April Trolleyville Times

More Urban Rail Happenings!
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CHARLOTTE, NC - Progressive Railroading reported on March 19th that the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) had opened the 9.3-mile LYNX Blue Line light-rail extension on March 16th. The largest infrastructure project in Charlotte's history, the $1.1 billion extension project features 11 new stations.

The 9.3 mile extension runs from 67th Street Station in the Center City to the UNC Charlotte Campus.

The extension is expected to generate $4.4 billion in economic development in the area by 2035, CATS officials said in a press release. "This project has been a profound example of what Charlotte can accomplish through collaboration, commitment and diligence," said CATS Chief Executive Officer John Lewis. "A strong public transit system is integral to a thriving community and I am proud to be part of this chapter in Charlotte's history." The Blue Line extension opened after nearly five years of construction. Originally, the project was slated to open in August 2017, but CATS pushed back the opening due to construction coordination challenges and other issues. Late last month, the agency held a ribbon-cutting ceremony ahead of the official opening.

EL PASO, TX - The El Paso Streetcar Project reported on March 19th that after being mothballed for more than four decades, undergoing two years of extensive renovation, and making a 3,600 mile round trip to the Keystone State, the very first of El Paso’s vintage streetcars is back in the Sun City! Car No. 1506 was unloaded on Father Rahm Avenue at approximately 10am on March 19th. This marks the first time in about 40 years that a streetcar has been on rails in El Paso city streets. The vehicle was then taken into the Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF) at 601 South Santa Fe Street for inspection by the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority (CRRMA) and Sun Metro.

Car No. 1506, originally San Diego Transit 512 from 1938 until 1948, ran in El Paso from 1950 until 1974, and is the first of six vintage Presidents Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars to be refurbished and modernized as part of the $97 million El Paso Streetcar Project

El Paso’s fleet of six historic PCC streetcars left El Paso on November 12 and December 10, 2015, bound for extensive renovation by Brookville Equipment Corporation in Brookville, Pennsylvania. Each of the six streetcars will be painted in one of three vintage color schemes from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Car No. 1506 is painted in the red and green 1970s color scheme.

While members of the public are not able to access the streetcar at this time, the CRRMA and the City of El Paso will soon announce public events to celebrate the streetcar’s homecoming.

LOS ANGELES, CA - Three of the venerable P865 Blue Line Light rail vehicles Cars 110, 120 and 130, have been wrapped in the original Blue/Line colors for the filming of Captain Marvel, which will be happening through May 7, 2018. There will be filming at the 7th and Metro Blue/Expo Line Terminal and the Douglas Station of the Green Line.

Cars P865s 120, 130 and 110 shown on Washington Boulevard late on 3-4-18!

Car 130 above after the wrapping was completed while car 120 at right is in process of wrapping.

If you look closely, the top of the front of either car was not washed proving this was a wrap.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has allocated $482 million for transportation projects in the Los Angeles area, including a potential light-rail line in the East San Fernando Valley. The commission approved the funds through the State Transportation Improvement Program. CTC set aside $202 million for the East San Fernando Valley transit project, which could involve building a light-rail line or bus rapid transit route. The other funds will go toward highway and bus projects, according to a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) press release.

Kinki-Sharyo P3010 #1014 in three-pack on the Expo Line in Santa Monica!

The East San Fernando Valley line would connect Metro's Orange Line bus stop on Van Nuys Boulevard to the Metrolink's Sylmar/San Fernando Station. The project will also be funded through Metro's Measure M sales-tax measure, which was approved in 2016. "This new funding will ensure Metro can continue to deliver Measure M projects on time and on budget," said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Chair Eric Garcetti. The project is part of Metro's Twenty-Eight by 2028 initiative to build 28 major projects in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which will be held in Los Angeles. The agency approved the Twenty-Eight by 2028 initiative in late January.

MILWAUKEE, WI - Progressive Railroading reported that on March 26th, the city of Milwaukee took delivery of the first vehicle for its new streetcar system. The 67-foot, 83,000-pound streetcar arrived from Brookville Equipment Corporation's plant in Brookville, Pennsylvania. The unit, which rolled off a truck in downtown Milwaukee, will be stored in the streetcar system's operations and maintenance facility on North 4th Street. On-street testing of the vehicle will begin next month on a section of West St. Paul Avenue, with testing along the full initial route to begin this summer, according to a press release issued by the Milwaukee Department of Public Works.

