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Underground metro style train systems

Started by Stoneage Dinosaurs, July 13, 2019, 12:41:07 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Dr Rock

Whatever the reason for the masks, they are very common but you never see the in the films do you.

Bazooka

Quote from: bgmnts on July 16, 2019, 01:10:00 PM
I was just responding to that comment on the original photo.

Although i'm pretty sure Chinese people do it because of the air pollution in some of the cities, at least according to a chinese girl i met, and in Nepal you literally have to use them.

So yes it is weird why Japanese people use them, as Japan looks clean as fuck. Although no Japanese person I know uses them but they arent in Japan now so I suppose its just when you live there.

The Pollution in Beijing is bad in the winter, but eases in the summer, I've seen little to no people wearing masks in the last two months. I never wear one because I'm not a sissy, and Mr G. Reaper is gonna get me another way.

EOLAN

Quote from: alan nagsworth on July 13, 2019, 03:57:43 PM
london is still the absolute best. every day i travel about the city for various jobs and just marvel at the efficiency of it. people will moan when there's the slightest delay and you have to wait more than three minutes for the train but really 95% of the time it runs perfectly and the trains are clean and the announcements are clear and regular. i love it. i understand why people view london commuters as

Have an old school acquaintance I have on Facebook. Without any irony he sent a message moaning about having to wait at Heathrow Underground for about 12 minutes. Now me reading it having returned from his flight from Orlando. I was like; maybe about an hour from hotel to airport; hanging around Orland airport for about 2 hours or more; a 7 hour flight, another forty minutes before you get your bags and another fifteen minutes to get to the train-line; why would you really be so bothered about waiting an extra few minutes for your train.

Said acquaintance also having been the only Sinn Feiner supporter in our class (down in Cork in southern Ireland) he is now a fully paid up Conservative member.

Has Rome been mentioned. 2 underground lines if I recall rightly. Fairly unnecessary if staying within the city but no major problems. Seems to have been lowered in importance  but still seems to be on time even is Mussolini is no longer in power. Never tried the over-line tram which stops at Largo di Torro Argentina. Apparently the site where Julius Caesar was stabbed; which is now a cat sanctuary. So basically must visit list every-time I am there.

Newcastle - well good Airport link.
Birmingham - nice link to my team's football ground now extended out to the train station. Thumbs up; especially given that the alternative is the bus which within the Birmingham boundary is one of the most painful experiences I have ever had.
Las Vegas - nice. Just mainly walked the strip though but took it to get out to dining at the Stratosphere building.
Toronto - great bunch of lads.

Dr Rock

Another reason -  the main one is Japanese tend to be very germaphobic* - is they had Sarin nerve gas attacks there. Not that the masks would do fuck all, but you try telling them that. Loudly, in a foreign language.

The idea that it's to protect others because they are themselves sick sounds nice, but it's unlikely that half the carriage have got a cold. They don't want to catch germs. Or Sarin.


*not racist https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/national-obsession-with-cleanliness-bodes-ill-for-health

thugler

Berlin was great, efficient and goes everywhere i needed to go, never bought a ticket and got away with 4 days traveling  about for zilch.

buzby

Quote from: alan nagsworth on July 13, 2019, 05:04:20 PM
the only issue i have with it is that it's hot as fuck, i think the reason they don't install air con is because ironically the electronics involved would cause even more heat to run when installing it with such limited space(?)
The LU deep-level lines are insulated by the London Clay the tunnels are bored through, and as a result have been steadily rising in temperature since they were built. It's extremely difficult to get forced ventilation down to the deep-level lines (they mainly rely on the piston effect of the trains running through the tunnels to move air through the system), so although there are plans to fit aircon to the 1995/96 stock by 2020, all that's going to do is heat up the air in the tunnels (and the surrounding clay) even more, and use more energy.

On the subject of the thread, Boston's Metro (the MBTA, or 'T' as it's locally-known) is pretty decent. Like London, it uses a mix of heavy rail, light rail, trams (which run underground in the city centre) trolleybuses and boats.

popcorn

Quote from: Dr Rock on July 16, 2019, 02:14:41 PM
The idea that it's to protect others because they are themselves sick sounds nice, but it's unlikely that half the carriage have got a cold. They don't want to catch germs. Or Sarin.

It's usually more like 5% who wear masks. The previous photo is misleading. Probably varies depending on the season.

As I said before, people wear masks in Japan for a few reasons, including not wanting to catch a cold as you say, but most of the time if you see someone with a mask it's because they're ill.

Loads of people never use them at all, like my girlfriend, thank fuck. Hate em.

imitationleather

If they're ill they should be at home watching some weird porn.

gilbertharding

Quote from: Blinder Data on July 13, 2019, 11:20:21 AM
Glasgow's Subway is definitely worth going on if you're visiting. Absolutely tiny, and if you miss your stop you just stay on it for another 20 minutes and you'll be there again.

Got to assume this is an underrated funny.

