If the very very last @metrotransitmn.bsky.social Northstar train was going to be a Vikings football special, it was only fitting to get the full experience before the final ride to Big Lake.
(Also special being where, on 2/4/18, the Eagles defeated the Pats 41-33 to win SBLII. GO BIRDS!!! 🦅)
Did I fly to Minneapolis today to ride the last Northstar train?
Yes. Yes, I did.
Say what you will about here vs the other platform… many posts in my feed, but not a single mention describing this for what it was:
An attack on the Jewish community on the first night of Hanukkah.
Antisemitic attacks shouldn't be silenced or minimized. They're often the canary in the coal mine.
Every mile of O-Train and every fare gate, taken in front of the Airport station.
Two O-Trains passing a platform
Preview service of the REM inauguration!
A train arriving in snowy Montreal.
Did I cut it close for my customs preclearance flight? Yes.
Have I now finished the entirety of rapid transit in Canada? Yes. 🇨🇦✅
Is that the most insane thing from this trip? No. Maybe waking up at 4 for the inaugural Deux-Montagnes REM?
No, probably visiting every *fare gate* in Ottawa.
Jeff in front of a GO train at Niagara Falls station
Jeff pointing to Niagara Falls station on the map onboard a coach.
And there we have it: all of Canada's Commuter Rail network! 🇨🇦🚆
jeffkess.com/tracks
A SEPTA Silverliner V regional rail train rounding the superelevated curve at Prospect Park station, with Jeff's folded folding bike in the foreground, complete with a sticker reading "My Other Ride is the Commuter Rail"
Bike sticker reigns supreme.
(And state number eight for the #FoldingBike!)
Mazel tov!
Stay tuned for the NORAC 13th edition…
S&P seems to be falling out of favor given how "expensive" the complete stop can be, and you always run the risk of an issue with the single bulb.
The New England region has operated this way for ages, as has CSX; was only a matter of time for it to hit the Pennsy-style ones.
Stop and proceed now a restricting?
(Not sure what aspects were previously there.)
Hopefully the PA Legislature can get their affairs in order, or at the very least — if viewed as not being essential to the state — allow Southeastern PA to self-fund the local transit system that's known to be vital to the regional economy.
Jeff and Boston RR colleague Matt prior to boarding the trip.
A digital sign showing the final trip.
A set of Regional Rail bombers with a Thorndale Limited / Express sign.
Tonight, we bid adeiu to @septaphilly.bsky.social express service on the very last Thorndale Express.
COVID may have killed the Great Valley Flyer, but this end of express service (and more) is due entirely to budget cuts.
RIP. Soon to be gone, but not forgotten — hopefully not far from a return!
My best guess is that they're all supplemental runs covered at overtime and they probably struggle to cover them Labor Day weekend, but… yeah.
A RIPTA 45 Galilee Beach Express bus arriving Kennedy Plaza
RI Salty Brine State Beach Bathhouse
A Block Island Ferry departing through Point Judith Pond
RI's Beach Express Bus schedule, ending its season tomorrow, perhaps not to return in the face of RIPTA funding cuts.
Now Playing: "One Day More" from Les Misérables #RIPTA
"What effects do you want to use on the LEDs?" "Yes."
Jeff and friends in front of the inaugural train at Mobile, AL.
"Y'all aboard" the inaugural Amtrak Mardi Grad from Mobile, AL to New Orleans!
241, 251, 261, 562
(I guess it is also quite fitting that I'm doing this while here for #APTARail)
bsky.app/profile/jeff...
Jeff with the ceremonial "thumbs up" in front of a train on the Windsor station platform.
The Windsor station platform with a train in the background.
Passengers boarding at Windsor
The Windsor station platform moments before departure.
In January, I finished riding every mile of Commuter/Regional Rail in the US.
Then @SMARTtrain extended their service to Windsor, CA.
I knew what I had to do.
(Soon to be updated on jeffkess.com/tracks!)
A specially-designed APTA25 San Francisco clipper card as taken on a BART train.
A printout of the Attendee FAQ listing that it's accepted on all clipper services besides the cable car.
This is dangerous. #APTARail
Jeff in front of the O'Hare Transfer Metra station building
An LED screen advertising Metra's limited airport service next to a screen of upcoming flights.
The O'Hare Transfer platform and station signage
Last train to Chicago until late afternoon!
Flight landed early, so here goes: the elusive train from ORD!
I know I said I was done on this trip. I lied.
Just for good measure, the entire Roslagsbanan system ✅
Now to make it back to Stockholm… and hopefully make my flight in 3.5 hours. Wish me luck!
Going to get home super late, but a final system on this trip: all of the Stockholm Tunnelbana ✅
Track 3 is a middle track with island platforms on both sides, so they list it as "31" and "32."
1 and 5 are outer express tracks.
2 and 4 are the through local tracks.
Short turns discharge on 32, then receive on 31 (on track 3, without physically moving).
1 _ 2-[31/32]-4 _ 5
The traditional commemorative completion pose of thumbs-up on the train, with a work friend who joined.
An arriving Pendeltåg X60 trainset
Stockholm Odenplan station's platform, built as part of the 2017 City Line through-running tunnel.
Digital signage of frequent CR service at Upplands Väsby
Final time: 8h, 22 min
More like a racewalk than a speedrun covering Stockholm's entire Pendeltåg CR network in one go (…not that I know of any official attempts).
A little thing I've been working on recently: real-time stringlines for the London Underground, using data from the Trackernet API: trackernet-stringlines.choochoo.systems
Me having finished the tram network, commemorative "thumbs-up" in front of a tram in Oslo.
An older Oslo tram
An older tram passing a newer tram
The view at sunset up a strong grade of a new tram passing the rear of the old tram.
Me: "No I'm not going to ride the whole tram system in Oslo (in addition to the metro); that would be insane."
Also me: "Hey, look, it's one of a dozen old trams still in operation! Well, since I've now ridden that on a good chunk of the tram network, I guess I'd be stupid to not finish it."
Kolsås station platform, with a train to Oslo behind.
Pointing to the T-Bane Metro sign with a T logo looking akin to the MBTA T logo.
Finished riding the T's rapid transit network again… well…
There's something special about riding an edge case that led to GTFS using (trip_id, stop_sequence) as stop_times.txt's primary key instead of (trip_id, stop_id).
(Stopping at Carl Berners plass for the second time on a single journey on the same track.)
I've found Google Translate is amazing for that, doing live translations of announcements on the fly. I've also found most international staff speak English as a global Linga Franca, if not other passengers, who can help translate as needed.
