Interesting news about a major commitment to rail transit in N. America.  After a multi-year test of diesel self-propelled railcars Ottawa has decided to pursue rail big time.  Very interesting!

 

Here's what I found most interesting in the following story:

"After more than 40 years of exclusive bus transit and stagnating ridership,

Ottawa is shifting to commuter rail in a bid to find new riders. The city

wants to increase rush hour transit use to 30 per cent by 2021, from the

current 17 per cent, and it is counting on the north-south and east-west

links to deliver." 

 

 

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e3e9fe80-c696-48fc-9f00-d4750e8f2e71&k=63857&p=1

 

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/lrt/index_en.shtml

 

 

Plan for Metro to BWI Gaining Momentum

Dulles Rail Extension Spurs Md. to Action

 

By Amit R. Paley

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, April 10, 2006; B01

 

As Virginia moves closer to extending Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, Maryland officials are ramping up plans and support for their own multibillion-dollar extension to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

 

The General Assembly late last month approved a $1 million study of the proposed 20-mile extension of the Green Line, the latest sign that the project -- long considered a pie-in-the-sky transit wish -- has increasingly become a top priority for key transportation planners in Annapolis.

 

Full story at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040901162.html

I surfed into that Nashville transit site.

 

Wow.

 

Man, if Nashville can do this, I cant see why we cant have this in SW Ohio. 

Canadians seem to have a much more progressive attitude toward rail than we do here in the States. Meanwhile, we have a President who has an almost pathological dislike for passenger rail in particular and rail in general.  And yet Mr. Bush tells us we need to become "energy independent".  What a laugh.

Great find, Archer04! And welcome to the forum.

 

I rode Ottawa's starter line in 2003 and liked what I saw, though it didn't go into downtown Ottawa (required a connection to the east-west bus transitway). I can think how a similar starter service here in NEO might offer the same kind of spark to rail expansion (and transit ridership expansion) in this neck of North America....

noozer, I about puked when I read the "Metro to BWI" article.  How wasteful to build an expensive subway into a sparsely developed area, especially when there is a good existing commuter rail service!

Yeah... I often wonder why people try to re-invent the wheeel.

SD has come a long way with their trolley's and busses.  Now they're getting t.v.'s in them. This could be an asset for tourists, as well as an easy way for locals to catch up on news.

 

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060412-9999-1m12bustv.html

Is there no escape? Is there no place a person can find refuge from the boxes that show pictures while spewing inane, endless babbling? :shoot:

 

They'd best put bars in the vehicles, too, or at least do away with the prohibition against drinking on board. That's the only thing that could get me to put up with the TVs  :drunk:

Here is a link to one of the companies offering on-board TV service....

 

http://www.transitv.com/

 

I know one of the principles involved in the company.  He lives here in Columbus and is a former GCRTA official (pre-Calabrese).

 

Quite honestly, if we funded transit the way it should be, you probably wouldn't see such "revenue generators" as on-board TV or shrink-wrap ads on city buses.  But given the hand-to-mouth existence of most transit systems in Ohio and elsewhere, who can blame them for being creative ?

noozer, I about puked when I read the "Metro to BWI" article.  How wasteful to build an expensive subway into a sparsely developed area, especially when there is a good existing commuter rail service!

 

Agree, totally.  And you didn't mention that the BWI commuter service is electrified, too.  This means the possibility to extend multiple unit service to the airport.  The region needs to work on making the commuter service that exists better, like increasing frequency, weekend service and, maybe, even extending the tracks to closer than the current Amtrak/MARC station... It makes no sense to build a 30-odd mile rapid transit line. Too great of cost right of way building.  Too uncomfortable of service: these low-back seat rapid transit cars can't deliver the level of comfort the heavier, high-back seat bi-level commuter MARC cars, which are designed to carry passengers great distances in comfort.  Rapid transit lines, really, shouldn't extend much more than 15 miles from the city center.  Beyond this they being (like Metro at points) begin mimicking commuter rail lines...  I know the Metro is popular and highly successful, but come on. 

^ Good points. If they wanted to run real frequent (every 15-20 minutes) electrified commuter rail service right into BWI from DC, they'd probably have to increase the capacity of the Northeast Corridor right of way. But since this was originally four tracks and three tracks are there now, this shouldn't be a huge problem or expense.

It seems like there is plenty of track capacity.  Amtrak runs two trains an hour in each direction.  What kind of headways would be required?  I know Chicago's Metra runs about every 15 minutes during rush hour.  I think the big issue in DC, though, is the available space at Union Station.  Then again, more frequent service would get some of those trains out of there!

