http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/13785.asp

 

Expand rail service, lawmakers, officials say

 

By BERNARD SCHOENBURG

POLITICAL WRITER

Published Wednesday, August 08, 2007

 

Illinois needs to continue to invest in passenger trains to assist tourism, the environment

and the economy, several state lawmakers and local officials said Tuesday at the

Statehouse.

 

"I think we honor our past and build on our future by building more rail in Illinois," said

Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, at a news conference called to push for $1.3 billion in

state capital spending on passenger rail projects over the next five years, and $28 million

in operating money in the fiscal year that began July 1.

 

While Jacobs said he's been working with Japanese railway officials to discuss eventual

high-speed rail in Illinois, first Amtrak service needs to be extended to cities including

Rock Island and Rockford.

 

.....

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

More on the storm that crippled NYC. Some lines - mine - are still down and not expected to be up.

 

 

August 8, 2007

New York City Transit System Is Crippled by Flooding

By GRAHAM BOWLEY and JOHN HOLUSHA

 

Powerful thunderstorms swept through the New York metropolitan area this morning, tearing up trees and damaging cars and homes, and creating havoc during the morning commute.

 

......

^egads to that line waiting on bus/taxi/whatever.

 

I said f-it and worked from home yesterday.

I see the national news is treating the New York rainstorm like it's important to the rest of the nation. And I'll bet they're wondering where that storm came from -- as if it appeared out of nowhere. It did, the same system hit Cleveland 24 hours earlier but got only a passing mention on the Weather Channel and nowhere else (nationally, anyway).

I think the fact that the storm impacted all modes of transportation and virtually brought NYC to a stop is why its gotten national attention.

As it did in Cleveland yesterday. But since the national news didn't report on our malaise, you and others didn't hear about it. So here's some pics:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=13755.msg207885#msg207885

 

I heard about it!  From YOU!

 

I think because the banking sector had issues and many morning shows are produced here, the national media pickup up on "updates" those shows did.

New Mexico is pressing ahead, using all state funds to expand its Albuquerque-area commuter rail service:

 

From Railway Age...

 

Transit News

 

$115 millon contract awarded for Santa Fe commuter line

 

A joint venture of Twin Mountain Construction II Co. of Albuquerque, N.M., and Herzog Cos. of St. Joseph, Mo., has been awarded a $115 million contract to build 18 miles of new track from a point near La Bajada northward to the edge of Santa Fe as part of a plan to extend Rail Runner Express commuter service to the New Mexico capital. Extending the line into downtown Santa Fe will be part of another contract. Herzog has an arrangement with the state to operate and maintain the commuter service, which now operates between Belen and Bernalillo.

 

For more Breaking News from Railway Age, visit:

Railway Age Breaking News

As it did in Cleveland yesterday. But since the national news didn't report on our malaise, you and others didn't hear about it. So here's some pics:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=13755.msg207885#msg207885

 

 

hey i keep saying the city lacks pr. they need a guy at saatchi & saatchi here in ny on the phone with the big media outlets as soon as cleveland news breaks or something in the cleve needs promoted. would be money well spent. not that it matters for rainstorms, but it would for everything else like developments, business, lifestyle, etc.

 

when i win the lottery i'm going to hire that guy to do that for cle and ohio. oh hi ya would be in your face everywhere you look - muwahahaha *rubs hands together*

Why do Tony (at saatchi) when we have one of the largest media agencies and IMG right in the heart of cleveland.

^ because i dont just want to run an ad in sports illustrated.  :laugh:

 

 

ps -- holy global warming batman look at this, there was brooklyn tornado, the 1st one ever recorded:

http://mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2007/08/tracking-path-of-brooklyns-twister.html

^ because i dont just want to run an ad in sports illustrated.  :laugh:

 

Well you can always advertise in People, Entertainment Weekly, Travel & Leisure, Departures, Fortune, Money, People en Espanol, Essence, Homes & Gardens & cooking light to start!  I would appreciate the business! :laugh:

From Railway Age:

 

Engineering News

 

Washington County (Ore.) rail construction continues

 

Intersection reconstruction on the 14.7-mile Washington County Commuter Rail line in greater Portland, Ore., continues with a three-day closure at SW Avery St. in Tualatin August 17-20. Crews will remove existing rail, install new rail and resurface the intersection. The final public intersection crossing will be reconstructed later this year. The intersection at SW Bonita St in Tigard will be closed November 16-19. Ten of the 12 public railroad crossings on the project have been reconstructed. Three of five new rail bridges have now been completed and three other bridge structures will be rehabilitated. Approximately 14.4 miles of rail have been replaced on the 14.7-mile rail project.

