Commuter rail is transit and Austin, TX, Providence, RI and Santa Fe, NM all have it.

 

Edit: if you include Amtrak, a lot more cities can be added to that list.

 

The Federal Gov treats Commuter Rail like passenger rail, rather than transit. But, I see your point...though they serve different markets and purposes.

 

Regulation-wise, mostly yes. Funding-wise and operations, mostly no. Federal commuter rail funding comes mostly from the FTA.

Ok, so to update my list...

 

Phoenix, AZ - modern LRT

Little Rock, AR - modern (vintage?) streetcar

Sacramento, CA - modern LRT

Denver, CO - modern LRT & CRT

Atlanta, GA - modern HRT

Honolulu, HI - modern HRT (soon to open)

Boston, MA - legacy HRT and LRT, & CRT

Saint Paul, MN - modern LRT (tied to Minneapolis)

Santa Fe, NM - CRT

Providence, RI - CRT

Austin, TX - CRT

Salt Lake City, UT - modern LRT

 

 

Edited to add: Denver - not sure how I missed that one...

Surge in Ridership Pushes New York Subway to Limit

By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONSMAY 3, 2016

 

For New Yorkers who rely on the 86th Street subway station on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the morning commute is a humbling experience. An endless stream of people funnel onto the platforms. Trains arrive with a wall of humanity already blocking the doorways.

 

As No. 6 trains pull into the upper level of the station, riders scan for an opening and, if they can, squeeze in for a suffocating ride downtown.

 

“You can wait four or five subways to get on, and you’re just smushed,” Cynthia Hallenbeck, the chief financial officer at a nonprofit, said before boarding a train on a recent morning.

 

MORE:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/04/nyregion/surge-in-ridership-pushes-new-york-subway-to-limit.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

In fact, I believe that gains in MTA ridership are enough to account for all of the country's total transit ridership gains in recent years, and then some. Meaning if you're APTA, and all of sudden you can't count MTA ridership, because it no longer shares data with you, your headlines are probably going to look a lot less rosy. 

In fact, I believe that gains in MTA ridership are enough to account for all of the country's total transit ridership gains in recent years, and then some. Meaning if you're APTA, and all of sudden you can't count MTA ridership, because it no longer shares data with you, your headlines are probably going to look a lot less rosy. 

 

And the reason why MTA left APTA? One Dr. Valarie McCall....

In fact, I believe that gains in MTA ridership are enough to account for all of the country's total transit ridership gains in recent years, and then some. Meaning if you're APTA, and all of sudden you can't count MTA ridership, because it no longer shares data with you, your headlines are probably going to look a lot less rosy. 

 

And the reason why MTA left APTA? One Dr. Valarie McCall....

 

Could you share more details? Feel free to share via PM.

Could you share more details? Feel free to share via PM.

 

Unfortunately no. Some political infighting re: money going to the big systems vs. everyone else is all I know.

And the reason why MTA left APTA? One Dr. Valarie McCall....

 

I don't think this is really it, actually. Or in any case, it's much deeper than McCall, and the MTA's dissatisfaction clearly pre-dates her current term as APTA's board chair. McCall's appointment was actually somewhat responsive to the MTA's demands for representation from legacy systems. Also, the absurdly bloated contract of APTA's feckless former CEO should have given pause to any dues-paying member. MTA may have been disappointed that McCall didn't lead a bigger putsch to oust management, but I don't think it was she herself that caused this.

 

Here's MTA's letter to APTA explaining its decision: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-s2b-K9y41NdkhiZEJKdXpMRFU/view?pref=2&pli=1

 

[typo]

Friday, May 13, 2016

Bullet to the Heart

Written by  Ben Vient, Managing Editor

 

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on May 23, 2016 will inaugurate a new nonstop regional/commuter rail service between Worcester and Boston.

