Robotrains take over NY's Brooklyn-Manhattan line under careful watch of human conductor overlords
By Tim Stevens 
posted February 24th 2009 8:26AM
posted February 24th 2009 8:26AM
[Thanks, Zoli]
posted February 24th 2009 8:26AM
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I commute daily on the L, it's usually fine, but sometimes, man, sometimes I'd probably be better off walking. I don't mind having robots at the helm, if that means I have to hear "we are being held momentarily, please be patient" less often, I don't mind at all.
Momentarily my ear...
cool to see my stop on this site! Livonia Ave.
So, is Robocop going to show up when people are getting mugged, beaten, etc. late night on the L line now that no humans are there to watc???
I dont think this will come into play anytime soon. The next strike though I dont think will happen for some time especially when you could be "Well robots dont need healthcare".....
I ride the L to work. Sweet
I hope that they automate these trains quickly and fire all of the conductors who are overpaid, unionized strike-mongerers.
To all those people who are saying to 'replace the lazy MTA workers with robo-trains
ITS NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!
What if someone needs help late at night? You know, lost person, mugging, shooting, etc. When someone in distress hits that little emergency intercom on the L train cars. Guess where it goes? Right to the train crew. What are you gonna do when you need help underground on the train and there is no CREW?
People getting stuck in doors. Hmm, what if the power goes out?
A lot of the short-sighted individuals on here need to look at the bigger picture. BTW, Jeff, you are pretty knowledgeable about the transit system
@BKLYN1989
Well, let's take a look what happens:
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Adam Williamson @ Feb 24th 2009 12:50PM
Vancouver's Skytrain system has been entirely automated since launch (in 1986), with no derailments or collisions ever. The only incidents have been mechanical failures and, as is inevitable with rail systems, suicides.
They don't have any kind of attendants, there's no driver car (though when it's snowing or something they send a staff member onto each train, I think just to reassure people, there's nothing they could actually do there). There's a big window up the front of each carriage with a front-facing seat. You get quite a lot of kids there, 'driving the train'. It's cute.
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Shocker!!!??? What? They've been running trains for over 20 years w/o any union people on the trains? I'm going to assume that people here have thought about it, and that the Skytrain has survived power outages and lost people on trains and guess what? The world didn't end.
All you're doing is scaring people for now reason. What the hell is a train crew going to do when there's no power? Start running on a hampster wheel and generate power?
Get over it. Unions made sense back when work was dangerous, but you certainly don't need to pay anyone more than a minimum wage to look at some lights on the controls.
Washington DC's Metro has had ATC, the precursor to this technology, since day one, which is March 27, 1976.
The staff that is on the trains are called "operators" and under normal operations just provide for passenger safety by closing the doors and emergency stopping of trains.
No "operator" can be seen in a Driverless "Métro" since 1999 in Paris. Get it Kryston? No Staff to baby sit us here...
Yay, my City is getting a CBTC line, :)!
It is not fully like France's Metro, Great Britain's Underground and Canada's SkyTrain... Since it is still observed by driver... Followng the (L) 'Canarsie Line'; the (7) 'Corona Line', (E), (F), (V), (G) and (R) 'Queens Blvd. Line' is possibly getting it too...
It is a whole new lelvel of transportation, :)!
Well, the Train Operator is still there to help...