First Milwaukee Streetcar arriving by truck in Downtown Milwaukee!

Known as The Hop, the system is slated to begin serving passengers by year's end. The first 2.1-mile phase of the system will run from the Milwaukee Intermodal Station in downtown to the city's lower east side. As a result of a $10 million sponsorship agreement with the Forest County Potawatomi Community, rides will be free for the first year of operations. The system's official name is The Hop, presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. "The arrival of The Hop's first vehicle in Milwaukee is a major and highly visible step forward in the development of our new streetcar system," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. In November 2015, Milwaukee selected Brookville to build four modern streetcar vehicles for $18.2 million.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - If attaining a long-term goal several years ahead of time could be considered quite an accomplishment, how about reaching it 13 years earlier than projected? That’s what Progressive Railroading reported on March 5th. Metro Transit did exactly that last year when ridership on the Minnesota agency’s Green Line continued to greatly exceed expectations. The 11-mile light-rail line between the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul averaged nearly 41,000 rides per weekday — a mark Metro Transit initially didn’t expect to reach until 2030.

Metro Siemens S70 235 and train at work!

Green Line ridership has exploded since the route opened in June 2014, setting records each successive year. Annual ride totals rose from 12.4 million in 2015 to 12.7 million in 2016 to 13.1 million in 2017, with last year’s count rising 3.5 percent year over year. All told, the line has logged 44.7 million rides through 2017. And there are no indications ridership soon will plateau or erode, says Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. Another increase — and another annual record — is expected in 2018, and the rider count likely will continue to rise the next several years, he says.

“It’s growing at good rates in different market segments. We’re getting gains from special events and development that’s occurring along the corridor,” says Lamb. “And people are moving to [points on the line] who want to make transit a part of their lives.”

Development along the Green Line corridor — which connects the Twin Cities’ central business districts and runs through the University of Minnesota — has bloomed since construction on the route began in 2010. More than 200 projects worth more than $5.1 billion in investments have surfaced within a half-mile of the light-rail line, including office, commercial and housing developments.

Metro Transit continues to encourage development along the corridor. Several pockets are in a ready-to-develop state, says Lamb. For example, Metro Transit is working with the city of St. Paul to develop vacant downtown property adjacent to Central Station that’s owned by the city and Metropolitan Council, a regional policy-making and planning agency that supports the transit agency. Metro Transit expects to seek development proposals for the site this year.

Sporting events are helping to drive Green Line ridership, too. About one-quarter of fans attending games at various facilities in the area use Metro Transit’s services, according to agency statistics.

U.S. Bank Stadium opened along the Green Line in 2016 as the new venue for Minnesota Vikings’ NFL games; Target Field, the home park of MLB’s Minnesota Twins since 2010, is located near the route; and a minor league baseball park for the St. Paul Saints opened in 2015 on the line’s far east end. Moreover, construction on a new major league soccer stadium is underway near Snelling Avenue Station, which is located at the line’s midpoint. A combination of sporting and special events has helped attract riders. On August 31, 2017, the Green Line registered its highest single-day ridership at 68,071 because of home games played by the Vikings, Twins, St. Paul Saints and University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers, and events attended at the Minnesota State Fair.

The university is key to ridership growth, as well. The three stations serving the main campus accounted for nearly one-quarter of total Green Line boardings in 2017.

Overall, more than one-third of the line’s riders are college students. In June 2016, Metro Transit opened the A Line — its first rapid bus line — that connects to the Green Line’s Snelling Avenue Station and offers faster and more frequent service to several regional destinations, including multiple colleges and the state fairgrounds.

Through travel behavior surveys, Metro Transit has found the Green Line attracts a broad spectrum of riders in addition to college students, including commuters, the elderly, and people running errands or meeting appointments. Recent surveys show riders are more diverse and have a more moderate income than the regional population — more than half of them earn less than $35,000 per year, Metro Transit officials say.

A Map of the Minneapolis Southwest LRT (Metro Green Line Extension)
The agency also has found that about two-thirds of its riders are between the ages of 18 and 34. Nearly one-third do DOT have a valid driver's license and one fifth speaks a language other than English. Half of the riders are Caucasian, 23 percent are African-American and 12 percent are Asian or Asian-American. “We continue to see a lot of diversity along the corridor, in ethnicity and in incomes,” says Lamb.

