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Buffalo light rail transit(Photo: Mark Michalovic)
· "Bus Rapid Transit" Analyses · Political Campaigns for Light Rail Related Links
Light Rail Now/Light Rail Progress can be contacted at: Light Rail Now! |
 This news feature provides an ongoing Weblog of particularly significant developments in public transportation and rail transit. 29 December 2005 Buffalo: Buffalo's light rail transit (LRT) system is a key element in the criteria for establishing a solar-powered theme park on the city's waterfront, according to a recent report in Business First of Buffalo (27 December 2005). A renewable energy group, the Western New York Sustainable Energy Association, "hopes to create the $3 million Buffalo/Niagara Solar Playground and Learning Park on the Buffalo waterfront" says the Business First report, adding that "The centerpiece of the park would be an enclosed 60-foot 1904 carousel that has been donated by the Herschell Carrousel Museum in North Tonawanda, and which organizers hope to power with solar panels." "This could be the first waterfront project to come to fruition" noted Sustainable Energy Association director Joan Bozer. Recently, an Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation was created to stimulate and oversee development of Buffalo's harbor areas. Apparently, no particular site has yet been confirmed for the solar playground, but Bozer said the association has discussed with Buffalo officials the possibility of city land being donated for the project. She noted that a tract of land along Erie Boulevard approaching Erie Basin Marina that the association used for a 2001 solar exhibit would be "ideal". Evidently, the city's 20-year-old LRT system is a factor in the location of the park. As the Business First article reports, "The main criteria for any eventual home for the solar park are significant sun exposure and accessibility to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority light-rail system and a city-run bike path." Buffalo's LRT system is quite unusual in that it is located in a subway tunnel through suburban, predominantly residential, areas, and on a surface transit-pedestrian mall in the city's CBD (central business district). The line runs in subway about 5.2 miles (8.4 km) from the University of Buffalo south campus to the edge of the downtown, then on surface on the Main St. Mall for about a mile through downtown. Currently ridership averages about 18,000-19,000 rider-trips per weekday. Bozer emphasized that the solar park project could be, as described by the Business First report, "part of a comprehensive effort to encourage use of renewable energy sources and lure wind energy and solar power manufacturers to Western New York." "We feel that it rightly belongs in our region, this manufacturing and distribution of renewable energy technology. Because that's our heritage" said Bozer. "In 1901, we demonstrated and were way out ahead in technology for hydropower." 29 December 2005 Minneapolis: Is Minneapolis moving toward re-installing streetcars? John DeWitt of the Minneapolis-based Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) reports that on 19 Dec. the Minneapolis City Council approved a 2006 budget which includes $300,000 for a "streetcar study". Apparently the idea came from Mayor R. T. Rybak's office. John adds that the streetcar study will be tacked onto Minneapolis's Ten-Year Transportation Action Plan currently being developed. "That plan basically calls for the implementation of a bus-based Primary Transit Network similar to Portland's Frequent Service Network" he reports. "My understanding is that the study will evaluate a number of corridors as potential streetcar lines including, I suspect, the Midtown Greenway" says John. The streetcar route, proposed by the Midway Greenway Coalition, would terminate at the Lake Street/Midtown Station of the Hiawatha light rail transit line, in the ward of City Councilmember Gary Schiff, "the lead advocate" for the streetcar proposal on the Council, according to John. Mayor Rybak is also described as "an enthustiastic supporter" of the streetcar plan. "Unfortunately," says John, "Minneapolis has no money so we need to look into some creative financing methods" to finance a streetcar project. Correction Note: The original NewLog report attributed information and quotations to Ken Avidor, a Minneapolis transit activist. This attribution was in error, and the article as it appears above now reflects the correct attribution of the information. 22 December 2005 Nottingham:
Nottingham's tramway (streetcar system) – the newest light rail transit system in Britain –
reports that in its first full year of operation since its opening in March 2004, the tramway tallied an
operating surplus of about £23,000 (about US$42,000).
This, plus ridership increases, has prompted important service improvements, such as standard 5-minute daytime headways on Saturdays and 7-8 minutes on Sundays.
Nottingham's tramway, operated by Nottingham Express Transit (NET), also recorded an impressive increase in ridership of 8.4% between 2004-2005. As of 31 March 2005, total annual passenger-trips totalled approximately 8.5 million. "Our belief is, if we keep it simple, with frequent trams and easy-to-understand fares, coupled with park-and-ride and integrated buses, we will continue to grow" said NET spokesman Colin Lea. 16 December 2005 Dallas: More evidence of the magnetic appeal of rail transit in attracting development to help revitalize the cores of cities – this time, in Dallas, where the presence of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail transit (LRT) line is apparently a significant factor in persuading major companies to locate their headquarters downtown. The Dallas Morning News (1 December 2005) reports that the major Dallas architectural firm Corgan Associates Inc. is planning to build a new corporate office in downtown Dallas's West End district – once a run-down warehouse area, but now a vibrant center.of upscale restaurants, shops, and offices served by DART's West End LRT station. The News reports that "Corgan is the third company this year – along with Hunt Consolidated Inc. and 7-Eleven Inc. – to announce plans to build its headquarters downtown." According to the article, Corgan selected the West End site because it was a "Convenient location" with easy access to DART's light rail system "and other amenities in the entertainment district." 