Interesting to see the notoriously conservative Forbes Magazine even acknowledge that the U.S. is a "laggard" when it comes to high-speed passenger rail.

 

Future Rail

The World's Fastest Trains

Robert Malone, 05.23.07, 10:00 AM ET

Forbes Magazine

 

Want to get from Paris to London in just over two hours? How about Barcelona to Madrid in two and a half?

 

Take the train.

 

As roads and airports get slower, trains are going ever faster. How fast? Think 125 mph (201.12 km/h) and up, according to the International Union of Railways. And more are on the way.

 

http://www.forbes.com/logistics/2007/05/23/japan-france-trains-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0523trains.html

FasTracks speeding vertical use of land

Some may resist zoning changes to allow taller buildings at transit stops, but a new audience is emerging for multi-family homes in thriving neighborhoods.

By Linda Castrone

Denver Post Staff Writer

The Denver Post 

 

When a new mixed-use development was proposed at the end of the light-rail line that will connect Golden with downtown Denver, outspoken critics focused on one element - the development's density.

 

"Golden historically hasn't had any developments denser than 20 or 22 units to the acre, but that's suburban-type density," said Michael O'Hara, the architect in charge of the project. "The planning commission agreed that, to limit sprawl and infrastructure costs, it would approve 54 units to the acre.

 

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_6008192

Awesome article.

that denver article made me throw up a little in my mouth.

[note: interesting to see Philly's Delaware Valley Regional Planning Comm. take the lead on this worthwhile project; In Cleveland, rail transit isn't even on NOACA's (aka: NoAction)'s radar screen]

 

Plans to extend subway to Navy Yard get a boostA $100,000 grant will fund a study. Other projects in the area will benefit from federal seed money.[/b]

By Paul Nussbaum

Inquirer Staff Writer

 

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_region/20070605_Plans_to_extend_subway_to_Navy_Yard_get_a_boost.html

 

 

The hopes for a subway line to the Navy Yard got a little closer to reality last week with a $100,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

To nurture dreams like the subway extension, the DVRPC sprinkled $3 million of federal seed money on 43 projects around the region - $2 million for Southeastern Pennsylvania and $1 million for South Jersey.

 

Just in case anyone with a transit interest missed them, I posted some pics of Manchester, England with lots of transit and TOD scenes at

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=13045.msg189238#msg189238

Vote gives commuter rail new life

Manchester (NH) Union-Leader

 

CONCORD – The House voted to establish a New Hampshire Rail Authority to study and oversee restoring commuter rail service from Manchester and Nashua to Boston.

 

The House voted 189-120 for the NHRA, which would include 25 members, most of them from local government and the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

 

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070608&Category=NEWS02&ArtNo=206080308&SectionCat=news02&Template=printart

The shift of more people taking trains continues in California.  I just got this via e-mail this morning from the California Capitol Corridors Joint Powers Authority:

 

Summary of May 2007 ridership and ticket revenue results for California state-supported service:

 

Capitol Corridor:

  ·        141,789 passengers  +18.2% vs. FY06 – highest monthly ridership total in the history of the service!

  ·        $1,680,877 ticket revenue  +30.3% vs. FY06

 

  (May 2006 ridership was 119,986 and the highest prior month was April

  2007 at 127,572)

  (Fiscal year-to-date ridership increase is +13.3% due to 8 consecutive

  months of substantial growth, and the revenue increase is +21.7%, again,

  after 8 months.  This is going to be another very good year)

 

  Contributing factors:  continuation of ridership growth following

  introduction of the 32 train schedule last fall; target marketing to

  fill seats on the trains with available capacity; improvement of on-time

  performance by Union Pacific and Amtrak mechanical; more trains with

  'full consists' thereby offering more seats (but we are sort of

  'out-of-rabbits' with available coaches, and Caltrans Rail is working

  with Amtrak to supplement the Northern California fleet with some

  overhauled Amtrak Superliner coaches, which will really help us with

  seat capacity until new coaches arrive in 4-5 years, assuming passage of

  the capital funding included in the Governor's "May Revise" budget,

  submitted last month.)  There was some very modest increase in riders in

  the week following the I-580 bridge fire/closure, and some increase from

  escalating gasoline prices.  Overall, these last two were minor

  contributors, but contributors none the less.  The bottom line here is

  that our service is the travel choice for an increasing number of

  riders, and for an increasingly diverse number of reasons, largely due

  to an increased availability/frequency of train service.

 

  The revenue-to-cost ratio is still looking to be on-track at between 46%

  to 50% by September 30, the end of the fiscal year.

  Ridership for the last 12 months is now 1,384,364 meaning that we will

  likely also break the 1.4 million ridership mark for the first time

  during this fiscal year.

  Average trip length is holding at just under 70 miles, so that's getting

  close to 10,000,000 passenger miles per month (or as California DOT

  Director Will Kempton often quotes "that was 10,000,000 VMTs this month

  that were on Capitol Corridor trains and were NOT on California's

  highways.")

 

 

Pacific Surfliner:

  ·        247,986 passengers  +3.5% vs. FY06 and a record for the month!

  ·        $4,093,804 ticket revenue  +11.4% vs. FY06

 

San Joaquins:

  ·        75,815 passengers  +0.0% vs. FY06

  ·        $2,204,265 ticket revenue  +7.1% vs. FY06

http://www.indyculturaltrail.org/

Interesting development in Indiana -- Indianapolis cultural trail -- taking a lane of traffic for cyclists and pedestrians for a loop (and a few spurs) around downtown Indy.  Check out the map and the before/after sketches.

at last they're busting out the gigantic tunnel boring machine for the eastside access project. there is a photo slideshow on the link below.

 

maybe we expect a tie-in with the upcoming transformers movie?  :laugh:

 

 

 

 

June 12, 2007

 

Next Stop, Grand Central Terminal, as MTA Lowers

Tunnel Boring Machine

 

 

Yesterday, the MTA lowered the first of many parts of the Tunnel Boring Machine into the lower level of the 63rd Street tunnel as part of the MTA’s East Side Access project. The lowering itself could have been dismissed by passersby as just some sort of generic routine construction work, but it was much more than just moving a boring machine. When finally assembled in about two months, the 600-ton automated Spanish-owned and Italian-made machine will dig its way beneath the streets of Manhattan the tunnel that will finally bring the Long Island Rail Road into Grand Central Terminal.

 

The 63rd Street Tunnel itself began in 1969 with the plan for trains from the IND Queens Boulevard line to use the upper level hooking into the 6th Avenue IND in Manhattan, while the LIRR would use the lower level. The tunnel was completed in 1976, then laid dormant until 1989 when a short stub of the F train service was added serving Lexington Avenue–63rd Street, Roosevelt Island and 21st Street-Queensbridge. Finally in 2001, the F train was linked into the Queens Boulevard line after over thirty years on the drawing board. By the time LIRR trains start rolling through the tunnel will be over forty years old.

 

Later this summer, work on the 3.5 mile long tunnel under Manhattan will be going on 24 hours a day and the vibration from the digging will be monitored since they will be digging through hard rock. One thing we don’t know is where the material dug out will go, since that is up to the contractor. It is a pretty safe bet that it won’t be dumped into the Hudson or East Rivers to create more land for Manhattan as was done with part subway tunneling (the debris will probably wind up in a landfill instead).

 

This entry has a slideshow. To view the slideshow your browser must have the Flash Player. (If you are using a newsreader that doesn't support Flash click here to launch the slideshow.)

 

According to the president of MTA Capital Construction Mysore L. Nagaraja, the whole East Side Access project for the LIRR will give a 50% increase in capacity for the railroad and can shave twenty minutes off the commute when finished in about 2013. The cost for all this is a pretty steep $6.8 billion, with money coming from the federal and state governments, not including the original cost of building the 63rd Street tunnel in the 1960s.

 

Two fun facts: When witnessing the lowering of the machines, there was a safety briefing that was pretty much wear a hard hat, eye protection, and an orange vest - and don't fall in the big hole. And the Tunnel Boring Machines will probably be left underground.

 

Comments (11)

With a little bit of luck our great-great-great grandchildren might be able to ride through the East Side Access tunnel on its opening day.

 

[1] Posted by: Peter | June 12, 2007 1:21 PM

It certainly is shameless that this project is well underway while the SAS is still spinning its wheels - for how many years now?

 

[2] Posted by: guest | June 12, 2007 1:42 PM

The Second Ave Subway is a far more technically challenging endeavor (Not to mention ALOT more expensive) than this project. I'm not surprised how easy this project went through.

 

We're going to need a SAS after this is completed. The 6 will be even more miserable with the addition of LIRR commuters to the Grand Central fray.

 

[3] Posted by: Kojak | June 12, 2007 1:48 PM

From Jen Chung: Well, this project got a federal boost first because it serves state and airport issues - and because Pataki was behind it. Don't worry, I think the MTA is committed to the SAS. For now, at least.

 

[4] Posted by: guest | June 12, 2007 2:25 PM

I'm delighted to these projects moving. Seems incredibly wasteful to bury the boring machines though. Even selling for scrap beats digging a machine grave and walling it in.

 

 

[5] Posted by: guest | June 12, 2007 3:20 PM

they should have hired Bash and the drill from Ocean's Thirteen... would have got the job done in half the time and without using any union labor.

 

[6] Posted by: bigtimetopbanana | June 12, 2007 3:44 PM

Great photos Toby, kudos to you.

 

[7] Posted by: guest | June 12, 2007 3:49 PM

Anyone who needed to be told, at the safety briefing, not to fall into the big hole should go ahead and fall into the big hole as far as I'm concerned.

 

[8] Posted by: JMH | June 12, 2007 4:09 PM

QUOTE: "One thing we don’t know is where the material dug out will go, since that is up to the contractor. It is a pretty safe bet that it won’t be dumped into the Hudson or East Rivers to create more land for Manhattan as was done with part subway tunneling (the debris will probably wind up in a landfill instead)."

 

No way the debris will end up in a land fill. That ground earth will most likely be sold as anything from fill, to topsoil.

 

[9] Posted by: glennQNYC | June 12, 2007 4:24 PM

I was just going by what was being said at the site, but the disposal of the debris is up to the contractor and the landfill option was mentioned.

 

[10] Posted by: Toby von Meistersinger | June 12, 2007 8:28 PM

haha Upper East Siders! Sleep tight!

 

[11] Posted by: guest | June 13, 2007 12:03 AM

 

link:

http://gothamist.com/2007/06/12/mta_lowers_bori.php#comments

 

 

maybe we expect a tie-in with the upcoming transformers movie?  :laugh:

 

Ugh...I hope not.  Take your kids to Nancy Drew!  Go out and see Oceans 13 and for god sake stand in line at your local cineplex a week before Harry Potter opens!

Panel OKs $59-mil. subsidy for Union Station

 

From the Crain's Chicago Business Newsroom

June 12 17:56:00, 2007

By Alby Gallun

-----

(Crain?s) ? A city panel on Tuesday approved a $59-million subsidy to help finance the

$457-million redevelopment of Union Station in the West Loop into a Hilton hotel, offices

and condominiums.

 

The developer, a joint venture led by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., plans to build

an 18-story tower atop the train station, a run-down and underused building at 210 S.

Canal St. The American Medical Assn. would relocate from its current River North

headquarters to anchor the new high-rise, occupying about 275,000 of the building's

600,000 square feet of office space.

 

http://www.chicagobusiness.com

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

Capitol Corridor Continues to Break Ridership Records

May 2007 Highest Ridership in History of Service

 

By: Marketwire .

Jun. 11, 2007 02:00 PM

 

OAKLAND, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/11/07 -- The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) has announced that May 2007 marked the highest monthly ridership total in the history of the Capitol Corridor service with 141,789 passengers, surpassing the previous record set in April 2007 with 127,572 passengers.

 

With 32 trains a day between Sacramento and the Bay Area, and 14 daily direct trains to San Jose, the Capitol Corridor service provides a convenient alternative to traveling along the congested I-80, I-880, and I-680 freeways. And with comfortable seats, connections to BART, and a Café Car on every train, it's hard to find a more convenient way to travel around Northern California.

 

http://www.sys-con.com/read/387565.htm

http://www.rtands.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature4

 

Commuter Rail News

 

Washington County Commuter Rail construction continues

 

Construction on the 14.7-mile Washington County Commuter Rail near Portland, Ore. is under way. To date, approximately 14 miles of track and seven out of 11 public intersections have been reconstructed.

 

Lombard Ave, between Farmington Road and Broadway St, will be realigned, in partnership with Washington County through its Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program and the TriMet/Washington County Commuter Rail Project. A short spur track will be constructed along SW Lombard Ave from SW Farmington Rd to the transit center. Construction to add 2,000 feet of track and realign Lombard Ave for commuter rail will occur at the same time.

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

High-speed rail shunted to slow track

Wrangling over state budget may kill project, supporters fear.

By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, June 14, 2007

 

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma recently got a heart-thumping preview of what she hopes is her state's transportation future.

 

On a "fact-finding" trip to France with Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez -- paid with campaign funds, Ma said -- Ma scored a seat on that country's newest bullet train as it hit a world record 357 mph.

 

......

 

http://www.sacbee.com/capolitics/story/221617.html

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

"Before the state invests in a completely new mode of transportation that people aren't using, it ought to fix the roads and expand opportunities for air travel that people are using," he said.

 

The complete idiocy of people who should know better never ceases to amaze me.

Ignorance is bliss and California Senator Hollingsworth is the happiest man in the state.

Ha, and people think California is progressive.  We are just as ass backwards as everyone else!

St. Louis Metro OKs FY08 operating budget, registers ridership gains

 

Board members at St Louis’ Metro recently approved a fiscal-year 2008 operating budget of $214.8 million. The appropriation marks the agency’s fifth-straight balanced budget despite flat or declining local sales tax revenue, according to Metro.

 

The agency is generating more of its own revenue by attracting more riders and increasing the farebox recovery ratio. During the first nine months of FY07, which expires Aug. 31, the agency’s farebox recovery reached 24.1 percent, a 9 percent increase compared with the same FY06 period.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=10892

 

 

 

6/19/2007    Feasibility Study

Maine to examine cost of extending freight-, passenger-rail line

 

Maine Gov. John Baldacci recently signed a bill that will require the state to conduct an engineering study to determine the cost of extending freight- and passenger-rail service from Portland to Fryeburg.

 

More at:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=10897

Deseret Morning News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007

 

Are rail plans worth it?

 

Utahns 'like their cars,' lawmaker says; UTA backers defend costs

 

By Nicole Warburton and Amy Choate-Nielsen

Deseret Morning News

 

As the Utah Transit Authority starts its first year of an aggressive 70-mile rail-expansion program, a lawmaker and a state official are questioning the value and feasibility of building a system that requires billions of dollars worth of subsidies.

 

In Salt Lake County, taxpayers will pay $1.2 billion over the next 30 years to build four new TRAX light-rail lines and extend UTA's FrontRunner commuter-rail system to the Utah County border. Residents in Utah County will pay $765 million to bring commuter rail to Provo, enhance bus lines and fix roads.

 

The critics' question is whether all this transit is worth the money. But mass-transit supporters say transportation issues aren't just about money.

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

I get sick and tired of these brain-dead, right-wing reactionaries trying to fight off flea-sized subsidies when an elephant-sized subsidy is standing on their chest.

 

Sometimes I'd like to just stay silent and gleefully watch them choke on their sprawl, traffic, fumes and gas prices. Problem is, a lot of innocent people will get brought down with them if we all stay silent and don't go on the offensive against these cementheads.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07168/794844-147.stm

 

Allegheny River tunnel project awaits the arrival of a giant borer

 

UNDER THE RIVER / First in an occasional series

 

Sunday, June 17, 2007

 

By Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Amid dust, vibration and almost constant noise, the work to prepare for Pittsburgh's first underwater tunnels is marching forward on schedule.

 

In four more years, if all goes according to plan, Port Authority Transit will have two 2,400-foot-long tunnels snaking beneath the Allegheny River, carrying light rail passengers to the North Shore and back again.

 

The staging areas for the $435-million project are concentrated on Stanwix Street, Downtown, and along General Robinson Street on the North Side, between PNC Park and Heinz Field.

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

 

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070617dsBIGDIG0627_450.jpg

Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette

Looking west toward Heinz Field from the Sports & Exhibition Authority parking garage roof, the mound of sand in the foreground is the point at which Port Authority light rail trains will emerge from their underground tunnels on the North Shore.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/north_shore_tunnelmap720.jpg

 

MAP OF TUNNELLING

 

while the North Shore Connector is a nice flashy (useless) project for Pittsburgh... here's the real story on the state of Pittsburgh (and Pennsylvania) transit... the state government here has never generated the political will to fund its transit agencies adequately... and now every transit agency in the state is in a time of crisis... Pittsburgh and Philly are now enduring dramatic service reductions... and just about every smaller agency is reducing service and raising fares... this is a very dark time for Pennsylvania... I am embarrassed... while the rest of the country moves forward with transit at this critical time in history... PA takes a bold step backwards

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07174/796574-147.stm

 

Port Authority begs Legislature for help

 

Capital fund tapped to balance budget

 

Saturday, June 23, 2007

 

By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

 

 

The Port Authority's board unanimously passed a 2007-08 operating budget yesterday that anticipates nothing but bad news for the riders of tomorrow.

 

The $325 million budget incorporates a fall service cut coming on the heels of one that began this week. It includes a January fare increase for an undetermined amount. And it accounts for roughly 155 layoffs in addition to the 203 layoffs this month.

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

Pennsylvania state funding for transit isn't an embarassment. It's actually one of the leaders in the nation in total spending and per-capita spending on transit. The embarassment is in the communities -- particularly the larger cities which have no permanent local funding (ie: county sales taxes) to support their transit systems. They have depended on the state for so long that when costs rise faster than state support (such as with the increase in fuel/energy prices), the transit agencies have struggled.

 

The inverse is true in Ohio, where local funding provides the lion's share of operating subsidies and state support is a rumor. If a given city's transit system had the local support as in Ohio and the state support of Pennsylvania, service cuts and recurring fare hikes would likely be a very rare thing.

Indeed, Philadelphia has an even more difficult proposition as it is both a city and county but with a huge transit infrastructure that fans well beyond the city/county borders.  And yet, the overwhelming commuter base is, not surprisingly, inside Philadelphia -- which is, of course, why city leaders always, justifiably, scream about that the SEPTA board seats are overwhelmingly suburban (something akin to 12-to-3; I forget the exact numbers).  So Philly couldn't run an RTA or tax like RTA; it would have to tax each region where transit lies.  But do you think just because, say, Chester County, and outer region in the Philly metro area, would buy a same-level tax as Philly just because a few a tentacle of regional rail plus a few rush hour, suburban bus lines reach inside its borders?  Fat chance.

 

Of course, as has been much discussed, Greater Cleveland has a parallel hurdle of partnering with neighboring counties to help fund planned commuter rail extending outside Cuyahoga county -- as have existed for over a century in, say, ... Philadelphia.  It makes it even tougher when the ex-urban population grows with, often, more conservative types who often move there in the 1st place with the distinct intent to be as far away from the center city, and it's "problems", as possible.  To these folks, more taxes to fund core-based urban transit is about as welcome as the flu.

"The vast majority of Utahns really like their cars and being able to go where they want, when they want," said Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork. "My question is, how much are riders willing to pay (for public transportation) and to what extent should the public subsidize it?"

 

Seems every American metro area, save those in the smarter Northeast, have so many politicians (and unfailingly Republican) like this... and of course YOU KNOW conservative Utah has them in abundance.  But can someone explain why clowns like these always seem to get away with setting up, unchallenged, the false dichotomy of  "... if you accept/support transit, you can't use your cars."  Almost as if government is coming to impound citizens' cars en masse if transit is built.  Kinda like the gun debate: if your for at least a modicum of control of, say, .50 caliber assault weapons your an advocate for taking everyone's legal gun away... huh!?

 

Of course this is the good ol' US of A, where policis-by-fear has been the sine qua non of American society since the Civil War.  Not surprising, then, you know who is in the White House.

 

####

btw, sorry to beat this old horse: but despite the severe funding hurdles for PAT and SEPTA, it still rankles me than Pittsburgh, as smaller city/region facing similar economical challegnes as Cleveland, is so forward so aggressively with its subway extension while we in Cleveland have (drum roll)... ECP... and anti-rail Joe Calabrese helming RTA, to boot!

This is how we answer politicians with such bogus and factually bereft views on public transportation.  I wrote the following letter to the editor of the Desert News:

 

To the editor,

 

Your recent, excellent article on the debate that is going on around the "Front Runner" commuter rail service is not unlike debate around the United States over the need to redevelop and expand our rail systems to carry more people and freight. We are facing both a mobility crisis brought on by the burgeoning need for more transportation options and an economic crisis fueled by the increasing bite being taken from all of our wallets by both the obvious cost of gasoline at the pump and the hidden impact of fuel cost add-ons to almost everything we consume.

 

But I find these lawmakers and other rail critics who decry the use of "subsidies" for new rail services to be nothing more than transportation hypocrites,  Ask any of them when was the last time they criticized a highway project on those grounds.  My guess is they won't be able to give you an answer. 

 

For all of their hot air and hand-wringing over subsidizing rail & transit projects, the fact is that highways have not only been historically subsidized by federal and state dollars, those dollars are heavily skewed toward highways and, to some degree aviation.  Meanwhile, support for rail and transit has been just as historically low to the point of being fractional in some states.  I dare say Utah is no exception. And we are paying the price for putting all of our transportation eggs in one basket.

 

I applaud your state officials for agressively pursuing their rail plans.  Rail is still the most fuel and emissions efficient way to move a lot of people or freight and there just isn't that much highway capacity left to handle the predicted crush of freight traffic. 

 

With gasoline taking an ever larger bite from people's wallets, I don't think I am out of line in saying that rail plans like the Frontrunner represent a choice between putting more dollars in people wallets or pumping far more of those dollars into the black hole that leads to the gas tank.

 

^EXCELLENT!!!!

Noozer rocks!

WIRED MAGAZINE: ISSUE 15.07

Cars 2.0 : Future Transport

Hey America, Make With the !@~$ High-Speed Rail Already

David Wolman 06.26.07 | 2:00 AM

 

 

In April, a train built by the French engineering firm Alstom screamed along the Ligne à Grande Vitesse, the Paris-to-Strasbourg high-speed rail system, at a record- breaking 357 miles per hour. The whizzing run past Vendôme provided a glimpse of next-gen railway travel, and Alstom execs hope, set the company up for future contracts in emerging high-speed rail markets like China and India.

 

Conspicuously absent among those emerging markets: the US. Of course, news of the achievement sparked yet another round of well-worn rants, often delivered by globe-trotters who return home after rides on slick Japanese or French trains wondering, "Where the hell is my high-speed rail?" It's a question that betrays a certain naiveté about transit policy but it's still a good one. If the country has a prayer of solving its traffic woes and creating a more efficient, environmentally sound infrastructure, we'll need some first-rate, wicked-fast trains.

 

.......

 

http://www.wired.com/print/cars/futuretransport/magazine/15-07/st_essay

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

This is how we answer politicians with such bogus and factually bereft views on public transportation.  I wrote the following letter to the editor of the Desert News:

 

To the editor,

 

Your recent, excellent article on the debate that is going on around the "Front Runner" commuter rail service is not unlike debate around the United States over the need to redevelop and expand our rail systems to carry more people and freight. We are facing both a mobility crisis brought on by the burgeoning need for more transportation options and an economic crisis fueled by the increasing bite being taken from all of our wallets by both the obvious cost of gasoline at the pump and the hidden impact of fuel cost add-ons to almost everything we consume.

 

But I find these lawmakers and other rail critics who decry the use of "subsidies" for new rail services to be nothing more than transportation hypocrites,  Ask any of them when was the last time they criticized a highway project on those grounds.  My guess is they won't be able to give you an answer. 

 

For all of their hot air and hand-wringing over subsidizing rail & transit projects, the fact is that highways have not only been historically subsidized by federal and state dollars, those dollars are heavily skewed toward highways and, to some degree aviation.  Meanwhile, support for rail and transit has been just as historically low to the point of being fractional in some states.  I dare say Utah is no exception. And we are paying the price for putting all of our transportation eggs in one basket.

 

I applaud your state officials for agressively pursuing their rail plans.  Rail is still the most fuel and emissions efficient way to move a lot of people or freight and there just isn't that much highway capacity left to handle the predicted crush of freight traffic. 

 

With gasoline taking an ever larger bite from people's wallets, I don't think I am out of line in saying that rail plans like the Frontrunner represent a choice between putting more dollars in people wallets or pumping far more of those dollars into the black hole that leads to the gas tank.

 

 

Totally agree with this.  Excellent work Nooz.

Unfortunately, I still think it will take a lot more work or perhaps a lot of bad happenings (*cough*fuelfailure*cough*) in order to really get everyone onboard rail ideas.

 

Ah well.  Great work everyone posting rail projects.

http://www.wired.com/print/cars/futuretransport/magazine/15-07/st_essay

 

I read this one earlier this week.

I'm right there with everyone else asking "where the $@%^$@^^&@!! is my rail!?"

Unfortunately, I still think it will take a lot more work or perhaps a lot of bad happenings (*cough*fuelfailure*cough*) in order to really get everyone onboard rail ideas.

 

Even then, too many people think that some magical innovation will preserve their gluttonous lifestyles -- like hydrogen, ethanol, abiotic oil, or oil derived from coal. Sadly, the only thing we have in endless abundance is denial.

Ditto.

 

Went to Europe. Loved it. Came to the states. Cried.

It's like trying to cure obesity with liposuction.

 

If you want to really lose weight, you hit the gym and go on a diet.

 

 

did you just call america fat?

 

that's unamerican!

:-D

 

 

Stop eating Mcdonnalds and drinking pepsi and coke

  Start drinking real juice(not Concentrate) and eating dandilions,with prsut.

Get rid of lite beer and SUV's

 

It's like trying to cure obesity with liposuction.

 

If you want to really lose weight, you hit the gym and go on a diet.

 

 

Brilliant piece of marketing: :clap:

 

7/5/2007    Signs of the Times

Caltrain to display train travel times on US 101

 

What better way to advertise commuter-rail service than by displaying train travel times along a congested freeway? Earlier this week, Caltrain began doing just that.

 

The agency, in conjunction with the California Department of Transportation and San Mateo County Transportation Authority, is displaying commuter-rail travel time information on message signs located along US 101 between San Jose and San Francisco. The signs, which currently show the amount of time it will take commuters to drive between San Francisco and San Jose, now also will display Caltrain travel times and scheduled departure times for trains at the Millbrae and Redwood City stations.

 

On Monday, the agencies began posting Caltrain travel information on signs located on northbound and southbound US 101 at Millbrae Avenue. Later this month, Caltrain travel times will be displayed on additional US 101 signs, as well as on smaller roadside signs located near off-ramps at Millbrae and Whipple avenues to show parking availability at the Millbrae and Redwood City Caltrain stations. The system only will be activated during the morning and evening commute periods.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=10991

^ great idea to publicize mass transit!

Cool idea. Should be replicated throughout the U.S.

 

Whoops, can't do it in Ohio -- no choo choos.

Cool idea. Should be replicated throughout the U.S.

 

Whoops, can't do it in Ohio -- no choo choos.

 

well that and it seems as if RTA (and the other transit authorities) compete with ODOT rather than work together.

 

Like in the announcement for the ramp closures downtown, they could only suggest different exits off of I-90 instead of one of the easy park-and-rides next to I-90 and I-480.

Yep. Whe I got the press release from ODOT about the Ontario ramp closing, I had to look up on RTA's website as what the bus route numbers were for the Strongsville, North Olmsted and Westlake park-n-rides. I put that in the article, but it should have been in ODOT's press release -- unless of course, ODOT folks don't seem to think traffic back-ups will be all that bad. And I suspect that's their feeling based on their goofy, double-back-against-the-traffic routing they've offered as the recommended detour.

 

Good luck with that detour, ODOT.

more new mind blowing penn/moynahan station redevelopment plans in the nytimes today. this time instead of the ratner's its cleveland's dolans who are in the middle of it :-o

 

 

New Grandeur for Penn Station in Latest Plan

 

By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Published: July 4, 2007

 

It began as a proposal to restore the Beaux-Arts grandeur of the old Pennsylvania Station. It grew into a sweeping plan to transform the area around the station into a district of gleaming office towers. Now it is growing again.

 

......

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/nyregion/04moynihan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

Re; the Caltrains marketing effort:

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Here's a couple of slogans I would put on the rear and sides of every train as it passes motorists on the highways:

 

"Getting there yet?"

 

"Got speed?"

July 5, 2007

 

High-speed rail may link Midwest

With financial help from feds, states could build lines to connect Chicago, Indy and Cincinnati

By Zach Dunkin

[email protected]

July 5, 2007

 

Kelly Allen is a senior regional manager for Duke Realty who drives to Cincinnati 15 to 20 times a year on business and would love to make the trip by train.

 

Allen, 29, an East Coast native, grew up riding trains to New York City and Washington.

 

"I know it would be an absolute plus for any business or leisure traveler to get that kind of service here," Allen said. "You can get a lot of work done on the train. And you can wind down from your day on the way home."

 

.......

 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070705/LOCAL18/707050439

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

i'm not expert, but 100 million in grants for state rail?

 

Please tell me that's just to cover the cost of the analysis.....

Thought the grant $$ would be welcome, they don't begin to cover the costs of developing any of the plans being developed in Ohio or the Midwest.  Simply put, this is the Bush Administration's idea of funding high-speed rail: enough money to "tease" but not enough money to demonstrate a serious commitment or recognition that developing these systems will take a major investment of transportation $$$$.

^ I am not for sure about that. One may think the president would be wholly in favor of cutting back funding to light/heavy/commuter rail, and other mass transit options, but a WSJ article I pulled up a while back (I can find it to repost if anyone needs it) has put funding for mass transit at an all-time high for recent decades. Clinton wasn't approaching anywhere near the level of commitment or funding, oddly enough.

 

It's still going to take a LOT more funding to really kickstart a furry of rail building, though. Like, China's obese levels.