I liked the Glasgow Metro - I presume it is still wearing its '1972' makeover proudly - everything brown, cream and orange. And the trains which look like 6/8th scale replicas of London tubes?

Apart from London, Paris and Glasgow the only one I've experienced (which hasn't been mentioned) is Naples.

I have very dim memories of that, because it was in 1995, I was on a college field trip (so merely had to follow a group, with very little concept of where I was or where I was going) and I had a banging hangover which wasn't helped by using a station which seemed to be in a dimly lit, dirty cave.

There didn't seem to be a platform, and the train, which was apparently full sized with all the wheels and mechanical stuff exposed right there in front of you roared into the station in a terrifying manner. You then had to clamber up a small ladder to get into the carriage.

gilbertharding

Quote from: buzby on July 16, 2019, 02:25:30 PM
The LU deep-level lines are insulated by the London Clay the tunnels are bored through, and as a result have been steadily rising in temperature since they were built. It's extremely difficult to get forced ventilation down to the deep-level lines (they mainly rely on the piston effect of the trains running through the tunnels to move air through the system), so although there are plans to fit aircon to the 1995/96 stock by 2020, all that's going to do is heat up the air in the tunnels (and the surrounding clay) even more, and use more energy.

Would it be better to try to chill the air in the tunnels and use the piston effect of the trains to distribute it?


gilbertharding

Quote from: popcorn on July 16, 2019, 02:26:01 PM
It's usually more like 5% who wear masks. The previous photo is misleading. Probably varies depending on the season.

As I said before, people wear masks in Japan for a few reasons, including not wanting to catch a cold as you say, but most of the time if you see someone with a mask it's because they're ill.

Loads of people never use them at all, like my girlfriend, thank fuck. Hate em.

I've never been to Asia, but I vividly remember years ago sitting at a counter of a then quite fashionable diner in London, and watching (out of the corner of my eye, not staring) a woman who looked as if she was from South East Asia (by which I mean she was dressed from head to toe in Muji), eat an entire hamburger while holding a paper napkin over her mouth at all times, including when she was putting it in, and chewing. I concluded that she found the idea of people seeing food go in her mouth taboo for some reason. I realise now that she might not have been typical of people from wherever she came from...

Look - I don't know, do I?

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Incidentally, why did Chicago opt for so many above ground stops for the L Train when they have such cold winters? Surely you want entrance and exit routes underground to reduce accidents for passengers?

popcorn

Quote from: gilbertharding on July 16, 2019, 03:00:11 PM
I've never been to Asia, but I vividly remember years ago sitting at a counter of a then quite fashionable diner in London, and watching (out of the corner of my eye, not staring) a woman who looked as if she was from South East Asia (by which I mean she was dressed from head to toe in Muji), eat an entire hamburger while holding a paper napkin over her mouth at all times, including when she was putting it in, and chewing. I concluded that she found the idea of people seeing food go in her mouth taboo for some reason. I realise now that she might not have been typical of people from wherever she came from...

Look - I don't know, do I?

Probably Japanese. Japanese women hold their hands over their mouth when they laugh because you're not allowed to see the insides of Japanese women's mouths, something awful might happen. The food thing is much less common but it's real, mainly with sloppy food like burgers.



Note: the above image, with the fake lips on the napkin, is a gimmick napkin made by a burger chain. People like the Daily Mail covered it as part of the usual "Japan is wacky" stuff. Japan is honestly not that wacky.

gilbertharding

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on July 16, 2019, 03:25:27 PM
Incidentally, why did Chicago opt for so many above ground stops for the L Train when they have such cold winters? Surely you want entrance and exit routes underground to reduce accidents for passengers?

This'll sound like a smart-arse answer - but honestly I only looked out of curiosity to see if there was any kind of answer to your question: 'L' stands for 'elevated'.

The answer I was hoping to find was about the geology of Chicago, and its unsuitability for building tunnels economically (especially using early 20th Century technology)... I couldn't find any real facts about that. But it's still my best guess.

poodlefaker

Changing from the Trafalgar Line to the southbound Regional has been a nightmare since the escalators at Hannover Square have been out of action

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: gilbertharding on July 16, 2019, 02:50:40 PM
Got to assume this is an underrated funny.

I liked the Glasgow Metro - I presume it is still wearing its '1972' makeover proudly - everything brown, cream and orange. And the trains which look like 6/8th scale replicas of London tubes?


There's still a couple of smaller stations like that, but it's grey, white and orange now. Apart from where the grey or orange bits of cardboard cladding they stuck over the old brown, cream and orange bits falls off.


I like how instead of relying on cameras or mirrors to make sure everyone's alighted and boarded the driver has to stick their head and shoulders out of the cab window.

Dr Rock

Quote from: popcorn on July 16, 2019, 03:42:45 PM


Note: the above image, with the fake lips on the napkin, is a gimmick napkin made by a burger chain.

And as usual, rather than run the English text by someone who actually speaks English as a first language, they reckon they've got it covered. Close, but not have cigar you.

