<< A far bigger "crime", by the way, is the design of the
stations. Anyone who has taken rail in Europe can
immediately see that BART was designed by freeway engineers
who know little about rail. Ride a train in Britain, and
note that the stations -- where the train is going slow --
are curved, while the Victorian engineers did everything
they could to keep the rest of the tracks -- where the train
is going fast -- straight. BART, of course, has perfectly
straight stations and curved tracks, the exact opposite of
the way it should be. >>
Well, maybe not ... here's some considerations.
Curved station and curved platform results in some significant gap problems.
Two examples, both on the IRT in New York City: (1) 14th St on the East Side
4-5-6 lines; South Ferry on the 1 line. Platforms are curved. Metal devices
have to come out to close the gaps. (2) City Hall station/loop on the 6 line
(not used for passenger service; it's a turnaround only, but it's very ornate
and magnificent inside; will open soon as a Manhattan branch of the New York
Transit Museum). Curve VERY tight. Didn't matter in 1904 when all of August
Belmont's cars had end vestibules only; they were on the platform. Won't work
at all with modern equipment; when special tours drop off people there to
explore, a TA employee is stationed at the door closest to the end to assist
people over the gap, which is 40-50 cm! You want straight platforms for
safety (and speed) in boarding and a minimum gap.
Old rail systems could go straight because in many cases they were built
before there was much development. BART had to wind its way through an
urban/suburban structure that was already there. (For an extreme example of
winding one's way through an existing structure, underground, ride the oldest
IRT and BMT lines in Manhattan. To save money and not have to purchase under-
the-building rights, the tracks go under the streets, following every tight
curve and corner. Lots of good back and forth motion and wheel flange noise
for the foamers but a slow ride for the passengers. BART's curves are NOTHING
like those in NYC. I don't count a 120 km/h swooping turn down the middle of
Calif. 24 a curve in this sense at all.)
Carleton MacDonald
San Franciscan in Exile
Washington, D.C.