# Ask a Light Rail Operator **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531 "2010-07-30T00:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/23 "2010-07-30T11:20:21Z")
What controls do you have besides the throttle and brakes? Do you control heating / cooling for the entitre train? How is the view from the cab? (the view from frieght train cabs looks pretty poor to me) Brian ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/24 "2010-07-30T12:39:06Z")
[QUOTE=Justifiable] What are the differences between light rail and heavy rail from your point of view? [/QUOTE] Generally, “Light Rail” is used to denote rail systems used solely for mass transit, as opposed to systems that carry freight. Another defining factor is no connection or interchange with other rail systems - \*\*Incubus \*\*can’t drive a VTA train onto a Southern Pacific line and then go cross-country. Weight of the rolling stock and the rail gage is not a factor. As such, BART is light rail, even though its rolling stock is quite heavy and runs on one of the widest gages in the world - 5’ 6", rather than standard gage, which is 4’ 8½" ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/25 "2010-07-31T17:54:13Z")
**Av8trix** - We’re technically not allowed to work more than 10 hours in a 24-hour period. Unlike bus, where if a bus is out doing somethingorother and the operator is getting close to that cutoff, they can’t EASILY get the train back to the yard/operator relieved. So we’re supposed to let them know an hour in advance, to make sure we can get back/get picked up. In general the schedules are 8-9 hours and because dispatching/controlling train traffic is very tight and leaves no room for error, when we get to the end of the line its more or less a straight shot back to the rail yard, rarely getting done later than scheduled. **N9IWP** - Off the top of my head, there is the throttle which has 5 brake and 5 acceleration settings (plus coast), buttons to control bells and horns, miscellaneous stuff you’d have in your car (like heater/windshield wipers), a 2-way radio, turn signals, digital speedometer, controls for coupling/uncoupling cars, CCTVs that basically act like my rear-view mirrors (but outside the cab- can’t see whats going on inside the train itself actually) and a bunch of mundane stuff that escapes me at the moment. The view from the cab is great, it has excellent visibility and is the only place in the train where you can see straight ahead 😛 Weirdly enough, the operator CANT control the climate control for the interior of train (though he can for his cab) so if people whine its too warm/cold there’s nothing he can do about it 😛 (cant crack open a window on the train either, for obvious reasons!) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/26 "2010-07-31T18:06:51Z")
I know that fare evasion has been a problem for Light Rail here. I ride the Winchester-Mt View line a couple of times a week, and I haven’t seen anyone checking fares lately. What is VTA’s enforcement strategy for the problem? Along the same lines, I’ve noticed that the security guards do a lousy job of enforcing ridership rules. They sit idly by while passengers smoke, eat and toss their litter in the cars and station areas. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/27 "2010-07-31T20:40:40Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > > [@Justifiable](#): > > > > What are the differences between light rail and heavy rail from your point of view? > > The term itself applies to the size/weight of the trains (possibly the gauge, but I’m not sure). > > In practical terms, Light Rail is slower, our top speed is 55mph. It is fully electrified, using overhead wires and pantographs for propulsion. We fall under similar governing bodies, and I’m pretty sure our signals/organization is similar/same as heavy rail. > > For those unfamiliar, most rail networks are broken up into blocks. A ‘block’ is a Things get hairy in power outages or when the train is going section of track(s). Since trains can’t simply go around each other, its essential to have an organized system to direct them, making sure they are going the right way at the right time, don’t conflict with the movement of other trains, or become a hazard to other vehicles. In our network, the train is manually operated, but many of the blocks are automatic- they ‘know’ where the trains are and set their signals accordingly. > > Light Rail, compared to heavy rail also operates street-level and will share traffic with cars in some places and travel through intersections similarly as a car. They have their own signals (so nobody gets confused who is suppose to go and where) but IN GENERAL, if parallel traffic has a green light, the train has its own ‘green’ as well. the ‘wrong’ way down the track- > > **Ever been in a big intersection thats treated as a 4-way stop because the light doesn’t work? and nobody knows what the hell they are doing or whose turn it is and its like a bunch of ants meandering through the intersection? Now imagine you have a 270 foot 3-car train thats gotta do that :eek: it happens!** Yikes, I never thought of that - that’s really hairy! Do you generally work the same route (would that be “line”?), and which one? I take light rail from downtown Campbell on the Mountain View line sometimes so I’ll start waving at the operators. ETA: I’ll start waving at **blondebear** too. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/28 "2010-08-01T05:42:51Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > > [@Justifiable](#): > > > > Interesting. So do your plans for the future include “upgrading” to heavy rail? Are the skills you’ve picked up transferable? Would you see heavy rail as an upgrade? > > I don’t think so. Heavy Rail is stuff like Freight Trains or CalTrain passenger train. (not sure what BART falls under). Congratulations! Running the train does sound like more fun that driving the bus, even if the novelty is bound to wear off. I know where I’d rather be as a passenger, assuming I have both options for where I need to go. And you’ll not have to deal with any more Ralph Kramden jokes! I’m pretty sure BART is considered heavy rail, like most metro systems that run underground or partly underground. In L.A. only the Red and Purple lines are true subways (and heavy rail). The other three lines are completely separate from the subway, except for sharing a couple of stations, and are light rail. I don’t know what the technical difference of specifications is, but you can feel and see the difference as a passenger. An LRT car isn’t much wider than a bus, while a heavy rail car definitely is. ---
**Author:** ![Iridescent\_Orb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@Iridescent\_Orb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iridescent_Orb)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/29 "2010-08-02T04:54:26Z")
I heard that driving a train is actually more stressful than driving a bus. The reason being that with a bus you can at least try to swerve and avoid hitting an obstruction (or person), but with a train your only option is to hit the brakes. Your thoughts? P.S. Cool thread! ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/30 "2010-08-02T06:50:52Z")
**blondebear** - Typicall the Fare inspectors tend to cocentrate downtown, where the most passenger traffic is. There is another reason for this- SJPD/Santa Clara County Sheriff is close by just in case someone REALLY doesn’t like getting a $50 fine for not having their ticket. As for the security guards, all I can really offer is that all VTA personell have it pounded in our heads to not let a situation escalate. A security guard could be a real rules nazi to everyone, but that’s bound to piss off the wrong person sooner or later. The guards are more concerned with mad bomber types than some guy eating a hot dog in the train/puffing on a cigarette on the platform. But it varies. **Dr. Woo** - I’m still in training, but the way an operator’s schedule typically works is something like this- There are 3 lines, Vasona (Mt View-Winchester), Guadalupe (Alum Rock-Santa Teresa) and the Almaden spur. On a straight shift, an operator will just do one of those continuously all day, back and forth. On a split, the operator might spend 4 hours doing one line, 2-4 hours off, then 4 hours doing another line. The worst of the three is Almaden, because it only has two stops, which means 30 trips and lots of tiny breaks (4-6 minutes each) which isn’t really practical for eating lunch or going to the bathroom. Fortunately VTA relented because so many operators were taking potty breaks and holding up the train schedule. Now they give them a 20 minute break in the middle of their shift so you can actually go to the restroom and eat lunch. **Iridescent Orb** - It is stressful, but for different reasons. Rail is much less forgiving when it comes to mistakes. Generally Rail control knows where you are at any given time and if you make a boo boo they will know. In Bus an operator can make a mistake (like, say accidentally doing the incorrect route because he misread his schedule) correct it, and if he’s not horrendously late nobody’s the wiser. However if a train, say, overshoots a fouling line for a red light by an _inch_, they know it and its a 1-4 day suspension for the infraction. Even though you’re on rail, a lot changes when construction happens. There are something like 12 different kind of track switches we use. Some you can ‘trail’ (trailing a switch on a track is like ‘merging’ into a single lane in a car) regardless of how the switch is pointing. But on some switches, they will break/derail the train if you do this, so you gotta pay attention. We also get creative vandals that enjoy spraypainting over switch indicator lights, changing speed limit signs, and putting debris on the trackway (shopping carts seem to be a favorite). Oh yeah, and the guy who likes to set carbage cans on fire in all the stations every summer :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cwilcox3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cwilcox3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwilcox3)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531/31 "2013-05-24T17:39:19Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > Last week I started Light Rail training at my work and currently on their 10-week certification training program. Even in this short amount of time I’ve learned a ton of stuff about the job. > > Something funny is that I was never one of those people that are train nuts, but the prospect of being able to _drive_ one got me very interested, and I learned a great deal before I even got behind the stick. > > It is an entirely different animal than being a bus driver (my previous classification) as there is a significant level of responsibility and focus required to perform the job safely and efficiently. > > If anyone has any questions regarding the job, the light rail system in the Bay Area, or the trains themselves, ask! 🙂 Hello, I am interested in light rail training in Seattle but am having trouble finding information. If you have any suggestions please help. Thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-light-rail-operator/548531.md?page=1)