 

For more on this story, visit:

RT&S Breaking News

Was talking with Midwest HSR Association's Rick Harnish today on several matters, and I asked him about the likelihood if the state of Illinois will pass some sort of 5-year capital development program for Amtrak passenger rail services. Chances look good for the program, including 110 mph service from Chicago to St. Louis, purchasing a state pool of advanced passenger trains and new service to Rockford and the Quad Cities.

 

For more about this program, see http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6079.msg206406#msg206406

Commuters trying Plan B to get to work downtown

To get to and from work, many are climbing on buses or exploring new routes after the I-35W bridge collapse.

By H.J. Cummins, Star Tribune

Last update: August 08, 2007 9:12 PM

 

Some variation of Erika Peterson's story is happening a thousand times over in the Twin Cities.

Peterson, who works in marketing for PricewaterhouseCoopers, used to come into downtown Minneapolis on West River Parkway. But part of it is buried under the collapsed I-35W bridge.

 

She's a fan of mass transit, having relied on it when she lived in Chicago, but the bus options to her Macalester-Groveland neighborhood in St. Paul don't quite accommodate her unpredictable hours.

 

......

 

http://www.startribune.com/535/story/1352339.html

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

From the NARP Hotline.

 

Increased gasoline taxes at federal and state levels are gaining momentum as a possible method to bolster transportation funding in the wake of last week’s I-35W Minneapolis bridge collapse.  Rep. Don Young (R-AK), member and former chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, broached the possibility of a gas tax increase.

 

“We have to, as a Congress, grasp this problem,” he said. “And yes, I would even suggest, fund this problem with a tax.  May the sky not fall on me.” Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), current House T&I Chairman, proposed on Wednesday a plan to dedicate funding to nationwide bridge repair. 

 

The bill, which will be considered when Congress reconvenes in September, would dedicate an as-yet unidentified source – possibly taxes on fuel or imported oil – to disburse repair funds based on a formula, with specific earmarks prohibited.  It would also mandate states to immediately inspect bridges that have been deemed structurally deficient, as well as require the Federal Highway Administration to update inspection standards.

 

As well, Minnesota Governor Jim Pawlenty ® reversed his long-standing position against gas-tax increases, after having twice vetoed gas-tax increases, most recently in May, when he called a proposed 7.5 cent-per-gallon increase an “unnecessary and onerous burden on Minnesotans that could weaken the state’s economy.” Now, Pawlenty has offered to “extend an olive branch” to Democratic-Farm-Labor Party leaders in the Minnesota Legislature and revisit the issue of increasing the gas tax.

 

President Bush once again dismissed increasing gasoline taxes as a method to fund transportation improvements.  When asked at a White House press conference Thursday if he considered that a viable alternative, he deflected the question, and instead of presenting ideas to reform transportation funding he focused on Congressional earmarks and pet projects.  “Before we raise taxes, which could affect economic growth, I would strongly urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities,” the President said.  He made no mention of specific proposals such as the Oberstar plan or the bi-partisan Dodd-Hagel bill, which, as reported in last week’s Hotline, would create an independent board to objectively examine transportation spending needs and grant funding through a variety of sources.

 

The federal gasoline excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon has remained unchanged since 1993, while inflation continues to reduce the spending power of tax dollars.   The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $1.6 trillion would need to be spent over five years simply to bring all existing national infrastructure into a state of good repair.  The ASCE also estimates that $188 billion over 20 years would be required to repair existing bridges.

 

 

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_513/

When I read that yesterday, I wondered why NARP spent so much time on that story. It's interesting and informative, but didn't belong on the NARP hotline, IMHO. Its posting might even be more suitable in the bridge thread here on UO.

Perhaps, but a portion of an increase in the federal gas tax could also be designated toward the very modes that can take the overload off the highways and bridges.... rail & transit.  Though the folks at NARP didn't exactly connect those dots, it is a real possibility.

Perhaps, but a portion of an increase in the federal gas tax could also be designated toward the very modes that can take the overload off the highways and bridges.... rail & transit.  Though the folks at NARP didn't exactly connect those dots, it is a real possibility.

You're making too much sense. Please stop coming to our meetings.

from the pd today:

 

NYC gets $354m for toll plan

8/14/2007, 10:54 a.m. EDT

By DEVLIN BARRETT

The Associated Press   

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has agreed to pay $354 million to New York City to help it launch an ambitious plan to reduce traffic by charging tolls on drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan.

 

New York's effort, called congestion pricing, would mark the first time such a toll program has been instituted in the U.S. Similar programs already exist in London and Singapore.

 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had vigorously touted the toll plan to reduce gridlock and pollution, but federal support was jeopardized by weeks of haggling among New York leaders who finally struck a compromise agreement on congestion pricing.

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation was to announce other cities receiving funds later Tuesday. They had been considering which five out of nine cities would receive a major infusion of cash for local traffic reduction plans.