 

Don't even get me started on Metro to Dulles Airport.  What a waste of money.  In this area, it seems we have the opposite problem--people want MORE transit, but they want it to come to their front door no matter how far out they move, even if they live in Centreville, which is exactly in the middle of nowhere.  Those people CHOSE to live in the hinterlands.  They should choose to drive to work.  It doesn't make any sense to extend high-capacity subway lines into areas with low population densities when the District needs more subway lines.   

It seems like there is plenty of track capacity.  Amtrak runs two trains an hour in each direction. 

 

Don't forget that MARC runs frequent service on that line, too (in addition to the parallel line via Jessup).

 

I know Chicago's Metra runs about every 15 minutes during rush hour.  I think the big issue in DC, though, is the available space at Union Station.  Then again, more frequent service would get some of those trains out of there!

 

The following routes operate into Chicago Union Station, with the first few lines offering trains as frequently as every 5-10 minutes during rush hours:

BNSF Line (to Aurora)

Milwaukee District West Line (to Elgin)

Milwuakee District North Line (to Fox Lake)

Southwest Service (Orland Park/Manhattan) [every 30 minutes during rush hours]

North Central Line (to Antioch) [every 30 minutes during rush hours]

Heritage Line (to Joliet) [only three trains each way during rush hours]

 

Add to that the 50+ Amtrak trains per day and Union Station is a busy place. I don't know if it has more tracks than Washington Union Station. So I suspect MARC could run some very frequent trains to BWI.

 

BTW, this e-mail is also a description of what other states are doing with rail/transit. Chicago Union Station is one busy place!

 

For those of you not familiar with Chicago's Metra system, check out:

 

http://metrarail.com/System_map/index.html

House approves funding for two rail projects

Northstar, Central Corridor lines part of $999.9 million package

BY BILL SALISBURY

Pioneer Press

 

Rail transit projects used to run into a dead end in the Minnesota House. Not anymore.

 

The House on Wednesday voted 114-16 for a $999.9 million state construction bill that provides money for both the Northstar commuter rail line and a light-rail project in the Central Corridor between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul.

 

More at:

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/legislature/14329406.htm

 

Good thing they didn't get too ambitious and go for a $1 billion package!

 

I hate Ohio sometimes.

PENNSY GRANTS FOR FREIGHT RAILROAD IMPROVEMENTS:

http://www.railpace.com/hotnews/

 

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today said Pennsylvania will invest more than $8 million in its short line and regional railroad network, creating 73 new jobs, maintaining 1,490 other positions and removing over 1 million trucks from the roads. "By maintaining and improving our railroad network, we are keeping freight moving from our communities to national rail links," said Governor Rendell. "We are creating and maintaining much-needed jobs in our communities, and we are helping our environment have cleaner air by reducing the number of trucks on the road. "This is the kind of investment Pennsylvania needs to ensure that our hardworking men and women will have jobs and that businesses will get the goods they need to serve customers and grow." Below is a list of companies that will receive freight railroad and infrastructure funding:

 

More at link above:

State lists agenda of transit projects

Jersey would replace 230 train cars, improve 16 stations, repair 70 bridges

Saturday, April 08, 2006

BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL

Star-Ledger Staff

 

Two weeks after enacting legislation that steers billions of dollars into New Jersey's depleted Transportation Trust Fund, state officials this week began offering a glimpse into the goodies the new funding will buy.

 

From initial work on a multibillion-dollar tunnel under the Hudson River to new funding for repairs to traffic signals, the state Department of Transportation's Capital Program proposes showering $3.2 billion in state and federal funds on highway and mass transit programs across the state during the budget year that starts July 1.

 

More at:

http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1144471403211850.xml&coll=1

Mississippi Senators' Rail Plan Challenged

War Bill Includes Millions to Move Just-Rebuilt Line

 

By Jonathan Weisman

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, April 18, 2006; A01

 

Mississippi's two U.S. senators included $700 million in an emergency war spending bill to relocate a Gulf Coast rail line that has already been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina at a cost of at least $250 million.

 

Republican Sens. Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, who have the backing of their state's economic development agencies and tourism industry, say the CSX freight line must be moved to save it from the next hurricane and to protect Mississippi's growing coastal population from rail accidents. But critics of the measure call it a gift to coastal developers and the casino industry that would be paid for with money carved out of tight Katrina relief funds and piggybacked onto funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

More at:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701551.html

I just sailed past this rail line two weeks ago, I have some pictures of it I might dig up and post.  It was obvious looking at it that it had been recently been rebuilt, with brand new signals and rail above fresh ballast.  It runs parallel to the coast, at most 1,000 feet inland.

It travels through some of the ugliest most god-awful land in the US, along that nasty mosquito-infested coastline.  There are a few swing bridges across inlets which survived but appear to be locked in the open position for the time being.  I saw for myself the damage to the barrier islands down there, there are now gaps of up to 15 miles between barrier islands with holes periodically in the islands.  There isn't a structure of any kind on any of those islands or along the coast until you get to Gulfport.   

^ The Gulf Coast better pray they don't get hit again before those barrier islands can naturally rebuild themselves. Can you imagine what Katrina's 30-foot storm surge would have done to the Gulf Coast if those barrier islands weren't there to take some of the beating?

 

It would be like walking through Baghdad without wearing body armor.

I'm working down there all year, I'll be there for hurricane season.  Seeing it firsthand is amazing, and since I've been on a boat you really understand how much those barrier islands matter.  When we sail along that coast, quite literally the instant you come parallel with the islands the seas get rough, no matter what, even on a calm day of under 20mph winds.  The islands along the Mississippi coast are at least 10 miles off the coast, with the biggest one 30 miles off the coast and curving down to Louisianna.  They are way too far to build a bridge for vacation homes, that's why they are completely undeveloped.  East of Mobile and along the Florida panhandle they are usually no more than 2 miles from the coast which is why there is so much more development there, which means there is a whole bunch more to be destroyed in that area.  All these islands are on Google Maps, it's pretty interesting to take a look at that region. 

 

 

^ The Gulf Coast better pray they don't get hit again before those barrier islands can naturally rebuild themselves. Can you imagine what Katrina's 30-foot storm surge would have done to the Gulf Coast if those barrier islands weren't there to take some of the beating?

 

It would be like walking through Baghdad without wearing body armor.

 

Praying won't help.  The gulf coast is going to get hit before the barrior islands are mended (if at all).  It's just a question of how much damage everyone can put up with.

USA's Light Rail Systems Show Spectacular Ridership Growth in Third Quarter 2005, as All Transit Outstrips VMT

 

With strong ridership growth of 8.8%, America's light rail transit (LRT) systems continued their record of a spectacular growth rate in the third quarter of 2005, according to a recent report from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) [Media Release, 25 January 2006]. The 2005 third quarter report indicates that all types of public transportation tallied ridership increases – which APTA attributes to some extent to the spike in motor fuel costs. "With high gas prices in the third quarter of 2005, national transit ridership grew by 3.3% from the same period in 2004..." states APTA's release.

 

And this increase in public transit ridership occurred while motor vehicle travel fell! "At the same time that transit ridership was increasing during the 2005 third quarter," reports APTA, "Americans parked their cars and vehicle miles of travel (VMT) decreased by 0.2%, according to the Federal Highway Administration statistics." In addition, says APTA, the trend seems to have lasted at least for a while – a recent survey it conducted of transit systems indicates that "this growing ridership trend continued in November, despite a drop in gas prices that month."

 

"The increased ridership results of the third quarter, combined with the November ridership increases, indicate that more and more Americans want other options besides the automobile" said APTA President Bill Millar. "Transit ridership was on the move in 2005 and I fully expect that it will continue to grow as more people discover the convenience and affordability of public transportation."

 

Light rail showed the largest increase by far, soaring an average of 8.8%. Some LRT systems with larger increases than the national average are shown in the list below.

 

Light Rail Transit

• Minneapolis (Metro) – 70.9%

• Tampa (TECO Line) – 22.1%

• Sacramento (RT) – 18.2%

• Los Angeles (MTA) – 15.9%

• San Diego (Trolley) – 15.1%

• Houston (Metro) – 14.8%

• New Jersey (NJT) – 14.1%

 

HBLRT Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit system in northern New Jersey, opened in 2000, has grown steadily. Here a train arrives at the Liberty State Park station.

 

Regional passenger rail ("commuter rail") showed the second-highest national ridership increase for the 2005 third quarter – an average growth rate of 4.6%. Individual ridership increases exceeding that average were experienced in a number of areas, including the following.

