REM - Matériel Roulant

[TurboLed]

Metro can mean many things. But at first, I was pointing out that, many times, Métro (in French) is translated to Subway (in English) or vice-versa. The word "Métro" in Montréal is spelled in French (with the É) and often gets translated to "Montreal Subway"

Think the same about "Métro de New York" / "New York Subway". Although the New York Subway does go outside, and so does the London "Underground" which goes above ground...

[FrodoMTL]

Why are we even talking about this...

Metro, subway, light rail, rapid transit, express train, skytrain - these are just for branding purposes. As long as it delivers frequent and rapid service with good fare integration, the average rider could care less. 

Modifié 24 avril 2021 par FrodoMTL

[SameGuy]

27 minutes ago, FrodoMTL said:

Why are we even talking about this...

Metro, subway, light rail, rapid transit, express train, skytrain - these are just for branding purposes. As long as it delivers frequent and rapid service with good fare integration, the average rider could care less. 

LOL yup. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

On 2021-04-06 at 7:55 PM, SameGuy said:

Good points.

Look up in the sky! It’s a train!

 

[Enalung]

2 hours ago, FrodoMTL said:

Why are we even talking about this...

Metro, subway, light rail, rapid transit, express train, skytrain - these are just for branding purposes. As long as it delivers frequent and rapid service with good fare integration, the average rider could care less. 

I strongly disagree.

As I mentioned earlier, the term metro has very specific characteristics associated with it, so it's quite precise. Skytrain is an even more precise term then any of the previous since it refers specifically to the Vancouver transit network. Light rail sounds like a term that refers to a specific technology, but in reality, it's a very imprecise term that is used as a catch all for anything that isn't quite a tram, a metro or train. Light rail often has characteristics of all 3. Rapid Transit definitely feels like a marketing term since it could mean just about anything. The expression express train is definitely more then just marketing since it implies a direct journey from point A to point B without stopping at the intermediate stops in between. We were discussing earlier the notion that a metro isn't necessarily underground. Translating "Metro de Montréal" to Montreal Subway is accurate because a subway is defined as being underground, typically electrified railway.

This is what I really hate about our modern world. We've denatured so many words for the sake of marketing and political arguments that the meaning of those words ends up getting lost.

[SameGuy]

The accurate term that best describes REM is “medium-capacity transit system,” while a looser term could be “light metro.” I agree that “light rail” is simply imprecise in almost every regard. Either way, REM is definitely a metro; the same rolling stock in a six-car, open-gangway configuration in Sydney is a “high-capacity transit system” or “heavy metro,” and also still a metro.

[FrodoMTL]

1 hour ago, Enalung said:

I strongly disagree.

As I mentioned earlier, the term metro has very specific characteristics associated with it, so it's quite precise. Skytrain is an even more precise term then any of the previous since it refers specifically to the Vancouver transit network. Light rail sounds like a term that refers to a specific technology, but in reality, it's a very imprecise term that is used as a catch all for anything that isn't quite a tram, a metro or train. Light rail often has characteristics of all 3. Rapid Transit definitely feels like a marketing term since it could mean just about anything. The expression express train is definitely more then just marketing since it implies a direct journey from point A to point B without stopping at the intermediate stops in between. We were discussing earlier the notion that a metro isn't necessarily underground. Translating "Metro de Montréal" to Montreal Subway is accurate because a subway is defined as being underground, typically electrified railway.

Okay man. I had no idea some people can be so passionate about this stuff. Good for you for being so passionate about a niche topic.

Once again, to 99.9% of users of transit, who cares as long as it's good quality transit? Of course the term "metro" is not confined to subway systems. Half the systems in Asia are called "metros" even though many of them run above or elevated lines.

Quote

This is what I really hate about our modern world. We've denatured so many words for the sake of marketing and political arguments that the meaning of those words ends up getting lost.

The art of language manipulation and marketing have existed since the dawn of human society. This really isn't a "modern world" phenomenon. Chillax.

Modifié 24 avril 2021 par FrodoMTL

[Flynnster]

Hey as long as our transportation system is faster than a speeding bullet ,they could call Superman system for all I care, oh and it doesn’t cost a arm & a leg.😂

[SameGuy]

4 minutes ago, Flynnster said:

Hey as long as our transportation system is faster than a speeding bullet ,they could call Superman system for all I care, oh and it doesn’t cost a arm & a leg.😂

😂Agree!! Marketing terms and “St-Laurent” design language aside, just “make it work”!

29 minutes ago, FrodoMTL said:

Okay man. I had no idea some people can be so passionate about this stuff. Good for you for being so passionate about a niche topic.

Once again, to 99.9% of users of transit, who cares as long as it's good quality transit? Of course the term "metro" is not confined to subway systems. Half the systems in Asia are called "metros" even though many of them run above or elevated lines.

The art of language manipulation and marketing have existed since the dawn of human society. This really isn't a "modern world" phenomenon. Chillax.

 

[SameGuy]

51 minutes ago, FrodoMTL said:

Of course the term "metro" is not confined to subway systems. Half the systems in Asia are called "metros" even though many of them run above or elevated lines

Even though the Sydney Metro opened recently, one could also say the separate Sydney Trains are essentially a metro (though ostensibly an S-Bahn- or RER-style system but with metro-like station spacing in the CBD and inner suburbs). The trains are entirely in tunnels underneath the core, and there are altogether some 28 km of tunnel under the CBD and inner suburbs, with headways as short as two minutes at the six stations of the 6 km City Circle Line tunnel built in the 1920s.

[Doctor D]

Language is everything and essential to negotiating meaning, and yes, people are passionate about such things; isn't what this forum is supposed to be about? 

I find it interesting that certain cities "marketing" of transit becomes a defining attribute of the city itself: the Chicago "L", the London "Tube",  the Seattle "Monorail" as opposed to Vancouvers "Skytrain, the "T" in Boston to name a few. It is a shame that the Paris "Metro" has now become a generic term like "Kleenex".

Perhaps we should embrace the "REM" as a marketing tool for Montreal transit - when you Google it, the only thing that comes up is the Montreal system (besides "Rapid Eye Movement", and of course the band of the same name).

Modifié 25 avril 2021 par Doctor D
typo