 

Also competing for federal aid was Minneapolis, where divers are still trying to find the remains of four missing motorists from a catastrophic bridge collapse. Nine people are already confirmed dead in the Aug. 1 collapse.

 

The other cities seeking funding were Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Seattle and Chicago.

 

 

Good news! Hopefully, along with the congestion pricing, more money will be spent to modernize the local transit system and improve efficiency.

Northern rail idea gathers money

Ruling on $1 million from feds expected at month's end Tuesday, August 14, 2007BY JOHN MULCAHY News Staff Reporter

Federal, state and local funding is beginning to take shape for the proposed commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Howell, but when the trains will start running is still an unanswered question.

 

A state official said the rail service likely would be eligible for about $1.4 million in operating subsidies once it starts. And the group leading the effort expects a decision by the end of this month on whether or not it will receive $1 million from the federal government to help operate the line.

 

Meanwhile, backers are moving forward with establishing a rail authority to run the service. The authority could be in place by the end of September or early October, according to the chairmen of Washtenaw and Livingston counties boards of commissioners.

 

.....

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1187102495158600.xml&coll=2

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

 

 

from the pd today:

 

NYC gets $354m for toll plan

8/14/2007, 10:54 a.m. EDT

By DEVLIN BARRETT

The Associated Press   

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has agreed to pay $354 million to New York City to help it launch an ambitious plan to reduce traffic by charging tolls on drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation was to announce other cities receiving funds later Tuesday. They had been considering which five out of nine cities would receive a major infusion of cash for local traffic reduction plans.

 

Also competing for federal aid was Minneapolis, where divers are still trying to find the remains of four missing motorists from a catastrophic bridge collapse. Nine people are already confirmed dead in the Aug. 1 collapse.

 

The other cities seeking funding were Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Seattle and Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

DOT Press Release:

 

DOT 85-07

Contact:  Sarah Echols

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Tel.: (202) 366-4570

 

 

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Names Five Communities to Receive

Funding to Help Fight Traffic Congestion

 

Miami, Minneapolis Area, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle Area Selected

 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today announced she has selected five metropolitan areas across the country as the first communities to participate in a new federal initiative to fight traffic gridlock.

 

Today’s announcement follows an eight-month nationwide competition to select a handful of communities from among the 26 who applied to join the Department’s Urban Partnership program, aimed to reduce traffic congestion using approaches like congestion pricing, transit, tolling, and teleworking.

 

The Secretary said the communities, as winners of the competition, will receive the following funding amounts to implement their traffic fighting plans:  Miami, $62.9 million; the Minneapolis area, $133.3 million; New York City, $354.5 million; San Francisco, $158.7 million; and the Seattle area (King County), $138.7 million; 

 

The Secretary said each of the Urban Partners has developed a total transportation solution.  “These communities have committed to fighting congestion now.  Our commitment was to allocate the federal contribution in a lump sum, not in bits and pieces over several years – an approach meant to get these projects off the drawing board and into action,” she said.

 

Secretary Peters said every Urban Partner proposed some form of congestion pricing.  These direct user fees have the advantage of both reducing the enormous costs of congestion, and also of raising funds more effectively than the gas tax does to help states and cities build and maintain critical transportation infrastructure, she said.

 

“Many politicians treat tolls and congestion pricing as taboo, but leaders in these communities understand that commuters want solutions that work,” Secretary Peters said.

 

Additionally, improved and expanded bus and ferry service will make it easier for commuters in Urban Partnership communities to leave their cars at home, the Secretary said.  The plans also take advantage of new technologies to keep traffic moving, and flexible work schedules and telecommuting to ease traditional rush hours, she said.

 

The Urban Partnership Program is part of the Bush Administration’s comprehensive initiative launched in May 2006 to confront and address congestion throughout the nation’s transportation system.       

# # #

8/15/2007    Ridership

St. Louis Metro sets light-rail ridership record in July

 

In July, St. Louis’ Metro posted is highest-ever monthly ridership at 2.3 million passengers, marking the fourth-consecutive month light-rail ridership has exceeded 2 million. The agency carried 600,000 more MetroLink riders compared with July 2006.

 

Metro officials attribute the record to the eight-mile Cross County MetroLink extension, which opened last fall and has exceeded ridership projections. The agency estimated the line would attract 18,900 additional riders by 2025; last month, that figure exceeded 27,000 passengers.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=11228

Commuter Rail News

 

Rail Runner Express environmental assessment ready for public review

 

The Environmental Assessment for Phase II of the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter line has been officially released for public review by the Federal Highway Administration, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Mid-Region Council of Governments. Rail Runner Phase II is on track to go to Santa Fe by end of 2008.

