On a station level basis, even if you can’t do servicing piecemeal (refurbish the northbound platform, then the southbound one), most subways have stops within “walk but somewhat inconvenient” distance-- 1km or less apart. You can often annoy out-of-towners by giving them an itinerary that results in them changing trains three times and spending 45 minutes to get between two stations within line of sight of each other.
But seriously, for people with extreme access needs, I wonder if putting a few of those “multi row golf cart” style mini electric vehicles looping around could provide stopgap service to the nearest operating station.
We already need some degree of spare capacity; how does the service survive in the event of an accident if there’s no double-tracking?
Wait, I know this one. Toronto intended to retire an entire subway line in late 2023 (claiming it was already past the end-of-life for the equipment, and promising it would be replaced with new subways in 2030. They ended up shuttering it months earlier because of a derailment. (https://www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/projects-and-plans/Future-of-Line-3-Scarborough)
On a station level basis, even if you can’t do servicing piecemeal (refurbish the northbound platform, then the southbound one), most subways have stops within “walk but somewhat inconvenient” distance-- 1km or less apart. You can often annoy out-of-towners by giving them an itinerary that results in them changing trains three times and spending 45 minutes to get between two stations within line of sight of each other.
But seriously, for people with extreme access needs, I wonder if putting a few of those “multi row golf cart” style mini electric vehicles looping around could provide stopgap service to the nearest operating station.
We already need some degree of spare capacity; how does the service survive in the event of an accident if there’s no double-tracking?
Wait, I know this one. Toronto intended to retire an entire subway line in late 2023 (claiming it was already past the end-of-life for the equipment, and promising it would be replaced with new subways in 2030. They ended up shuttering it months earlier because of a derailment. (https://www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/projects-and-plans/Future-of-Line-3-Scarborough)