Re: Wheaton Metro Escalator; 2nd Longest Anywhere?

[David McLoughlin <davemcl@NO***damned***SPAMiprolink.co.nz>]

Bill Bolton wrote:

> The Sydney now has 14 underground stations, spread across 4 separate
> "routes", reaching up to 10 kms from the CBD, all of which are
> dedicated "rapid transit only" service using multiple unit rolling
> stock whose original design parameters were based on those of New York
> subway rolling stock.

<sigh>

The point you miss is that regardless of the fact the Sydney suburban
railway system has lines and frequencies compatible with the NYC subway,
Sydnet's suburban railway system is not what Americans would call a
subway, and nor would Sydneysiders call it same.

As for parameters, Sydney's electric multiple units drawing their power
from overhead wire are double-decker cars and apart from the use of
stainless steel for carriage exteriors I really can't see any
resemblance between Sydney and NYC trains at all. The loading gauges are
quite dissimilar (indeed the loading gauges of NYC subway lines vary
between lines) while Sydney's are all the same -- and indeed the same
rolling stock is used on the new airport underground line as on the
other lines, one reason (apart from the extortionate cost) that hardly
any air travellers or anyone else going to or from the airport uses the
new train service. Taxis are cheaper. Sydney should have looked at Kong
Kong and the MTR extension to the new airport with its dedicated trains
which carry the bulk of airport-CBD traffic. 

> The nature of the rest of the Sydney system is irrelevant to this
> discussion on subway stations.

No, the nature of the Sydney system is the heart of it. Many cities
outside North America have rail systems Americans would call subways.
Sydney does not. It has a suburban electric railway with some
underground stations. So do Melbourne and Brisbane but neither of them
are "subway" systems as the term is known in North America, Asia and
Europe.

Just by way of a left-field example, Calcutta in India has both a
suburban electric railway system like Sydney's, plus a subway which
Americans would recognise as such. Ditto with Hong Kong. Ditto with
Munich. Ditto with London. Ditto with Paris. Ditto with many other
cities.

Sydney has a suburban railway system (and a very good one) but apart
from service frequencies it shares almost nothing in common with the NYC
subway or other "subway" or "metro" systems.

David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand