Nice pics of the Nashville station. Hopefully we can do something similar here in Greater Cleveland soon.

>Apparently they have owned it since the line was built in the 1800's and it has been leased for operation by a series of railroads.... currently the NS.

 

It runs to Chattanooga, not Nashville.  Both Nashville and Chattanooga are where they are because both are more or less at the highest navigable point on their respective rivers and Chattanooga is at about the only place where a nice level plain spreads back from the river for 100 miles in either direction.  At the time the CS RR was bu ilt, the L&N already ran to Nashville from Cincinnati via Louisville.  Also at that time Chattanooga was much larger than Knoxville which is no longer so much the case.  But it's a characteristic of seemingly all of the small southern cities that they have rail lines heading out in all directions because there was literally nothing big down there during the plantation era.     

 

I drove around Nashville for the first time in about 5 years yesterday, it has picked it up a half-notch since then.  It's only five or so years from respectability in my opinion.  Sprawl continues mindlessly to the south and east, but the downtown area is making small but steady strides in some interesting ways.  There are hundreds of low-rise industrial buildings immediately to the east of downtown awaiting redevelopment and they actually have a big advantage over equivalent areas in the north because the buildings are so much smaller.  There are no hulking 8-floor warehouses that have been sitting empty for 40 years.  What's interesting too about Nashville redevelopment is that there is seemingly no controversy unlike the constant battling in Cincinnati.     

 

 

>Apparently they have owned it since the line was built in the 1800's and it has been leased for operation by a series of railroads.... currently the NS.

 

Anyone know how much in rents the City nets from the Southern railroad every year, and where that money goes, e.g. general operating fund?

 

^What's interesting too about Nashville redevelopment is that there is seemingly no controversy unlike the constant battling in Cincinnati.

 

Being the state capital has got to help.  It seems to.  Indianapolis, Columbus, etc. all pretty lame relative to Cincinnati seem to get more development projects done.  There's also the semblance of stability in those places, which I assume is because the job base of state employees tend to keep those cities more stable.  I find it hard to believe that Cincinnati isn't the biggest money-maker for the State of Ohio, strictly in terms of private sector jobs.  This is all conjecture, I have no factual basis for any of those statements.

^You can find the 05-06 biennial budget here:

 

http://cincinnati-oh.gov/cmgr/pages/-5241-/

Found it. The Southern Railroad puts money into the capital budget, not operating.

 

Page 15 of the Capital budget from the link above:

 

"In Cincinnati, General Capital improvements are primarily funded by property tax-supported bond proceeds, earmarked income tax receipts, and Southern Railway note proceeds. The necessary lead time involved in engineering a project, acquiring and clearing sites, or in securing State or federal funds may require the funding of project phases over several years. Enterprise and Special Revenue capital projects are generally funded by user fees to operate and maintain facilities, such as the Water Works system."

 

Page 19 (of the pdf, that's 15 of the budget doc)

Cincinnati owns the Cincinnati Southern Railway and leases its use. In 1987, the City renegotiated the terms of the lease for more favorable annual income. The City Council endorsed a policy by resolution to dedicate funds generated by the Southern Railway to infrastructure projects. The notes issued and interest income provide a resource for infrastructure projects.

 

As shown in Exhibit 2, the Southern Railway Note Proceeds resource for 2005 is $15.3 million and $15.7 million in 2006. The 2005-2010 total Southern Railway Note Proceeds resource is $97.4 million.

 

That comes to almost a quarter of the 2006 capital improvements budget. I'd like to see some of those funds go into a restricted budget line for rail improvements. That's enough money to generate a local match for streetcars or some kind of rail system, especially if the tunnels are useful.

 

  ^Fascinating. Just fascinating.

 

    At a nice round number of $300 / foot for cost of street replacement, $15 million would replace about 9 miles of street. Cincinnati has about 1000 miles of streets. So, the railroad profits would allow Cincinnati to replace the entire street system in about 110 years on an ongoing basis.

 

    These are just some rough numbers to give an idea of the scale of capital improvments and the budget.

 

 

The Southern Railroad puts money into the capital budget, not operating.

 

That comes to almost a quarter of the 2006 capital improvements budget. I'd like to see some of those funds go into a restricted budget line for rail improvements. That's enough money to generate a local match for streetcars or some kind of rail system, especially if the tunnels are useful.

 

Thanks Cramer.  I'm of a like mind.  The powers that be really need to take a good hard look into what sort of investments are going to have the greatest return, not just raising money through firesales of assets, a la Heimlich at the County.  Profitable investments would actually be running government like a business.  I can't think of anything that might send a greater postitive financial ripple throught the area than well-planned local transit.  Capturing personal transit expenditure and keeping more money in the pockets of locals; adding value to decayed properties which encourages the rehabbing of those properties, and greater tax base.  Magnificent.

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=9039

 

6/19/2006    Funding

 

Utah Transit Authority gains $489 million federal grant for Front Runner project

 

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) recently received a $489 million Full Funding Grant Agreement from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the “FrontRunner” Weber County-to-Salt Lake City commuter-rail line. The federal agency will allocate the funds between this year and 2012.

 

UTA plans to begin operating the 44-mile line in November 2008, providing service every 20 minutes during peak periods and 40 minutes during off-peak periods. By 2025, 12,500 people will use the system daily, UTA projects.

 

(Note, previous info is that they plan to use locomotives and coaches, probably double deck type coaches.)

Ann Arbor Mayor pushes commuter rail Service to Eight Mile Road: could be reality in 3 years, he says

Friday, June 16, 2006

BY JOHN MULCAHY

Ann Arbor News Staff Reporter

 

He had to use three aging, blue and gold passenger cars that swayed their way slowly from an ad hoc boarding spot at Traver Road in Ann Arbor to Eight Mile Road in Northfield Township.

 

But with an already existing track, rolling stock and a railroad owner eager to participate, Mayor John Hieftje had a big advantage as he tried to sell his vision for commuter rail service to Ann Arbor.

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-18/115046919871620.xml&coll=2

Plan for transit funds?

 

Salt Lake City Chamber may push tax hikes for projects

 

By Nicole Warburton

Deseret Morning News

 

      Gas tax increases. Tolls. Property and sales tax hikes.

      By the end of the week, the Salt Lake Chamber expects to unveil a plan to speed the construction of "key" road and transit projects in the state, including reconstruction of I-15 in Utah County and expansion of the Utah Transit Authority's light-rail and commuter-rail systems.

      And tax increases of all kinds are on the table, according to a study released Monday by the chamber's 2015 Transportation Alliance — a group formed to accelerate funding of key transportation projects in the state.

 

 

  http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640188338,00.html

The Salt Lake area used to have pretty good rail transit.  The Bamberger Railroad ran between SLC and Ogden, tying togther towns along the Wasatch front. 

 

Bamberger was one of the few interurbans that lasted past WWII into the late 1940s.

 

 

 

..its a hoot watching these western and mountain states doing stuff with rail transit while Ohio still just has the Cleveland system

 

And that artcile about Missouri wanting to start up train service between Springfield and St Louis.  While Ohio cant even get something going between the big cities here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's an interesting little factoid: Did you know that the City of Cincinnati

owns a railroad line between Cincy and Nashville?  Found that out the other day. 

 

Apparently they have owned it since the line was built in the 1800's and it has been leased for operation by a series of railroads.... currently the NS.

 

Could make an interesting passenger rail connection.

 

The intention behind that line was to compete with the L&N for southern buisness, opening up southern markets for Cincinnati.

 

There was a passenger train service down the line, too, evenutally connecting with New Orleans: "the Queen and Crescent" limited. (connecting the Queen City with the Crescent City by way of Chatanooga and Birmingham)...which ran from the 1920s into the 1930s.

 

 

 

It could very well become an extension of the Ohio Hub and provide a way to get across the Ohio River to service Cincinnati / Northern KY airport.

 

Jeff.... the fact that Ohio has no passenger rail to speak of is not for lack of trying.  The fault lies with legislators at both the state and federal levels who have pumped billions of dollars into nothing but highways and aviation systems for decades.... to the detriment of local mass transit and intercity rail.  Raise hell with your state and federal reps.  They're running for office this year.... ask them what they've done to fund and develop rail programs like the Ohio Hub.  If they give you a blank stare... vote 'em out.

Problem is, I suspect many Ohio legislators have little or no awareness of what's happening in the rest of the country, so I can see why they might think what we're doing (or not doing!) isn't anything unusual.

 

This is why I started up this thread, so that some of their constituents would become aware of what other parts of this nation (and other nations) are doing. My reasoning isn't simply to build choo choos for the sake of building choo choos. Instead, we have to compete with these other cities, regions, states and nations for jobs. And if they're able to offer a range of economic development tools, amenities and services (including rail and transit) that we're not able to match, then Ohio is going to fall behind in creating and keeping jobs. ... And guess what? We already are!!!!!!!!!

New Amtrak service proposed for Missouri

June 19 2006 - The Associated Press

 

Springfield could get its first daily passenger train service in nearly 40 years if

plans move forward to develop a new rail line from St. Louis to southwest

Missouri, transportation officials said.

 

The Missouri Department of Transportation and Amtrak are discussing the

possibility of creating a daily round-trip route between Springfield and St.

Louis, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

 

The proposed line, which roughly parallels Interstate 44, was announced at a

Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission meeting Wednesday in

Springfield.

 

Many vital questions remain, including where to build a rail depot in

Springfield, said Brian Weiler, the department`s multimodal operations

director. The city hasn`t had passenger rail service since 1967, when the

Frisco Meteor train stopped running.

 

The proposal is big news for southeast Missouri, especially during the week

in which direct air service between Springfield and St. Louis ended.

 

``It`s something people in Springfield have talked about in coffee shops for

years,`` said Jim Anderson, a Transportation Commission member from

Springfield.

 

Weiler said the spike in gasoline prices and consistent growth in the

Springfield area have made the plan viable. But because the state

Transportation Department pays for Amtrak`s operating costs, the Missouri

Legislature would have to approve the new rail service, he said.

 

The department and Amtrak already work together on the Kansas City-St.

Louis route, with the highway department paying about $6.5 million of the

line`s annual operating costs.

 

Weiler said one plan would be to have the Amtrak train leave Springfield in

the morning, arrive in St. Louis in mid-afternoon and return to Springfield that

evening.

 

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the high-speed passenger train would

run on existing tracks, but railroad crossings would need to be upgraded.

 

If passenger loads were big enough out of Springfield, Weiler said, Amtrak

routes could be expanded, since existing track already links Springfield with

Branson, Kansas City and Tulsa.

 

 

 

 

 

Not a state, but still an economic competitor... Unfortunate that the gee-whiz maglev continues to distract from more practical and flexible high-speed rail. Conventional steel-wheel high-speed rail delivers 80 percent of the travel-time savings as maglev but at half the cost (despite what this article says).

 

 

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13342790/from/ET/

 

MSNBC.com

Europe on a fast track to high-speed rail

Continental railroads have problems, but still leave Amtrak in the dust

Business Week

 

Updated: 1:41 p.m. CT June 19, 2006

 

It's no secret that Europe's passenger train system is far superior to America's.

The trains run on time, they're comfortable, they're affordable, and they have

well-stocked dining cars. Most important, however, they're fast.

 

Starting with the birth of France's TGV (Train a Grand Vitesse, or High-Speed

Train) in 1981, the European train industry (led by Alstom in France and

Siemens in Germany) has been on the forefront of high-speed innovation.

Streamlined design, underfloor traction systems, and tilting technology have

brought the European high-speed train up to speeds of 186 mph (300 km/hr).

The limiting factor now is no longer the trains themselves, but the tracks on

which they run.

 

Although the TGV, Germany's ICE, Spain's AVE, and Italy's TAV (see our slide

show to learn what all these abbreviations stand for) all maintain respectably

high speeds within their own countries, the moment a train crosses a border,

things tend to get a little complicated.

 

Although each of these countries has its own system of high-speed tracks,

their neighbors often don't share it. For exactly this reason, both the Eurostar

(which connects London to Paris and Brussels) and the Thalys (which runs

between Paris and Amsterdam and Cologne, stopping in Brussels on the

way) have had difficulties maintaining the high speeds promised by their TGV

designs.

 

Off the tracks

Neither Britain nor The Netherlands has kept pace with the aggressive

advances in rail technology made by France, Belgium, and Germany. The

current travel time for the Eurostar's route between London and Paris is 2

hours and 35 minutes -- 20 minutes slower than it should be, given the train's

technical specifications. The Thalys' situation is even worse, taking 4 hours

and 11 minutes to go from Paris to Amsterdam, when it should be closer to

three hours.

 

A similar problem inhibits high-speed trains in the U.S. Amtrak's Acela

Express, which connects Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., is

technically capable of speeds upwards of 150 mph hour -- it runs on an

Alstom-designed TGV engine -- but the tracks aren't up to par, and there's little

support for initiatives to improve them.

 

And the Acela is the fortunate one: A number of proposals for other high-

speed train routes - most notably the Texas TGV and California Senator

Diane Feinstein's proposed Los Angeles-San Francisco connection - have

never moved beyond the drawing board.

 

Floating along

Due to legal opposition from Southwest Airlines, the Texas TGV, which

proposed to connect Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio in 1991, was

discarded in 1994. The California line, on the other hand, is still an official

possibility, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger conspicuously omitted any

funding for the California High-Speed Rail Project in his recent 10-year, $222

billion Public Works Bond.

 

In comparison, therefore, the Eurostar and the Thalys don't have it so bad.

Britain has already completed the first half of its Channel Tunnel Rail Link,

and the other half is slated to finish by 2007, which will shave 20 minutes off

the ride. Plans for a new high-speed track for the Thalys in Amsterdam are

also in place, but the anticipated completion date isn't until 2008.

 

Even as these updates are under way, a new technology could soon render

them obsolete. Engineering companies are working to perfect magnetic

levitation, or maglev for short, which uses electromagnetic energy to let trains

literally levitate a few millimeters above the track. Because there's absolutely

no friction between the train and the rails, maglev has the potential to push

trains up to near jet speed.

 

Upgrade expense

Currently, Shanghai has the only high-speed maglev railway in operation --

running from the airport to the city center -- but its record-breaking high speed

of 311 mph (501 km/hr) has attracted the world's interest, and now there are

small-scale high-speed maglev projects in development in Munich,

Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and several other cities across the globe.