16 December 2005 Portland: San Francisco streetcar motorman and rail transit enthusiast Peter Ehrlich reports (internet postings, 15 Nov. 2005) that Portland, Oregon's TriMet transit agency has authorized the purchase of 33 parcels of property for the 6.5-mile Green Line light rail transit (LRT) extension along I-205 from Gateway Transit Center to Clackamas Town Center. Peter notes that the right-of-way is already in place, and final engineering is already under way. Revenue service could begin by 2009. The $557 million earmarked for this project also includes funding to install LRT trackage on Portland's Downtown Transit Mall, which occupies 5th and 6th Avenues. The Portland LRT expansion project appears to provide yet another indication of the enormous success of rail transit where it has been installed – underscored by strong local commitment and enthusiasm to extend the regional spread of these systems and to upgrade services. Green Line Station locations include: Gateway Transit Center (TC); SE Main Street; SE Division Street; SE Powell Blvd.; SE Holgate Blvd.; SE Foster Road; SE Flavel Street; SE Johnson Creek Blvd.; and Clackamas Town Center TC. More information can be found at the TriMet website: http://www.trimet.org 8 December 2005 Pittsburgh: The Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAAC) reports that its light rail transit (LRT), bus, and other public transit services averaged 259,765 weekday rider-trips in September, the agency's highest figure in 41 months and almost 14,000 more than it carried the same time a year ago, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Business Times (11 October 2005). The paper related the view of PAAC representatives that the high price of motor fuel had "pushed Pittsburgh drivers out of their cars and onto public transportation...." PAAC provides bus, light rail, paratransit, and incline railway service throughout 730 square miles of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and portions of Armstrong, Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland counties – a region which has seen intensive highway expansion which has reinforced urban sprawl. Public transport has grown modestly despite a massive increase in public investment supporting its major competitor, the private motor vehicle system. The Annual Mobility Report of the Texas Transportation institute gives an idea of the massive expansion of the Pittsburgh urban area's roadway system. Between 1982-2003, freeway lane miles grew from 800 to1,250 (a 56% increase) and total roadway centerline miles grew from 7,695 to 8,885 (15%). At most, PAAC's LRT and high- quality busway system grew by a few dozen miles over that same period. Noting that "Perhaps not coincidentally, the upswing in mass transit use comes at a time when the price of gas in the region has hovered around $3 a gallon", the Business Times quoted PAAC acting CEO Dennis Veraldi, who noted that "More and more people are realizing the outstanding cost efficiency of public transportation." 7 December 2005 St. Louis: In St. Louis, Citizens for Modern Transit Executive Director Tom Shrout reports that weekday ridership of the metro area's MetroLink light rail transit (LRT) system averaged 46,140 this past October. October ridership figures released by Metro, the regional transit agency, show strong growth for both the MetroBus and MetroLink systems. Tom notes that MetroBus was up 10.8 percent for the month while MetroLink was up 6.8 percent. Average weekday ridership in October for MetroLink was 46,140. illinois MetroLink ridership was up 22.49 percent for the month. Systemwide ridership for the first four months of the fiscal year is up 6.5 percent. 7 December 2005 Minneapolis: Despite a drop in Twins games at Minneapolis's Metrodome, the city's new Hiawatha light rail transit (LRT) line still managed to draw ridership this past November nearly 59% above what planners had forecast. Actual ridership for the month was 696,160, vs. a forecast: of about 438,600, reports John DeWitt of Transit for Livable Communities. Weekday ridership averaged 25,165 rider-trips, with Saturdays averaging 24,902, and Sunday/holiday ridership averaging 13,617. John also reports that "The system is at capacity during peak hours so ridership increases are highly dependent on off-peak ridership such as events at the Metrodome." These have dropped off since the summer. 16 November 2005 Denver: "Banks follow the crowds" headlined the Denver Post (9 Nov.) focusing on how the revitalization of Denver's once-moribund downtown is attracting new commercial activity – particularly retail – into the core area, as more and more Denver area residents, employees, and visitors have poured into the city's heart. The latest financial institution to jump in, according to the article, is Minnesota's TCF Financial Corp., which up till recently "has largely limited its presence in Colorado to the Denver suburbs and Colorado Springs...." That limit doesn't apply anymore – TCF is opening a new branch "on the busy corner of 16th and California streets. " "It is about convenience" said Wayne Marty, president of TCF Bank in Colorado. "You place a retail outlet where the people are." And how are all these people getting there? Apparently, Denver's light rail transit (LRT) system and other public transport are a major factor. Taking note of a crowd deboarding from an LRT train just outside the window of TCF's new branch, Marty emphasized, "We want to make those people our customers." The new TCF, notes the Post, is just across Denver's downtown transit-pedestrian mall from a Washington Mutual branch that opened in 2003 next to the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau's information center. And the Bank of Denver is also making plans "to establish a foothold on the mall" – moving its headquarters "to a location uptown" at 17th Avenue and Clarkson Street. Furthermore, says the article, "Even banks that once had a spot on the mall and left, such as Chase Bank (formerly Bank One), are seeking a way back in." "You look at downtown and the life it has taken on" said Steve Shaffer, Chase's marketing manager. "It is a matter of finding the right deal." Apparently, good public transport is helping sweeten that deal. 16 November 2005 Amtrak: Apparently responding to recent actions by Amtrak's board of directors to begin steps to dismantle the rail network, and last week's summary dismissal of President and CEO David L. Gunn, two major railworkers' unions began expressing their dismay and anger, picketing Amtrak's Newark Penn Station, and warning of a potential strike, according to a media release in PRNewswire (15 November). Text of the release is posted below.
For further information, union spokesmen can be contacted as follows: Pennsylvania Federation of BMWE Division of the Teamsters
Jed Dodd
Mark Kenney 12 November 2005 Texas's new rail relocation fund opens possibilities for more rail passenger and rail transit services in state While the Bush administration has been stepping up its efforts to bludgeon intercity rail passenger service and constrain urban rail transit development, efforts to actually improve and expand these kinds of public transport services have just been given at least a modest boost in the US state of Texas. As we have noted (below) in our article Texas rail relocation measure passes, the approval of Texas's new Rail Relocation and improvement Fund by voters this past Tuesday (8 November) "opens the possibility for major improvements to rail transport safety and intercity passenger service, and the use of urban railway corridors for public transit projects." in a statement issued in Dallas on 11 November, Texas Rail Advocates (TRA) – one of several statewide organizations promoting rail passenger transportation in Texas – called the vote "an historic step toward future development of faster and more dependable passenger rail service in the state." "By the passage of State Proposition 1 we now have the means to help the freight railroads relocate and improve their original lines throughout the state and that makes it possible to plan for faster freight and passenger trains" said Paul Mangelsdorf, Executive Director of TRA. The group's formal statement continued:
As the advocate organization's Executive Director Mangelsdorf pointed out, "Texas is mostly a one-track rail system with some passing sidings. We must prepare for rail gridlock in the next decade if the lines are not upgraded." The group spelled out some of its recommendations for speeding up intercity railroad operations:
Mangelsdorf noted that passage of the Rail Relocation and improvement Fund means that many rail grade crossings can be eliminated or improved in the future, leading to fewer motor vehicle-train accidents. "importantly, in addition to safety, taking some of the heavy truck traffic off our beaten-down overburdened highways will also help improve air quality" Mangelsdorf said. "Texas Rail Advocates believes that our economic engine in Texas will be riding on the rails as new industries find the state to be more inviting because of a dynamic transportation system" Mangelsdorf added. Texas Rail Advocates and Paul Mangelsdorf, Executive Director, can be contacted as follows:
Email: paulm@texasrailadvocates.org 10 November 2005 Amtrak: In an abrupt, post-election-day move clearly aimed at furthering the Bush administration's agenda of dismembering the Amtrak system and decisively smashing what remains of America's intercity rail passenger service, the Amtrak board – consisting of Bush administration appointees – on Wednesday, 9 November summarily fired the agency's president and CEO, David L. Gunn. Gunn, widely acclaimed for bringing exceptional management to Amtrak and turning the agency around at many levels, had resisted the Bush administration's goal of essentially dissolving a coherent national rail passenger system. The board's move – taken swiftly immediately after election day (which brought its own generally disastrous results for Bush's overall political agenda) – had all the hallmarks of a carefully plotted purge, or "palace coup", designed to avoid political embarassment for the administration which could have been exploited in the previous election campaign. Perhaps suspecting something sinister was in the works, just two days previously, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) had issued a media release enumerating some of Gunn's outstanding contributions to improving and reforming the rail passenger agency. For example, NARP pointed out, Amtrak, under Gunn,
Not surprisingly, Amtrak supporters, and many advocates and professionals in the public transport industry, are outraged at the Bush board's action.
As reported by the Washington Post (9 Nov.), US Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat representing New York state, praised Gunn as "a brilliant manager" and warned his firing "decapitated Amtrak". Gunn, in a brief telephone interview with the New York Times, noted, "Obviously what their goal is, and it's been their goal from the beginning, is to liquidate the company." At the moment, it's unclear what action, if any, Congressional Amtrak supporters will take, although the New York Times reported that, in regard to Gunn, "Some of Amtrak's supporters immediately pledged to seek his re-instatement." One thing is clear: This destructive action by the Bush administration and its appointees – especially coming in the midst of growing concerns over petroleum shortages and supply disruptions, and the vulnerability of highway and air transport systems – has very grave consequences for mass transportation in the USA, and continues to fit the current administration's consistent pattern of hostility toward rail public transport services of all types. 9 November 2005 New York City: In New York state, Proposition Q2 – authorizing transportation bonds, including the local share of New York City's proposed Second Avenue subway – has won with approximately 55% of the total vote. This apparently means the new subway construction project – planned for many decades – can proceed. The Second Avenue line will become the first new subway extension to be built in the city since World War Two. Material in this report has been adapted from postings to the Public Transport Progress news distribution list. 9 November 2005 More 2005 vote results: Two other major public transportation-related issues fared differently in the Nov. 8th vote. In Texas, Proposition 1 – to authorize a fund for railroad relocation – won with about 53% of the total vote. This opens the possibility for major improvements to rail transport safety and intercity passenger service, and the use of urban railway corridors for public transit projects. In Seattle, Proposition 1 – a modified monorail construction project – lost, by about 36% to 64%. This may bring an end to the effort to install a new monorail system in the city. Material in this report has been adapted from postings to the Public Transport Progress news distribution list. 2 November 2005 Phoenix:
The high-tech internet firm Google – whose online search engine is a familiar tool for millions of
users – has announced it's setting up a new engineering center and bringing 600 jobs to the
Phoenix urban area ... and Phoenix's light rail transit (LRT) project is part of the reason.
In regard to the location decision, "Which factors played a bigger role is hard to say" comments the
Arizona Republic (30 Oct. 2005), citing a variety of factors like lower labor costs; lower
state income-tax bills; excellent local educational resources (such as Arizona State Unversity); and a
"relatively disaster-free environment, a far cry from the earthquake-prone areas of northern and
Southern California."
But, as the Republic reports, other critical factors – including public transportation
– were specifically cited by company leaders themselves as reasons for the venture: "Google officials also
indicated they liked the direction the state is headed under [Gov.] Napolitano, and of course the
infrastructure projects moving forward such as light rail and downtown Phoenix redevelopment."
As some economists (and the Federal Transit Administration) would argue, Google's
new economic investment in Phoenix shouldn't be tallied as a quantifiable benefit of LRT –
Google obviously intended to plunk down its engineering center and 600 jobs somewhere; it didn't hinge on an LRT project or any other specific external factor.
But savvy urban leaders, decisionmakers, and planners understand that major mobility and quality-of-life
amenities like LRT (and the progressive public transport system it will be interconnected with) are
major capital pieces in the ongoing chess game of urban economic development – and they can play a role in specific locational and economic decisions such as Google's.
This seems to be something that visionaries, rather than bean-counters, have a better grasp of.
