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What is the name of your city's/metro's rapid transit system (heavy or light rail) and which of the following is a component of the system?
• elevated trackage (on structure)
• elevated trackage (on embankment)
• subway
• surface trackage (on street)
• surface trackage (open spaces)
• expressway/freeway median trackage (usually submerged)
• travels over bridges
• travels through tunnel built for it (i.e. BART)
• direct service to airport(s)
• express trains
• express train stations/designated platforms
• shuttle service
• linked station with other systems (fellow rapid transit, commuter rail, etc.)
• stations with more than one set of trackage
• elevated and subway lines connect in same station (you can go from elevated to subway w/o leaving station)
• stations come in two varieties: some are single platforms between the two set of tracks; others are two separate platforms, each serving opposite direction
• service is only within city limits
• though city service, some lines extend into suburbia for short distance
• true metropolitan coverage, system is designed to serve the metro area, not city alone
• similar to true metro coverage, (giving complete metro service) but service is more extensive within city limits outside of them
• system built from scratch through public agency; entire system was built by it
• legacy transit system: original trackage was private enterprise; two or more private companies and their trackage combined into public system
• legacy system: was in place by mid-20th century. must be heavy rail (in a sports analogy, kind of like the NHL's "original six")
What is the name of your city's/metro's rapid transit system (heavy or light rail) and which of the following is a component of the system?
• elevated trackage (on structure) Yes, mostly on the Red Line in the NE DC, but with a couple other sections
• elevated trackage (on embankment) Yes (the yellow/blue lines crossing the Potomac)
• subway Yes
• surface trackage (on street) No, but there is a streetcar line along H St. NE and Benning Road, but it's not part of the WMATA
• surface trackage (open spaces) Yes
• expressway/freeway median trackage (usually submerged) Yes (the Orange Line in NoVA, and its on the surface)
• travels over bridges Yes if you count highway overpasses
• travels through tunnel built for it (i.e. BART) Basically this refers to the subways built for it
• direct service to airport(s) Yes (Reagan as of now, soon to Dulles)
• express trains No
• express train stations/designated platforms No
• shuttle service When applicable via MetroBus, such as during restoration/maintenance work, but not during regular service
• linked station with other systems (fellow rapid transit, commuter rail, etc.) Yes (VRE, MARC, Amtrak)
• stations with more than one set of trackage Yes (Metro Center, Fort Totten, Gallery Place-Chinatown, L'Enfant Plaza)
• elevated and subway lines connect in same station (you can go from elevated to subway w/o leaving station) Partly yes (Fort Totten's Red Line station is elevated, with the Green/Yellow line station partly underground)
• stations come in two varieties: some are single platforms between the two set of tracks; others are two separate platforms, each serving opposite direction Yes
• service is only within city limits No
• though city service, some lines extend into suburbia for short distance I'd say the system is about 60% suburbs and 40% city
• true metropolitan coverage, system is designed to serve the metro area, not city alone Mostly yes, but for the most part, the lines terminate at middle ring suburbs
• similar to true metro coverage, (giving complete metro service) but service is more extensive within city limits outside of them Generally speaking, this is true, with many trains terminating at inner-ring suburbs for the most part, with about half continuing on to the outer reaches of their line
• system built from scratch through public agency; entire system was built by it Yes
• legacy transit system: original trackage was private enterprise; two or more private companies and their trackage combined into public system No
• legacy system: was in place by mid-20th century. must be heavy rail (in a sports analogy, kind of like the NHL's "original six") No
• lines designated by color Yes
• lines designated by number and/or letter No
• designated core station Metro Center in essence is this, but it's not the station with the most lines running through it (L'Efant Plaza), and Gallery Place-Chinatown is just as much of a core station as Metro Center is
What is the name of your city's/metro's rapid transit system (heavy or light rail) and which of the following is a component of the system?
For Pittsburgh ( Port Authority T System ):
• elevated trackage (on structure) Yes
• elevated trackage (on embankment) Yes
• subway Yes
• surface trackage (on street) Yes
• surface trackage (open spaces) Yes
• expressway/freeway median trackage (usually submerged) Not on a true highway, but in median of arterial route
• travels over bridges Yes
• travels through tunnel built for it (i.e. BART) Yes
• direct service to airport(s) No
• express trains Not regularly
• express train stations/designated platforms No
• shuttle service sometimes
• linked station with other systems (fellow rapid transit, commuter rail, etc.) Limited linkage currently, but linkages with a new BRT system are on the way in downtown stations
• stations with more than one set of trackage Yes
• elevated and subway lines connect in same station (you can go from elevated to subway w/o leaving station) No
• stations come in two varieties: some are single platforms between the two set of tracks; others are two separate platforms, each serving opposite direction Yes
• service is only within city limits No
• true metropolitan coverage, system is designed to serve the metro area, not city alone - Most of the system is in the south hills suburbs, designed mostly for commuters going to the downtown area
• similar to true metro coverage, (giving complete metro service) but service is more extensive within city limits outside of them - same as above
• system built from scratch through public agency; entire system was built by it No
• legacy transit system: original trackage was private enterprise; two or more private companies and their trackage combined into public system - not sure
• legacy system: was in place by mid-20th century. must be heavy rail (in a sports analogy, kind of like the NHL's "original six") - A lot of it is tracks/lines used by early 1900s trolley systems that operated up until the 1960s/70s. the downtown subway was built later, in the 1970s/80s, and a north side extension was built 2010-2012
I'm not sure what the individual units are called when identifying the 51 jurisdictions that are 50 states and DC, but treating DC as if it were a state (which some would like it to be), is Metro the only rapid transit system that includes three "states"?
