Green Line Type 9 Thread

[diburning]

Ah, sorry. I'm not a big fan of modern looking streetcars so my eyes are blind to detail

This is the MBTA we're talking about here.

This makes too much sense. Which means it will probably not be done

The MBTA has already released concept artwork for the type 9s. Will they be asking for the specifications in the artwork, or are they open to other options such as the Flexity? If the specifications must be identical to the artwork, all we're going to get is a "new and improved" version of the Type 8 with a new nose.

[Jersey_Mike]

Ugh, they need to split the windshield and make it look like a PCC!

[CRail]

Again I agree with you, Mike. I can't stand this need for streetcars to look like they can lift off and shuttle you around the galaxy, just cuz europe does it, doesn't mean WE have to!

[diburning]

I thought Boston liked to be historical in appearance. And by historical appearance, we have a habit of making everything look ridiculously ancient. Not that it's a bad thing

[CRail]

we have a habit of making everything look ridiculously ancient.

Example...?

[octr202]

I thought Boston liked to be historical in appearance. And by historical appearance, we have a habit of making everything look ridiculously ancient. Not that it's a bad thing

[sarcasm]
Don't mistake lack of capital funding for replacement and/or deferred maintenance for a design theme.
[/sarcasm]

[RailBus63]

The MBTA's recent record in vehicle design is decidedly mixed, IMO. The 01800's are great-looking cars but the 0700's are somewhat clunky looking by comparison. The Type 8's look like European tram wannabe's.

[diburning]

The 01800s have a subway car appearance to them. When I first saw the 0700s, I thought it was some sort of armored vehicle rolling down the tracks (it was sort of dark at government center)

The Type 8s ARE european trams in the sense that they were built by a European company from Italy.

The type 9s will be more tram-like cars that will basically be streamlined type 8s.

[FP10]

I was just browsing on Kinki's revamped site and drooling over their offerings.

http://www.kinkisharyo-usa.com/

Their newest LRVs bost some great things, like bike racks, fold-up seats in the handicap spaces, and couplers covered by an energy-absorbing bumper (sounds great for all the collisions we've been having lately)

They look pretty good too (and even come in green!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinkisharyo

Imagine that car with a tapered front end and split windshield... mmm. Their Seatle cars aren't bad looking either, but holy crap the San Jose cars are godaweful.

With the success of the type 7s compared to the series before and after them I really hope Kinki will come with an acceptable bid.

[Arborway]

I rode the Phoenix cars last month. The whole time I thought to myself how great an adapted version would be for the Green Line. Excellent vehicles all around.

Bonus points if Kinki can find a way to make true level boarding a reality in the central subway. The clearances at the Phoenix platforms were amazingly small. You'd be lucky if you could drop a pen in the gap, and one could simply slide their shoe from the platform into the car if they chose to.

[jamesinclair]

The little interior things is what the MBTA sucks at providing, and hopefully, the type 9s have more thought put into them.

-Folding seats. Perfect way to balance capacity and comfort.
-Bike hooks, theres no reason bikes shouldnt be allowed on the green line in off peak hours.
-Demand doors
-Buttons for stops instead of tape
-Places to HOLD ON to by the doors.
-Weather glass near doors to stop rain from entering.
-Wider front entrance (like the type 7s)
- 4th door.


I noticed that the newest buses do have buttons to request stops on every pole, and also a plexiglass thing near the rear entrance. I wonder if these were the manufacturers ideas, or someone at the MBTA.

[3rdrail]

Who knows how to put up a graph on this thing ? How about running a poll to see what everyone likes ? Make the options reasonable (no PCC category !) and include the models that we've seen on this thread and anything else out there that might have a shot.

[BostonUrbEx]

Also, check out this guy on Kinki's flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinkishary ... 5/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinkishary ... 9/sizes/l/

Doesn't say where it is, but looks almost perfect for us, on the outside. I don't see any pictures of the interior. The only thing that is a problem is the small doors. There's only 1 double door on each side?


Very similar to Bombardier's Flexity, which has been discussed:
http://railforthevalley.files.wordpress ... -metro.jpg


Also, I like how most of Boston's pictures still feature rollsigns, just as they made them, but, the elevated North Station? Really?

[MBTA3247]

Also, check out this guy on Kinki's flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinkishary ... 5/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinkishary ... 9/sizes/l/

Doesn't say where it is, but looks almost perfect for us, on the outside. I don't see any pictures of the interior. The only thing that is a problem is the small doors. There's only 1 double door on each side?

It appears to have four doors on each side. My guess is that the ones with yellow bars above them are for boarding and the other two are for getting off (or vice versa).

[CRail]

Again, this thing is going as far east as Boston's north end, and as far west as Newton, MA. It is not providing transit to other masses which orbit our sun, so why must it look ridiculous. I hate toys now that are dumbed down to look cute, and look nothing like what they represent. I also can't stand streetcars that look like these toys. I rode Minneapolis's light rail, and I felt like I was sitting in a blown up playmobile toy. It's got vibrant fruity colors, curved everything, irritating chimes and noises, and worst of all, the gong is a looped recording of the sorriest attempt of a bell I've ever heard. If this is the future of the green line, I'll walk.

I don't understand why we cant make things look like modern versions of what they actually are. New MCI commuter coaches are definitely changing and looking more modern than those of 10 or so years ago, but they still retain their basic look and form. Similar to the Type 7's looking like updated PCCs, you can build a sleek modern streetcar/LRV which looks like an updated type 7. This is what I'd like to see, these goofy lookin' egg shell windshielded things, in my opinion, are terrible.

If we go with Kinki again, which I would certainly be in favor of given the success of the type 7s, I definitely think they should model the product after the previous the way Siemens loosely imitated the Hawker-Siddely cars. I know how unlikely this is, but it's still what I'd like to see.