 

Called the “HeartToHub,” the nonstop service will take about one hour, cutting about 30 minutes off existing service that takes 90 minutes with up to 16 stops. It will run twice daily from Monday to Friday, originating in Worcester in the morning and Boston South Station in the evening, also making stops at Yawkey and Back Bay stations in between. The Boston-bound trains are scheduled to depart from Worcester at 8:05 a.m. and arrive at South Station at 9:07 a.m.; the evening Worcester trains will leave South Station at 7:35 p.m. and reach Worcester at 8:40 p.m.

 

MBTA officials plan to evaluate the popularity of the service in one year.

 

MORE:

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/commuter-regional/bullet-to-the-heart.html

the passageway from fulton center to wtc opens today:

 

 

The PATH not taken

 

EDITORIALS

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, May 26, 2016, 4:00 AM

 

 

As above, so below

 

A new attraction opens in New York on Thursday — a spectacular feat of gross excess that was years in the making and will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

The city’s newest monument is an underground passageway that connects the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $1.4 billion renovated Fulton St. subway complex, with its grandiose and unneeded entrance hall, to the Port Authority’s even more ridiculously over-the-top $4.4 billion World Trade Center PATH station.

 

Walk from one end to the other and you can witness insanely wasteful transit spending. As you do, consider this:

 

Rather than build a white marble station designed by Santiago Calatrava, an architect renowned for overpriced projects, the Port Authority could have used that $4.4 billion to provide free rides to all 100,000 daily PATH passengers for the next 25 years.

I hate articles like this. Was it way over budget? Obviously. But providing free rides to 100,000 daily passengers for 25 years ends with you having...nothing. You have spent the same amount of money and haven't created a revenue-generating structure, of which both of these stations are, and you'd still be left with the need for new transit hubs in a city that is struggling to keep up with transit demands.

 

And it's deceiving to blurt out the price tags as if that 100% of that money went directly towards the actual transit aspects of each. These are both also offices and both have immense retail components. Especially the WTC hub.

 

They could have been done a little less extravagantly, sure, but pretending that there's no end benefit to creating world-class transit hubs where needed is laughable.

As someone named it, the "Calatravesty."

i used to be dead against fulton center and bloomberg's 7 train extension, but ive come around. i always thought that $ should be all hands on deck for the second ave subway. i never minded old fulton st, even though it was a gloomy, disgusting rat-maze. but as downtown transformed itself and all cities are yuppie/yunnie-ing themselves up these days it became an embarrassment. so ok. and as far as the 7 train extension, well, the future is there. maybe an eventual extension to jersey too. the port authority's calatrava is clearly a boondoogle, but who's to say the locals wont come around to it in time too, when its fully completed and the shops are all opened. its just too well used and in the middle of everything downtown for disdain about the price and design to last.

msp light rail:

 

http://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/minneapolis-light-rail/index.html

 

San Joaquin service to expand

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=30717

I had no idea the San Joaquins were Amtrak's 5th busiest route, especially since they don't directly serve a major-city downtown aside from Sacramento. 

I had no idea the San Joaquins were Amtrak's 5th busiest route, especially since they don't directly serve a major-city downtown aside from Sacramento. 

 

It thrives of connecting bus services which are planned/funded by the state DOT and operated by Amtrak. Yep, Amtrak Thruway-brand bus services.

Doesn't it serve central Oakland, like two BART stops from Embarcadero?

Doesn't it serve central Oakland, like two BART stops from Embarcadero?

 

Yes. And it also serves Sacramento too, which is now larger than Columbus, OH. Fresno is larger than Cleveland proper. And multiple daily connecting buses link the route to LA, Southern California destinations and other off-rail cities and tourism sites.

Wouldn't it be cool to see the Ohio Turnpike pursue something like this between Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown-Pittsburgh??

 

http://www.virginiadot.org/newsroom/statewide/2016/governor_mcauliffe_announces_virginias102651.asp

 

 

RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

CONTACT:

Brian Coy

[email protected]

GOV

 

July 5, 2016

 

Governor McAuliffe Announces Virginia’s Selection for $165 Million FASTLANE Grant to Deliver the Atlantic Gateway Project

Multi-Pronged Project will Transform Road and Rail Infrastructure Along the I-95 Corridor

 

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today that Virginia’s proposed Atlantic Gateway Project has been selected for a federal FASTLANE grant of $165 million.

 

Combined resources for the project, including the federal grant, private investment and public funding, total $1.4 billion to address the worst bottlenecks on the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia, transforming travel along the entire East Coast.

 

The project will enhance passenger and freight rail along the corridor, improving reliability and capacity on the East Coast’s rail network, and increase bus service. The 95 Express Lanes will be extended both to the north and south, offering commuters a reliable trip from Fredericksburg to the Potomac River, and points in between. Expanded bus service will also help keep more cars off of the road and shorten commute times.

 

“Winning this significant federal grant will allow Virginia to move forward on a project that will transform travel conditions and stimulate economic growth across our Commonwealth,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Our administration worked with federal, state, local and private sector parties to submit a package of transportation improvements that will have far-reaching benefits for everyone who travels the Commonwealth, whether by car, bus or train.

 

“Transportation leaders came to the table with one clear goal: improve travel in the most heavily traveled corridor in the Southeast by investing in road and rail improvements to move people and commerce more efficiently, not only through Virginia, but also from Florida to New York. I thank the USDOT for having the vision to select the Atlantic Gateway project for the FASTLANE grant. The Atlantic Gateway will create jobs and contribute to our efforts to build a new Virginia economy, and we could not have moved forward without this important federal funding.”

 

The $165 million FASTLANE grant will leverage $565 million in private investments and $710 million in other transportation funds to:

 

+ Build 14 miles of new rail track to improve reliability and capacity for freight, commuter, and passenger rail service, including phase I of the project to unlock rail congestion at Long Bridge

+ Extend 95 Express Lanes for seven miles north to the Potomac River and improve access to the Pentagon

+ Extend the 95 Express Lanes 10 miles south to Fredericksburg to alleviate backups at the current southern terminus

+ Construct a new southbound bridge on I-95 across the Rappahannock River

+ Provide dedicated on-going reinvestment in expanded bus service in the corridor to ensure that all populations have access to jobs, education and health care services

+ Add new commuter parking, technology upgrades and truck parking along the corridor

+ Build pavement for autonomous vehicle enhancement; this will provide the infrastructure to test and deploy driverless cars

+ Acquire the S-line, an abandoned rail corridor that runs from North Carolina to the Richmond area, from CSX to provide public ownership of a corridor key for future Southeast High Speed Rail.

 

Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne added, “Our team has worked for two years to develop the Atlantic Gateway project for consideration under the FASTLANE grant program. Our selection is the result of support and cooperation from elected officials, local and regional leaders, chambers of commerce, the transportation industry, our private sector partners, and many others who clearly see the Atlantic Gateway project is absolutely essential to Northern Virginia and Virginia’s long-term economic competitiveness. This grant will allow the Commonwealth to transform the 95 corridor into a true multimodal corridor that better manages traffic and increases travel choices for people and goods.”

 

The Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are ready to work with the private industry and the state’s partners in federal, state and local governments to build improvements.

 

The program will move to construction in phases, and portions will start as early as 2017. Much of the upfront environmental and engineering work is complete or underway.

 

Background:

 

The award, made under USDOT’s FASTLANE competitive grant program, is part of a $4.6 billion, 5-year program created by the FAST Act, which was signed into law in December 2015 and makes large-scale national investments to improve freight and highway mobility across the United States. Every grant under the program will be subject to a 60-day congressional review before final grant awards are announced.

 

###

Wouldn't it be cool to see the Ohio Turnpike pursue something like this between Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown-Pittsburgh??

 

Yes it would!  It seems like it service a much greater population as well.

Some problems with that:

 

1. The Turnpike does not have the available right-of-way. Unless you can convince bondholders to somehow pony up money from maintaining a tolled road AND other unrelated facilities, it won't fly. It's why some states that have piggybacked on toll roads in the past, like Pennsylvania and West Virginia, are undoing such agreements. (Pennsylvania funded miscellaneous projects not related to the Turnpike, while the West Virginia Turnpike funded the Tamarack and unrelated recreation/tourism projects in far-flung areas of the state.)