 

Once again, however, the track is the limiting factor. Much like conventional

high-speed trains, maglev trains require their own specialized tracks -- and,

although construction costs are comparable to those of standard high-speed

tracks, the price is sufficiently high (about $53 million per mile) to make

potential investors think twice.

 

So for the time being, high-speed maglev projects probably will remain small,

serving primarily as commuter rails. But don't be surprised if you end up riding

a train without wheels several years down the line.

 

^^^As I always say re lousy legislators: we've seen the enemy and it is us.  Why do we keep sending these boobs back to city hall, Columbus and Washington?  And if the voters don't have the facts or understanding the damage these pols are doing, why aren't we getting it to them?

Starting with the birth of France's TGV (Train a Grand Vitesse, or High-Speed

Train) in 1981, the European train industry (led by Alstom in France and

Siemens in Germany) has been on the forefront of high-speed innovation.

Streamlined design, underfloor traction systems, and tilting technology have

brought the European high-speed train up to speeds of 186 mph (300 km/hr).

The limiting factor now is no longer the trains themselves, but the tracks on

which they run.

 

Hey KJP, so what specifically would you recommend Ohio do?  What system to use, how to upgrade the track, follow the French, German, Japanese, Chinese model?  What do you suggest?

Thanks KJP.  Are you familiar with any Cleveland area politicians who are bullish on rail?  It gets lip service in Cincinnati, but I don't think any of the guys down here even know about the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative or the Ohio Hub plan.

Yes, a few. The most notable is Congressman Steve Latourette, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Railroads.

 

Your Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory was very helpful on pro-rail causes (including the Ohio Hub) when he was in the Ohio General Assembly. He instigated a new study of the subway to see if it can be reused for rail transit. And Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune is very supportive of the Ohio Hub. I suspect those aren't the only the supporters down there, but I'm just not that familiar with the Cincy situation.

Like President...like brother.  Both of them seem to have something against the rest of us having transportation choices. I am so sick of this!

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-tax2806jun28,0,7552821.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state

 

Bush veto dashes hopes of transportation relief

John Kennedy

Tallahassee Bureau Chief

 

June 28, 2006

 

TALLAHASSEE -- In a crushing blow to Central Florida political leaders, Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have allowed voters to approve a $2-a-day rental-car surcharge to pay for roads, buses and other transportation needs.

 

Bush had been lobbied heavily by Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and state House and Senate Republican Leaders Rep. Andy Gardiner of Orlando and Sen. Daniel Webster of Winter Garden, who said the extra fee would have raised up to $40 million a year, much of it coming from tourists.

 

As many of you have heard, the much anticipated release of the last report on the Ann Arbor to Detroit rapid transit line has again been postponed.  According to SEMCOG, the consultants doing the analysis were not quite finished with all the analysis they needed for a truly complete study. 

 

The latest schedule anticipates the report finished and released by the end of July.  It will include a detailed analysis of the five alternatives, including estimated ridership, travel time and cost of each.  SEMCOG will schedule three public hearings in August with the hope of deciding which option is the best, the "locally preferred alternative," by October. 

 

Public input will be critical in ensuring that the best option, not just the cheapest option, is selected.  TRU will notify you as soon as the report is out and the hearing dates are announced.  We will have a response to the report available as well.  In the meanwhile, we will continue the important work of building support and figuring out funding for this line.

 

To review the five alternatives under consideration or for more information, visit http://www.annarbordetroitrapidtransitstudy.com/. 

 

 

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

 

Megan Owens

Executive Director, Transportation Riders United

 

500 Griswold, Suite 1650      [email protected]

Detroit, Michigan 48226        www.DetroitTransit.org

Phone: 313-963-8872            Fax: 313-963-8876

 

Our mission is to improve transportation access and mobility in Greater Detroit.

 

 

the old manhattan farley post office is out, the new moynihan station is in  :clap::

 

 

Farley Post Office gets makeover for new role

By Jacqui Gal

Special to amNewYork

June 27, 2006

 

Shrouded in a giant safety net, the facade of the 92-year-old James A. Farley Post Office is quietly getting a makeover as the building prepares for its new role as Penn Station's successor.

 

"The work that is going on now is not the beginning of construction of the station, but maintenance of a magnificent building," said Charles Gargano, chairman of Empire State Development Corp., which will complete the conversion.

 

imgurl=http://www.jonseagull.com/images/p_penn_tktext.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jonseagull.com/p_penn1.shtml&h=667&w=500&sz=84&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=wX5NAvyRtbHGXM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfarley%2Bpost%2Boffice%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

Nice pics mrnyc, at least it seems NYC is poised to NOT make the same egregious error of the early 1960s when the cash-starved Penna RR destroyed its gem of an architectural landmark in order to milk some air-rights $$.  Then, to add insult to injury, the whole damn railroad filed a Chapter 11 making the Penn Station take-down a total waste (sometimes bitingly called the greatest public rape in American history).  I understand, mrnyc, that some of the rail lines (NJT, I'd guess) are not going into the P.O. location...

 

... anyway, here's the latest LRT discussion from MOTOWN:

 

Did you know . . .

 

     the Woodward Corridor currently has more bus riders than many successful new rapid transit lines?

 

 

 

Including all DDOT and SMART lines on Woodward and within a few blocks of Woodward, over 31,000 people now ride the bus along Woodward each weekday. 

 

 

 

Many cities that have recently installed very successful light rail rapid transit lines began with far fewer average daily riders:

 

Denver – 11,000 riders on their first line, 28,000 riders on first two lines

Minneapolis – 16,000 riders in their first year

Dallas – 18,000 riders on their first line, 42,000 riders now on two lines

Salt Lake City – 19,000 riders

In most cases, 40-70% of light rail riders are new to transit.  Therefore we could have 40-50,000 daily riders on a new Woodward light rail line. 

 

 

 

Once built, light rail is less expensive to operate than busses - a Woodward light rail line could save money and increase the effectiveness of our transportation investment.

 

 

 

 

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

 

More Details:

 

 

 

Over 31,000 people now ride the bus along Woodward each weekday. 

 

Here is the average weekday ridership for Woodward corridor busses - as of Oct '05 for DDOT and May '04 for SMART (ridership has risen since then):

 

DDOT #53 – 10,935 riders

DDOT #16 – 9,938 riders

DDOT #23 – 3,221 riders

SMART #450/460 – 3,393 riders

SMART #410 – 1,545 riders

SMART #495 – 1,953 riders

SMART limiteds (#445/465/475) – 455 riders

 

Several cities have installed light rail rapid transit lines in the past decade which have proved to be very popular and successful.  Here are several with their average daily ridership, generally during the first year of the transit lines' operation:

 

Denver – 11,000 riders on their first line (31% above projections)

28,000 riders on first two lines (27% above projections)

Minneapolis – 16,000 daily riders in their first year (58% above projections)

Dallas – 18,000 riders on their first line (20% above projections)

42,000 riders now on two lines

Salt Lake City – 19,000 riders (35% above projections)

St. Louis – 44,000 riders after one year (only projected 17,000!)

 

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

 

So, if you live in Wayne, Oakland or Washtenaw counties, urge your local elected officials to support and push for rapid transit on Woodward and Ann Arbor to Detroit.

