LRT

I've been so biased towards other rail transportation systems that I haven't given much attention to our city's light rail transit, which is currently being expanded. The city is extending the LRT to the west, constituting the third line to the system. Its coverage isn't as extensive as Munich's U-Bahn, but hopefully the city will continue to increase the number of lines over the next decade. This branch line is the first to have elevated tracks and consequently they've employed an interesting engineering system in the construction of this new line. I took a few pictures of the machine over the past few days. It's an unique engineering solution. It has been interesting watching the construction of the railway line over the past few months. You can see the smaller pieces being connected together to form the larger section between pylons, but I'm not altogether sure how they keep the pieces from coming apart, though it was evident that they were welding in the hollow part of the sections.

The city is also remodeling the platforms downtown to accommodate a fourth passenger car to address the increased ridership during rush hour. They've been at it for over a year. I think it's going to take another year before they can start operating the extra car. I'm looking forward to riding the LRT to and from work. Not that the reticulated buses are bad, but similar to cars, they are also susceptible to getting stuck in traffic jams. What normally takes twenty minutes sometimes turns into an hour or more getting home.

What's in a name...

The Hauptbahnhof name is starting to diminish in relevance with the addition of another Shinkansen to my collection. Maybe I should change the name to Hauptbahnhof-Shinkansen. My Series 500 order came in this week. It's a beautiful train set. I have to admit it is my favorite of all the Japanese bullet trains despite the fact I never actually rode on this particular model. Dare I say it might even beat the ICE3 in points for style. I bought the Series 700 for sentimental reason, but I suspect I'll be running the 500 more often. Here's a quick video.



Bahnhof, Estación, Gare, Nádraží, Shin, Stazione. After some thought, I decided to retain the Hauptbahnhof name despite the fact that my railway station will be home to a mix of ICEs, Shinkansens and a TGV. In Norse mythology, Hel was the last of the nine realms in the netherworld where people journeyed after death. Hel Hauptbahnhof was too good of a name to resist since my station is a terminus where passengers end their journey. I doubt anyone will get the obscure analogy.