2. The Turnpike goes through no populated areas. You'd have to deviate from the Turnpike in many locations to reach cities. Why not use existing corridors?

Under its new mantra as the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, the OTIC can spend money on projects that are within the "nexus" of the Ohio Turnpike corridor. So investing in new infrastructure that increases the capacity of an existing rail corridor or reactivates an old, abandoned rail corridor that parallels the Ohio Turnpike might be considered within the nexus of the turnpike.

Miami-Dade Takes Another Approach to Funding Rail

 

After a county sales tax failed to bring Miami-Dade residents the dramatic rail expansion they were promised, officials are trying a different revenue strategy: property taxes.

 

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/miami-dade-rail-funding-property-tax

Looking forward to ODOT creating such a position with funding and authority! ;)

 

Monday, August 08, 2016

MassDOT creates Director of Sustainable Mobility role

Written by  Ben Vient, Managing Editor

 

Jackie DeWolfe has been appointed to the newly created position of Director of Sustainable Mobility for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

 

DeWolfe will be responsible for coordinating activities throughout MassDOT which enhance multi-modal transportation across the Commonwealth and for piloting new ideas. A key responsibility of this position is convening multi-disciplinary teams from across MassDOT, and coordinating with municipal partners, other state agencies, and nonprofit partners to drive change that will help the state meet its healthy transportation goals.

 

DeWolfe will be closely involved with the newly launched and already successful Complete Streets program which provides municipalities with funding to design and construct projects to make streets safer and more welcoming for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and users of public transit. Over the next year, $12.5 million will be awarded to cities and towns with plans to increase funding over the coming years. Working with MassDOT colleagues, DeWolfe will help to build the Complete Streets concept so it becomes an integral part of road design across the Commonwealth.

 

MORE:

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/management/massdot-creates-director-of-sustainable-mobility-role.html

Just like the new contactless phone chargers, a Chinese company has developed a capacitor-powered light rail system that can run for 3-5 km on a 30second charge at a stop.

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/01/c_135555582.htm

 

And here I am wanting a wireless phone charger that can work through 1/2" of wood so I can make my bedside table a charging station without having to see the ugly mat.

 

That's pretty cool. I wonder what the longevity of that type of system is since a lot of batteries wind up with reduced capacity after substantial amounts of "quick charging." It might say in the article but it's not loading for me. So maybe someone has some insight.

The Zaragoza, Spain tram uses the same technology.  It does use a wire for part of the route, but all of the stations on the wireless part of the route will recharge it a little bit while it's stopped picking up passengers.

^As battery tech improves, seems like this type of approach could greatly reduce construction costs for tramways.

True, but battery technology does not advance very fast. While computer microprocessors double in speed every 18 months, batteries only increase in energy density a few percent each year. I think there have been bigger advances with charging speed than there have been with capacity. If you went fully off-wire, you'd probably need to design the system with a few "layover" points (probably at each end of the route) where the LRVs would dwell for a few minutes to fully top off their battery.

Time to bring back the Wiremobile, except electrify the line and fill the balloon with helium!

Just like the new contactless phone chargers, a Chinese company has developed a capacitor-powered light rail system that can run for 3-5 km on a 30second charge at a stop.

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/01/c_135555582.htm

 

 

It doesn't use batteries.  It uses a supercapacitor to store and discharge electrical energy.  The science is old, but this technology for building large enough capacitors is still fairly new.  Here's more of the article for anyone who can't get to it.

 

CHANGSHA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's first independently designed supercapacitor tram rolled off the production line in central China's Hunan Province Monday.

 

The tram uses supercapacitor energy storage to operate without external wires and can be fully charged during a 30-second stop and run for 3 to 5 kilometers, according to Engineer-in-Chief Suo Jianguo with Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. under CRRC Corporation Ltd, the country's largest rolling-stock maker.

 

The tram can carry up to 380 passengers and travel at 70 kilometers per hour. It also uses a low-floor design, making boarding easy for children, pregnant women and the elderly.

 

"This is the first time all the technology, even the spare parts, are independently provided by China," according to Suo. The tram runs on clean energy and can reuse 85 percent of the energy regenerated from braking.

 

Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., based in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, developed the first light rail train using supercapacitor energy storage technology in August 2012.

Toronto has about five subway extensions planned any competing for funding...the most hardcore is the "relief line".  The problem with the relief line is that they're passing on the opportunity to create a 4-track NYC-type express train.  Bored tunnels with no stations are getting cheaper and cheaper to build, plus the old east/west line this thing is connecting to has plans to be extended.  Instead everyone from 10 miles out is going to be stuck stopping at five new local stations. 

 

http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2016/06/relief-line-preferred-alignment-now-includes-unilever-stop

Toronto has about five subway extensions planned any competing for funding...the most hardcore is the "relief line".  The problem with the relief line is that they're passing on the opportunity to create a 4-track NYC-type express train.  Bored tunnels with no stations are getting cheaper and cheaper to build, plus the old east/west line this thing is connecting to has plans to be extended.  Instead everyone from 10 miles out is going to be stuck stopping at five new local stations. 

 

http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2016/06/relief-line-preferred-alignment-now-includes-unilever-stop

 

...but if bored tunnels are getting cheaper to build, why shouldn't the Relief Line be an express line in itself-- with wider station stops than the roughly .5 mile or less station frequencies of the core Bloor-Danforth and Younge Lines?  Outside of NYC's ancient, crazy mega rapid transit system, which features numerous 4-track and 3-track (rush hour) express/local lines, there are only 3 similar such lines in the nation: the northern portion of Philly's Broad Street line from Center City, roughly 2/3s of Chicago's Red/Brown/Purple line and a 1-mile section of Philly's Market-Frankford (Blue) HRT line where Blue Line trains run express between 15th Street (City Hall) and 30th Street while Green Line subway-surface LRTs run local stopping at 19th and 22nd streets in between... That's it. 

 

Toronto probably missed the boat in not building 4 or at least 3-track, rush-hour lines when it designed and built the subway in the 1950s and 60s, but planners probably didn't predict Toronto's wildly explosive growth in the last 4 decades either.

No they didn't and couldn't have anticipated the growth, but what's crazy now is that because the city is growing in all directions, they're forced to throw a little here and a little there instead of beefing up the core of the system.  I really don't think they should be building extensions of these lines (and there are plans for extensions of all of them and one 5-station extension is about to open) without getting this done in the center of town.  Their subway lines are now extending more than 10 miles out into the suburbs, so the travel times for the extensions is going to get very long without at least one stretch being able to skip at least a half dozen stations. 

Since Toronto isn't in another state, I created a separate thread about Canadian rail, with a big focus on Ontario which is funding a $50 billion expansion plan....

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30043.0.html

Ever since Conrail stopped using this line in 1993, I thought this would be a great start toward creating a circumferential regional passenger rail line around NYC metro, from New Haven to Trenton. Think of how many commuter rail lines it would stitch together.

 

 

Metro-North seeking ideas for unused Beacon Line

Matt Coyne , [email protected] 2:38 p.m. EDT October 13, 2016

The line runs from Danbury to Beacon and connects the Harlem and Hudson lines; Metro-North has owned it since 1994.

 

Metro-North is looking for someone to take over a 28-mile portion of unused railway stretching from the Dutchess-Putnam county line to Beacon.

 

The railroad released a "request for expressions of interest" regarding the east-west stretch known as the Beacon Line earlier this week, with the intention of soliciting ideas for all or part of those tracks. The hope is to generate revenue while shifting some of the maintenance costs.

 

“Perhaps there are ways that the line could be put to use for the benefit of the public that are outside of our mandate as a public transportation agency,” Metro-North Railroad President Joseph Giulietti said in a statement. “We want to find out how much interest there is in this real estate and what ideas folks may have that could lead to the revitalization of the line.”

 

MORE:

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2016/10/13/metro-north-beacon-line/91990548/

How Transit Fared in the 2016 Election

 

It’s finally over. Last night, after 20 months of primaries, campaigning, debates, ugly scandal, drama, allegations of criminal activity and so much more, Americans cast their ballots and chose their 45th president: Donald Trump.