2 November 2005 New Jersey:
More examples continue to come to light of the dangerous impact of the "terrorism" hysteria
sweeping the USA – an hysteria which continues to prompt authorities, from transit officials
to law-enforcement personnel, to target and harass railway and transit photographers, all in the
context of a drive to criminalize rail and transit photography on an ever-widening scale.
A particularly outrageous case, coming to our attention from Railpace newsmagazine, involves Bruce
Barry, brother of Railpace editor Steve Barry.
The Barry case illustrates the particularly sinister behavior widely reported with respect to New Jersey law-enforcement authorities at various levels and jurisdictions.
Barry was accosted by Greenwich Township (New Jersey) police while taking pictures of a railroad
switching locomotive from a public roadway in the vicinity of a Valero refinery.
Local police, referencing what they called a "protocol of the Attorney General's office and the Glocester County
Prosecutor's office", insisted he turn over his digital camera flash card.
When Barry refused, the law officers advised him he would be arrested for obstruction of justice.
Barry continued to refuse, standing on his (supposed) civil rights, and was taken to a downtown police station and booked.
There he was subsequently advised of a "policy adopted by the US Department of Homeland Security".
After several hours, Barry was released with an admonition that he would be listed on two Homeland Security databases. He was also advised to "get a new hobby".
A month later, Barry appeared in municipal court and entered a plea of Not Guilty. His attorney filed
a demand for Discovery, requesting copies of the "protocols", Attorney General guidelines, or any
Homeland Security regulations which would require Barry to turn over his film.
The authorities offered a plea bargain, but this was refused by Barry.
According to the Railpace report, "One police offer becomes visibly angry in open court."
The Judge granted the Discovery request.
Three months later, the complaint against Barry was dismissed by the court "when no guidelines or other
information could be found to substantiate the grounds for arrest", concludes the Railpace article.
31 October 2005 Dublin:
Dublin's new Luas light rail tramway (LRT) system has performed well above original expectations, prompting officials and system planners to proceed with ambitious expansion plans.
Tramways & Urban Transit (T&UT) of August 2005 reports that, by mid-summer 2005, Luas had already carried over 15 million passenger-trips – "far more" than the initial targets at its launch in June 2004.
The system is also having a substantial impact on urban development patterns and property values.
"Estate agents also report that the value of nearby properties has increased by 15%, and traders are also doing better" relates the journal.
According to the September issue of T&UT, because of the tramway's surprisingly outstanding performance, planning for expansion is advancing rapidly, with two extensions to the system being pursued immediately – extending the Green Line to Cherrywood, and the Red Line to Point Depot.
In addition, a connecing link between the two routes is also eyed.
The October issue of T&UT further reports that a total of six extensions over the next 10 years is being pushed as part of the irish government's "ambitious" €30 billion (about US$36 billion) public transport investment plan.
The amazing capacity of the LRT was demonstrated on 24 June, when the system carried a total of 91,398 passenger-trips to a live U2 concert at Croke Park.
During the month of June, daily ridership averaged about 65,500, "almost half of them former car users", according to T&UT.
"Reduced traffic is noticeable" the journal reports.
Between 5 July 2004 and 27 June 2005, the total number of revenue trips carried on the system totalled nearly 16.5 million.
Officials report that Luas is "on course" to reach 20 million total passenger-trips in 2005.
"I am delighted with the way in which Dublin has taken to Luas" said Frank Allen, chief executive of the Railway Procurement Agency.
"We were always confident we would meet our targets, but it is gratifying to see we have managed to surpass all expectations, and that Luas has so quickly established itself as an integral part of the Dublin landscape."
28 October 2005 Denver:
Public transportation in Denver carried its highest number of passenger-trips in its 30 years of
operation – 85 million passenger trips between September 2004 and September 2005 –
the Regional Transportation District (RTD) announced on Tuesday, 18 October. That represents a
3.7 percent increase over the 82 million passenger-trips carried the previous year, says the agency.
RTD spokesman Scott Reed told a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News (19 October
2005) that most of the ridership increase has been experienced on regional bus routes, although all
modes of public transit have seen increases "with the exception of special services such as bus rides
for Broncos, Rockies and Avalanche games" (where ridership downturns might be attributable to the
cancelled hockey season and "the last-place finish of the Rockies").
Higher motor-fuel prices may account for some of the upsurge. However, many passengers simply
seem attracted to the convenience of riding transit.
As an example, the news reporter focused on the case of light rail rider Blaine Howerton, who told
the reporter that he rides transit because "he doesn't have to fight traffic or worry about parking and
generally can relax for the short trip."
RTD's Reed said the jump in passenger trips was somewhat surprising, since RTD hasn't added any
routes over the course of the year.
28 October 2005 Las Vegas:
More problems emerged for Las Vegas's automated monorail this past month, as both ridership and
revenues failed to meet expectations. "Las Vegas Monorail ridership has tumbled by nearly 12
percent since hitting an all-time high earlier this year, with fewer than 29,000 riders taking the rapid
transit system each day last month" reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal on 20 October.
According to the paper, which cited figures from the monorail agency, "Only 28,983 people used the monorail each day in September, the second consecutive month the line lost riders since averaging a record 32,928 riders in July...."
The Review-Journal also pointed out that "September's ridership of 869,515 passengers is the lowest monthly total since just 621,909 people rode the trains in February."
Monorail system officials said they weren't alarmed by the ridership drop, attributing it to a "seasonal"
drop. However, the ridership decline is not a propitious sign, since the $650 million system has yet to
break even financially – a critical element of its financing plan.
Indeed, monorail advocates in the USA have used the projections of "profitability" as a weapon to attack more conventional rail transit development programs, such as light rail, which almost universally depend on public funding for their budgetary support.
As the Review-Journal recounted,
September also was the lowest farebox revenue month since June, with the monorail bringing in
$2,559,855 from fares last month, or $85,328 a day.
"We need to be earning another $40,000, $50,000 a day," said Curtis Myles, president and CEO of
the Las Vegas Monorail Co. Monorail officials told the paper they're hoping they'll be able to increase
ridership and sell additional train and station sponsorships to close the revenue gap.
The rosy, upbeat theme was also projected by Terry Murphy, a monorail board member. "Would I like
the numbers to be bigger? Absolutely. Do I think we'll do better? Absolutely!" he told the paper. "We always want the numbers to be higher."
According to the Review-Journal, monorail officials "also hope that the system's growing
reliability will make it an easier sell to potential passengers." The totally automated system has been
afflicted with a host of problems, including parts that detached from trainsets, which led to a major crisis
last year. However, the paper noted, the monorail "has suffered systemwide shutdowns on only
three days this year, compared with 113 days last year."
"We haven't had anything that shut down the system entirely or significantly affected availability"
since spring, CEO Myles told the reporter. "it's been pretty good."
28 October 2005 New Jersey:
The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit (HBLRT) line in northern New Jersey is preparing to open its
next major new extension, to Port imperial in Weehawken. New Jersey Transit (NJT) intends to start
running trains to the new station on weekends, hopefully starting this Saturday (29 October).
In early September 2004, the HBLRT project extended the LRT line approximately 2.6 miles (4.2 km)
into Weehawken, opening three new stations – one at the western termination of Second
Street in Hoboken, one at the western termination of Ninth Street in Hoboken, and one at Lincoln
Harbor in Weehawken This expanded the system to a total of 20 stations in operation, running from
22nd street in Bayonne to Weehawken.
On Monday, 24 October, federal, state, and local officials applauded the latest milestone in the $2.1
billion project, crediting the Hudson Bergen Light Rail with stimulating widespread economic growth
and helping reduce congestion on the area's roads and highways.
"Today, we celebrate, yes, that a new stop is going into effect" said Rep. Robert Menendez, a Democratic Representative from Hoboken, who has helped attract millions of federal dollars into the project. "But in my mind, we
celebrate a stop of opportunity – the opportunity for greater jobs, economic development, cleaner air, and a better environment."
The latest segment is part of a longer extension. The project includes the forthcoming service to Port
imperial in Weehawken; then the extension continues to Bergenline Avenue in Union City/West New
York, and Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, expected to be completed in January 2006. Until then,
trains will run every 15 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays between Port imperial and Hoboken
Terminal, with a fare of $1.75 each way.
According to the Jersey Journal (25 October), transportation officials also expect to open
a new ferry terminal in Weehawken, directly across from the Port imperial station, in the spring of
2006. Transit riders will be provided easy access to the ferry terminal via a pedestrian bridge.
"This gives residents choices, not just choices of how to get around the county but how to get into
New York City" said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere at
Monday's ceremony. "This isn't about moving people from Point A to B, but about building
communities and making people's lives better."
28 October 2005 Portland's light rail transit helps reduce per-capita greenhouse emissions, says study
According to scientists at the University of Washington in Seattle, there are increasing indications
that the Pacific Northwest, ranging from Oregon to British Columbia to Alaska, is warming up faster than elsewhere on earth.
And it seems to be a trend that's likely to accelerate, says reporter Brad Knickerbocker in an article in the Christian Science Monitor (27 October 2005) reporting on the UW study.
But, while most places in the US have been losing the battle against global warming – in fact,
probably contributing to the problem – one city has actually been making some small headway
in terms of reducing, per capita, the carbon dioxide emissions which scientific consensus agrees are
a major contributor to the problem. That city is Portland, Oregon, and, according to the article,
Portland's light rail transit (LRT) system has helped.
"Portland, Ore. and surrounding Multnomah County have nudged carbon dioxide emissions to a level
below 1990, a first for any major American city" reports Knickerbocker. He goes on to elaborate:
With help from two new light-rail public transit lines, the planting of some 750,000 carbon-absorbing
trees, financial incentives for energy-efficient "green" buildings, and weatherization of more than
10,000 apartments and houses, per capita emissions in Portland dropped 13 percent over the past
10 years. Nationally, there's been an increase of about 1 percent per capita.
The complete Christian Science Monitor article is available at the following URL:
http://abcnews.go.com/international/CSM/story?id=1253582
25 October 2005 Sacramento:
Even before Sacramento's Regional Transit (RT) agency opened its new light rail transit (LRT) extension to Folsom, the system was hitting new ridership records.
"For the first time in history," reported the Sacramento Union (13 October 2005), "RT buses and light rail trains carried more than three million passengers in a single month."
As the paper noted, RT's September 2005 ridership level increased six percent over that of September 2004 numbers – mainly lifted by soaring LRT ridership.
"Bus ridership was fairly flat," the Union related, "but light rail ridership jumped from 47,000 average daily riders in September 2004 to 58,000 average riders last month.
That was another record milestone never before reached by the RT light rail system."
According to the article, RT officials surmise that high motor fuel prices influenced the system's spike in ridership, which, for LRT, represented a 23 percent increase.
Moreover, officials had been anticipating a slight drop in ridership after RT raised its base fare from $1.50 to $1.75 in September and reduced service on a few bus routes.
"The combination of these two factors would normally cause ridership to decline, at least for a few months," notes the Union, and RT had predicted September's bus ridership at 62,100 passengers per day.
"But the actual average was 70,300, 13 percent higher than the estimate."
RT has forecast further ridership increases from its startup of LRT service to Folsom on 15 October (see article below).
25 October 2005 Seattle:
The bad news for Seattle's Green Line monorail project just doesn't seem to stop coming.
The most recent is that the project will have to face yet another re-vote this coming November 8th.
The Seattle monorail project's troubles have been brewing so fast, in fact, that it's actually difficult to keep abreast of them.
All told, the deepening swamp of problems appears to corroborate the predictions of pro-rail transit monorail critics who warned that the monorail project
(presented as a superior alternative to Seattle's light rail project) would not be able to fulfill its extravagant promises in terms of cost, finances, environmental impact, ridership, and other aspects.