For more on this story, visit:

RT&S Breaking News

The State Journal-Register Archives

The (Springfield, IL) State Journal-Register

'Such a beautiful place' / Great Hall in Chicago's Union Station may get upgrade

 

August 11, 2007

Section: CITY/STATE

Page: 6

MIKE RAMSEY GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

 

CHICAGO - The historic Great Hall of Union Station was hot and muggy Wednesday

afternoon, even with portable fans noisily gushing air,

 

But at least there was space, lots of space, to sprawl onto one of its long, varnished benches - unlike the boarding lounge for Amtrak passengers, which is closer to the trains.

 

Few seats were available there.

 

"I'd rather wait a little farther out from the crowd," retired Janesville, Wis., resident Christine Bakken said as she and a friend sat in the Great Hall, about 90 minutes before the Empire Builder was due.

 

"I wanted her to see this because it's such a beautiful place," added Bakken's traveling companion, Sheila Stafford, who also parked a suitcase on the floor.

 

The ornate Great Hall, with its marble floors, Corinthian columns and soaring barrel-vaulted ceiling of glass, has served as a hub for train travelers since opening in 1925, when passenger rail was approaching its zenith in the United States. But today, the cavernous interior - used to great effect in a shootout scene in 1987's "The Untouchables" - is relatively quiet and slightly run-down.

 

That is expected to change, with the advancing plans being pushed by a team of redevelopers and Amtrak, which owns the Great Hall. If all goes well for them, the Beaux Arts structure at Canal Street and Jackson Boulevard - technically known as the "Headhouse" building of the larger Union Station complex - will get an 18-floor addition on top and become a mixed-use center with offices, residences, hotel rooms, retail space and restaurants. Media reports have placed the project cost at $457 million.

 

Ald. Bob Fioretti, whose 2nd Ward includes Union Station, said the project would be an "economic engine" for the emerging Near West Loop district. He said a redevelopment agreement that includes $59 million in public assistance is expected to come before the Chicago City Council in the next couple of months.

 

Passenger-rail advocates are cautious about the plan. They say the Great Hall's earlier purpose as a haven for train riders should not get lost among the bells and whistles of the project.

 

Rick Harnish, the Chicago-based rail advocate who last year helped to convince lawmakers to double Amtrak service within Illinois, is critical of the way the Great Hall is today utilized - or to him, underutilized. He said Amtrak passengers have effectively been nudged to the railroad's newer, but frequently crowded boarding lounge.

 

The lounge and Amtrak service booths are east of the Great Hall, under a modern high-rise that replaced a Headhouse companion structure known as the Concourse.

 

Occasionally, Harnish said, the Great Hall is cleared of its benches, forcing travelers who want to wait there to plop down on the floor like "hobos."

 

"The room is screaming, 'Passenger trains are going away,'" said Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. "It's like they've had a going-out-of-business sale."

 

He said he would like to see amenities in the Great Hall that include bathrooms, retail stalls, ticket booths and easy-to-read status reports of train arrivals and departures.

Currently, there is a central kiosk with small electronic monitors that relay schedule information about Amtrak and Metra, the suburban commuter rail system that uses another portion of Union Station.

 

A resolution passed earlier this year by directors of the National Association of Railroad Passengers in Washington expressed alarm that the Great Hall may be "converted to retail space in a manner that renders it unusable for train passengers."

 

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said that fear is unfounded. He said the Great Hall redevelopment would include improvements, including climate controls, geared toward waiting travelers.

 

"We intend to improve the comfort and utility of the Great Hall for passengers," he said. Magliari agreed that the passenger lounge can become busy at peak periods. But he said many Amtrak passengers prefer to wait there, closer to the trains, rather than in the Great Hall, which is beyond sliding glass doors more than a block away.

 

Amtrak passengers approached Wednesday in the Great Hall indicated they don't think the space needs much more to make it inviting to travelers. "The No. 1 thing is air conditioning," Allan Henderson of Kearny, N.J., a retired letter carrier, said. "Retail - I couldn't care less."

 

Stafford, one of the travelers from Wisconsin, said displaying some information about the history of the building would be nice. Anything more than that might make the hall cluttered, she said.

 

"I just like to see the beauty of the building," Stafford said.

 

Chicago's Union Station is the pass-through point for 55 intercity trains and about 7,000 Amtrak passengers each day. Harnish said the idea of accommodating passengers at Union Station is relevant as rail advocates urge state lawmakers to increase train frequencies even more and re-connect Rockford and the Quad Cities to Chicago via passenger rail.

 

On the Web

 

A variety of Web sites contain information about Amtrak, Chicago's Union Station and the

plans for the rail station's redevelopment.