What is the name of your city's/metro's rapid transit system (heavy or light rail) and which of the following is a component of the system?
PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson)
• elevated trackage (on structure) No
• elevated trackage (on embankment) No
• subway Yes
• surface trackage (on street) No
• surface trackage (open spaces) Yes
• expressway/freeway median trackage (usually submerged) No
• travels over bridges Yes
• travels through tunnel built for it (i.e. BART) Yes
• direct service to airport(s) No (but there is a plan to extend to EWR in the future)
• express trains No
• express train stations/designated platforms No
• shuttle service No
• linked station with other systems (fellow rapid transit, commuter rail, etc.) Yes
• stations with more than one set of trackage Yes
• elevated and subway lines connect in same station (you can go from elevated to subway w/o leaving station) N//A
• stations come in two varieties: some are single platforms between the two set of tracks; others are two separate platforms, each serving opposite direction Yes
• service is only within city limits No
• though city service, some lines extend into suburbia for short distance No, extends only into other cities
• true metropolitan coverage, system is designed to serve the metro area, not city alone Yes
• similar to true metro coverage, (giving complete metro service) but service is more extensive within city limits outside of them No
• system built from scratch through public agency; entire system was built by it No. System was built by a private railroad and taken over later by a public agency
• legacy transit system: original trackage was private enterprise; two or more private companies and their trackage combined into public system No, one company
• legacy system: was in place by mid-20th century. must be heavy rail (in a sports analogy, kind of like the NHL's "original six") Yes
What is the name of your city's/metro's rapid transit system (heavy or light rail) and which of the following is a component of the system?
PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson)
• elevated trackage (on structure) No
• elevated trackage (on embankment) No
• lines designated by color No
• designated core station No
I take PATH too. These I'd have questions about though.
I don't think I understand the full terminology of this. Is the portion west of JSQ through the Marion section of JC not considered elevated at all? Harrison Station is above ground. Then it's technically above ground, though entirely enclosed, in Newark Penn. After Newark Penn, it's above ground following McCarter Hwy and Railroad Ave. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I thought those would be considered elevated trackage, no?
Also lines designated by color. They're called proper names of where they begin/terminate. But they do have a color-coded system which is most useful when reading the map. Also, when I explain to out-of-towners which line to take, the names "World Trade" and "Newark" and "Journal Square" and 33rd" mean very little to them. I readily tell someone traveling from Newark to 33rd to take the Red Line toward World Trade, get off at Journal Square, then take the Yellow Line toward 33rd St. I think it clarifies which line is which sometimes. Especially during day travel when two different lines terminate at 33rd, WTC, and Hoboken and Green and Blue Lines can be confusing to tourists I've noticed.
As for designated core station, there definitely is not one. But if we had to come up with one, I'd say JSQ. JSQ is one of only three Port Authority major bus terminals. Numerous bus lines from all over NJ converge at the bus terminal above the PATH rail tracks. It's a major transfer stop for people between the NWK/WTC and the JSQ/33 lines. It has the capacity to handle at least one other line on at least one other track and it's used as a holding zone for several trains not in use. Maybe WTC could be classified also, but it's less a core station for PATH, and more a core station for MTA that PATH just happens to be blessed with connecting to for ease of transfer to I believe 13 different MTA lines. 33rd only connects to a few MTA lines and Hoboken is only a hub for some NJT buses and trains.
• elevated trackage (on structure) Well, duh. Chicago has an el. Big surprise. When you grab an elevated in New York, you're gong on the subway. If you take a subway in Chicago, you're on the el.
• elevated trackage (on embankment): I think mainly on the north side and into Evanston on continuous tracks of the red and purple line. If there are other parts of the system that do so, I'm no sure
• subway: both the red line (State Street) and the blue line (Dearborn) run through the core of downtown. Otherwise, our subways are a few places where the tracks go underground for a few subway stations and then outside again pretty quickly. Pretty much on thee blue line in areas like Logan Square and at Belmont.
• surface trackage (on street) minimal. I think it is only where the pink line terminates at the end (in Berwyn) and I believe a few stops on the brown line when it leaves its terminal in Albany Park. The Purple line which goes through both Evanston and Wilmette is surface for a few of its most northern extension...including the terminal at Linden
• surface trackage (open spaces): some, using trackage from the old North Shore interurban line for Skokie's south line
• expressway/freeway median trackage (usually submerged) Expressway median construction was a Chicago invention. Congress Street (the Eisenhower Expy) carried the first one, the blue line. Both blue (Kennedy Expy) and red (Dan Ryan) have median rapid transit as well.