 

Regional Passenger Rail

• Chesterton, In (South Shore line) – 10.4%

• Philadelphia (SEPTA Regional Rail) – 9.9%

• Harrisburg (Keystone) – 8.9%

• San Carlos, Ca (Caltrain) – 7.9%

• New Jersey (NJT) – 6.7%

• Los Angeles (Metrolink) – 5.7%

 

Heavy rail rapid transit (subway-elevated ) lines across the USA averaged a 4.3% increase Some particularly large increases in rapid rail ridership were experienced in the following localities:

 

Rail Rapid Transit

• Cleveland (RTA) – 7.8%

• Los Angeles (MTA) – 7.7%

• Philadelphia (SEPTA) – 7.6%

• Boston (MBTA) – 7.3%

• Washington (Metrorail) – 6.3%

• Chicago (CTA) – 6.2%

• Jersey City (Port Authority of NY/NJ) – 5.4%

• Staten Island (SIRTA) – 5.0%

 

LA Red Line Los Angeles's new Red Line metro has seen a steep 7.7% increase in ridership. Here, a Red Line train rolls into the Vermont-Beverly subway station.

 

Other types of public transportation also showed significant increases.

 

Other Modes (National Averages)

• Bus – 2.5%

• Demand Response – 3.2%

• Trolleybus – 0.2%

 

Some of the best major bus system gains were seen in Philadelphia (SEPTA), with 9.5%, followed by Dallas (DART) with 8.3%, and then Saint Louis (Metro) with 6.9%.

 

As previously noted, APTA recently conducted a survey of 86 large and small US transit agencies regarding November ridership figures to see if ridership trends were continuing, even as gas prices declined. Some 88% of the surveyed agencies reported that transit ridership continued at higher rates than a year earlier, despite the fact that motor fuel prices went down in November. In some places, transit systems reported increases at a double-digit rate.

The interesting story about Sacramento's RT light rail is that it came out of a 1970s-era rebellion against freeways.

 

CalTrans had a big plan to "Los Angeles-ize" Sacramento with an extensive freeway system (on top of the ones that had already been built).  The voters there rejected that approach and opted for light rail as an alternative, though it took a long time for light rail to actually get built.

 

Sacto also started "small" with a fairly cheap "starter" light-rail system, and then built on that beginning line.

 

 

Governor, legislative leaders agree on transportation package

 

April 20, 2006 - 7:19PM 

LANSING (AP) - Millions of dollars can be pumped into local road projects now that Governor Jennifer Granholm and Republican legislative leaders have reached an agreement on how some of the money should be spent.

 

Under the plan, the state will give grants to local governments that they can use to match federal transportation dollars, getting $400-million in projects underway.

 

More at:

http://www.wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=25643&template=breakout_state.html

 

From the National Association of Railroad Passengers "Hotline"

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_446/

 

Michigan’s two state-supported trains, the Pere Marquette and the Blue Water, will continue operation through September 30, the end of the fiscal year, under a deal announced yesterday by Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) and Republican Legislative leaders.  The supplemental bill provides funds for several state highway projects (matching funds for federal dollars) and $1 million to cover the trains’ operation.  The original budget passed late last year conditioned the last million dollars on Amtrak moving a maintenance facility into Michigan.  The legislature backed off this stance because the issue achieved high visibility and a continuing surge in ridership.  The supplemental bill also permits localities to put referendums in front of voters to approve new taxes to match federal transit dollars—particularly important for the proposed Detroit-Ann Arbor project.

 

Ridership on the Downeaster (Boston-Portland, ME) is hitting all-time highs, thanks to all-time high gas prices.  Ridership for the second quarter of fiscal 2006—traditionally a slow period for the train—is up 35% over the same time period last year.  The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority told the Associated Press that it attributes the increased ridership, “to the high price of gas, shortened trips to Boston and the Downeaster becoming recognized as a dependable way to travel. It rates near the top of Amtrak trains for on-time service.”

 

North Carolina transit authority reaches agreement with NS

trains.com Newswire

 

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina’s Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) has taken another step toward realizing its plan of a regional rail system by sealing two deals with Norfolk Southern, according to a story in the Raleigh-based Triangle Business Journal.

 

TTA officials announced Monday that they have signed two final agreements with the railroad needed to ensure use of existing sections of railroad for the proposed regional rail system.

 

more at:

 

http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/006/626kbpnd.asp

From Toronto, about Madrid's massive expansion (yes, in Toronto they are complaining that they don't have it good enough -- everything truly is relative)....

_____________

 

March 28, 2006

Toronto Globe & Mail

Dr. Gridlock

 

Need for speed drives Madrid miracle

JEFF GRAY

 

The provincial government, about to hand over a $670-million cheque to extend Toronto's subway system deep into the wilds of York Region, proclaimed in its budget last week that the move, along with money for bus ways in Brampton and Mississauga, was the beginning of "a new era" for public transit in the Greater Toronto Area. And perhaps it is.