 

* www.amtrak.com

 

* www.downtownairport

 

* www.chicagounionstation.com

Transit News

 

NBC Universal signs monitor pact with PATH

 

NBC Universal will pay the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey $1.5 million over the next seven years for the right to install information and advertising monitors on 340 new PATH rapid transit cars that will be put into service between 2009 and 2011 as well as on PATH station platforms in Midtown and Lower Manhattan and in the New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken. “The agreement provides an important service to our customers at no cost to the agency,” said Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia. “It’s a model agreement for advancing customers’ service goals by leveraging the marketing potential of one of our facilities.”

For more Breaking News from Railway Age, visit:

Railway Age Breaking News

 

 

Commuter Rail News

 

NJ TRANSIT, Metro-North plan new service for Pascack Valley Line

 

Pascack Valley Line customers in New Jersey will benefit from 126 new trains per week, including bi-directional, off-peak and weekend rail service for the first time, as a result of new passing sidings constructed along the single- track line. Starting October 28, NJ TRANSIT will offer 16 new weekday trains— nine inbound to Secaucus and Hoboken and seven outbound—nearly doubling the level of service on the line. Of the additional weekday trains, one inbound and two outbound will operate in the evening, including a late-night train, with the remainder of the new service offered midday. Also for the first time, customers will benefit from weekend service, with 23 trains operating on Saturdays and 23 on Sundays—11 inbound to Hoboken and 12 outbound each day.

For more on this story, visit:

RT&S Breaking News

Um, I could be wrong, but didn't I post something in here just a little while ago before KJP? Around 7:00 PM?

It was titled "South Carolina to Begin Plans to Build I-73 Under A New Pilot Program for Tolling Interstates."

 

 

I have no problem with somebody telling me if I posted in the wrong thread - just tell me about it.

 

Unless I'm totally screwed in the head - in which case... never mind.

 

 

Transit News

 

NBC Universal signs monitor pact with PATH

 

NBC Universal will pay the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey $1.5 million over the next seven years for the right to install information and advertising monitors on 340 new PATH rapid transit cars that will be put into service between 2009 and 2011 as well as on PATH station platforms in Midtown and Lower Manhattan and in the New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken. The agreement provides an important service to our customers at no cost to the agency, said Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia. Its a model agreement for advancing customers service goals by leveraging the marketing potential of one of our facilities.

For more Breaking News from Railway Age, visit:

Railway Age Breaking News

 

 

Commuter Rail News

 

NJ TRANSIT, Metro-North plan new service for Pascack Valley Line

 

Pascack Valley Line customers in New Jersey will benefit from 126 new trains per week, including bi-directional, off-peak and weekend rail service for the first time, as a result of new passing sidings constructed along the single- track line. Starting October 28, NJ TRANSIT will offer 16 new weekday trains nine inbound to Secaucus and Hoboken and seven outboundnearly doubling the level of service on the line. Of the additional weekday trains, one inbound and two outbound will operate in the evening, including a late-night train, with the remainder of the new service offered midday. Also for the first time, customers will benefit from weekend service, with 23 trains operating on Saturdays and 23 on Sundays11 inbound to Hoboken and 12 outbound each day.

For more on this story, visit:

RT&S Breaking News

 

Damn it!!!

Why "damn it!!!"?

Why "damn it!!!"?

 

I'm assuming because TWC and NBC aren't friends. Perhaps TWC was even involved on the bidding process.

Be that as it may, the important thing about this story is that it goes right to the heart of rail & transit encouraging economic development.

Why "damn it!!!"?

 

I'm assuming because TWC and NBC aren't friends. Perhaps TWC was even involved on the bidding process.

 

No we Time Warner and NBC/Universal (really GE) aren't friends!  I'm aquainted with the person on the NBC team behind this - which really [glow=red,2,300]burns [/glow] me up!

 

Yes, were testing a product like CNN Airport Network however it would be for rail, on trains/busses and in train/bus stations.  So we could broadcast our, news programming cnn/your local headline news; movies (harry potter, LOTR, Hairspray, 300, Purple Rain, etc); with kiosk that people could check their AOL or other email and new magazines. People Online or Entertainment weekly, Travel & Leisure, etc.  of course there would targetted marketing of our products as well.

 

It just sucks when they don't have the menu of offerings we do!  ugh!  :evil:

We should keep you guys in mind for West Shore commuter rail, which probably won't be run by RTA (which already has selected a vendor for info network on board trains and Euclid Corridor buses). In fact, some stakeholders are of the opinion West Shore trains should NOT be run by RTA!

From NARP "Hotline": happenings in commuter rail.