 

Of course, the presidential race overshadowed essentially everything else. But there were a litany of important local, regional and state issues up for a vote yesterday including an unprecedented number of transit-related ballot measures. Voters in cities and counties around the U.S. decided on nearly $200 billion in transit funding, the most in any single election in the country’s history. One could optimistically read that as city and regional governments and voters recognizing that transit is an important piece for quality of life. Transit Center’s Jon Orcutt says it’s likely as much a product of necessity as it is desire.

 

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/vote-transit-bills-2016-election

Agencies Invite Public to Learn About Recommended Route for the Hudson Tunnel Project

Route utilizes previous studies, will serve Penn Station

 

Public meeting scheduled in New York

 

WASHINGTON—The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and NJ TRANSIT invites the public to learn more about their recommendation for the Hudson Tunnel Project at the public meeting in New York tomorrow, Nov. 17, 2016. During the meeting, the public will be able to learn more about the recommendation (Preferred Alternative) and the Environmental Impact Statement for the project. The Preferred Alternative for the Hudson Tunnel Project recommends construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitation of the existing tunnel.

 

The Preferred Alternative identifies a specific route that includes two new tracks extending from the Northeast Corridor in Secaucus, N.J., continuing in a tunnel beneath the Palisades, and beneath the Hudson River. From there, it will connect to the existing approach tracks that lead into New York’s Penn Station. The recommendation also includes the rehabilitation of the existing North River Tunnel once the new tunnel is complete.

 

The new tunnel would be constructed first so that upon completion trains could be diverted from the existing tunnel to allow its rehabilitation. When the rehabilitation is complete, both the existing and new tunnels would be in service, providing redundant capability and increased operational flexibility for Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT.

 

The meeting will be held at Hotel Pennsylvania at 4 p.m. EST. This is an opportunity for the public and stakeholders to learn and ask questions about the project developments and the Preferred Alternative. No formal presentations will be given. For more information, please visit www.hudsontunnelproject.com. 

 

 

 

WHO:            The Federal Railroad Administration

                    NJ Transit

                    Members of the public

 

WHAT:          Opportunities for public to learn more about Hudson Tunnel Project

 

Although there will be no formal presentations, project staff will be available to answer questions.

 

NEW YORK

 

WHEN:        Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016

                    4 – 7 p.m. EST

 

WHERE:      Hotel Pennsylvania

                    Skytop Ballroom

                    401 Seventh Ave.

                    New York, N.Y.

 

RSVP:          Credentialed media that plan to attend the event please RSVP to: [email protected]

                    to receive additional details.

This 9-car train takes 500+ cars off busy, rainy holiday roads. Michigan DOT reminds Ohioans that modern trains are part of a safe, multi-modal travel network.

 

https://twitter.com/MDOT_Rail/status/801447930351747072/photo/1

 

^As long as 'moderate' John Kasich and Republican friends run ODOT and the Statehouse, it'll continue to fall on deaf ears.  And this photo is of East Lansing where Michigan State Univ is; that's not even the busier, more frequent Wolverine Line that connects Detroit, Ann Arbor, Pontiac and north Detroit burbs to Chicago (as does E. Lansing's Blue Water line).

Expansion of this service is critical to expansion west of Pittsburgh into Ohio and on to Chicago......

 

Thursday, December 08, 2016

Pittsburghers, Amtrak, NS and PennDOT

Written by Ben Vient, Managing Editor

 

"I think it’s one of the first times that Amtrak, PennDOT and Norfolk Southern were all at the same table answering questions from legislators on this issue,” says Lucinda Beattie, Vice President of Transportation for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, a business advocacy group focused on the revitalization of Pittsburgh, Pa.

 

Beattie refers to the Aug. 23, 2016 hearing at Pennsylvania’s House Transportation Committee, on one of Pittsburgh’s developing transportation issues: restoring passenger rail service to western Pennsylvania.