Here are some of the major highlights in this continually deepening crisis:
· Design and environmental problems – As we reported in Seattle: Huge Monorail Project Faces Growing Community Squabbles, the project's system designs, responding to real-world conditions, began to depart significantly
from the airy, graceful beamways pictured during the political campaign to win voter support for the project.
For example, instead of 3-foot-wide support pillars, engineers found heftier piers 4 to 6 feet wide necessary to support the beamways, stations, and other elevated infrastructure.
Downtown highrise office and apartment dwellers rebelled at the prospect of trains passing within a few feet of their windows.
The public began to realize that Seattle streets would be overhung with massive elevated stations and shadowed by giant elevated monorail beamway switching platforms.
· Revenue shortfall – in August 2003, the monorail agency (Seattle Monorail Project, SMP) reported that its actual revenue (from a special motor vehicle tax) was coming in one-third below projections, throwing the project into a budgetary crisis.
The following December, Finance Director Daniel Malarkey resigned.
· Single bidder – in August 2004, one of the two bidders on the "Green Line" monorail project dropped out (Team Monorail, led by Bombardier, said it couldn't produce the required performance bonds).
This left one solitary bidder – Cascadia, organized around Japan's Hitachi, Ltd.
· More design problems – Responding to the project's revenue shortfall, project designers began to propose major sections of single-beam guideway to reduce costs.
However, critics argued that this would reduce the line's capacity, and also pointed out that the necessity for the line to alternate between two-beam and single-beam segments created the need for even more of the large, expensive switching structures overhanging the city's streets.
· Cost and financing crisis – By the early summer of this year, the project's estimated cost, originally claimed to be $1.6 billion, had ballooned to $2.1 billion (reportedly the price at that time being negotiated with Cascadia, the single remaining bidder) – and that for a design now pared down to spartan standards.
But, when the SMP's new plan for financing the more costly project (with less revenues) was publicly released this past June, all hell broke loose.
Analyses clearly showed that, with the period of debt service approximately doubled, the total cost of the project, with debt service, had virtually exploded to $11 billion.
In fact, by some estimates, reportedly based on more realistic assumptions, the total cost with financing actually hit $14 billion for the then-planned 14-mile line – amounting to about $1 billion per mile for what was in fact only a medium-capacity, elevated system.
As a result, community outrage went off the scale, former major supporters (such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) turned against the entire scheme, and public support plummeted, with a majority now opposing the project in polls.
· Management upheavals – The monorail project's crisis has led to major upheavals in the management of SMP.
On 4 July, the two most prominent leaders of the project – SMP board chairman, Tom Weeks, and the project's executive director, Joel Horn – resigned.
Weeks was hastily replaced as chairperson by Kristina Hill, a University of Washington landscape-architecture professor and longtime monorail supporter, on the monorail advocacy campaign-come-agency board since 1998.
However, even Hill has announced she plans to leave the SMP board when her term expires this December.
In addition, in recent primary elections for two publicly chosen representatives to the SMP board, two monorail critics beat the incumbent directors.
· State auditor criticizes project – in early September, Washington's state auditor completed a probe which found serious flaws with the monorail project's finances and warned that the agency's debt limit was abnormally high.
· Mayor, council turn against project – The fortunes of the monorail project continued to worsen in September with the souring of critical political support.
First, Mayor Greg Nickels – previously, a strong monorail supporter – withdrew his support and called for "termination" of the project.
Shortly thereafter, Seattle's City Council voted unanimously not to issue the permits essential for the project to proceed – an action effectively paralyzing the project, since no construction can begin without the city's permission to use city roadways for right-of-way.
· Re-vote scheduled – Facing a veritable avalnche of top-level political and media opposition, the SMP (which had resisted either altering the planned 14-mile project, or calling a vote) finally agreed to place a revised project again before Seattle voters on 8 November.
· Monorail line shortened – Political reality also forced the SMP to agree to pare down the project to fit a smaller budget.
Thus, instead, of a 14-mile system, Seattle voters will be presented with a much shorter, 10.6-mile line – serving much less of the Seattle area, with less ridership, than originally envisioned.
And other aspects of the design have also been shaved to cut costs.
The number of trainsets has been reduced, station platforms have been shortened, and designers now plan to build one beamway instead of two across the West Seattle Bridge – thus limiting the monorail line's ability to serve commuters and game-day crowds.
Despite these reductions in capacity, a recent study found that peak crowding levels (if SMP ridership projections are actually achieved) would be greater than those on the New Yotk City subway system.
· Public support erodes – As the monorail project now heads into a vote in November, prospects of voter support – comfortably favorable in the past – are now not looking propitious.
An Oct. 5 poll of 544 likely Seattle voters performed by Survey USA for KING-TV found that 58 percent were opposed and 39 percent were in favor of the monorail project (Proposition 1, which would authorize construction of a shorter, 10.6-mile elevated transit line).
The growing crisis engulfing the Seattle "Green Line" monorail project should caution planners and decisionmakers to beware of "silver bullet" public transport "solutions", especially those hawking glitzy, gadget technology as supposedly "miracle mode" alternatives to more well-proven methodologies and systems.
As we noted in our article Seattle: Monorail project's financial uncertainty sets off alarms, "...all major transportation projects, including some light rail projects, may similarly encounter a variety of problems as they proceed."
But the Seattle Monorail Project was sold to voters in 2002 as a problem-free, lower-cost, thoroughly "honest" alternative to the then somewhat disgraced Link light rail transit (LRT) project....
LRT opponents at the time had leaped to counter [LRT] with the monorail plan as part of an effort to abort further development of the LRT program.
(instead, the Link LRT project was revamped to give priority to development of the south line into the Rainier Valley, and that is now under construction.) 21 October 2005 Philadelphia, San Jose, Sacramento:
Rail transit in the USA continues to exhibit vitality and growth with the completion and opening of
three major light rail transit (LRT) projects in three different cities.
· Philadelphia – Sunday, 4 September 2005, was the first day of operations of the
reconstructed and reopened Route 15-Girard Avenue streetcar line of the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Bus had been substituted on the route for
approximately the past 13 years. The 8.2-mile (13.2-km) line, with 18 totally restored PCC 1940s-era
streetcars, was rehabilitated at a total project cost of about US $88 million (i.e., about $11 million per
mile). Opening of the Girard line brings SEPTA's total rail system to approximately 375 miles (605
km), which includes an impressive network of urban and suburban LRT, rail rapid transit, and
regional passenger rail services.
· San Jose – On 1 October 2005, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
opened the remaining 5.3 miles (8.5 km) of the agency's Vasona LRT line, connecting the new
Diridon Station in San Jose with Winchester Station in the exurb of Campbell. As we reported in San Jose's "Comeback Kid" Light Rail System Opens First Link of Vasona Extension, a small first
segment had been opened for public operation on 1 August. The completion of the $316.8 million
extension (with a unit cost of about $60 million/mile, pushed up by expensive tunnel and viaduct
construction) had been eagerly awaited in the small town, and was greeted by a "festive grand
opening", according to the San Jose Mercury News of 2 October 2005. in another
article (4 October), another Mercury News reporter was pleasantly surprised to find
trains on the new extension well-patronized. With an average 23,000 rider-trips a day, he noted,
LRT ridership has now risen 7.5% over the level a year ago.
· Sacramento – On Saturday, 15 October 2005, a Regional Transit LRT train made the
first regularly scheduled trip from the historic Folsom station over the newly completed 7.4-mile (11.9-
km) Folsom line. As we reported in Sacramento: Another 2.8 miles of Folsom LRT Extension Opens,
an initital, shorter segment, with 3 stations, had already opened in June 2004. The latest extension
completes the line to Folsom and has added four additional stations, at a total cost of about $255
million (about $34 million per mile). According to an initial report in the Sacramento Bee (18
October), the new service is attracting a healthy level of ridership; as the reporter enthused, "It was
an urban mass-transit moment seldom if ever seen before in Sacramento: light-rail trains so packed
that late-arriving boarders had to stand, holding overhead straps."
The Light Rail Now! Publication Team hopes to have more detailed reports on these newly opened lines available soon.
19 October 2005 Charlotte:
Evidence continues to mount of substantial community support for a light rail transit (LRT) line in Charlotte's Southeast Corridor, in preference to the officially favored "Bus Rapid Transit", or "BRT", option.
This occurs despite the fact that "BRT" is already operating on HOV lanes on independence Boulevard (actually, more an expressway or freeway than a boulevard roadway) through the corridor.
Currently, the "BRT" service, operated by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), carries about 20,000 rider-trips a month – amounting to ridership of less than 1,000 per weekday.
(CATS currently is in the process of installing an LRT line in the urban area's designated South Corridor.)
Responding to community concerns, Charlotte area planners have included LRT in addition to "BRT" as a transit mode possibility for the Southeast Corridor, and have been holding community meetings to inform the public about transit planning and to solicit feedback.
When polled, a majority of participants in the meetings have indicated a preference for LRT in the SE corridor (source: CATS, Public Meeting Summaries).
Tallied below are the results of community meeting surveys in which modal preferences for the corridor were solicited:
In two meetings, participants were asked the following question:
Assuming bus rapid transit is the less expensive technology, would you prefer CATS implement bus rapid transit if a larger portion of the project could be constructed sooner?
Or would you prefer CATS construct a shorter portion of the light rail transit line, with the ability to extend the line when funding becomes available?
Participants provided "open" responses, favoring either rail or "less expensive" bus, or giving no clear indication.
The following tallies the results, with the meeting date followed by the percentage (and actual number) or meeting participants favoring each option:
· 2004/02/22 – Pro-rail 41.2% (7) ... Pro-bus 23.5% (4) ... Other 35.3% (6)
· 2004/02/22 – Pro-rail 54.5% (6) ... Pro-bus 27.3% (3) ... Other 18.2% (2)
This suggests that, at least among community participants in the planning process, there is strong support for LRT over the officially preferred "BRT" alternative in the Southeast corridor –
even when participants are told to assume the "BRT" option would be cheaper.
Further evidence of support for LRT for Charlotte's east side emerged from a forum of City Council candidates, sponsored on 12 October by several eastside community groups.
As the Charlotte Observer (13 October) reported, "Several at-large candidates for Charlotte City Council said [in the forum] they favor a light-rail line – not buses – through east Charlotte."
The paper reports that Democrat Susan Burgess "was one of several candidates who came out in support of a light-rail line on the eastside, probably along the independence corridor."
The Observer goes on to note that "Transit planners have initially proposed busways along the corridor, with a streetcar running down Central Avenue."
Support for LRT was bipartisan.
"The eastside really gets screwed by the federal government" said Republican John Tabor.
"You need light rail because you've got the highest ridership" he added.
While several candidates called for further study of what kind of transit the corridor needs, Democrat Darrell Bonapart said he's tired of studies.
"I don't want to have another study about another study about another study" he told the audience.
"We all know east Charlotte needs light rail."
NOTE: This report relied in part on information posted to the Light Rail Progress Professional discussion list.
18 October 2005 Albuquerque:
Albuquerque's first venture into rail transit – a US$75 million project to install a regional passenger rail ("commuter rail") starter line, called RailRunner Express, linking Albuquerque with its exurbs of Belen and Bernalillo – is progressing quickly toward an imminent opening.
In late August, according to the Rio Rancho Observer of 8 September, "concrete evidence of New Mexico's new passenger rail service rolled into the state when the first of 10 bi-level commuter coaches was delivered to Albuquerque."
The paper went on to report that "This week [i.e., early September], three more cars arrived as very real proof that the New Mexico RailRunner Express will soon be serving commuters in the Middle Rio Grande Valley."
In addition to 10 bilevel, regional transit-type rail coaches from Bombardier, the Albuquerque-area Mid-Region Council of Governments is also taking delivery of five MP36PH-35 diesel-electric locomotive from MotivePower industries, a subsidiary of Wabtec.
According to Chris Blewiett, a planner with the Mid-Region COG, the state-financed starter line will be able to handle peak volumes of 3,000 to 4,000 passengers per hour.
The 46-mile (74-km) route, running over trackage of the Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) Railway between Belen, 25 miles south of Albuquerque, to Bernalillo, about 15 miles north, will initially serve 7 stations.
"Efficient transportation is vital to any healthy economy" says the Mid-Region COG in a statement published in the September 8th Rio Rancho Observer.
The agency adds:
Connecting employers with employees is a key component of economic
development, and the efficient movement of goods and services is
important to every business. Employers need to be confident that their
employees can get to work on time every day, and workers are more
productive when they avoid long, stressful commutes. As growing
numbers of Sandoval County residents now work in Albuquerque and
county employers rely on workers from Albuquerque and communities
beyond, efficient regional transportation systems are essential to the
county's future economic growth.
Initially, the RailRunner service will start modestly, running only Monday through Friday, reports the Valencia County News-Bulletin of 8 October.
According to a Mid-Region COG official, northbound trains will leave Belen early in the morning.
Trains will run in both directions midday, and one train will run from Albuquerque to Belen in the late afternoon.
The paper also reported that construction of the RailRunner stations was close to starting, with groundbreaking for the stops in Los Lunas and Belen to start "very soon".
The goal is to have trains running by the end of the year, or possibly by early January.
While Albuquerque's venture into rail transit is starting small, an ultimately much larger system seems to be envisioned, and the second phase of rail development – a route linking Albuquerque to Santa Fe – has been in planning for some time.
Already, sections of rail right-of-way for this line have been acquired, for an opening tentatively projected for 2008.
Railway Gazette international (September 2005) reports that the Santa Fe extensiuon will require about 35 miles (22 km) of new track at a cost of $250 million.
In addition to regional passenger rail, a light rail transit system for Albuquerque has been moved up as a possibility with the re-election of Mayor Martin Chavez, who made installing such a system a major campaign priority.
18 October 2005 New Orleans:
At least a minimal level of public transit service has been restored in New Orleans since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune of 14 October.
The paper reports that the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) "is offering skeleton service, operating 28 buses on 13 New Orleans routes."
It comes as no surprise that, according to the Times-Picayune, "The ridership also is skeletal, totaling just over 2,000 in the first week after service resumed Oct. 2."
Before Katrina, the paper recounts, the ridership averaged 855,000 a week.
Ridership "seems to be building", the paper reports, noting that all rides are free, "with the Federal Emergency Management Agency picking up the tab through the Federal Transit Administration."
Regarding the streetcar system, the Reuters news agency reports that restoring the system is being given a high priority.
"New Orleans' fabled streetcars may not be as high on the hurricane repair list as levees or sewers but officials say the city's recovery would not be complete without the quaint, clattering cars" reports a 14 October Reuters story.
"To New Orleanians, it means everything" emphasized Sandy Shilstone, president of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corp.
"The streetcar is more than a means of transportation. It means tradition and continuity – life moving forward and the strength forged by fire and steel."
According to the Times-Picayune,
The 35 historic St. Charles Avenue streetcars survived the hurricane and
subsequent flooding without damage, but mud and debris still cover the
streetcar tracks in many places, and many of the poles holding the cars'
electric power line were damaged, meaning that buses will continue on
the route for the foreseeable future.
Alan Drake, a New Orleans engineer, researcher, and streetcar activist, provides the following more detailed assessment and personal observations:
I have driven the length of both St. Charles and Canal (Riverfront was and is inaccessible by car).
In my opinion, St. Charles should have Boh Bros. [a local construction firm with extensive experience in RTA's streetcar projects] rebuild the OCS [overhead contact system], poles, and substations now and reopen with new.
A recent report from RTA to the City Council, reported in the Times-Picayune, itemizes some of the most serious damage inflicted on RTA's transit system by Hurricane Katrina, and some subsequent developments:
· Approximately 190 buses were lost to flooding; the remaining fleet "is either in service or is being recovered after temporary use by the National Guard and others in the hurricane's aftermath."
· "All 24 streetcars on the year-old Canal Street line were flooded" and their operating equipment is inoperable. One car has just been shipped to a firm in Pennsylvania "for damage assessment."
· At the urging of Mayor Ray Nagin, the RTA is considering using a
number of the undamaged St. Charles streetcars on the Riverfront
streetcar line. Although the Riverfront track appears to be undamaged, six
of the seven Riverfront cars are inoperable.
· The RTA's workforce of 1,300 "is dispersed over a wide geographic area and many are homeless."
· The RTA's administrative offices in eastern New Orleans suffered severe water and roof damage. The A. Philip Randolph bus barn on Canal Street, which also housed the Canal and Riverfront streetcars, and the eastern New Orleans bus facility and maintenance building "were flooded and badly damaged."
· An "undetermined number" of LIFT vehicles and paratransit vans used to transport people with disabilities were damaged, "but many are still operable."
· Union Passenger Terminal, where Amtrak as just resumed providing service, is now being served by rudimentary local bus services.
In addition to the gradual repair and restoration of local bus transit and streetcar services, there is also serious discussion at official levels of installing some type of regional rail passenger service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
However, given the extent of devastation, and particularly the devastation of local revenue and budget systems, plus the somewhat tepid support from the federal government (including the Bush administration's outright desire to destroy Amtrak), the outlook for such a service seems rather dubious at the moment.
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