• travels over bridges (elevated lines coming into the Loop have to...by way of the brown and purple lines from the north over the bridge above the Wells St. bridge. From the west on Lake Street, carrying both green and pink
• travels through tunnel built for it (i.e. BART) no
• direct service to airport(s) first to connect with two majors airports, O'Hare on blue, Midway on orange. Another poster here noted that DC will soon have two airports connected to it by Metro.
• express trains Only on the purple line which offers local Evanston service from Linden (at the southern end of Wilmette) to Howard (Chicago-Evanston city limits). It is purple because of Northwestern. This train also runs as an express train downtown and around the loop.
• express train stations/designated platforms (not regularly used, if I'm corrected; allow the Wilson Ave station is designed to do so.
• shuttle service: when it began, the Skokie Swift (yellow line) was a shuttle between Dempster St. in Skokie and Howard Street on the Chicago/Evanston boundary.
• linked station with other systems (fellow rapid transit, commuter rail, etc.) Most notably to Metra (commuter rail) in the suburbs (Evanston and Oak Park) and various locations in Chicago itself.
• stations with more than one set of trackage: there are stretches of rail that have four tracks that are on the system, but the platforms only see serve on pair of rails
• elevated and subway lines connect in same station (you can go from elevated to subway w/o leaving station) Two locations: most notably, the most complex one of the system: Clark & Lake in the north Loop. It carries a whopping six el lines (purple, brown, green, pink, orange, and green....along with the blue in he subway). This station is in the Thompson Center (now th Ogilzie Center), a Helmet Jahn building thereat to be raised for future develpmn.t On the south end of downtown, the green, red, and orange lines use same set up, combining a subway with an el
• stations come in two varieties: some are single platforms between the two set of tracks; others are two separate platforms, each serving opposite direction definitely; nice mix of both in system
• service is only within city limits Service into both northern and western suburbs
• though city service, some lines extend into suburbia for short distance Definitely: two to the Norh, three to west
• true metropolitan coverage, system is designed to serve the metro area, not city alone. no
• similar to true metro coverage, (giving complete metro service) but service is more extensive within city limits outside of them no
• system built from scratch through public agency; entire system was built by it no...mostly built by private enterprise.
• legacy transit system: original trackage was private enterprise; two or more private companies and their trackage combined into public system YES!!
• legacy system: was in place by mid-20th century. must be heavy rail (in a sports analogy, kind of like the NHL's "original six") YES!!
• lines designated by color YES
• lines designated by number and/or letter no
• designated core station I mentioned Clark and Lake above...this one would bd it if we chose
I take PATH too. These I'd have questions about though.
I don't think I understand the full terminology of this. Is the portion west of JSQ through the Marion section of JC not considered elevated at all? Harrison Station is above ground. Then it's technically above ground, though entirely enclosed, in Newark Penn. After Newark Penn, it's above ground following McCarter Hwy and Railroad Ave. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I thought those would be considered elevated trackage, no?
Also lines designated by color. They're called proper names of where they begin/terminate. But they do have a color-coded system which is most useful when reading the map. Also, when I explain to out-of-towners which line to take, the names "World Trade" and "Newark" and "Journal Square" and 33rd" mean very little to them. I readily tell someone traveling from Newark to 33rd to take the Red Line toward World Trade, get off at Journal Square, then take the Yellow Line toward 33rd St. I think it clarifies which line is which sometimes. Especially during day travel when two different lines terminate at 33rd, WTC, and Hoboken and Green and Blue Lines can be confusing to tourists I've noticed.
As for designated core station, there definitely is not one. But if we had to come up with one, I'd say JSQ. JSQ is one of only three Port Authority major bus terminals. Numerous bus lines from all over NJ converge at the bus terminal above the PATH rail tracks. It's a major transfer stop for people between the NWK/WTC and the JSQ/33 lines. It has the capacity to handle at least one other line on at least one other track and it's used as a holding zone for several trains not in use. Maybe WTC could be classified also, but it's less a core station for PATH, and more a core station for MTA that PATH just happens to be blessed with connecting to for ease of transfer to I believe 13 different MTA lines. 33rd only connects to a few MTA lines and Hoboken is only a hub for some NJT buses and trains.
I believe you are correct -- at least a large part of the section between Newark and going into the tunnel towards Journal Square is elevated.
Also, I never thought about them as colored lines, but you make a good point. They are designated as such on the map. I don't think I've ever heard them called that officially, or even casually though.
I believe you are correct -- at least a large part of the section between Newark and going into the tunnel towards Journal Square is elevated.
Also, I never thought about them as colored lines, but you make a good point. They are designated as such on the map. I don't think I've ever heard them called that officially, or even casually though.
Yeah nobody calls them that, but when I talk to tourists, I think differentiating them based on color helps them a lot. Especially with foreign tourists who struggle with hearing the difference between "Newark" and "New York," or they themselves struggle to pronounce them differently and I'm unsure of what they're asking.
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