 

But opening day for the subway extension to Vaughan is, officials estimate, still at least 10 years away, provided Ottawa agrees to pay its share. And waiting another 10 years for eight measly kilometres of subway, after building only about that much in total over the previous 25 years, hardly sounds like a new era. What it sounds like is more of the same.

 

So what would a real new era in public transit look like? Consider Madrid, population 3 million, at the centre of a region with 5.8 million people. While Toronto took eight years to produce the stub-like, 5.5-kilometre Sheppard subway, this Spanish city and public-transit paradise has built more than 120 kilometres of subway in 10 years. And more tracks, along with new light rail lines and buses, are on the way.

 

Madrid's new era arrived in the mid-1990s, explains Carlos Cristobal-Pinto, director of planning for Madrid's regional transportation authority, just as the city's suburban population began to expand with increased immigration from Latin America, Eastern Europe and North Africa.

 

It started slowly, with a 10-kilometre extension of Madrid's circle subway line completed in 1995. But then centre-right politician Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, now Madrid's mayor, became president of the regional government, after elections in which his party promised to build 28 kilometres of new subways in four years.

 

Officials in Mr. Cristobal-Pinto's agency thought the scheme was ridiculous, he said: "Twelve, 15, 20 kilometres maybe, but 28 is impossible to build in four years."

 

Then the government decided it really wanted 55 kilometres, not 28. And still in four years -- in time for the next election, of course. You can almost see Toronto Transit Commission engineers' heads exploding. But the unthinkable happened. Madrid actually built 56.3 kilometres, 38 new stations, all completed on time in 1999 at the cost of €1.6-billion ($2.25-billion), including vehicles.

 

Now, after building almost an entire TTC subway system (which has 62.6 kilometres of track), Madrid did not sit back and relax. Driven by Mr. Ruiz-Gallardon, Mr. Cristobal-Pinto said, the government promised yet another 55 kilometres, again before elections in four years. And, in 2003, at a cost of €2.8-billion ($3.9-billion), 54.6 kilometres of new subway opened for business, much of it linking suburbs southwest of central Madrid.

 

How can this be? Mr. Cristobal-Pinto said the government's four-year political deadlines were very clear, so his team simply found a way to make it happen. Plus, environmental assessments in Spain take only three or four months. Here in Ontario, that alone can take two years or more.

 

The TTC's website on the Spadina subway extension lays out the rest of Toronto's slow-motion process: After an environmental assessment, the design stage can take two to three years. Construction can take as long as four. One TTC official told me that, on the Sheppard line, designing the Sheppard-Yonge station alone took two years.

 

So perhaps some Spanish-style red-tape cutting over here is in order. There are other things Madrid does differently, too. While this doesn't explain the whole Madrid miracle, the transit agency has been willing to experiment with public-private partnerships. One of the new subway lines is operated by a private firm with a long-term lease, and Madrid is now building several massive underground bus interchanges, with tunnels to whisk buses out of traffic, with private investment. Many bus routes in the region are also run by private firms.

 

And there is also Mr. Cristobal-Pinto's agency, a broad regional transit body with, it seems, much broader powers than the proposed Greater Toronto Transit Authority, which was again promised in the provincial budget.

 

Back in Madrid, now with 220 kilometres of subway, they just can't stop building public transit. A €4.4-billion ($6-billion) plan, set for completion by 2007, will build another 47.4 kilometres of subway and 45 kilometres of light rail in suburban areas. And the national government, responsible for highways, plans to build 200 kilometres of bus-only lanes.

 

"I could keep listening to you all day," said Toronto transit consultant Ed Levy, as Mr. Cristobal-Pinto finished his presentation to a transit conference here. "And crying more copiously as I listen."

 

But Mr. Cristobal-Pinto seemed to have no magic secret to share with his audience. The reason for the public transit miracle seems actually quite simple: Governments in Spain have simply made public transit a priority, and voters have too.

 

Mr. Levy added: "The motto is strike while the iron is hot, and strike hard."

 

###

Interest in Arizona commuter rail grows

Fast tracks cheaper than new freeways

 

Sean Holstege

The Arizona Republic

Apr. 25, 2006 12:00 AM

 

The notion of sending commuter trains down freight tracks is gathering steam instead of Arizona dust.

 

Most Western states have forged ahead with rail systems, but in Arizona, similar proposals were floated, dithered and died over the past 25 years. Arizona became the hole in the commuter-rail doughnut, as California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Colorado all planned or built suburban and intercity passenger-rail systems.