 

Until 1969, 12 daily Pennsylvania Railroad (after 1968, Penn Central) intercity trains connected Pittsburgh eastward. By 2005, service had been reduced to one daily train: Amtrak’s current Pennsylvanian, created in April 1980, with current average speeds of 45 mph.

 

MORE:

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/pittsburghers-amtrak-ns-and-penndot.html

good news today downtown at the wtc:

 

 

 

World Trade Center Oculus E train entrance opens

 

By Vincent Barone [email protected] December 19, 2016

 

 

Commuters at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub Oculus will no longer have exit the building to connect to an E train.

 

The Port Authority is opening access to the E line from within the Oculus beginning Monday. The entrance will be located on the hub’s second level in the northeast corner.

 

It will retain some of the “historical features” that existed before the 9/11 attacks, like the original limestone flooring, doors, directional signage and a ramp structure from the entryway, according to the Port Authority.

 

“The opening of the new E subway entrance culminates a year of activity in which the World Trade Center Transportation Hub Oculus opened in phases,” the agency said in a press release announcing the news.

 

A section of the over-budget, $4 billion Oculus hub first opened to the public this March. The remainder of the Santiago Calatrava-designed structure opened in May. The hub already connects PATH riders to 10 New York City subway lines, including 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, Z, R and W. An additional connection to the R and 1 trains will be opening in the coming months, the agency said.

 

The World Trade Center hub is the busiest PATH station, serving 54,573 riders, and many more shopping tourists, on an average weekday, according to 2016 Port Authority data through November.

 

The new E entrance is not ADA accessible, but the agency said that it would be building an ADA entrance “in the future.”

 

http://www.amny.com/transit/world-tr...ens-1.12774675

 

In the absence of state support, this is the kind of thing that local communities can do -- band together with federal support....

 

12/20/2016

FRA allocates funds for Amtrak Gulf Coast service

 

The Southern Rail Commission (SRC) yesterday announced more than $2 million in allocations through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to 11 communities in three southern states that are making plans for restored and improved Amtrak service.

 

A total of 11 grants will be awarded to communities in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. The commission worked with the states' congressional delegations, the FRA, host railroads and Amtrak to pursue the federal funds to restore the rail service in the three states, according to an SRC press release.

 

Funds will be available in early 2017. The projects are expected to be completed within 24 months of receiving the awards.

 

MORE:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/csx/news/FRA-allocates-funds-for-Amtrak-Gulf-Coast-service--50433

per ssp, path train ridership has trended up & hit an all time ridership high in september:

 

 

2016 Ridership Numbers

 

Month | Avg. Weekday Ridership | % Chg from Prior Year

 

Jan 250,484 (+10.07%)

Feb 259,236 (+5.71%)

March 265,132 (+5.86%)

April 270,124 (+4.56%)

May 271,904 (+2.87%)

June 277,946 (+4.08%)

July 272,799 (+4.22%)

August 269,440 (+3.91%)

September 278,139 (+3.39%) *all time high

October 276,417 (+0.00%)

November 277,474 (+3.54)

 

Total Ridership YTD: 76,565,452

 

Harrison 2014 AWD: 5,927

Harrison 2015 AWD: 7,887 (+33.07%)

Harrison 2016 AWD: 8,580 (+8.79%)

 

The new Harrison PATH train should increase ridership even more. It will be a beauty and should spawn more TODs.

crewman error likely in brooklyn atlantic terminal crash:

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lirr-train-derails-injuring-103-people-brooklyn-terminal-article-1.2934105

Second Ave. Subway--you call these subway tracks? where are the rats, soda cans, cigarettes and newspapers? okay, this was three days ago, it's probably looking more normal now

 

Second Ave. Subway--you call these subway tracks? where are the rats, soda cans, cigarettes and newspapers? okay, this was three days ago, it's probably looking more normal now

 

 

You forgot urine puddles.

^^I looking for 2nd Ave ride-update from mrnyc... is it more MTA or DC Metro?  ... er Metro in it's better days, that is.

 

 

You forgot urine puddles.

and used condoms. but I didn't want to get too disgusting. :-P