 

Ann Arbor to Detroit matters to people who care about southern Woodward because TRU's alternative for the Ann Arbor to Detroit rapid transit would have not only a commuter rail line from Ann Arbor to Detroit's New Center, but also a light rail transit line from New Center to downtown, potentially the start of a much bigger Woodward light rail line.  Contact TRU for more details.

 

 

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

 

Megan Owens

Executive Director, Transportation Riders United

 

500 Griswold, Suite 1650       [email protected]

Detroit, Michigan 48226         www.DetroitTransit.org

Phone: 313-963-8872            Fax: 313-963-8876

 

Our mission is to improve transportation access and mobility in Greater Detroit.

 

 

6/30/2006    Ridership

St. Louis Metro’s May rail ridership surges 9 percent

 

In May, St. Louis’ Metro carried more than 4.4 million passengers system-wide — a 9 percent increase compared with May 2005. Rail ridership also rose 9 percent

 

More than 1.5 million passengers rode the MetroLink light-rail system while 2.8 million passengers used the MetroBus system.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=9103

News from the NARP "Hotline"  www.narprail.org

 

The California legislature has rejected a bill that would have banned push-pull commuter trains.  The legislation was in reaction to the horrific January 2005 three-way collision between two Metrolink trains and a Union Pacific freight train.  A compromise measure calls for an extensive study of push-pull operations by the University of California-Berkley. 

 

The emotion of one incident ought not to prohibit operation of a proven, reliable and efficient means of passenger rail service.  With more than 50 years of documented, safe, world-wide operation, including all across California, passenger rail operators are eager for the facts reveal themselves in this study.  Primarily, those facts are that the issue of grade-crossings in urban areas will emerge as a major safety culprit that the highway industry has ignored or from which it has separated itself of responsibility (saying it is a “railroad problem” and not the responsibility of the highway programs).  Clearly, vehicular traffic, motorists and truckers, are the prime beneficiaries of grade-crossing elimination/separation, yet this fact has been ignored for decades.

 

In addition to the push-pull bill, the California legislature approved and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to postpone this year’s planned referendum on a $9.95 billion high speed rail package to 2008.  Lawmakers initially placed the bond measure on the November 2004 ballot, then decided the state faced more pressing needs and bumped the bonds back to this year’s ballot.

 

Rail advocates in the Rockford, IL area will meet with Amtrak officials on Monday to discuss the possibility of restoring passenger rail service to their city.  Rockford was last served by Amtrak’s Black Hawk in 1982.  Rockford advocates have been buoyed by the recent increase in state support to Amtrak service in Illinois.

 

Florida Governor Jeb Bush vetoed a bill that would have added a $2 surcharge to rental cars for the purpose of paying for transportation enhancements.  While Bush acknowledged the need for the funds, he called the proposal “taxation without representation.” The funds would have been used for both highway and mass transit projects.

 

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_456/

 

Tibetan children watch as the first train from Lhasa Railway Station travels on the Tibetan grasslands near Lhasa, Tibet, Saturday, July 1, 2006. China on Saturday opened the first train service to Tibet on the world's highest railway, a controversial engineering marvel meant to bind the restive Himalayan region to China. (AP Photo/Color China Photo)

 

http://cleveland.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D8IJAO600

 

China Opens World's Highest Railway to Tibet; Critics Fear Train Service May Hurt Unique Culture

 

07-01-2006 1:07 PM

By ALEXA OLESEN, Associated Press Writer

ABOARD THE BEIJING-LHASA EXPRESS, China --  China's first train from Beijing to Tibet set out Saturday carrying business travelers and thrill-seekers on the world's highest railway, which critics fear could devastate the Himalayan region's unique Buddhist culture.

 

The $4.2 billion railway, an engineering marvel that crosses mountain passes up to 16,500 feet high, is part of government efforts to develop China's poor west and bind restive ethnic areas to the booming east. Critics warn that it will bring a flood of Chinese migrants, diluting Tibet's culture and threatening its fragile environment.

 

The mood was festive aboard the train from Beijing on the 48-hour, 2,500-mile journey to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

 

"I feel very proud," said Guo Chaoying, a 40-year-old civil servant from Beijing who said he was going to Lhasa on business. "We Chinese built this rail line ourselves, and it's a world first, the highest. It shows our ability in high technology."

 

The specially designed train cars are equipped with double-paned windows to protect against high-altitude ultraviolet radiation, There are outlets for oxygen masks beside every seat, for passengers who need help coping with the thin air.

 

Guo was riding in the lowest-price car, which had only thinly padded seats and no bunks, but he said he didn't worry about resting.

 

"I'm too excited anyway," he said. "There's going to be too much to see."

 

A few cars down, Tan Ji, a 40-year-old electrical engineer from suburban Beijing, was unpacking his cameras in his luxury compartment, which had four beds and a television.

 

Tan said he planned to spend 1 1/2 days sightseeing in Tibet, then fly home.

 

"I'm really just going for the experience, because it's a first," Tan said.

 

The opening of the railway coincided with a major political anniversary _ the 85th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party.

 

"This is a magnificent feat by the Chinese people, and also a miracle in world railway history," President Hu Jintao said at a morning ceremony in the western city of Golmud to inaugurate service on the railway.

 

The first train on the line pulled out of Golmud carrying about 600 government officials and railway workers. Minutes later, a train left Lhasa for Golmud. A third train left the western city of Chengdu later in the day for Lhasa.

 

The train from Beijing pulled out of the Chinese capital Saturday night.

 

On Friday, three protesters from the United States, Canada and Britain were detained after unfurling a banner at Beijing's main train station reading, "China's Tibet Railway, Designed to Destroy."

 

Others planned protests Saturday outside Chinese embassies abroad.

 

Chinese officials acknowledge that few Tibetans are employed by the railway but say that number should increase. The government also says it is taking precautions to protect the environment.

 

The official Xinhua News Agency lashed out at critics, calling them hypocrites who want Tibet to remain undeveloped and a "stereotyped cultural specimen for them to enjoy."

 

"Why shouldn't Tibet progress like the rest of the world?" the commentary said.

 

The 710-mile final stretch of the line linking Golmud with Lhasa crosses some of the world's most forbidding terrain on the treeless Tibetan plateau.

 

Xinhua reported Saturday afternoon that the train from Lhasa had crossed the 16,737-foot Tanggula Pass, which the government calls the highest point on any railway in the world.

 

Passengers signed health declarations saying they understood the risks of traveling at such high altitude. They were required to declare that they didn't suffer from heart disease or other ailments that might make them susceptible to altitude sickness.

 

Communist troops marched into Tibet in 1950. Beijing says the region has been Chinese territory for centuries. But Tibet was effectively independent for much of that time.

 

###

^ now that one is terrible news.

Light rail gets the green light for central corridor

by Marisa Helms, Minnesota Public Radio

June 29, 2006

 

St. Paul, Minn. — The council's vote is a key initial endorsement for an 11-mile light rail transit line along University Ave., a major commercial route that runs between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

 

Project estimates show a ridership of 38,000 people by 2020. Council Chair Peter Bell says he's pleased with the council's vote.

 

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/06/29/lrtcorridor/

 

There are also numerous links to photos and maps at the above link]

Excerpt From Don Phillips column in the latest issue of Trains Magazine.  I find no reason to comment further as he summed it up well-- especially the part about Americans wanting something for nothing:

 

 

"The European Union and almost all European countries take transportation seriously.  They are willing to be taxed and to spend money to buy their mobility.  A recent survey showed that Europeans have no inclination to protest huge gasoline taxes that leave European gas costing the equivalent of about $6.50 per gallon.  Europeans understand that mobility costs money. 

 

Americans, on the other hand, seem to want something for nothing.  And the current set of U.S. politicians is willing to feed the fantasy that they can get it.  As someone once said, you can pay me now, or you can pay me later, but eventually you will pay."

June 30, 2006 09:17 PM US Eastern Timezone

 

Governor Schwarzenegger Approves California High Speed Rail Authority Budget; Vital Transportation Project Moving Forward

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2006--By signing the 2006 Budget Act, Governor Schwarzenegger continued funding for the California High Speed Rail Authority for the full funding request of $14.3 million dollars ensuring the Authority can continue critical work over the next year to finish engineering and environmental studies, and preserve rights of way along the approved alignment.

 

Established in 1996, the California High-Speed Rail Authority is charged with the planning, designing, constructing and operating a state of the art high-speed train system.

 

Recently, the California Legislature and the Governor supported legislation to postpone a $9 billion bond measure to 2008 to initiate funding for building a high-speed train system in California. The system is projected to carry as many as 68 million passengers annually by the year 2020.

 

The Governor's budget notes state, "The Budget provides $14.3 million to begin project implementation. Activities funded in 2006-2007 include: completion of a financial plan, project management, identification of critical right of way acquisitions, development of a simulator for planning system operation and public information, and $9 million for the beginning of detailed project design and related environmental studies. This funding will enable the authority to move forward with key aspects of the project. However, bond funding for the project must still be authorized by voters in 2008, under the provisions of AB 713."

 

"The Governor's signature and cooperation with the Legislature is a boost for the project. We will continue to work hard to maintain the trust, respect and support of the project by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legsislature. The funding approved helps us keep pace with the project and prevent delays on this monumental transportation option for Californians," said Fran Florez, Chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

 

"We are ecstatic, today, signals a strong movement forward for California and our project to bring high-speed trains to California - they are economically viable, environmentally responsible and technologically proven - what's not to love?," concluded Florez.

 

Contacts

California High Speed Rail Authority

Kris Deutschman, 916-425-7174

 

Chinese railroad link to Tibet launches

Updated 7/3/2006 9:54 AM ET

By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY

 

ABOARD THE BEIJING-LHASA EXPRESS IN QINGHAI PROVINCE, China — The country that brought you the Great Wall has completed another daunting engineering feat: a railway that carries passengers up the icy, Tibetan plateau to Lhasa, called "the roof of the world" because of its altitude.

 

Launched this weekend, the trains are powered by American-built engines, which pull Canadian-assembled carriages that pump oxygen to passengers. But the Chinese government is leaving no doubt about who to credit for the world's highest, and perhaps most controversial, railway.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-02-china-tibet-train_x.htm  

 

 

Trains magazine is always interesting, and the August 2006 issue has more than one article related to recent topics on this forum.

 

There's an excellent feature on the railway line into Tibet, a pair of maps comparing Ohio's railway network in 1946 and 2006, and a feature on Ohio Central, a busy and successful common-carrier short line that ran regular steam passenger tourist trains until a couple of years ago.

 

There's also an article about South Shore's plans and projections for its operation between South Bend and Chicago, including intent to purchase a dozen more cars, increasing its fleet by 25 percent to deal with surging ridership. The South Shore is studying the addition of service to Lowell and to Valparaiso, with reinstallation of some track on the former Monon right of way and use of existing track. If instituted, the new service would use dual-mode power to run as diesel-electric on the new extensions and draw power from catenary on the existing South Shore track.

 

Here's a summary of new rail transit services in the U.S. set to open this year (one has already happened). Some openings are tentative and could slip later, or even into 2007....

 

- On June 25, Chicago CTA will reopen passenger service on the Paulina Connector, a remnant of the original Logan Square/Humboldt Park branch from Harrison and Paulina Streets to Lake Street, approx. one mile long.

It was kept open for deadhead moves because it was the only track connection between the Dearborn St. and State St. Subway Lines. It will be part of a new all-L route called "The Pink Line".

 

- In early July, NJT will open a one-mile extension of the Newark City Subway, between Penn Station and Broad St. (ex DLW) station, linking the two major commuter rail stops in Newark. The line is double track and mostly on surface (including one couplet alignment segment) and has a short tunnel segment connecting to the existing tunnel, a round trip ride will cover all new mileage.

 

- July 14 Rail Runner will open the first northerly segment of their new commuter rail service, between Albuquerque and Bernalillo. After signaling is installed between Isleta and Belen, the southerly segment with the new mileage should be ready by September and certainly by the time of annual Balloon Fiesta in October, the first special service opportunity for this new carrier.

 

- On September 18 Nashville's new commuter rail service, Music City Star, will open service over 32 miles east of Nashville. Using rehabbed F40's and Metra gallery cars (thus keeping the project budget under $25M to stay below FTA's New Starts funding threshold), the service will run on shortline Nashville and Eastern with mostly peak weekday trips. Note that this line is also covered by Tennessee Central Railway Museum trips several times per year (info available at www.tcry.org).

 

- In late September (tentative), St. Louis will open Cross County Metro, nearly 9 new LRT miles between Forest Park (east of downtown) and Shrewsbury. From the new junction the line angles east to Clayton, then south along the east side of a freeway in Clayton, then into neighborhoods until reaching the terminus with a large P&R.

 

- In October (tentative), Sacramento's Regional Transit will open the new .5 mile LRT extension from K St. Mall to the Amtrak/Capitol Corridor Sacramento Valley Train Station. This will eliminate turning trains on K St. and I believe the line is mostly single track, with a convenient transfer to trains and Thruway buses at the depot.

 

- In October (tentative), Tri-Met will open the final .6 mile segment of the Portland Streetcar, south to the current terminus of the Willamette Shore Trolley in the Riverplace area. The line was act ually built last year but service has awaited the opening of several residential developments. The line will also connect to the Portland Aerial Tram (think ski lift gondola), which has started construction but has funding issues, which will be used to carry students of a local medical college up/down a steep hill above I-5 (ski lift mileage does not count!!).

 

- On November 17, the largest single LRT system expansion in over a decade will enter service as Denver's RTD inaugurates the T-REX project. With 19 new miles and 33 new LRV's, the project also includes the new Elati shop (on the existing line), and a branch on I-225, which will form the basis for another new line during FastTracks project development. The new line starts at the current Broadway station, angles southeast to I-25, then runs on the west side of I-25 to the end. A complex I-25/225 LRT junction has been built near Tech Center and RTD plans to run service on all legs of the new system, includ ing an I-25/I-225 route. Experience shows that suburb to suburb service routes do not always survive, so if you want to ride all possible routes I suggest visiting Denver within the first 6 months of service.

 

- In December (tentative), Little Rock's CATA will open a double track 1 mile River Rail extension from the current downtown Loop, via Third St., to the Clinton Library. The project includes 2 new Gomaco trolleys and the agency is currently determining whether to alter the current loop service route, use a shuttle car on the extension, or both.

 

- In December (tentative), S.F. Muni plans to open the Third St. LRT Corridor, south from 4th and Townsend to the City line near Candlestick Park and Caltrain's Bayshore station. This extension will add about 5.5 miles and has several little-used UP and drawbridge crossings, causing design complexities which have slowed down the opening timeline. A future northerly extension will provide a subway into and un der Chinatown, and MUNI's venerable 15-Third Street bus route will probably be altered or even eliminated by the new line, which also provides a new shop south of  downtown.

The Chicago Tribune has typically taken an anti-rail, anti-subsidy stance, so this positive article is a nice change for them.

___________

 

Amtrak sees return of Rockford passenger trains

 

Chicago Tribune

By Liam Ford

Tribune staff reporter

 

July 3, 2006, 8:12 PM CDT

 

ROCKFORD -- With momentum building to expand passenger rail service in Illinois, opening a train line between Chicago and Rockford is more a question of when than if, a senior Amtrak official said Monday.

 

A vote by legislators last spring to double funding for Amtrak's state-subsidized lines in the 2007 Illinois budget provides financial support to restore rail service that last ran in 1981, officials said.

 

"If you guys want the service, it's not, Should we do it? It is, What are the next steps we need to do to get it done?" Joe McHugh, Amtrak's senior vice president for governmental affairs, said after a town hall-style meeting at the Rockford airport of backers of reopening the route.

 

An analysis in late 2004 put the cost of creating a Metra line to Rockford at $89 million, with annual passenger ticket sales bringing in $1.6 million, still $1.7 million short of annual costs.

 

If Amtrak restarts the service, federal law requires it to make up any shortfalls in the cost of running the line with state subsidies.

 

Illinois Transportation Secretary Timothy Martin plans to move forward soon with a request to Amtrak to restart service.

 

Officials backing three competing plans to bring either Amtrak or Metra rail service to the Rockford area appeared ready Monday to let the two passenger railroads figure out the best way to move ahead.

 

The Black Hawk line once ran from Chicago to Elmhurst, then on to cities including Rockford, Galena and Dubuque, Iowa. Officials said Amtrak could use existing Canadian National tracks to restore service to Rockford.

 

Proposals for Metra service would either go to Rockford through Elgin and Belvidere or through DeKalb County and southern Winnebago County to the Rockford airport.

 

"We want to at least be able to put two or three options on the table, with everybody saying these appear to be the best-now let's test them against Amtrak standards and Metra standards and find out if they fit," said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who organized the meeting at the airport with Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.).

 

Officials from several counties and cities that might benefit from the service spoke at the meeting. Some who have been backing particular proposals said they would be willing to work with others to make it happen.

 

"This community is ready to help make all of your jobs easier," Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey said, adding that the competing plans should be brought under one umbrella.

 

"We've been in meetings before where everyone is decrying everyone else's proposal," McHugh said. "The fact that your folks understand the need for regionalism, and you've got to sort of get started somewhere, somehow, and you take steps, I think that's very mature and appropriate for this type of discussion."

 

Manzullo said bringing rail service back will help keep the Rockford area

economically viable.

 

"I can't think of any item that would do more to invigorate economic growth and vitality and interest in making people want to not just continue to live in Rockford and invest, but to have their children stay here, than to have the railroad come to Rockford," he said.

 

[email protected]

Another take on the same project:

 

http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060704/OPINION0102/107040024&SearchID=73249638434033

 

Rockford Register Star

Published: July 4, 2006

 

COLUMNIST: Chuck Sweeny

Durbin taking lead in bringing Amtrak back

 

Monday's well-attended meeting should put to rest the question of whether there's any interest in restoring passenger train service to northwest Illinois.

 

There is plenty of interest, and some impatience to stop talking and get 'er done.

 

More than 100 people representing cities and counties from as far away as Dubuque, Iowa, came to the Chicago/Rockford International Airport auditorium to voice support for reinstating the Amtrak "Black Hawk" that ran from Chicago through Rockford, Freeport, Galena, Warren, East Dubuque and Dubuque in the 1970s.

 

The enthusiasm was music to the ears of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who called the meeting. A strong proponent of a balanced transportation system, Durbin suggested a coalescing of various groups working to bring train service this way. Hundreds of communities are clamoring for passenger rail service, and those that achieve consensus on what ought to be funded are the ones that get consideration in Washington, said Durbin, a member of the Senate's transportation committee.

 

There are three initiatives under way to bring rail service this way, and they don't have to be competitive. The first one I call the Boone Plan, because it was conceived in Boone County in the mid-1990s as a way to extend Chicagoland's commuter trains to Belvidere on the Union Pacific line. I attended a meeting in Belvidere about it in 1997, along with Durbin, who was then a brand-new senator. Rockford took advantage of its neighbor's heavy lifting and tacked itself on to the Boone Plan a few years later. Nowadays, they call it the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative, and there's about $3 million worth of continuing studies to determine whether to keep studying it.

 

The second is a public-private venture I call the Scottie Plan. Scott Christiansen, the Winnebago County Board chairman, is working with owners of the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad to improve the tracks from Davis Junction to Rockford. Christiansen envisions a revitalized line that can help convince industry to locate in Winnebago County. He also wants to use the tracks to bring passenger trains out from Elgin to Davis Junction and then up to a station to be built at the airport. Christiansen's adviser is a champion of outside-the-box thinking: Rochelle's Ken Wise.

 

The third is the Amtrak Plan, brought to the forefront by Durbin to jump-start passenger rail in northwest Illinois, the only part of the state not on the state's passenger train map. Illinois is doubling the money it spends on passenger trains to $24 million. Durbin and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, say it's time to add northwest Illinois to the map.

 

Of the plans, the third is the only one that provides service to northwest Illinois west of Rockford. There's great interest in Amtrak in Freeport, Galena, Lena and Dubuque, and grass-roots organizations are springing up to advocate for it along the line. The Canadian National line the Black Hawk ran on is in excellent shape.

 

Rick Harnish, who heads the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, suggests an approach that makes some sense: Use the CN line to re-establish Amtrak service on the old Black Hawk route as a first step. This requires the least study and least infrastructure work.

 

"The schedules could allow day trips to Chicago and serve peak tourism travel needs," Harnish said.

 

I'll have more on this Thursday.

 

Political Editor Chuck Sweeny can be reached at 815-987-1372 or

[email protected].

L.A.-S.F. train is a quick traffic fix

High-speed rail can crack the two cities' desperate congestion cycle, says Michael Dukakis.

By Michael S. Dukakis and Arthur H. Purcell

July 7, 2006

 

 

IF MAYOR Antonio Villaraigosa wants to relieve traffic congestion and reduce transportation energy use, he should join his Bay Area counterpart in pushing for high-speed rail in California. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently spent a day in Sacramento to make the case for high-speed rail and to support AB 713, which would put the state's moribund rail bond issue on the 2008 ballot.

 

The California High Speed Rail Authority has developed a plan for a rail network to link our major metropolitan areas with 200-mph passenger trains. If implemented, it would mean that L.A.-to-San Francisco travel would take just three hours. Supported by past governors of both parties, the system would not only link the two cities, it would connect them with Sacramento, San Jose, the Central Valley, Riverside and San Diego.

 

More at:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-dukakis7jul07,0,2886325.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

Groundbreaking for this long-sought (at least a decade) project will take place later this month.

 

http://www.innovativefinance.org/news_innovations/02212003_rhode_island_s.asp

 

Rhode Island's T.F. Green Airport Approved for TIFIA Loan

by Federal Highway Adminstration, Innovative Finance Quarterly, Winter 2003

 

On November 8, 2002, a $58 million direct TIFIA loan was approved for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s (RIEDC) new $215 million intermodal facility at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, RI. This is the first project to be selected for TIFIA credit assistance in FY 2003. The intermodal facility will be constructed as a public/private partnership among the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT), the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC), which is a semi-autonomous subsidiary of RIEDC, and the nine rental car companies serving airport customers. RIEDC will serve as issuer for the project’s senior debt and as borrower for the subordinate TIFIA loan.

 

More at link above:

Interestingly, the airport director who got saw the potential and got this project at T.F. Green started is now Executive Director at the Columbus Airports Authority, Elaine Roberts.  She now wants both a light rail and Ohio Hub connection at Port Columbus Airport, and has been instrumental in pushing the huge intermodal freight hub project at Rickenbacker Air Base.

^ great news for columbus. she's right on the money with that planning.

 

i'm looking forward to this working out:

 

 

MTA Launches Smart Card Trial Program

 

July 11, 2006

 

A six-month trial program begins Tuesday allowing riders at some stations to use Smart Cards to unlock turnstiles with a simple tap.

 

Giants running back Tiki Barber was on hand at Grand Central Station to demonstrate how it’s done. The new technology is designed to let riders go through turnstiles with just a tap of their credit card.

 

link w/ video:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=60917

 

Issue 10 - Transportation - May 2006

 

ALONG THE TRACKS: a Tale of Transit and Development

 

by Brian Goodknight and Peter Buryk 

 

TRAINS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A KEY component of the development of America’s West. During the frontier days, trains were the steel-grinding, coal-burning, whistle-blowing behemoths that hauled freight and passengers across the open country. Much as these early trains shaped Western growth industries like mining and ranching, a new kind of train—light rail—has begun to shape modern urban development. More and more former frontier towns—Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City—have found that with the influx of millions of people come major transportation and land use issues similar to those first tackled by their eastern counterparts generations ago. While East Coast cities tended to use subways and commuter rail to address these problems, Western cities have increasingly turned to light rail, usually built at street level along fixed routes, to move urban dwellers in, out, and around their booming metropolises. Across the West, the notion of automobile transportation and freeway construction providing the sole answer to transportation and land use problems has mostly been abandoned—even in cities like Houston, Phoenix, and Los Angeles where new rail construction would have been unthinkable a generation ago.

 

  More at:

http://www.americancity.org/article.php?id_article=159

 

The Next American City Inc. © 2004

Excellent piece. To me, the key point is:

 

In many metropolitan areas, transportation planners find themselves in a position of reacting to sprawl and its related congestion problems, producing public transportation systems that fail to capitalize on their potential to shape future development patterns and instead try to get people living amongst sprawl to use transit... Traditional transit development has focused primarily on creating systems where a significant number of riders already exist. But the region’s planners ... should carefully consider their ability to shape development patterns in a prospective manner. This “pioneer” model is inherently risky; it requires a substantial initial investment in hopes of a future payoff that may or may not be realized. In the end, however, understanding and effectively harnessing the complex and varied relationship between transit and development might just help win the showdown between sprawl and well-reasoned growth.

 

This is clearly not anything new, but many have forgotten it as the best way to build pedestrian-scale communities and build transit ridership. Streetcar-real estate-electricity syndicates built "promotional" rail lines into undeveloped areas to spur their development in a dense pattern that was favorable to higher transit use. Many older Midwestern and Northeastern cities were developed in this way, with notable examples in Ohio being much of Cleveland, as well as many of its inner-ring suburbs, most prominently Lakewood and Shaker Heights. Sometimes the answers are often right in front of us.

^ I've thought a lot about that issue.  I think, that in our sprawl-based society, a mix of both is the way to go.  I would start out with a mixture of stations serving existing higher density communities and park and ride stations.  Personally, I hate park and rides, but if you build them with a plan to phase them out, then I think the idea works.  For instance, build fairly inexpensive surface lots.  Then, after a few years, lure developers in by issuing RFPs for them to come in and develop different zones of the lots with high density mixed-use.  Ideally, you would just invite them to come in and do that from the onset, but that would be difficult juggle, and wouldn't provide the developer with as much security.  Just think of it as building the park and ride as a huge placeholder for the future transit oriented community to be developed.

This is a bit far from the other states, but since Sevilla has approximately the same city size and metro population as Columbus; http://www.metrodesevilla.net/ (in Spanish ONLY, but I'll translate the general info page for ya)

 

General Info

 

Line 1 has a length of almost 12 miles from Mairena del Aljarafe to Montequinto of which approximately half are subterranean the rest is on the surface. There’s a total of 23 stations, 9 above ground, 3 semi-subterranean, and 11 subterranean.

 

The design of this 1st line particularly takes into account accessibility for people of limited mobility and security aspects along with environmental integration.

 

The Metro Ligero system, run electrically, is currently the least contaminating system of transportation. This was opted for streamlining and energy savings from consumption, which combines the optimal methods of respecting the environment, energy efficiency, and economic viability based principally in;

 

Implantation of a solar energy system with accumulation of energy installed in the workshops, connecting them to the same network of services.

 

Implantation of storage batteries to take advantage of energy produced by the brakes of the trains which won’t be used during braking.

 

Subterranean water is advantageous to partially control the climate of the stations through heat exchangers.

 

Municipalities: 4 (Mairena del Aljarafe, San Juan de Aznalfarache, Sevilla y Dos Hermanas)

 

Population: 853,000 (in these 4 municipalities)

 

Population served: (within 1640.5 feet of the stops) 227,974

 

Route: Montequinto (Dos Hermanas)- Universidad Pablo de Olavide- Puerta de Jerez - Plaza de Cuba - Avenida Blas Infante - San Juan de Aznalfarache - Ciudad Expo (Mairena del Aljarafe)

 

Cost: $541,023,153

 

Length: 11.74 miles

 

Number of stations: 23

 

Estimated number of passengers: 14 million annually

 

Speed: 43.5 mph

 

Average time between stops in urban section: 5 minutes

 

Average time between stops from each end to Sevilla: 12 minutes

 

Average wait time: 4 minutes

 

Number of trains: 17

 

Number of plazas for trains: 200

 

 

 

yay for newark!  :clap:

 

 

Newark LRT Expands July 17

 

 

Light Rail Transit (LRT) continues to grow in New Jersey, based on the good work of many participants a decade ago. The latest addition: a one-mile stretch of LRT linking Newark-Penn Station and Newark-Broad Street Station, set to commence revenue operations July 17.

 

It's a costly LRT mile, reportedly at $207.7 million. But it's an extremely useful mile, not just to link two radial rail arms of New Jersey Transit but to strengthen an existing LRT operation -- New Jersey's oldest continuous such system -- and to strengthen downtown Newark's revitalization, now gaining momentum.

 

Somewhat unclear is the frequency and scheduling NJ Transit will apply to the new route, and whether it will match or mesh with existing "City Subway" service. NJT wisely has suggested it could run two separate light rail services, or one such run, depending on time of day or other variables. NJ-ARP hopes that NJT will watch and adjust its new operation as required to maximize passenger benefits.

 

link:

http://www.nj-arp.org/hot557.html

 

 

Clearly, "Dubyah" isn't the only Bush who is anti-rail and transit:

 

Transit officials regroup to find money trail

By Chuck McGinness

 

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

 

Monday, July 17, 2006

 

Picking up the pieces from Gov. Jeb Bush's veto of a fee that would have raised $45 million a year to expand Tri-Rail and build new mass transit projects, South Florida transportation officials are plotting a strategy to make another run for the cash next year.

 

Talk of trying to override Bush's decision to kill a $2-a-day surcharge on rental cars was rejected quickly. South Florida Regional Transportation Authority officials said they didn't want to do anything to erode the support they have garnered during the past three years on creating a dedicated funding source for new bus and train service.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/07/17/s1b_RTAFEE_0717.html 

 

 

^ What a travesty.  And here I thought we had it bad.  Talk about a shortsighted decision with very little downside. 

Californians, for all that is made of their dependence on the automobile, are so far ahead of the curve on rail transportation it is an embrassment to not only other states, but our own federal government.  Voters there approved 100-billion dollars in bonds years ago to be directed at rail and mass transit solutions to their growing traffic congestion and air quality problems. 

 

The secondary payoff is that when and if a federal rail infrastructure funding program does become reality (hopefully within the next two years), California will be at the head of the funding trough for new programs because they had the foresight and political will to hammer through this bond issue.

 

And their service keeps expanding, as evidenced by this recent release:

 

Message To Riders: Issue 26, July 7, 2006

Message from the Director

From me to you...

I am going to discuss only two issues in this Message. The first is the great news about expanded train service and the new schedules that will go into effect on August 28. The other is a plea for cooperation from you, our riders. It is a follow-up to my discussion about seat occupancy in the last Message.

 

Well it is finally going to happen! More trains to/from San Jose, every day. We worked hard to utilize our train sets and the Amtrak crews as efficiently as possible to give you the service you have asked for, and have long awaited.

 

We will now offer a total of 32 weekday trains, and 22 weekend/holiday trains. Long-time riders will remember that less than eight years ago, there were only 4 trains each way.

 

We have worked hard to provide you with as much service as we can, given the constraints of available locomotives and coaches and limited state funding. A big thank you is also in order for our partners in this effort: Amtrak, Caltrans, and Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific’s completion of the State-funded construction projects between Oakland and San Jose has made this service expansion possible. Like they say on highway projects, “These are your tax dollars at work.”

 

More Ways to San Jose

 

Weekdays, the first two trains to San Jose will stay in their existing slots, but there will be a later morning train (for those late sleepers) arriving in San Jose at 10:00am, and another that arrives at 1:15pm. A new mid-late afternoon train will get to San Jose at 6:45pm. Existing trains will continue to run in about the same time slots as they do now. Trip times between Oakland and San Jose will be reduced by 5-10 minutes. Heading north, existing trains will stay about where they are. However, there will be a new departure from San Jose at 9:10 am, and an earlier afternoon train at 3:05 pm. The “last bus” will be transformed into the “last train,” leaving San Jose at 7:15 pm. This last train is probably the single most-requested service we have had on the route.

 

On weekends, the schedule will be the same as now, but with the addition of an afternoon departure from San Jose at 4:25 pm (the same as the new weekday departure time) and an arrival at 6:45 pm in San Jose, again, the same as the new weekday train.

 

Nearly all the San Jose trains will operate directly to/from Sacramento via Oakland. We are still finalizing the schedule, so there may be minor changes to what I’ve listed here, but overall, we are very pleased to bring you additional service. New schedules will be posted in advance at all stations. Some train numbers will change, even if the train times remain unchanged.

 

More trains to/from Sacramento, too!

 

Weekdays, the schedule will increase from 12 trains each way to 16.From Sacramento, additional morning trains will leave at 7:00 am, and 8:30 am. Existing train times are revised for later morning trains at 9:20 am, and 10:10 am. The big hole between 2:10 pm and 4:40 pm from Sacramento to Oakland (and San Jose) will be filled with a new departure at 3:35 pm and a new train at 7:40 pm. The last train will run a half-hour later at 9:10 pm. Going to Sacramento, there will be a new early bird train from Oakland at 4:30 am, arriving in Sacramento at 6:30 am. The current 10:45 am train from Oakland will run earlier at 10:15 am. Afternoon departures from Oakland will be at 12:15, 1:25, 2:50, 3:30, 4:10, 4:50, and 5:30 pm, a major improvement. The 3:30 train will still run through to Roseville and Auburn. There will also be a new later train from Oakland to Sacramento at 9:20 pm, again, by popular request.

 

On weekends, service will increase from 9 trains to 11 trains each way. As with weekdays, the two added round-trips will fill big gaps in afternoon and evening service. The 3:35 pm departure from Sacramento will go all the way to San Jose, just as it will on weekdays. A new 7:10 pm train from Sacramento will provide added choices for riders to travel to the Bay Area, and connect by bus to points south as far as Santa Barbara. From Oakland to Sacramento there will be new trains leaving Oakland at 4:25 pm, and 7:55 pm, again filling service gaps. And, the train to Roseville and Auburn will operate two hours later on weekends/holidays, giving day train-travelers two more hours in San Jose, San Francisco or Sacramento on weekends. Again, this last change is among the most popular rider requested changes.

 

Sincerely,

 

Eugene K. Skoropowski, AIA

Managing Director

Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority

 

 

http://www.capitolcorridor.org/about_ccjpa/message_to_riders/index.php

this is a call for action in brooklyn, but timely and useful since cleveland and other ohio cities have also been pushing for more comprehensive and unified transportation planning:

 

Brooklyn to Mayor: Get a Transportation Policy

 

link:

http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/07/17/brooklyn-to-mayor-get-a-transportation-policy/

 

 

here's one relevant piece of it that stuck out:

 

"A joint city/MTA study of "bus rapid transit" options to get our buses moving through traffic congestion has taken years to reinvent a concept for redesigned bus stops and lanes recommended by NYC Transit in the early 1990s. This low-cost, high-yield transit capacity application is sweeping transportation planning around the globe but is being taken up in New York at the pace of the B63 bus. The schedule for implementation is unclear. If other NYC DOT initiatives are any guide, it is unlikely anything will ever be done."

 

 

Ground broken for $222.5-million Warwick station

The transportation hub at T.F. Green Airport will take about three years to build.

 

 

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 18, 2006

BY DANIEL BARBARISI

Providence Journal Staff Writer

 

 

WARWICK -- Pretend for a second you're a Boston resident, and you're sitting at your computer planning a vacation or a business trip. You fight traffic every day going to work, and the idea of having to drive through the clogged tunnels to the crowded Logan Airport takes all the thrill out of your trip.

 

Instead, you look on an Internet travel site, find a good price for a flight out of T.F. Green, check the time for the regular train service from Boston's South Station directly to the station at the airport in Warwick, and consider your trip planning done, without ever involving a car.

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Online at: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060718_18break.17e3e54.html