Reliability Reliance: To help ensure services are meeting the needs of the line’s varied riders, Metro Transit officials are working to enhance the route’s reliability. Last year, the agency conducted its most significant rail maintenance project in downtown Minneapolis, an effort that involved installing two new crossover track sections and new signals to help make operations more flexible. Metro Transit also scored a reliability boost by refining its use of transit signal priority technology along the corridor.

But to better serve area riders on a much larger scale, the agency is pursuing a Green Line extension that might enter the construction phase sometime this year. Known as the Southwest Light-Rail Transit (LRT) project, the 14.5-mile extension will run from Target Field to a southwestern portion of the Minneapolis area when it begins operating in 2023.

The $1.8 billion, 15-station extension will serve several large employment centers in five communities, including St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. By 2040, the extension is projected to register about 34,000 weekday boardings.

Employment is expected to grow substantially in the area. By 2035, about 80,900 jobs are anticipated within one-half mile of the proposed stations on the extension, plus 145,300 jobs in downtown Minneapolis — an 18 percent increase from today’s level.

Officials in the communities along the new route have been active in the planning stages of stations to ensure the facilities best serve their employers and residents.

Two of Metro's 27 Bombardier Light Rail Vehicles

“They have been enthusiastic partners and not just bystanders,” says Lamb. “We can all see the business growth opportunities. Lower income people can fill niche job vacancies.”

However, there have been a few snags in the Southwest LRT project that so far have slightly delayed the construction start. Among them: The Metropolitan Council late last year rejected four bids received for the project because they did not meet cost expectations and responsiveness requirements.

But now, new construction bids are being solicited and are due in early May. Since it typically takes about three to five months to review bids and award a contract, there’s a good chance construction can start in 2018, Metro Transit officials say.

In addition to the Southwest LRT project, the agency is pursuing a $1.5 billion, 13-mile Blue Line extension that would run northwest and serve Minneapolis and four suburbs via 11 new stations. The two extensions would connect in downtown Minneapolis near Target Field.

The Blue Line extension is projected to register about 27,000 weekday boardings after it opens. Design work is nearly complete but no opening date had been determined as of press time.

Public Safety a Priority: As more people flock to the Green Line and other parts of Metro Transit’s system, ensuring the safety and security of both riders and the public at large becomes increasingly challenging, says Lamb. The agency employs public safety campaigns to reinforce the importance that people remain alert and mindful when walking, biking or driving near rail lines. Metro Transit’s efforts to enhance safety were among the reasons the American Public Transportation Association named the agency its Transit System of the Year in 2016.

Metro Transit also recently built an additional platform at Nicollet Mall Station — its second-busiest light-rail stop — to provide riders a safer and more comfortable waiting area. It’s now the agency’s only light-rail station where riders can board or exit from both sides of a train, enhancing safety.

Metro Transit is trying to take a proactive approach to bolstering security, too, such as by increasing its police presence along the Green Line. Last year, police forces conducted about 2,500 trips per month along the route.

NEW YORK CITY, NY - On March 7th, Progressive Railroading reported that during a House committee hearing on President Donald Trump's infrastructure proposal there were some tense exchanges between U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and lawmakers from New York and New Jersey over the administration's support of the Hudson River rail tunnel replacement project.

Amtrak train exiting the current Hudson Tunnel!

Chao appeared before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to answer committee members' questions about the president's plan to overhaul the nation's infrastructure, including transportation. U.S. Reps Albio Sires (D-N.J.), Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) and Sean Patrick Malone (D-N.Y.) pressed Chao specifically about whether the Trump administration would follow through with an agreement between the Obama administration and the two states to split the cost of the tunnel project.

The congressmen believe that the states and the U.S. Department of Transportation had a deal in which the states would cover 50 percent of the project's cost and the federal government would pick up the other 50 percent. Chao reiterated points made earlier by the Trump administration that there is no documented agreement between the USDOT, New York and New Jersey to split the project's cost. She also said the states have not officially submitted a proposal for federal funding for the project. The supposed funding plan has resulted in a lot of "misinformation," Chao said, adding that the two states had committed just 5 percent toward the project's cost.

Later, Maloney asked Chao specifically whether last weekend's Washington Post article — which reported that Trump had asked House Speaker Paul Ryan to block federal funding for the $12.9 billion tunnel project — was true. "It probably is," Chao responded. "Is the president of the United States personally intervening with the speaker to kill this project?" Maloney asked in a follow up. "Yes, the president is concerned about the viability of this project and the fact that New York and New Jersey have no skin in the game. They need to step up. They are two of the richest states in the country, and if they absorb all of these [federal] funds, there will be no other funds for the rest of the country," Chao said.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTA GOT IT RIGHT!!!
When the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Superbowl on January 21st, Jeffrey Knueppel, SEPTA General Manager,. knew the city of Philadelphia's expectations for a successful celebratory parade would be sky high if the Eagles went on to win the game. After all, the Eagles had fought their way to the Big Game twice before, but lost both times. So, Progressive Railroading reported that on Monday, January 22nd, Knueppel started making plans for how Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) would transport the huge crowds of Eagles fans to a parade where they, at long last, could celebrate their Super Bowl championship team.

SEPTA didn't want a repeat of 2008, when the agency failed to provide timely transport for the thousands of Philadelphia baseball fans who attended the parade honoring the Phillies two days after they won the World Series. With that unhappy memory in mind, Knueppel and SEPTA officials knew they had to get transportation for the Super Bowl parade just right. So even before the NFL team traveled to Minneapolis to play in the Super Bowl, SEPTA's operations team started making plans.

The first thing the SEPTA team did was open their playbook from September 2015, when Philadelphia hosted Pope Francis's two-day visit. For that event, the agency had more than a year to draw up its transportation plan.

Like with the papal visit, SEPTA planned to consolidate the number of train stations that would be open the day of the Eagles parade. The route started at the Sports Complex in South Philadelphia at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. From there, it extended north along Broad Street to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. End to end, the entire route was about 5 miles.

"There's a safety benefit to managing the crowds at a fewer number of stations, and when you have fewer stations open, you also get faster trip times," says Knueppel. SEPTA employees served as ambassadors to help Eagles fans use the transit system to get to the Super Bowl parade in Philadelphia on February 8.

SEPTA employees acted as ambassadors to help Eagles fans
use the transit system to get to the Super Bowl parade on February 8th.

Photo – Matthew Courchain, SEPTA

For some passengers, that meant getting to their destination with only one or no stops after boarding. Stretching the parade route over a longer distance than the 2008 parade also would help SEPTA manage crowds and transport riders into and out of the event more quickly, says Knueppel.

Independence Blue Cross covered the cost of parade-day rides on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines, which are SEPTA's high-capacity subway-elevated lines and were promoted to riders as their best option for getting to and from the parade.

Days after the Eagles took down the New England Patriots in a nail-biter, SEPTA launched a special website complete with transportation details, maps and ticket information for the now scheduled February 8th victory celebration. Crews set up temporary barricades, chains and portable toilets at the stations that would remain open; SEPTA officials met with municipalities, first responders and labor unions to go over in detail the agency's operational plan. Knueppel also held a press conference to inform the public how SEPTA would be ready and available to get them to and from the party. Knueppel advised fans to get to stations early on parade day — and to be prepared for long lines. For those who planned to use SEPTA Regional Rail service, the agency distributed about 50,000 special single-day "Independence passes" at a discount, which sold out in a day-and-a-half. Making those passes available helped SEPTA plan its vehicle capacity needs. A million trips in less than a day By the time the parade was over, SEPTA had carried about 500,000 riders to the event and another 500,000 riders afterward for a total of 1 million trips, Knueppel estimates. That's what SEPTA typically would transport on a normal day, "but you have to remember we did that over a very concentrated time period," he says.

For the most part, the day seemed to run smoothly. "I'm usually tough on our performance," Knueppel said. "But I can go by what the municipalities, the riders and the press are saying, which is that generally we had a very good day." He credits SEPTA employees for their hard work and extra efforts. "Fifty-two years of pent-up desire to have the Eagles win the Super Bowl — that certainly made us nervous," says Knueppel. "But we put a good plan together and I think it came together well. Our employees performed fantastically. They knew how important this event was to the region."

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has begun testing three-car setups with its new Siemens-built light-rail units. The agency may put the three-car trains into service as early as this spring, SFMTA officials wrote in a blog.

Two-car Siemens train testing at night!

"Most likely the three-car trains will be used as shuttles to clear out patrons from special events or during the peak rush," they added. In April, SFMTA plans to roll out two-car trains on the heaviest used routes such as the N-Judah. The first five Siemens light-rail vehicles were cleared for passenger service in November 2017. Under the agency's contract with Siemens, the existing 151-car Breda-built fleet will be replaced. The fleet also will be expanded with 68 new units.