 

More at:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0425commuterrail.html

 

Connecticut House passes transportation package

 

Thursday, April 27, 2006

By CARA RUBINSKY

 

 

HARTFORD -- The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a 10-year, $2.3 billion transportation package Wednesday that would fund mass transit improvements without requiring tolls or an increase in the gas tax.

 

The bill, a compromise between Democratic legislative leaders and Gov. M. Jodi Rell, passed the House 143-4 and next goes to the Senate, where it also was expected to pass easily.

 

More at:

http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=6080

 

Canadian Pacific promotes Alberta high-speed-rail idea

trains.com Newswire

 

CALGARY –Canadian Pacific Railway said it would like to see a high-speed rail “bullet train” implemented between Calgary and Edmonton and has assigned a senior executive to work with government and other partners to review the feasibility of the project, according to a story in the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper.

 

More at:

 

http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/006/633awgdw.asp

Had a phone call from a friend in DC this evening who says he was stopped at a reception by someone who knew he was from Ohio and told that the news of these gubernatorial endorsements is spreading all over the country.

 

I was also at the Rail Summit in Columbus and two of the other speakers, both from national organizations, told me Ohio's "Hub" plan is one of the most talked about plans around the country and they like how it is structured in terms of financing (taking credit for dollars already being spent on transportation projects that are directly or indirectly rail-related).

^great to hear.

^fantastic news. i hope it keeps up the momentum.

 

here's something about how adding on rail extensions can drive development from the ny daily news:

 

 

Mike: I'll never west

BY MICHAEL SAUL

DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

 

Nearly a year after Mayor Bloomberg's grand plan to bring the Jets back to New York collapsed in a spectacular defeat, the city is moving forward with a massive effort to revitalize Manhattan's far West Side.

"Other than the stadium, there is nothing that's not going according to plan," said Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who is spearheading City Hall's effort to redevelop the area bounded by Seventh Ave., 28th St., 43rd St. and the Hudson River.

 

"All of the hopes that we had for the Hudson Yards remain as realistic as we would have thought a year ago," Doctoroff told the Daily News. "And a lot of things are moving along."

 

Doctoroff said the $2 billion extension of the No. 7 subway line from Times Square to the West Side will be a major motivator for development. Construction is to begin by year's end.

 

"That in many ways is the catalyst. That's what people are sort of waiting on, particularly from a commercial perspective," he said.

 

Doctoroff told The News the city is "beginning the process" of stitching together an alternative plan for the site of the proposed Jets stadium that was torpedoed last June by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer).

 

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Chelsea), one of the most vocal opponents of the Jets stadium, said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the site's owner, should have solicited new bids by now.

 

MTA officials and Doctoroff confirmed there is still no timetable to do so. "You want to do something that's thoughtful," the deputy mayor said.

 

But other than the stadium, Quinn said she is "very happy with the way the rest of the Hudson Yards and the far west Chelsea area is moving forward. "The city rezoned the area, providing for 24 million square feet of office space, 13,500 units of housing and a million square feet of retail.

 

Construction is to begin soon on the expansion of the Javits Center, and design work on a midblock park and boulevard between 10th and 11th Aves., from 33rd to 39th Sts., is to also begin later this year.

 

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he wasn't concerned about competition between redevelopment in lower Manhattan and the far West Side.

 

"What we're trying to do is to develop throughout this whole city," said Bloomberg, adding that the No. 7 line is key to the success of the West Side.

 

"Once that's there, that will be a very hot real estate market."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detroit-Ann Arbor mass transit would get funding from new deal

 

By Amy Lane

 

6:00 am, May 1, 2006

LANSING — Local funding for light rail or other mass transit between Detroit and Ann Arbor could be back on track, under an agreement struck between Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republican legislative leaders.

 

The agreement breaks a political logjam and will allow for a to-be-created Southeast Michigan transit authority, and others in Michigan, to levy property taxes for up to 25 years to provide a federally required local funding source to operate projects like light rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit.

 

More at:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060501/SUB/60428042/-1/toc

Compare and contrast to the Euclid Corridor Landscaping Project.

 

 

Fairfax Co. Backs Trolley Proposal Along Columbia Pike

May 1st - 11:56am

 

http://wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=776346

 

FAIRFAX, Va. - On a voice vote, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Monday backed a proposed streetcar line along busy Columbia Pike.

 

Officials from both counties said they hope the convenience and nostalgia for rattling trolleys would help spur development along the 4.7-mile corridor stretching from the Pentagon City Metro station to the Skyline area in Fairfax. Arlington officials approved the plan for a $120 million dollar system last week.

 

 

Another article on light rail adoption and subsequent rapid expansion in Denver.

http://www.railjournal.com/A/xfeature3.html

 

Ranting about rail

People rediscover trains -- with all their Amtrak warts

- Tim Holt

Sunday, April 30, 2006

 

 

In the late 1960s when I worked as a passenger and freight brakeman for the Southern Pacific, only the tough and the brave rode the trains, diehard train buffs armed with fistfuls of (fictitious) timetables, putting up with abysmal food service and odorous, poorly maintained restrooms. But then there were those spectacular views of the forested Sierra as we rolled toward Reno.

 

That was back when gas was under 40 cents a gallon and supersize tanks from Detroit were all the rage. Back then nobody in his right mind thought that passenger trains had much of a future.

 

URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/30/ING4PIGEQC1.DTL

 

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

 

Different fuel moves buses 'into the future'

 

By JOHN RICHARDSON, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

 

The Portland-based Metro bus system is cleaner and quieter these days as it adds buses powered by natural gas to its fleet.

 

Metro formally unveiled its new buses Monday, as well as Maine's first compressed natural gas fueling station. The 13 gas buses already on the roads in Portland and Westbrook place the transit system among a growing number nationwide choosing to leave behind the familiar rumble and black exhaust of conventional diesel buses.

 

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/060502bus.shtml

"The best alternative fuel is to not use it," Linnell said.

 

Linnell gets my Gold Star O' The Day award for best quote!

5/3/2006

Fix a Road, Finance a Rapid Transit System

Democrat Granholm, Republicans break new ground on funding public transportation

By Keith Schneider

Great Lakes Bulletin News Service

 

LANSING—Last July, in an act that joined equal measures of public interest spontaneity and political serendipity,  Democratic State Representative Marie Donigan pitched a big white tent where Interstate-696 and Main Street converge in Royal Oak and held a town hall meeting on improving public transit.

 

Ms. Donigan was anxious, and not only because she feared that no one other than the invited speakers would show up. Like newsprint lining old cabinets, the notion that the Detroit region’s transit system needs help is an idea yellowed and flaky with age. There was scant evidence that advocating for transit in southeast Michigan was anything other than a confirmed strategy for political burial.

 

More at:

http://www.mlui.org/transportation/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17046

Spending plan to add Amtrak trains in state

 

 

By MIKE RAMSEY

COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

 

Published Thursday, May 04, 2006

 

CHICAGO - A proposed $12 million boost in state funding for Amtrak would add passenger trains across Illinois but create logistical challenges for the railroad.

 

Amtrak, which has faced equipment shortages in its national network, may need to find more rail stock for the new service. Also, Amtrak would have to negotiate with the private freight railroads that own the tracks it uses.

 

"We've put the word out to the host railroads," Amtrak's Marc Magliari said Wednesday. "As for the exact schedules and when they'd be implemented, that still remains to be worked out."

 

More at:

http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/85172.asp#

We are surrounded by states...Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York.... that are putting huge dollars into rail and transit projects. 

 

But Ohio's DOT cuts funding to mass transit year after year and rail continues to be the bastard stepchild when it comes to transportation funding.  ORDC averages around $2-million dolars a year for a variety of freight rail projects around the state, but it routinely gets over $20-million in requests.

 

There has got to be a fundamental change in how we develop and fund transportation in this state if we are ever reduce fuel consumption, improve air quality and better manage traffic on our highways.  But few, if any of our leaders..... or those wanting to take their place.... even have rail or transit on their radar.  What do they not get?

Ah, Ohio, the "Heart of it all"...or, more properly "the hole in the doughnut." :-(

While Illinois moves forward, Ohio stands still (and thus, backwards by comparison)...

________________

 

To members of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association:

 

Late last week, the Illinois Legislature approved its FY2007 budget.  It

includes the largest expansion of Amtrak service in the State's history.

 

In round numbers, the budget for intercity passenger rail service will go from

$12.1 million in FY2006 to $24.7 million in FY2007.

 

The Illinois Department of Transportation still needs to negotiate the details

with Amtrak, BNSF, CN, and the Union Pacific.  Here is what we expect will

result from this budget increase:

 

1) Chicago - Milwaukee: Remains at 7 daily roundtrips.