Sebastian Cobb

Maybe Japanese women devour nearly all of their hamburger in one massive bite; didn't think of that, did you?

gilbertharding

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on July 16, 2019, 03:56:05 PM
There's still a couple of smaller stations like that, but it's grey, white and orange now. Apart from where the grey or orange bits of cardboard cladding they stuck over the old brown, cream and orange bits falls off.


I like how instead of relying on cameras or mirrors to make sure everyone's alighted and boarded the driver has to stick their head and shoulders out of the cab window.

It's too wee!

I don't care - the orange of the trains and the yellow brick platforms still looks 70s Scandi/Camden to me, rather than what I presume they hope looks like Easy Jet. The house typeface should be like the one from The Goodies, or Spangles.

a duncandisorderly

Quote from: buzby on July 16, 2019, 02:25:30 PM
Like London, it uses a mix of heavy rail, light rail, trams (which run underground in the city centre) trolleybuses and boats.

trolleybuses in london? where?
I remember them in bradford in the 60s, & occasionally the driver having to unsling a ladder from somewhere & clamber up to reposition the pantograph after a reckless bit of cornering.


Shoulders?-Stomach!

Just to confirm, I was aware L stood for elevated :)

popcorn

Quote from: Dr Rock on July 16, 2019, 04:00:35 PM
And as usual, rather than run the English text by someone who actually speaks English as a first language, they reckon they've got it covered. Close, but not have cigar you.

English in Japan is for decoration, not information.

Tip: don't bring your Super Dry T-shirt when you visit.

Ferris

I really like public transit, but I'm a bit weird. I find the majority of systems to be quite similar (or at least, the quirks are so few and far between as to be with unworthy of comment). I'm sure I've been on more (like I say, I like to have a nose around a city's transit when I go to new places) but they must have been dull because I can't recall them offhand.

Washington, D.C. - best one I've been on, hands down. Like commuting through the sets of Logan's Run. Vast, cavernous, dystopian sci-fi stations with red underlighting. I've included pictures at the bottom. Trains themselves are complete shit, but that's ok.
London - very cramped but clean
New York - awful. Dirty, expensive, unfriendly, delayed
Toronto - I like the TTC, but everyone else complains. Stations decorated like a pub toilet from the '70s but with its own font so that's nice.
Moscow - mix of vast Soviet palatial stations, and complete desolation. No in between. Doors fly open onto the tracks as you whizz through the Moscow Underdark. Old babushkas cluck their tongues, get up and close the doors to avert disaster. Chaps with no legs eye you from across the carriage. Not a fan.
Montreal - like London, but the trains feel smaller and dinkier somehow. Nice and quiet.
Paris - like London
Berlin - like Paris, but very cheap
Munich - like Berlin
Lyon - like Munich, but with the benefit that you can stand at the front and look out the window, and peer into the gloom as you go around the tunnels.

Now here's those pictures of the DC Metro. Look at this.



See the bright lights up the outer walls of the platforms? Those are coming from 10-15 feet below. There's a huge drop, like it's a space station in Star Wars, and it is uplit.

Up-lighting in the centre of the tracks means when a train goes by, it casts shadows on the ceiling and throws the other platform into darkness. Sometimes the light colours are red (depends on the station). The whole experience is very eerie, but nobody else bats an eye (which adds to the weirdness). Recommend.


alan nagsworth

Thanks for the info buzby.

Re: the Asian people wearing face masks thing, this happened in the tiny, godawful shite town of Southport after the Bangface Weekender a couple years ago (there was a Japanese artist takeover stage). The backwards folk living there spotted a group of them and thought it was a fucking terrorist attack.

News article here.

popcorn

Quote from: popcorn on July 16, 2019, 03:42:45 PM
Japan is honestly not that wacky.

I take it back.



"Wan" is the sound dogs make in Japanese, like "woof" in English. (It says "wandafuru - wan-derful - underneath.) The paw is supposed to be the o in "ko", which means child or baby. So "wanko" is supposed to be a cutesy dog name like "mr ruffs" or something. I hope this knowledge enriches your Peace Wank experience.

MojoJojo

Quote from: gilbertharding on July 16, 2019, 03:45:27 PM
This'll sound like a smart-arse answer - but honestly I only looked out of curiosity to see if there was any kind of answer to your question: 'L' stands for 'elevated'.

The answer I was hoping to find was about the geology of Chicago, and its unsuitability for building tunnels economically (especially using early 20th Century technology)... I couldn't find any real facts about that. But it's still my best guess.

I think the thing about elevated railways is that they are much cheaper to build than underground systems, but you can't really build them in most european cities because you need big wide roads as buildings still get in the way. So most examples are in the US.

gilbertharding

There was one in Liverpool, of course...

And you need big wide roads for cut-and-cover subways, and there are a few of them in London (and more in Paris, thanks to M. Haussmann).

Bazooka

Which station has the best ghost train? Don't see as many now as you once did.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

QuoteNew York - awful. Dirty, expensive, unfriendly, delayed

Expensive? A week pass is like 2 day passes on the London Underground.