Surface Metro

[unmerged(273319)]

Quick question.

I have tried to link surface metro with underground one by using the underground-to-surface links, however, I seem to be unable to connect surface-level tracks with the elevated tracks.

Is elevated metro isolated from the underground and/or surface or am I missing something?

 

[unmerged(243766)]

i connected them exactly the same as you would connect different levels underground. Just select raised track and hover over the end of the ground level track until the selector changes. Then click and drag and you'll get a gradient.

 

[iluvhats]

I had been wondering about this aswell, so decided to go to the map editor to try it out, and the result is

So it needs about 6 road bit lengths to go down to the right level

 

[BenediktGer]

Yeah, you need a lot of space to go from elevated to underground level 3. The best thing is to save the game, try the setup and then build it on the saved game. It's not easy to find the right setup.

 

[unmerged(243766)]

Yeah, you need a lot of space to go from elevated to underground level 3. The best thing is to save the game, try the setup and then build it on the saved game. It's not easy to find the right setup.

unless you are coming from under a river to the surface though there is little reason you should be trying to go from lvl 3 to surface. If you know you are going to want a surface station then use lvl 1 stations on the way there.

 

[BenediktGer]

Todge, I have to admit that I didn't find out how to use the different levels of the metro, yet.

 

[unmerged(266137)]

I've gotten underground to surface to elevated to work, though sometimes it takes a bit of fiddling to get it right.

My main issue with surface tracks is that the game refuses to create grade crossings anymore (outside of the Map Editor)! And even a small cow path is considered a "road" that prevents rails from being constructed.

Am I the only one with this issue?

 

[kaesemann]

I've gotten underground to surface to elevated to work, though sometimes it takes a bit of fiddling to get it right.

My main issue with surface tracks is that the game refuses to create grade crossings anymore (outside of the Map Editor)! And even a small cow path is considered a "road" that prevents rails from being constructed.

Am I the only one with this issue?

I should think that is WAD. Metro systems are described as being completely grade seperated, and have no level crossings, if you want level crossings use trams/light rail

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(rapid_transit)

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic

 

[Damascus]

You need a ton of space. I went from underground to elevated and took the entire SW corner of the Amsterdam map.

 

[unmerged(273319)]

Ah, so there's little chance of me pulling it off in middle of Berlin then eh. Thx dudes.

 

[unmerged(266137)]

I should think that is WAD. Metro systems are described as being completely grade seperated, and have no level crossings, if you want level crossings use trams/light rail

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(rapid_transit)

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic

Funny, I made the same argument in another thread. However, the beta permitted it, and I'm told in Europe it exists.

And that still doesn't explain why I can't build across cow-paths.

I'm using the ground-level metro tracks as a low frequency interurban, there's no reason to avoid grade crossings there.

Edit: Chicago's Brown Line has grade crossings: http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/Chicago/CTA/Brown/

 

[Gazer75]

Ah, so there's little chance of me pulling it off in middle of Berlin then eh. Thx dudes.

Use the parks for it. I had one elevated metro line that had a shared station. I removed that and made a subway station with the ramp to under ground in a park.

 

[BenediktGer]

Funny, I made the same argument in another thread. However, the beta permitted it, and I'm told in Europe it exists.

And that still doesn't explain why I can't build across cow-paths.

I'm using the ground-level metro tracks as a low frequency interurban, there's no reason to avoid grade crossings there.

Edit: Chicago's Brown Line has grade crossings: http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/Chicago/CTA/Brown/

It depends on the electricity system. If you have overhead lines you can do grade crossings, but with "third rail" (i.e. ground-level contact lines) it's very uncommon to do crossings since it's dangerous for humans and animals.

"Metro" in Frankfurt, Germany:

Metro in Hamburg, Germany:

 

[Alastair]

Nice pictures. The gap between a tram and a metro/light railway is pretty fuzzy nowadays.

 

[unmerged(266137)]

Actually, the remarkable thing about Chicago's system is that it is third rail with grade crossings. LIRR has 'em too, I believe.

 

[beefers1]

Nice pictures. The gap between a tram and a metro/light railway is pretty fuzzy nowadays.

The difference is that subway/metro is heavy rail, and trams/streetcars are light rail. The first picture from Frankfurt is a light-rail streetcar, not a metro.

Chicago's subway is an exception to the rule. I can't think of any other heavy-rail subway with grade crossings. The LIRR is more of an interurban commuter train than a subway, I believe.

 

[BenediktGer]

The difference is that subway/metro is heavy rail, and trams/streetcars are light rail. The first picture from Frankfurt is a light-rail streetcar, not a metro.

Chicago's subway is an exception to the rule. I can't think of any other heavy-rail subway with grade crossings. The LIRR is more of an interurban commuter train than a subway, I believe.

It's all a matter of definition. The train from Frankfurt in the picture is running on an old tram track but later is changing to a metro track, since metro and tram uses the same system.

In Europe there are many metros which leave underground in the suburbs and run like a tram above ground. A metro is not necessarily a heavy rail. In CiM it is, though.

 

[beefers1]

It's all a matter of definition. The train from Frankfurt in the picture is running on an old tram track but later is changing to a metro track, since metro and tram uses the same system.

I'm pretty sure that by definition, rapid transit (subways, or metro for you Europeans) is a heavy rail system grade-seperated from other traffic (Chicago being a notable exception, but even then there're only a few places of at-grade crossings). Subways and light rail systems (trams) are not inter-compatible.

In Europe there are many metros which leave underground in the suburbs and run like a tram above ground.

That is technically a light rail system, not a metro. Light rails don't necessarily have to be trams running in traffic. They often run underground and/or grade-seperated too. Most subways in North America run above ground in the suburbs as well.

 

[Grombeard]

What's completely separated from other traffic in Frankfurt is the S-Bahn, which uses the tracks of trains but also goes underground in many places. Tram in Frankfurt is completely overground and, like BenediktGer said, sometimes shares it's tracks with the U-Bahn (= Subway) which goes underground AND overground.

Here in Bonn we have the same subway system like in Frankfurt (mixed underground/overground on tram tracks) and no special tram lines, but here it's called "Stadtbahn" ("Cityrail").

Quite confusing...

 

[BenediktGer]

I'm pretty sure that by definition, rapid transit (subways, or metro for you Europeans) is a heavy rail system grade-seperated from other traffic (Chicago being a notable exception, but even then there're only a few places of at-grade crossings). Subways and light rail systems (trams) are not inter-compatible.

That is technically a light rail system, not a metro. Light rails don't necessarily have to be trams running in traffic. They often run underground and/or grade-seperated too. Most subways in North America run above ground in the suburbs as well.

Now this discussion gets very technical. You have to separate the electricity system - the voltage and whether the power comes from overhead or from ground-level - the gauge, and whether it's aboveground or underground. In Germany we call everything which goes underground an "U-Bahn" (roughly: Metro). Many of these would qualify as Light Rail according to your North American definition, but others qualify as heavy rail.

Then, we also have two-system-trains which can run on low and high voltage (running in Karlsruhe, planned in Frankfurt). We have other definitions here and it makes sense for us. This can be demonstrated by the fact that the English Wikipedia entry on Light Rail doesn't have a German counterpart and the German U-Bahn page links to Rapid Transit as counterpart.