[twoNeurons]

Many of these "other" systems close the doors after 10 seconds because they have a driver who closes the doors when there's no one there.

Another thing that I noticed (in Osaka, at least) is that the door chimes ring AS the door is closing and not before, meaning people don't wait for the door chimes before boarding, they get on the nearest door.

Due to door spacing being different on MkII and MkI, it's pretty difficult to speed up the door closing time.

If you had standardized door positions, you could mark the floor and people would know where to stand. This includes marking where they SHOULDN'T STAND (in front of doors) so as not to block people who are exiting. I give people a dirty look when they're blocking the exit and generally go straight out, forcing them to the side. One guy in front me the other day shoulder-bumped someone standing in front (don't know if it was intentional) in passing. I followed up his bump with an under my breath: "come on people, let people off first"

I have seem some systems that mark the waiting area with two lines on either side of a door. It seems to work well.

I'm kind of a fan of the predictable door times, though. I like predictability in general.

Note: Doors generally stay open longer at some stations (Broadway, Metrotown, Commercial Drive...)

All this being said, I think at this point, crowded trains are a bigger issue than the train's speed. Removing seats and adding trains are great ways to increase capacity. I welcome the new Mark IIs and can't wait to see them in service. Anyone seen them yet? I suspect they'll roll them out on the M-Line when the Canada Line comes online.

edit: Thanks Gordon. Late May. Cool.