 

2) Chicago - Carbondale: Grows from 2 daily roundtrips to 3.  Adds a morning

northbound and a morning southbound.  (100% increase in state-funded

service)

 

3) Chicago - Quincy: Grows from 1 daily roundtrip to 2.  Adds a morning

westbound and an evening eastbound.  (100% increase in state-funded

service)

 

4) Chicago - St. Louis:  Grows from 3 daily roundtrips to 5.  Adds a morning

express train southbound and a more reasonable morning departure out of

St. Louis.  Also, adds evening trains in both directions.  (200% increase in

state-funded service)

 

The target date for start-up is October 2006.

 

We had a broad range of support that included universities, local

organizations, and several hundred mayors and other elected officials

statewide. We ended up with a super majority of Senators as cosponsors and

just one Representative shy of unanimous support in the House.  I would

especially like to thank our partners the Environmental Law and Policy Center

and the United Transportation Union for making this possible.

 

I would also like to thank all of you who wrote letters and made phone calls. 

Importantly, all of our members made it possible for me to travel to many

downstate cities to get local leaders involved. 

 

If you live in Illinois, call or write your legislators today to thank them for

their support.  If you don't live in Illinois, thanks again for supporting the

Association.  This is a crucial step towards getting world-class trains for the

entire Midwest.

 

The next steps are just around the corner.  The States have to formulate

comprehensive transportation plans to qualify for federal funding.  We need to

get local leaders demanding that train service be included.  At the federal

level, the Administration has, once again, suggested cutting Amtrak funding.

The debate over the federal budget is happening right now.

 

A generous donor has offered a matching grant of $3000 to help us

launch our next campaign.  You can help us take advantage of this offer by

going to www.midwesthsr.org/donate right now.

 

Thanks again for your support!

 

Rick Harnish

Midwest High Speed Rail Association

PO Box 805877

Chicago, IL 60680

773-334-6758

 

Join us at www.midwesthsr.org

High gas prices prompt study of Omaha-Lincoln commuter service

 

The Associated Press

 

In response to high gas prices, the Nebraska Public Service Commission is studying the feasibility of creating a public transportation system to move commuters between Lincoln and Omaha.

 

One option would use privately run buses, possibly in conjunction with van service to deliver people from drop-off points to their jobs, according to Curt Simon, executive director of Omaha's Metro Area Transit.

 

More at:

 

http://ap.theindependent.com/pstories/state/ne/20060507/3852922.shtml

 

 

^ The Illinois budget increase is good news for the Midwest, in general.  I sure wish we could benefit from this, in Cleveland.  I know the Ohio Hub/Midwest Direct plans are in the works, but it sure seems strange that most of the major the Midwest satelite cities in Chicago's constellation get such good daytime service, (and let's not forget Detroit's, what, 3 round trips) except us.  And yet, even an 80 MPH, couldn't service over the flat straight-shot tracks w/ 3 or 4 stops could deliver Clevelanders into Loop, in what, 5.5 hours?  Pretty competitive w/ a car I'd say.  While I understand noozer's comments that Cleveland was traditionally "flyover" (or flyby, given it's rail) status, it's still surprising, particularly given our vertex position in splitting eastbound service into N.E., E, S.E. routings.  And were we always flyover territory?  Even during the glory days of our post-Van Sweringen, Terminal Tower prominence?

Even in the 'glory days" Ohio was pretty much a flyover state for the railroads.  The reason is that very few trains originated in Ohio.  They were mainly trains originating in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St.Louis, etc.  Ohio has the misfortune of being the state that's halfway to almost all of these places.

 

That's the difference with the Ohio Hub trains: they would origvinate here and thus Ohioans would get premium service at premium times.

I write articles for the Midwest High Speed Rail Association newsletter, and do a little bit of marketing for them. I will be writing about this service expansion as well. About two years ago, MHSRA's Rick Harnish asked some of the association's key members, and the leadership of state associations throughout the Midwest, that if a "showcase" corridor for the region could be developed, where should it be? And, thus, where should the MHSRA concentrate its lobbying efforts?

 

Universally, the choice was for Chicago St. Louis. I was one who voted for that corridor as well. My reasoning was that 99 percent of that route's mileage was in one state, while most of the others were split among more than one state. Working with one state greatly simplifies the lobbying effort. Plus, there is passenger rail service already operating in the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, and the state has made some significant investments in track and signal upgrades to permit a speed increase to as high as 110 mph on some segments in the south-central part of the state.

 

The goal is to provide an example of intercity passenger rail service that isn't on the coasts. If it should succeed, and if Amtrak doesn't screw it up, Midwestern states will have one less reason to say that passenger trains won't work here.

 

Now the MHSRA will be turning its attention to its next project. That next project hasn't been decided yet, but I'll let you all know when it is.