Line 16's mezzanine is "bisected" by Line 10 and directly connects to either side platforms of Line 10 on the same level. Line 10 uses Line 16 mezzanine to switch directions 140
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Thread: Some recent fun stuff about the Beijing Subway. Quirky Translations galore. 1123
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 28/08/2026it is quite confusing as to the rationale doing this when it still ended up needing road closures for extended periods. Just do Cut and Cover ffs /s 100
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 28/08/2026They would need to hire an American consultancy firm to do outreach, public consultation, pop-up shops around Ontario Line transfer stations, social media blitz (especially on LinkedIn) and then announce that they are not doing this due to *check notes* "widespread public objection". 020
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 25/08/2026: / Oh no anyway, just another day in the anglosphere 040
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 24/08/2026come to think of it, Shanghai Suburban Railway is very LIRR-esque in its separate operational existence within Shanghai Metro 030
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Img 3. Horrible wayfinding update on the Shanghai metro. Img. 4. Ordinary friday morning rush hour at an OBVIOUSLY overbuilt mainline railway station /s Img. 5. Red bean Bagels. Red bean bagels. Img. 6. Dominos's durian crust Pizza 240
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Some small snippets I decided to record in my latest trip. Img 1. Shanghai Metro finally supports Tap to Ride with foreign credit cards. Img 2. Shanghai Metro Line 2's 2001 rolling stock is a far cry i. terms of internal design from the R143s of NYCT. The NTTs really got the design feel right. 160
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 19/08/2026BEMU cost a lot more than conventional EMUs due to the lack of scale and adoption. The alt question would be why haven't we came up with a marketable plan to at least make electrified intercity expansion to balance itself out in the policy books. Maybe this question is also rhetorical. 260
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 18/08/2026The best time to start rethinking about rewiring is today, the second best time to start is tomorrow. But who am I kidding ：/ 160
Reposted by Franklin TangEric Goldwyn @egoldwyn.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Who wants to do A Better Billion: Los Angeles?!?! Ht: @27a01.bsky.social 3171
Reposted by Franklin TangNolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Promises made/promises kept: Please meet the 1966 report that would determine the next 60 years of how LIRR would be powered: the third rail. If all the work on platforms and dwells by Ronan & Co. was planning that was way ahead of its time that got things very right, this is the opposite. 412031
Franklin Tang @27a01.bsky.social · 03/08/2026@ndhapple.bsky.social Your prayers have been asnwered here 020