 

Minnesota’s US Senators urged immediate federal funding of Northstar commuter rail service for Minneapolis.  In a letter to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Senators Norm Coleman ® and Amy Klobuchar (D) said, “The collapse of the I-35W bridge has placed an enormous strain on the transportation infrastructure of the Twin Cities.  Northstar represents one of the most readily available alternatives to ease the congestion and delays caused by the bridge’s collapse.” As reported in last week’s Hotline, Northstar officials hope to start limited service by October, 2008.  In discussion of rebuilding the I-35W bridge, adding light rail to its median has been floated as an option by other local political leaders.

 

Commuter rail between Latrobe and Pittsburgh, PA is on the table thanks to a $500,000 state grant to the Westmoreland County Transit Authority to study feasibility of the service.  WCTA hopes to complete the study by next year, and will then consider whether to proceed.  A second phase would also travel between Arnold and Pittsburgh’s Strip District.  Costs to initiate the services have been initially estimated as between $190 million and $300 million.  Planners hope to tap a state funding source; this year’s Pennsylvania transportation budget includes $50 million for commuter rail projects.

 

Regional planners in the San Francisco Bay Area have released an ambitious commuter rail plan that calls for $45 billion in new commuter and other regional rail projects by 2050.  The Bay Area Regional Rail Plan, devised by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, will go before public hearings this month and would be adopted by the full MTC board next month.  The recommendations are based on projections that the already-congested Bay Area will add 48% more residents by 2050.  While the plan accounts for the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, CAHSR is not a part of the cost estimates.

 

The City Council of Grand Junction, CO voted unanimously this week to join the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority.   The RMRA is studying region-wide alternatives to expanding commuter rail, light rail, and other rail services along I-70 and other corridors emanating from Denver.

 

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_514/

$45 BILLION for rail in the Bay Area?? Hell, even $50 million in commuter rail funds in Pennsylvania??

 

Arrgh!

But thats over the next 42 years.

It's still huge. I wouldn't expect a city, even a metro area as large as the Bay Area, to be able to invest that much money in transit within a couple of years.

Published Saturday, August 4, 2007, by the San Francisco Chronicle

 

Averting gridlock at Bay Area airports

 

By 2025, SFO's passenger traffic will grow 57 to 60 percent,

Oakland's 80 percent and San Jose's 100 percent.

 

By David Armstrong

Chronicle Staff Writer

 

Last year was the worst year in U.S. aviation history for flight delays and cancellations, and things will only get worse unless local governments and the nation's airports take steps to ease congestion, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

 

To that end, the FAA has given a $585,000 grant to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a Bay Area regional government agency, to study ways to avoid airport gridlock. Without reconfiguring Bay Area airports and integrating them more thoroughly into the regional and national transportation system, years of travel pain await, the agency said.

 

"We expect the number of air passengers to ramp up dramatically in the future," said Kirk Shaffer, the FAA's associate administrator for airports.

 

He projected that by 2025, San Francisco International's passenger traffic will grow 57 to 60 percent, Oakland International's 80 percent and San Jose International's 100 percent.

 

Given the extent of the challenge, "all options are on the table," Shaffer said at a press conference at SFO on Friday. Those options include basing many small, private aircraft at smaller, regional airfields instead of at major airports, improving and expanding the

Bay Area's three major airports, and even running high-speed rail service between the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

 

"This is the first time the FAA has provided funding for study of nonaviation modes of transportation," Shaffer said.

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission will work closely with the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission and local governments to come up with regional solutions, said Steve Heminger, executive director of MTC.

 

Research on overhauling the area's transportation is already under way, according to Heminger, who said the infusion of funds from the FAA will help Bay Area authorities wind up their study in about a year. The study will conclude by offering specific recommendations for change, he said.

 

Airport expansion has proven to be a thorny political issue in the recent past, especially an aborted SFO plan to build two new runways on bay fill, which raised the ire of environmentalists. SFO Airport Director John Martin said the broad scope of the new study is designed to come up with solutions to congestion without having to build runways in the bay.

 

"I am optimistic," Martin said. "Using technology, we can become more efficient. By using high-speed rail we could reduce the number of people taking short-haul flights within California by 20 percent."

 

Martin also said persuading airlines to use fewer, larger aircraft could also lessen congestion at Bay Area airports, improve airline on-time performance and reduce the risk of accidents. SFO, Northern California's largest airport, has about 1,000 regularly scheduled commercial flights a day.

 

Martin acknowledged that persuading airlines to use larger planes could be a challenge. Most U.S. air carriers, cash-strapped in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks and recession early this decade, exchanged jumbo jets for smaller planes they knew they could fill.

 

Airline economics may have dictated that change, Martin said. "But the economics at SFO are exactly the opposite."

 

The airport will initiate discussions with airlines in an attempt to persuade carriers to go back to larger planes to increase their on-time departures and arrivals, he said.

 

Ultimately, the nation's entire air travel system needs to be upgraded, according to the FAA's Shaffer, who said gridlock faces not only the Bay Area, but also the big East Coast airports in New York, Newark and Philadelphia, airports in the Los Angeles basin and ultimately the San Diego, Phoenix, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta markets.

 

E-mail David Armstrong at [email protected]

Design work progressing on Salt Lake-to-Provo line

By Nicole Warburton

Deseret Morning News

Published: August 21, 2007

 

Work on a southern extension of commuter rail from Salt Lake City to Provo is progressing quickly, with construction possible by early next year.

 

The Utah Transit Authority plans to release a draft environmental study Wednesday of its FrontRunner South commuter-rail project. The southern extension of commuter rail will have eight stations after the Salt Lake station: Murray, Sandy/South Jordan, Draper/Bluffdale, Lehi, American Fork, Vineyard, Orem and Provo.

 

 

.........

 

http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695202756,00.html

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

Interesting that this editorial writer takes dead aim at the issue of taxpayer "sticker shock" and turns it on its ear to show that commuter rail is actually a reasonable investment compared to a highway interchange.

 

Athens-Atlanta commuter rail deserves fair shot

Editorial

Story updated at 11:11 PM on Sunday, August 19, 2007

 

The will apparently is developing, but whether there's a way to get a commuter rail line between Athens and Atlanta up and running remains very much an open question, given that the Georgia General Assembly will have a voice in funding the initiative.

 

In a meeting last week, the state Department of Transportation board, following a recommendation of its intermodal transportation committee, directed the state transportation agency's staff to start looking into ways to create and fund a rail line between Atlanta and Tucker, a city in northern DeKalb County, as a first step toward an Athens-Atlanta rail line.

 

.......

 

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/082007/opinion_20070820001.shtml

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

Transit News

 

Vancouver (Wash.) warms to light rail

 

A telephone survey of 600 residents of Vancouver, Wash., shows two out of every three support extending light rail to their city from nearby Portland, Ore., according to an article in Vancouver's local newspaper, The Columbian. The finding was presented to the city council Monday, suggesting residents might be shifting their attitudes on light rail more than 12 years after Clark County voters rejected a financial package by about the same margin, almost two-to-one. The city paid Intercept Research Corp. of Tigard, Ore., $10,000 for the survey. The margin of error was 4 points in either direction. Results mirrored an earlier poll commissioned by the Columbia River Crossing project, which is laying plans to build a new Interstate 5 bridge that could carry LRT from its current northern terminus at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center into downtown Vancouver.

 

For more Breaking News from Railway Age, visit:

Railway Age Breaking News http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=rxui8dcab.0.869gfbcab.i6ivn4bab.8403&ts=S0270&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.railwayage.com%2Fbreaking_news.shtml%23Feature4

today from curbed blog:

 

 

More Fun Downtown: Fulton Transit Center Destructoporn!

 

Friday, August 24, 2007, by Lockhart

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Live from Broadway and Fulton way downtown, Curbed Photo Pool contributor dietrich files the above photograph, and this report: "A construction worker douses welding sparks during the last phase of the demolition of a former T.G.I. Friday's restaurant. Two cast iron columns (one where the water meets the sparks) are all that remain of the turn-of-the-century building's former splendor. It's making way for the new Fulton Street station transit center."

 

Ah yes, the new Fulton Street Transit Center! We'd almost forgotten about this massive public works project, what with all the other exciting construction projects in and around the World Trade Center site. Listen, call we all just agree to evacuate Manhattan south of Chambers Street for the next five years to give the developers time to make everything all pretty? Cool.

 

· Broadway and Fulton [dietrich/Curbed Photo Pool]

· Fulton Street Transit Center Overview [lowermanhattan.info]

 

link:

http://curbed.com/archives/2007/08/24/more_fun_downtown_fulton_transit_center_destructoporn.php

i dont expect this to straighten around for a long time...like forever  :laugh: :

 

 

August 24, 2007

Real-Time Bus Information Signs, In MTA-Speak

 

 

Ooh, Streetsblog glimpses what seems to be the first real-time information board at a bus shelter! Apparently the board was being installed at an M15 shelter at First and East 14th. Streetsblog also has some video and ruefully notes, "Unfortunately, for now it appears that the new displays can only be read and understood by bus riders fluent in Klingon." Well, it's only fitting that the board display the equivalent of garbled PA messages. Update: It turns out the messages are displaying smoothly/correctly (but it just couldn't be captured by cameraphone). Still, we'll expect some hiccups (the MTA is only...the MTA, right?).

 

For those of you who are keeping track, the MTA was looking into testing this technology on a few lines - the M15, M31, M35, M57, M66, M72 and M116 - starting back in June of 2005. The MTA has long been interested in using satellite tracking to let customers know when buses are coming, but in previous studies, the skyscrapers interfered!

 

And earlier this year, the MTA started to install real-time information boards at some subway stations.

 

http://gothamist.com/2007/08/24/realtime_bus_in.php

 

http://www.rtands.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature5

 

Late Breaking Rail Industry News

 

August 30, 2007

 

GO Transit extends rail service to Aldershot station

 

Canada's New Government, Ontario's Government and GO Transit started extended rail service at Aldershot Station on GO Transit's Lakeshore West rail corridor. This extended rail service is part of the GO Transit Rail Improvement Program (GO TRIP), a © $1-billion expansion initiative funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and the municipalities, through the Canada-Ontario Strategic Infrastructure Fund. The joint fund provides funding to large-scale transportation infrastructure projects of major national and regional significance.

 

Under GO TRIP, a third track has been added to the Lakeshore West rail corridor. The new track will run on the south side of the existing corridor, from just west of Burlington GO Station to Bayview Junction, near the Royal Botanical Gardens. As a result of this work, GO will be extending mid-day and late-night service to Aldershot Station as of September 4.

 

The overall project is valued at © $72 million, with the federal, provincial and municipal governments each contributing approximately one-third of the total cost, or about © $24 million.

 

Further work is being carried out on the Lakeshore West rail corridor to enhance accessibility and service. This includes the construction of two pedestrian tunnels and new elevators at Aldershot and Burlington stations that will be accessible to persons with disabilities, the widening of the south platform at Burlington Station to accommodate the new track and extending the other platforms at Burlington and Aldershot stations to accommodate GO Transit's 12-car trains.

 

The Ontario government is expanding the parking facilities at Aldershot Station, with an additional 600 spaces on the south side and 390 more spaces on the north side. This will provide almost 1,000 new parking spaces, with the ability to add another 900 spaces in the future.

 

-------------------

 

To learn more about GO Transit's $1 billion systemwide expansion plan, visit: http://www.gotransit.com/gotrip/index.asp

[just shows to go ya, knucklehead-dom exists even in areas perceived as the most progressive]

 

Group forms to fight light rail

Jun 7, 2007

By Seattle Times staff

 

As the campaign season approaches on a transportation ballot measure, an advocacy group called the Washington Traffic Institute has formed to oppose Sound Transit's plans to expand light rail.

 

The group is led by Bill Eager, an engineer; Bruce Nurse, vice president of Bellevue mall developer Kemper Freeman's organization; and Kathryn Serkes, a public-affairs consultant. At its Web site, www.truthabouttraffic.org, the group argues that rail won't solve congestion.'

 

 

Interesting that their President is a former board member of the Urban Land Insitute, a rather notable anti-sprawl organization.

 

But also interesting that one of their links is to Let's Get Washington Moving, an organization backing nothing but high-$$$ highway projects around the State of Washington.

 

Hmmm.... do you suppose www.truthabouttraffic.org is getting their funding from the highway folks?

Probably. And light rail probably won't solve traffic congestion alone. Highway widening doesn't do it at all -- it only makes it worse. What solves it is reducing roadway/highway capacity, providing land use options to sprawl, quality auto-competitive transit (including LRT), and increasing the cost of driving (via gas taxes, less "free" parking, emission-based registration fees, etc) to more accurately reflect its true costs. But, of course, we're not willing to do that because A. we want something for nothing; B. politicians fear the highway lobby; C. we erroneously believe we're already paying the fair market value for the use of roads/highways.

Guest columnist

The great clog of '07: Seattle met the challenge

By Clark Williams-Derry

Special to The Times

 

Remember the Y2K bug? If you listened to the hype and many did it was supposed to be an unavoidable calamity, an inevitable and disastrous chain reaction of computer failures that would cascade throughout the globe, shutting down everything from power systems to hospitals. But then, Jan. 1, 2000 dawned, and ... nothing happened. The hype went up in smoke, all the dire predictions proven absolutely wrong.

 

Well, we've just experienced our own version of the Y2K bug: the partial closure of Interstate 5, the state's most trafficked highway, on a crowded stretch leading into the heart of the most concentrated employment district in the state.

 

......

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003859568_clogop30.html

September 4, 2007

In Rail Link, Angelenos See a Door to Prosperity

By ANA FACIO CONTRERAS

The New York Times

 

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3 While Carlos Sanchez, a guitarist, waits in front of Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights to be picked up for his next job, he likes to look at a mural behind the plazas kiosk on First Street.

 

The mural, with colorful squares and spheres and scenes of local flavor, is reminiscent of the work of Mexican muralists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, but it is functional, too. It hides construction of a light-rail link that supporters in Boyle Heights and neighboring East Los Angeles say will change the face of their communities.

 

.....

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/us/04boyle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE