I love Toronto. I hate Toronto (jealous is more like it)....

What are other states doing? Well, in California, they're putting the fire out and making plans to build a new bridge on a major rail line in Sacramento...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly 20 photos are posted at: http://data.sacbee.com/photography/view/trestle

 

 

 

Rail blaze possibly arson

Debris is sifted for clues to cause of trestle inferno

By Tony Bizjak, Ryan Lillis and Phillip Reese - Bee Staff Writers

Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 17, 2007

Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1

 

Teams of experts from federal firearms investigators to state toxics analysts sifted through the smoldering ruins of a train trestle Friday seeking clues to the causes and consequences of the massive blaze on the American River Parkway.

 

The cause of the spectacular Thursday evening inferno on the Union Pacific mainline remained undetermined but may have been arson, investigators said.

 

The track closure forced passenger and freight train officials to scramble to reroute dozens of trains Friday, causing slowdowns throughout the region.

 

No incendiary device had been found. However, Sacramento Fire Department officials said they suspect the fire could have been purposely set.

 

Union Pacific crews were allowed onto the site Friday afternoon to begin a several-day demolition and cleanup process.

 

The inferno that destroyed the trestle seemed to ignite just after 5:30 p.m. in a thin line along a 100-yard section of the tracks north of the river and just west of the Capital City Freeway.

 

"It's suspicious because of how rapidly it spread," Sacramento Fire Capt. Jim Doucette said.

 

Doucette, a 27-year veteran of the department, said that in his experience, "an accident wouldn't have spread as quickly."

 

He said, however, it was too soon to rule out any theory.

 

The Sacramento Police Department's explosive-ordnance disposal unit responded to the scene "due to the suspicious nature of the fire and the speed with which it spread," said police Sgt. Matthew Young.

 

Investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also arrived soon after the blaze began, officials said.

 

A crew from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been under the trestle Thursday morning inspecting replanted elderberry bushes, but did not report anything unusual, corps officials said.

 

An Auburn-bound Capitol Corridor commuter train passed over the tracks about 15 minutes before the fire erupted, but officials say they have not connected the train to the fire's start.

 

Train officials and passengers reported seeing nothing suspicious.

 

Union Pacific is offering a $2,500 reward for information about the fire's cause.

 

The destruction of a critical main train line through the heart of the urban area caused immediate disruptions to freight and passenger trains and forced one westbound train to stop Thursday as a thick screen of black smoke loomed ahead.

 

The smoke caused a nearby Costco store to remain closed Friday.

 

Store managers expect to reopen today.

 

Union Pacific rerouted freight trains Friday, and Amtrak and Capitol Corridor officials instituted "bus bridges" to transport several hundred passengers from trains on one side of the disruption to waiting trains on the other.

 

But officials with Union Pacific and Amtrak said freight shipments will be slowed through Sacramento by as much as 90 minutes, and train passengers can expect delays until the damaged line is rebuilt and reopened.

 

Rebuilding is expected to cost $25 million to $30 million, and Union Pacific officials said they hope to resume one line of service by April 1 and the other by May 1.

 

The fire, which threw up a smoke plume seen for 50 miles, prompted county health officials to issue warnings.

 

The still-smoldering fire spread ashes for several miles Friday, prompting residents miles away to report smelling the acrid smoke.

 

"If you see or smell smoke, restrict your outside activities," Sacramento County Health Officer Glennah Trochet said.

 

Asthmatics, the very young and old, and people with respiratory disease "should be particularly careful," she said.

 

The plume of smoke continued to waft above the site throughout the day, even as demolition crews began tearing into the remains of the trestle.

 

The century-old trestle was saturated with the wood preservative creosote, a toxic material containing arsenic, copper and poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that include benzopyrene, a well-documented human carcinogen.

 

"It's a who's who of bad actors," said Tommy Cahill, a University of Arizona toxicologist.

 

An army of state and federal officials were on the scene Friday examining the fire's environmental consequences.

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board took air samples at at the fire site and in surrounding urban areas.

 

Officials reported they detected no immediate threat to water quality in the American River, but California Department of Fish and Game officials took water and soil samples for laboratory analysis.

 

Demolition crews are expected to work through the weekend clearing tons of charred and burned debris, Union Pacific officials said.

 

Some 1,400 feet of timber and rail is expected to be removed by cranes and bulldozers, Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said.

 

Once the clearing is finished, Barnes said, Union Pacific hopes to begin work immediately on building a new trestle of concrete and steel.

 

Barnes said the wooden structure will be replaced by concrete because railroad officials "saw this as an opportunity to try to make some improvements."

 

Parts for the new trestle are to arrive by train and truck as early as today from UP yards in California, Arizona, Texas and Nebraska.

 

Bridge engineers at Union Pacific headquarters in Omaha have worked out the number of pieces and dimensions, from the H-beam steel pilings (256, each 60 feet long) to the concrete girders (184, 30 feet long by 7 feet wide by 3 feet high).

 

"Our challenge is the logistics of getting materials from all over our system," said Dave Wickersham, chief engineer for the western region of Union Pacific.

 

Amtrak officials, who run several trains a day on that line, including the California Zephyr to Chicago, said about 600 train passengers a day are expected to be affected while the line is being rebuilt.

 

Half of those commute on the Capitol Corridor trains between Sacramento and the Roseville, Rocklin and Auburn stations and will be transported around the fire zone on buses.

 

"The train will be waiting for them when they get off the buses," said David Kutrosky, deputy director of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority. "They should expect a 10- to 15-minute delay."

 

Several Capitol Corridor train commuters lauded officials Friday for alerting riders via e-mail and sending buses to stations on time.

 

"Capitol Corridor did a fabulous job of regrouping," said rider Chuck Robuck of Auburn. "They had buses ready and got us to work on time."

 

Amtrak's long-distance California Zephyr trains will be diverted through Marysville, spokeswoman Vernae Graham said.

 

Freight trains that usually travel through Sacramento will be diverted to the Marysville line, causing delays of at least 90 minutes, said Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis.

 

That means the Marysville line, which normally handles about 20 trains a day, will do double duty throughout the trestle reconstruction.

 

Freight train delays will be exacerbated for trains that need to stop for sorting at Union Pacific's large Roseville railyard.

 

These trains load and unload canisters for different destinations -- some go south to Stockton, for example, while some head to Oakland.

 

Delays for trains that need cargo sorted could last up to 24 hours, Davis said.

 

That is expected to cause problems for companies expecting goods at a particular time.

 

"It's everything and anything," Davis said. "It could be electronics, motorcycles, paint."

 

Officials warned residents in Lincoln, Wheatland and Rio Linda of another hassle:

 

Motorists along the detour route will be much more likely to suffer long waits for trains to pass in the coming weeks.

 

Also, Sacramento County officials announced closure of a section of the American River Parkway bicycle trail from mile 3.5 to mile six.

 

The trail runs under a burned section of the trestle south of Exposition Boulevard.

 

###

 

Here's a video link:

http://www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/traintrestle

more good transit news in manhattan:

 

 

Deal Expected Soon For Farley Post Office

 

March 19, 2007

 

 

The plans to convert the Farley Post Office on 8th Avenue into an extension of Penn Station are about to take a major step forward.

 

The state is expected to close on a $230-million purchase of the city's main post office.

 

The Empire State Development Corporation approved a final financing schedule last week to complete the deal with the U.S. Postal Service. Much of the purchase price will be covered by the Port Authority.

 

The entire Moynihan Station project will cost about $900 million. 

 

video link:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/NewsBeats/transit.jsp

 

 

You'll love the last line !!

 

From the NW Times of Indiana

 

Date posted online: Monday, March 19, 2007

Getting serious about rail transit

My Turn

by Janet Moran

Times Columnist

 

Well it's about time. The Indiana General Assembly is showing signs of earnestly considering commuter rail transit. It's encouraging.

 

On Wednesday, the House Roads and Transportation Committee will hold hearings on House Bill 1659, which calls for the commissioning of six regional mass transit studies throughout Hoosier land.

 

Indiana has lagged behind so many other states, where commuter rail is accepted as an absolute necessity for its efficient, cost effective and environmentally safe means of transporting people back and forth to jobs, recreation, and shopping.

Neighboring Illinois has the jump on us. Hold out your right hand. Imagine that your outstretched fingers are commuter rail lines branching out from downtown Chicago to the southern, western and northern suburbs and think about what the interstates would be like if all of those commuters drove in and out of the city every day.

 

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/03/19/community/rop/doce1f14f49303f9a3e862572a0006e84dd.txt

te hee!

Baldacci unveils $397M bond plan

By Kevin Miller

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - Bangor Daily News

 

 

AUGUSTA - Gov. John Baldacci unveiled a three-year borrowing plan Monday that he predicted would spark economic growth by funneling nearly $400 million into transportation, higher education and the environment.

 

The governor is proposing that two separate bond packages be placed before voters this year. If approved by two-thirds of the Legislature, they would be the first major bond proposals presented to voters since 2004.

 

http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=147665&zoneid=500

Hey, this is a start!

 

tee hee?

a bump up in cost for 2nd ave subway:

 

 

Costs Rise On Planned 2nd Avenue Subway Line

 

March 20, 2007

 

 

Manhattan's hot real estate market is raising the price of the Second Avenue subway project.

 

The MTA will have to pay $54 million more than expected to buy buildings in order to make room for construction of the subway.

 

Five Upper East Side buildings and parts of 24 others will cost the agency about $245 million.

 

Meanwhile, the MTA is also paying more than expected for the first contract to dig tunnels along the subway's first leg from 96th to 63rd street. It will cost $337 million – $17 million more than the agency had budgeted.

 

MTA officials say the rising costs have not put the project in jeopardy.

 

video:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=67820

 

http://www.masstransitmag.com:80/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=3055

 

Hit by Fort's Growth, Maryland County Seeks $5 Billion for Roads, Transit

Kristen Chick

The Washington Times

 

Officials in Anne Arundel County are seeking $5 billion to improve roads and mass transit to accommodate thousands of new military and civilian employees expected at Fort George G. Meade by 2011.

 

Plans include upgrading the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, beginning in 2009, and extending the Metrorail Green Line from Greenbelt to Fort Meade, a $3 billion endeavor.

 

In Hamilton, Ontario....

 

http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=3042

 

Go Centre Site Pushed as Cheaper Transit Hub

Eric McGuinness, The Hamilton Spectator

 

City officials say the Hamilton GO Centre on Hunter Street East could double as a downtown HSR terminal, providing a single transfer point for people riding city buses, GO trains, GO buses and other intercity buses.

 

The idea is being floated as a cheaper alternative to their favoured plan -- expanding the transfer terminal on MacNab Street between King and Main streets onto a parking lot between the Pigott and Commerce Place buildings on the east side of MacNab.

 

Maybe I am confusing Rep. Mica with another representative, but I thought that he (Mica) was anti-rail.  The news story below would make it seem that he is singing a different tune??

 

High Speed Rail Debate

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 9:43:35 AM

 

In November of 2000, the Florida voters approved an amendment to the state constitution mandating the construction of a high speed rail system. Four years later, that amendment was repealed.

 

But the debate continues, and today, Florida U.S. Rep. John Mica is pushing for development of high speed rail corridors around the country. Mica, who is the ranking member of the Committee on Transportation, says the fastest passenger train in the U.S. is currently Amtrak's Acela, which averages only about 83 mph.

 

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/3/20/high_speed_rail.html

 

Mica hates Amtrak -- to the point of irrationality. He also has asked why private enterprise doesn't build passenger rail services in our nation's "free market" transportation system. Clearly, he still needs educating.

I also love that great graphic posted at the Skyscapercity.com thread....

 

 

(A graphics guru could always substitute "Milwaukee" in the bus' destination sign for most if not all Ohio cities!)

 

You win the thread. Congrats!

Opponents of commuter rail opine that riders should pay  for the full freight of the project. If you expand that argument to apply to roads and highways, all built with tax dollars, then we should install a toll booth at the end of every driveway.

 

In-frickin-deed.

Its a public service, and these people with their fallacies and half-assed comments are really getting on my nerves.  This quote leaves me with some satisfaction.

March 26, 2007

A Rail System (and Patience) Are Stretched Thin in Chicago

By LIBBY SANDER

 

CHICAGO, March 25 — The century-old elevated train system here is as much a city fixture as the towering skyline and the piercing blue waters of Lake Michigan.

 

But deteriorating tracks and trains, chronic budget shortfalls and a region ever more dependent on rail service are forcing Chicagoans to confront the possibility that the system, commonly known as the El or the L, may be at a breaking point.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/us/26transit.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Once again, the FTA under the Bush Administration does all it can to scuttle any form of rail-based transit. God forbid we should give people in KC (or anywhere else) a choice.  The insidious thing is that the FTA has artificially raised the bar so that almost no city can qualify for funding for light rail ore streetcars.  That's partly what screwed Columbus out of pursuing light rail.

 

LIGHT RAIL IN KANSAS CITY | Letter warns of looming financing conflict

Transit funding in question

A federal agency says the city must be able to fund the new project without hurting the bus system.

By BRAD COOPER

The Kansas City Star

 

“We’re going to have to show a financial ability to support light rail and the bus system. A system being built with the assumption that funding would come from bus operations won’t be considered favorably.”

 

Mark Huffer, general manager of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

 

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/16973173.htm

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

To reach Brad Cooper, call (816) 234-7724 or send e-mail to [email protected].

I'm working on an article for the Midwest HSR Assoc. newsletter which reveals that the oil and highway lobbies, through the likes of the Reason Foundation, Public Purpose, Buckeye Policy Institute, etc etc, have had a great deal of influence on the FTA under the Bush Administration and Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) -- both of whom recently held powerful positions overseeing federal transportation spending and policy. They were the ones responsible for the changing the FTA New Starts criteria that place less emphasis on promoting long-term smart growth and more on short-term cost-effectiveness. Ultimately, their goal is to use federal New Starts transit funding for things like HOV highway lanes for buses and cars. That's just what the oil/highway cabal want.

I hope you will post the article here as well. Get after 'em KJP ! I recall a reporter with a Wisconsin or Minnesota newspaper who, a few years ago did a similar expose on noted anti-transit / anti-rail guru Wendell Cox.

 

If you turn up anything significant, I hope you get it published beyond the Midwest HSR newsletter.  With all due respect to a great organization like the MWHSRA, this is a story that needs to be seen by a wider audience.

Follow up on Detroit's potential application for funding for LRT/HRT in the City proper:

 

Of the five alternatives they are studying (Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan, etc.), the Woodward line would supposedly be near the top of the list in terms of Density/Pedestrian Watershed, when compared to all other potential lines pulling together their applications across the nation.

 

I'm not a transitologist, but I think you guys understand my sentence.

I'm working on an article for the Midwest HSR Assoc. newsletter which reveals that the oil and highway lobbies, through the likes of the Reason Foundation, Public Purpose, Buckeye Policy Institute, etc etc, have had a great deal of influence on the FTA under the Bush Administration and Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) -- both of whom recently held powerful positions overseeing federal transportation spending and policy. They were the ones responsible for the changing the FTA New Starts criteria that place less emphasis on promoting long-term smart growth and more on short-term cost-effectiveness. Ultimately, their goal is to use federal New Starts transit funding for things like HOV highway lanes for buses and cars. That's just what the oil/highway cabal want.

 

Disgusting!  Throw those status quo bums out.  Dems have both houses; 2008 hopefully will bring a Dem president.  Amtrak, already, has been tabbed for more comfortable funding now the Dems are running Congress... A breath of fresh air from the Bushies' starve/privatize rubbish.   :shoot: :whip:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-md.ha.transit28mar28,0,2442421.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

From the Baltimore Sun

 

Expansion plans for MARC system

New service anticipated to military bases

 

By Mary Gail Hare

Sun Reporter

 

March 28, 2007

 

Maryland

 

As part of the effort to accommodate the influx of about 30,000 jobs coming to Maryland with the nationwide military base realignment, known as BRAC, state transit officials are considering extending MARC train routes and buying more cars and engines.

 

The agency is rebuilding a train station in Edgewood and constructing a new depot in Halethorpe.

 

 

^^^^it's interesting that Chicago's CTA's in it's worst crisis  and, yet, there's still significant expansion talk (Dan Ryan-Red; Orange south of Midway, etc)... It's really gotten bad.  Blue line's in terrible shape.  It's gotten so slow with all the speed restrictions over corrupted track, for the 1st time in a while, I actually sought/preferred a lift to O'Hare this latest trip. 

hey now!

 

Second Avenue Subway Groundbreaking Set For April 12th

 

March 28, 2007

 

 

It has been talked about for decades, and now – for the first time since the 1970s – actual digging is set to begin on the Second Avenue subway. NY1’s Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

 

"The reality is the Second Avenue subway is about to begin," said MTA Executive Director Elliot “Lee” Sander.

 

video here:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=5&aid=68120

Got a map of the Second Avenue subway's proposed route?

Merritt bill would create high-speed rail authority

Proponents say measure important to economic future of East Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas

 

By JIMMY ISAAC

 

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

 

State Rep. Tommy Merritt has introduced a bill that would create a high-speed rail authority for the regions of Texas' borders with Louisiana and Mexico.

 

House Bill 3819 was filed March 9 and was referred to the House Borders and International Affairs Committee on Thursday. It is related to the creation, administration, powers, duties and operations of a border region high-speed rail authority. The authority would also have the power to issue bonds, impose taxes and hold the power of eminent domain.

 

 

http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/03282007_merritt_bill.html 

 

I am pushing the relevancy level here a bit with this one.

I can't help but wonder how this could be used with the Canal Corridor and Tow Path Trail.

 

From the  Stuff to Think About Blog

http://www.cjmillisock.com/2007/03/water-bridge.html

 

 

Water Bridge

Check out this bridge.

 

 

 

It took 6 years and 500 million euros to build! At 918 meters long, this is the largest water bridge. It was built over the Elbe River in Magdeburg, Germany.

 

I found a neat trivia question about the bridge: Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic, or just the weight of the water?

 

Answer:

It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water! Why? A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded. Neat, huh?

Water Bridge--should not that be called an "aquaduct"?  I think that is what they call the bridge that the canal and towpath use over Tinker's Creek in CVNP.

A vital vote of urgency

MARTA couldn't risk financial delays of referendums. Council's action properly addresses immediate issues.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

 

 

Published on: 03/29/07

 

Residents of Fulton and DeKalb counties and the city of Atlanta deserve an opportunity to vote on extending the penny-on-the-dollar sales taxes that each jurisdiction has been using to help fund MARTA for the last 36 years. That's the ideal.

 

But as a practical matter, the lengthy and expensive process of scheduling separate referendums on the MARTA sales tax would unnecessarily put the transit system, and those who depend on it, in great jeopardy.

— Lyle V. Harris, for the editorial board ([email protected])

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2007/03/29/0329edmarta.html

DULLES CORRIDOR METRORAIL PROJECT ADVANCES TOWARD CONSTRUCTION:

railpace.com

 

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) today announced the successful negotiation of a $1.6 billion design-build agreement with Dulles Transit Partners, LLC for final design and construction of Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. DRPT will incorporate this price into its Request to Enter Final Design with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), scheduled for May 2007, with the goal of receiving a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for Phase 1 in early 2008.

 

For more information, visit hwww.dullesmetro.com (State of VIrginia - posted 3/30)

http://railpace.com/hotnews/

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/11443571/detail.html

 

Missouri House Cuts Amtrak Funding

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Could taking the train soon be a thing of the past in Missouri?  KMBC's Kris Ketz reported that members of the Missouri House have made efforts to shift millions of dollars in state funding away from Amtrak service.

 

If approved, the cutbacks could end passenger train service between St. Louis and Kansas City. Amtrak currently receives nearly $7.5 million a year in state funding.  House legislators moved much of that money to other places, leaving only $1 million for Amtrak.

 

More at link above

Crestview Station moves forward

Developers of mixed-use community in North Austin name Meritage and Newmark as home builders.

By M.B. Taboada

 

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

 

 

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

 

Plans are picking up speed to turn a former North Austin industrial site into the $200 million Crestview Station, which will be one of Austin's biggest transit-oriented developments.

 

Meritage Homes and Newmark Homes will build the 450 single-family houses at Crestview Station, where housing, offices and stores will be built on 73 acres once occupied by a Huntsman Corp. research facility.

 

Developers Stratus Properties Inc. and Trammell Crow Co. are expected to submit a site plan application to the city within the week.

 

"It will be a catalyst for redevelopment of the area," Stratus CEO Beau Armstrong said Monday.

 

The project, which is bordered on one side by the future Capital Metro commuter rail line, is designed as a community where people will be able to live, work and shop without having to drive.

 

A commuter rail station is planned for Lamar and Airport boulevards.

 

"Crestview Station is probably one of the most exciting projects coming together in Austin right now," said Eric DeJernett, senior vice president and a Crestview project coordinator for Trammell Crow. "People in this area really will be able to live in an environment where they don't have to have a car or at least not have to rely on a car all the time."

 

The homes will be on narrow lots, 25 to 30 feet wide, and prices will start in the $250,000s, Armstrong said.

 

High Street Residential, a Trammell Crow subsidiary, will build the multifamily component.

 

The mix will include live-work units and loft-style apartments.

 

The project will have about 150,000 square feet of retail and office space.

 

Developers recently completed a $3 million soil environmental cleanup of the site, bordered by North Lamar Boulevard, Morrow Street and the rail line, and are awaiting a closure letter from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

 

The first phase, which might break ground this summer, will include 300 apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail.

 

The retail will include restaurants, stores and probably a small grocery market.

 

The housing is expected to be completed by fall 2008, coinciding with the opening of the rail line.

 

Other multifamily units will follow market demand and probably will not be built until the first phase is complete.

 

Crestview "really represents the best practices nationally in urban redevelopment next to a rail station," said City Council Member Brewster McCracken, who is also a Capital Metro board member. "It's important to promote development next to the rail stop. More people will ride the rail if it's done that way."

 

Developers also will renovate the North Austin Optimist ball fields at the northwest corner of the site, DeJernett said.

 

Area residents are excited about the transformation of an industrial site into a development that fits into the neighborhood's character.

 

"It's going to look like a part of town that is in town versus industrial edge of town," said Katrina Daniel, president of the Highland Neighborhood Association, which represents a neighborhood across Lamar from Crestview. "We're excited about all the prospects. . . . Right now, we don't have much to walk to eat or shop. This will afford us those kinds of opportunities."

 

"Senate Approves Bill to Explore Mass Transit Options

The Indiana Senate has approved a bill that would create a study committee on mass transit and transportation alternatives. The bill also requires the Indiana Department of Transportation to commission six regional mass transit studies. The measure now goes back to the House for consideration since it was altered in the Senate."

 

"INDIANAPOLIS – In recognition of the need for more emphasis on mass transit and transportation alternatives in Indiana, State Senator Tim Lanane (D-Muncie) is sponsoring House Bill (HB) 1659, which passed the Senate today 48-0.

 

HB 1659 creates a study committee on mass transit and transportation alternatives. Lanane, who has been very involved in mass transit related legislation this session, said that he thinks the bill is another step in the right direction.

 

“We know that mass transit is part of the future of transportation,” said Lanane. “We cannot and should not pave every last inch of Indiana farm land in the name of convenience and progress.”

 

In addition to forming a study committee, HB 1659 also requires the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to commission six regional mass transit studies, which must be completed no later than July 1, 2008. One of the six studies will address the role that mass transportation plays in promoting economic growth, improving the environment, and sustaining the quality of life in Central Indiana, including Madison and Delaware counties."

 

"Senate Approves Bill to Explore Mass Transit Options

The Indiana Senate has approved a bill that would create a study committee on mass transit and transportation alternatives. The bill also requires the Indiana Department of Transportation to commission six regional mass transit studies. The measure now goes back to the House for consideration since it was altered in the Senate."

 

"INDIANAPOLIS – In recognition of the need for more emphasis on mass transit and transportation alternatives in Indiana, State Senator Tim Lanane (D-Muncie) is sponsoring House Bill (HB) 1659, which passed the Senate today 48-0.

 

HB 1659 creates a study committee on mass transit and transportation alternatives. Lanane, who has been very involved in mass transit related legislation this session, said that he thinks the bill is another step in the right direction.

 

“We know that mass transit is part of the future of transportation,” said Lanane. “We cannot and should not pave every last inch of Indiana farm land in the name of convenience and progress.”

 

In addition to forming a study committee, HB 1659 also requires the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to commission six regional mass transit studies, which must be completed no later than July 1, 2008. One of the six studies will address the role that mass transportation plays in promoting economic growth, improving the environment, and sustaining the quality of life in Central Indiana, including Madison and Delaware counties."

 

This is great news from the Midwest :clap:...ha ha...even if it is in Indiana.  Maybe Ohio legislators will wake up and jump on board.

Here is footage of the new Seattle light rail line being tested.  I believe the line has 400ft. platforms and so several of these units will be coupled during rush hour service.  From memory I think this is all stemming from a local sales tax enacted in 1996 and they are just now getting trains up and running.  Certainly the planning and construction of the light rail line in Seattle has been a fiasco.   

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc3P51tMbNw

I see there's another video of the Seattle LRT testing....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64wRy1ZaTZM&mode=related&search=

Certainly the Seattle line has been more complicated to build than any other light rail line in the country.  Running trains and buses through the same tunnel ought to be interesting, but I suspect it might give a lot of anti-rail people around the country the idea that downtown bus tunnels built with the intention to be converted to rail are a viable alternative to rail (and a viable way to subdue rail zealots).  Also given the reputation Cincinnati has for messing up projects big and small, not even The Banks can match match the disparity between what was promised and what is being built in Seattle.  There are still about four miles of subway tunnel north of downtown that were originally supposed to have been built with the existing budget.     

4,000 flash mob dancers startle commuters at Victoria

By Tim Stewart, Evening Standard 05.04.07

 

 

Party time: the dancing starts at Victoria Station at 6.53pm

 

More than 4,000 clubbers danced through the rush hour at Victoria station in Britain's biggest flash mob stunt.

 

Revellers responded to e-bulletins urging them to "dance like you've never danced before" at 6.53pm.

 

There were knowing looks and giggles among the casually dressed crowd that gathered from 6.30pm, wearing earphones.

 

A deafening 10-second countdown startled station staff and commuters before the concourse erupted in whoops and cheers. MP3 players and iPods emerged and the crowd danced wildly to their soundtracks in silence - for two hours.

 

University of London student Lucy Dent, 20, was among the flash mobbers. She said: "It was my first flash mob and I'm hooked. I've been dancing non-stop since we began.

 

"I didn't even notice the commuters. When you get into the dancing you're oblivious to them and forget you're at a railway station."

 

Chris Gale, 39, brought his daughter Sophia, three, and son Jacob, six. Mr Gale, a property entrepreneur from Bromley, said: "The children were a bit bewildered at first but then had fantastic fun. Some of the commuters are only interested in their trains and had to weave round us to the platforms. But most of them stood and stared, finding it hugely entertaining - and some even joined in.

 

"I saw the straightestlooking guy in a suit with his briefcase doing the freakiest dance moves."

 

Last night's flash mob ended when four vanloads of police dispersed the dancers. The event was staged by clubbing website mobileclubbing.com. Invitation emails and texts went out a week in advance.

 

One commuter failed to see the funny side: "I was trying to get my train home but the whole concourse was filled with students dancing and I couldn't get through. The last thing I wanted after a hard day at work was to miss my train because of the idiots."

 

Flash mobs, groups of people brought together via the internet who perform a bizarre act together before disappearing, took off in America in 2003

What a bunch of geeks.

FYI......

 

ILLINOIS BUSINESS SAYS: SPEED UP TRAIN SERVICE

AND MAKE IT MORE RELIABLE

 

Passenger Train Capital Plan Solves Key Infrastructure Problems

 

In 2006, Illinois business overwhelmingly supported the expansion of intercity train service statewide.  Ridership growth since the schedule expansion began last October 30 is justifying that support:  Passenger counts are up a combined 70% on the three corridors between Chicago and downstate. 

 

But now, say 23 chambers of commerce statewide, it’s time for the state to take the next step:  Invest in the infrastructure improvements that will make train service more reliable and faster.  These 23 chambers support good train service because it’s good for business.

 

 

Addison Chamber of Comm. & Industry

Bloomington-Normal Econ. Dev. Council

Boone County Chamber of Commerce

Brookfield Chamber of Commerce

Carbondale Chamber of Commerce

DuQuoin Chamber of Commerce

Evanston Chamber of Commerce

Galena Area Chamber of Commerce

Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce

Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce

Greater Effingham Chmbr. of Commerce

Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Illinois Quad Cities Chmbr. of Commerce

Joliet Reg. Chmbr. of Comm. & Industry

Joliet/Will County Ctr. for Econ. Develop.

Kewanee Chamber of Commerce

Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce

Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce

Maywood Chamber of Commerce

Mendota Area Chamber of Commerce

Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce

Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce

South Summit Chamber of Commerce

 

The 23 chambers all endorse the five-year Passenger Train Capital Plan because it will improve reliability and on-time performance, as well as reduce travel time, by:

 

• Adding capacity and enhancing safety along all existing routes

• Bringing new locomotives and passenger cars to all routes, thus eliminating equipment failures

• Completing signal installation on the 118-mile, 110-mph corridor between Dwight and Springfield, thus making higher-speed service possible for the first time in decades in our state

• Bringing the 90 miles between Springfield and St. Louis up to 110 mph capability

• Restoring service to Decatur, Galena, Peoria, the Quad Cities, and Rockford

 

Illinois needs to commit now to a multi-year program of making passenger and freight rail service in our state as good as they can be.  The times, and our state’s residents, demand it.  By so doing, Illinois will provide its citizens with a triple victory:  better transportation, less reliance on imported oil, and improved air quality.

 

^ While 110-MPH is quite slow compared to other nations, this is a GREAT step into providing reliable, high-speed transportation into our country that does not involve our congested airways!

110 MPH is also the planned speed at full build-out of the Ohio Hub. It is well within the reach of existing technology being used anywhere else in the world .... except in the US. There is no reason, except for lack of political will, we can't achieve these speeds.

Looks like Illinois business people are building that political will. They've already taken the incremental steps of developing a 79 mph service. The next logical steps are to further increase service frequency and raise speeds above 79 mph. Glad to see they not resting on their recent successes.

These business folks and Chambers of Commerce are precisely the folks that the political decision makers will listen to.  It's one thing for passenger rail advocates to make themselves heard (and they should), but that is what the politicians expect.  What makes the difference is when they start hearing about passenger rail from those whom they don't expect: Chambers, business leaders, environmental activists, shippers, senior citizens (AARP), colleges and their students, car owners who are pissed off by gasoline prices etc..... all people who have a stake in having more mobility options and who won't be seen as just (pardon me) "rail fans" and "train buffs".

Rail Runner Express averages 2,000 riders per day

By Peter Rice

Thursday, April 12, 2007

 

     

With two new stations coming this month and everyone now paying for tickets, ridership on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express is averaging about 2,000 riders every day - about twice as many as the low point from late last year.

 

And thanks to rising gas prices and the recreational travelers of summer, the numbers promise to rise, a transportation official says.

 

More at:

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/apr/12/rail-runner-express-averages-2000-riders-day/

 

Apr 15, 2007 On NY1 Now: News All Eve Weather: Heavy Rain and Wind.High:45       

 

 

 

Transit 

 

Fifth Time's A Charm? Officials Break Ground Again On 2nd Ave Subway 

April 12, 2007

 

City leaders and MTA officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday morning for the long-awaited Second Avenue subway line in East Harlem.

 

There have been several previous groundbreakings for the project. The first was held over 80 years ago in 1925, and the most recent one was held in the mid 1970s. But each time the line has been derailed by poor planning and lack of money.

 

video link:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=5&aid=68656

 

 

SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY

The Second Avenue Subway project is a historic project, which was first planned as far back as 1942 but due to a lack of funding did not come to fruition at that time. The new project has an estimated cost of $16 billion. The intention is to provide a new subway transit line to relieve the pressure on the over-used Lexington Avenue line and improve access to the downtown Manhattan area. The project is currently in the planning stage; initial construction is due to start in late 2004.

 

info on previous attempts here:

http://www.nycsubway.org/lines/2ndave.html

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the map. I was about to ask how much of that line exists, but then I read the text below the map. I had no idea it would be built the length of Manhattan! WOW!

>>Various options are under consideration for the alignment of the new line with the existing network; the hub of this activity will be Grand Street station, which will need extensive modification.

 

Right, so will the Q interchange with the 2nd Ave. line there?  Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm reading this to say that new express track platforms will be necessary at that point.  If the line is running four abreast at that point then the center express tracks could be lowered with a new station below the existing one, obviously this is a huge project in itself.  I can't remember what the Q is like in that area.   

 

And with that map drawn, it's incredibly frustrating to see no extension across 125th.  It's only 2,000 more feet to the Lenox Ave. line and 4,000 to the ACE.  The Broadway line is elevated at 125th on that great arch bridge so no direct transfer is possible there but it would require just 1.25 miles of additional construction to build a lateral subway across Harlem and put an end to one of the larger gaps in the system's service. 

 

Thanks for the map. I was about to ask how much of that line exists, but then I read the text below the map. I had no idea it would be built the length of Manhattan! WOW!

 

kjp two fairly long capped sections exist from previous false starts, one uptown and one downtown. if you are interested i think the historic link up there at the bottom of the blurb has more on that.

 

needless to say i'll get up there with the camera someday when the giant tunneling machine shows up for duty - heh!

 

ps -- there is another less heralded massive transit tunneling project going on right now, except that it is for water transit -- the $6B city water tunnel #3, due for completion in 2020. its an unbeliveable engineering project -- more on it on this pdf:

 

http://nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/factsheet.pdf

 

 

Spitzer resurfacing after the groundbreaking.

Photo: Getty Images

 

In a damp tunnel under East Harlem this morning, Governor Spitzer, MTA executive director Lee Sander, and lots of other officials — though not Mayor Bloomberg, who was in Cincinnati campaigning against guns — gathered to break ground for the first phase of a Second Avenue subway. It was actually a wall-tapping, marking the start of preparations for a tunnel-boring machine to expand an existing tunnel dug in the seventies. The line, called the T, will have a royal-blue logo and share stops in its first phase with the Q. Most of the tunnel will be 80 feet underground, said MTA Capital Construction chief Mysore Nagaraja, though the tunnel where the ceremony took place is only about 45 feet down.

Stations on the line will have natural light and column-free corridors (and, according to renderings, odd shards of Daniel Libeskind–esque glass). It will take about seven months to clear the way for the new tunnel, said construction manager Kirit Mevawala, then the machines will dig about 50 feet south each day, stopping at 63rd Street. Officials promised repeatedly that this time the Second Avenue subway will really happen, because Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver have lined up real money. Of course, there's no estimated schedule yet for the full build down to Hanover Square, an MTA spokesman told us.

 

 

edit: oh snap, look what i found -- now they have up renderings of the new 2nd ave subway stops - wow!

 

 

We reported earlier on today's groundbreaking for the Second Avenue Subway, and we told you that "stations on the line will have natural light and column-free corridors (and, according to renderings, odd shards of Daniel Libeskind–esque glass)." Here now, renderings of those stations. Libeskinn-esque, indeed.

Image: MTA Capital Construction

 

link:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/04/first_look_second_avenue_subwa.html

 

 

 

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/04/11/news/state/25-amtrack.txt

 

Schweitzer backs southern Amtrak route

Capital matching grants available to states, rail official says

Published on Wednesday, April 11, 2007

By The Associated Press

 

HELENA - A revived effort to reinstate passenger rail service in southern Montana picked up steam Tuesday, with the Schweitzer administration backing the idea and Amtrak officials outlining possible funding sources.

 

Passenger trains last chugged through southern Montana in 1979, and supporters said the time has come for them to run again.

 

More at link above:

Plan fuels transit dreams

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published April 16, 2007

 

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/16/State/Plan_fuels_transit_dr.shtml

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

 

Florida lawmakers are on the cusp of creating a new transportation authority that could build a network of toll roads, rail lines and express buses to get people around seven counties in the Tampa Bay area.

 

The regional agency would have unusual powers.

 

Aside from building roads and mass transit, it would operate as a superpowered real estate developer. It could override local zoning rules, take property by eminent domain and partner with companies to build housing and retail clusters around new rail stations.

 

More at link above: