Dave Newt and Paul Corfield write:
On a related note, the RER in Paris DOES have ticketed exit gates, and I
have been "locked in" unable to exit with no staff around to help.

and parts of the Paris suburban network that are not on the RER are also
gated, It is entirely possible to be trapped inside these gatelines.

My point being that they seem to manage OK.

Let's just say that the attitude to safety hazards is somewhat different
in France. Also, does it ever happen that exits from *underground* RER
stations are left unattended?
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Do people confuse me with Mark Brader?"
--Mark Barratt

David of Broadway wrote:
Both my work schedule and the subway routes have changed since then
(late 2003). Also, I've taken to driving between the subway and work
..
Wow. That's a long paragraph. Sorry.

Oh. I see. Does most of the NY subway run (even allegedly) to
some sort of (published) schedule ? In most other cities that I have
seen, the timetables are effectively hidden from public view: people
just get the first available train, with no real idea as to when it's
supposed to arrive/depart.

This is in city areas, of course; in the outer-lying suburbs, specific
times are more common.

Seems a bit of an unacceptable situation though, that a few minutes can
throw-out all your connections.

Richard [in PE12]

wrote:

removed theirs. If that is the case then LUL should say so.
Alternatively if you should not insert your ticket until the previous
ticket is removed then the mechanism should prevent you from doing so.
Better luck next time.

I agree that ticket gates should not really allow pipelining (like
an ATM won't let you insert your ATM card until it's done some hosekeeping
pertaining to the pervious user).

But on a ticket gate, this would involve a mechanical shutter opening and
closing at about 1Hz for maybe 4 hours non-stop. This would inevitably lead
to breakdowns.

Richard [in PE12]

Endymion Ponsonby-Withermoor III writes:

David of Broadway wrote:
Both my work schedule and the subway routes have changed since then
(late 2003). Also, I've taken to driving between the subway and work
..
Wow. That's a long paragraph. Sorry.

Oh. I see. Does most of the NY subway run (even allegedly) to
some sort of (published) schedule ? In most other cities that I have
seen, the timetables are effectively hidden from public view: people
just get the first available train, with no real idea as to when it's
supposed to arrive/depart.

Subway timetables are posted at http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/schemain.htm
and are also available in printed pamphlets (if you're fortunate
enough to find one). There are somewhat more detailed timetables for
internal use.

Since there are so many merge points in the system on almost all
routes (all except the 1, L, and two shuttles), one train falling
ahead of or behind schedule can create problems on several other
routes.

Seems a bit of an unacceptable situation though, that a few minutes can
throw-out all your connections.

That isn't exactly what happens. I have an unusually long commute,
mostly against the peak flow, and it just so happens that the second
leg runs at unusually long headways (by subway standards). Also, if
I'm late to work, I can never make up the missed time, so I very much
avoid being late to work. (I can count the number of times I've been
more than two minutes late in the past two years on the fingers of one
hand, and those latenesses have all been due to serious problems on
the subway, including one derailment.)
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY

In message
eranews.com, Endymion
Ponsonby-Withermoor III writes
In most other cities that I have
seen, the timetables are effectively hidden from public view:
That makes good sense, with the drivers having to keep to time they have
a timetable for the train they're operating, but just imagine one for
the public with every train on it, with a lot at 90 second headway's,
how many pages would it be on? Would anyone understand it?
--
Clive

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005, Clive wrote:

In message eranews.com,
Endymion Ponsonby-Withermoor III writes

In most other cities that I have seen, the timetables are effectively
hidden from public view:

That makes good sense, with the drivers having to keep to time they have
a timetable for the train they're operating, but just imagine one for
the public with every train on it, with a lot at 90 second headway's,
how many pages would it be on?

With the judicious use of the phrase "and the same minutes past each
hour", not as many as you might think.

Not that i'm advocating public timetables - keeping them hidden buys the
train operator some precious flexibility!

tom

--
I sometimes think that the IETF is one of the crown jewels in all of
western civilization. -- Tim O'Reilly

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 23:16:59 +0000, Tom Anderson
wrote:

That makes good sense, with the drivers having to keep to time they have
a timetable for the train they're operating, but just imagine one for
the public with every train on it, with a lot at 90 second headway's,
how many pages would it be on?

With the judicious use of the phrase "and the same minutes past each
hour", not as many as you might think.

If they WERE at the same minutes past each hour. Are they?