KANSAS CITY, KS - Progressive Railroading reported that the Kansas City Streetcar Authority (KCSA) announced in early January that the service had crossed the 1 million ridership milestone. The streetcar provided 1,000,375 rides as of December 11, 2021.
The KC Streetcar is a streetcar system in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Construction began in May 2014. The system opened for service on May 6, 2016. The KC Streetcar is free to ride, as it is funded by a Transportation development district. The system currently uses 6 CAF Urbo 3 model streetcars.
KC Streetcar operating hours and service were increased following the pandemic's peak in early 2021 and the 2021 ridership recovered to nearly 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
The highest ridership day in 2021 was July 3, when 10,890 passenger trips were recorded with the following Independence Day weekend registering the highest weekend ridership weekend of the year. Summer was KC Streetcar's most popular time with the highest monthly ridership numbers recorded in July at 149, 713.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) resumed fare collection and front-door boarding on Monday January 10 due to increases in vaccination rates and a mask policy for riders. Fares will reverted to pre-pandemic levels.
Front-door boarding was suspended in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, with farebox and TAP ticket validation rules relaxed.
L.A. Metro offers a low-income fare program for those with an annual household income that's less than $41,400. The agency also provides discount programs for students, seniors and people with disabilities.
SAN FRANCISCO AREA, CA - Progressive Railroading reported on January 24 that in late December Caltrain announced its electrification project will cost an additional $462 million over the initial estimate, bringing the total price tag to $2.44 billion. The electric line will run 52 miles from San Francisco’s 4th and King Station to San Jose’s Tamien Station on dual-alignment track.
The cost increase is a result of negotiations and a $347 million contract amendment with contractor Balfour Beatty US that resolved commercial issues and additional costs related to the extended 2024 completion deadline, Caltrain officials said in a press release. The contract was approved Dec. 6, 2021. The settlement also established a shared risk pool to manage future potential problems and provide incentives for early completion of certain milestones, such as revenue service. The project began in 2017 and is on track to be completed in September 2024.
“With this agreement in place, which includes a mix of incentives and rewards for meeting the 2024 date, we are better positioned to complete this critical project,” said Caltrain Acting Executive Director Michelle Bouchard.
Civil work nearly complete. The pandemic also had a significant impact on the project’s progress, as well as utilities and real estate issues. The progress made so far has mostly been civil work — which is nearly complete — removing risk from the project. There were foundation issues discovered when drilling into the 150-year-old right of way, Caltrain officials said.
The agency is working with funding partners, including federal and state governments, to fill the funding gap. To date, Caltrain has received an additional $52.4 million from the federal government and has access to $150 million in financing credit, plus an additional $60 million in Measure RR capital reserve. In addition, the recently passed federal infrastructure law and the upcoming California state transportation budget could provide additional funding for the project.
“While it hasn’t gone as smoothly as we had hoped, we are confident that we are on track toward electrified service in 2024 that will transform how people commute throughout the Bay area,” said Caltrain Chair Dev Davis.
Caltrain officials expect the new overhead catenary system to be installed by summer 2022. Nearly 95% of foundations are already installed and nearing completion. Traction power facilities are expected to be finished in early 2022, along with the first cars of the new electric fleet in the spring. All of these improvements are part of the agency’s overarching goal of tripling capacity by 2040, making service more frequent and reliable. The new infrastructure will also be compatible with future high-speed rail on the corridor, Caltrain officials said.
The new 25kv AC overhead catenary system will serve as the electric trains’ power source, replacing diesel trains to increase sustainability. Commuter-rail service will increase to six trains per peak hour per direction and train operating speeds will be maintained at up to 79 mph, Balfour Beatty US officials said.
“We will continue to work safely and sustainably to electrify and upgrade the service, capacity and reliability of the transit system on behalf of commuters in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties,” said Balfour Beatty US CEO Leon Blondin.
