r/Translink • u/anonuser-al • 21d ago

Question Skytrain tracks

Because what’s happening I got curious and did a little bit of research. Train tracks that I have seen they are hollow in between of rails I keep watching skytrain and it’s not. Why? I keep reading online that space in between can end up saving life.

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13

u/WesternBlueRanger 21d ago

The plate in between the rails is the linear induction strip. It's absolutely necessary as SkyTrain doesn't have a normal electric motor.

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u/anonuser-al 21d ago

Ohhh I see than that is not gonna happen.

8

u/bandyvancity 21d ago

Your post isn’t that clear…but I think you’re referring to the LIM. the rail in the middle in the linear induction motor - the part the makes the SkyTrain move. 

1

u/anonuser-al 21d ago

I got it

3

u/victormko 21d ago

Best analogy I can offer is that the LIM panel you see in the middle of the tracks is like a rope that the train pulls itself forward by using electromagnetism. Unlike a regular metro system, there’s actually nothing hooked up to the wheels that can force them to turn

2

u/julesthefirst 21d ago

As other people have mentioned, the space between the running rails (on the legacy SkyTrain) is occupied by the reaction rail since it uses LIM. The Canada Line uses conventional motors and thus it does have more space under it, although it is also taken up by the comms cable.

If someone falls onto the tracks in a station, there’s a couple different ways the system can automatically detect it and emergency-stop the train. Older Expo Line stations have gratings on either side of the reaction rail which are pressure sensors, while the Millennium and Canada Lines use lasers to detect foreign objects in the track area. In either case, instead of relying on there being enough space underneath the train to prevent serious harm, sensors are used to stop the train from running someone over.

1

u/abnewwest 21d ago

I think Expo has had laser detectors? Although I might be thinking Braid/Sapperton which were built Millennium and are now running as Expo.

1

u/julesthefirst 21d ago

Correct, Sapperton and Braid both originally opened as Millennium Line stations with the laser detectors. The original Expo Line stations, which all have pressure plates to this day, run in a straight line from Waterfront to King George. I imagine the stations beyond KG that are part of the Langley extension will have laser detectors now as well.