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Chicago also has canopies over the boarding platforms, to keep the snow and ice off the platforms. Denver doesn’t, despite the fact that Denver is near the mountains and gets a lot more snow then Chicago. They have to rely on manual labor to remove the snow from the platforms, and in major storms, it might take the crews a while to get to each station. Labor savings alone should pay for the cost of canopies over the platforms. Denver also gets bad hail storms in the summer. How would you like to get caught waiting for a train on an open air platform, with an extremely limited canopy, when a hail storm hits.
CTA has to remove snow from platforms by hand too. The canopies are not at all stations too.
I haven't been to either city. But looking up some of Calgary stations, some are covered on top. One of the ones I found that was covered on top was open on the sides; so hail is blocked but not wind. Other stations, perhaps less well used ones, are completely open:
That looks like a relatively minor station and it seems to be in the process of being upgraded. The next station to the south of that is a brand new totally glass enclosed heated station. Denver has no enclosed heated stations. Not even the new Denver Airport station is enclosed or heated.
CTA has to remove snow from platforms by hand too. The canopies are not at all stations too.
Thanks for that info. But none of the stations in Denver (except maybe the Convention Center, where it’s under the building) have canopies. Not even the new Airport Station has a covered platform. Can you imagine O'Hare Station with no roof, no walls, and snow blowing across the platforms? That's what the brand new Denver Airport Station is like.
Isn't the main benefit of underground stations the fact that the train can operate separate from the road and traffic and is therefore much more reliable and faster? Weather considerations seem secondary to that.
I've heard that maintenance cost is lower as well. Protected from the elements and no bridges to deal with. Lower rate of pedestrian fatalities, true. But that is true of purely elevated systems.
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