CHARLOTTE, NC - The Gold Line streetcar line experienced a derailment on Easter Sunday, April 1, and shuttle buses had to pick up passengers for about four hours while the Gomaco replica double-truck Birney #91 was put back on the rails, Charlotte Observer reported. Cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Car 91 shown derailed!
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The Charlotte Observer reported on April 9th that the Charlotte Area Transit System [CATS] will give light rail riders a discount to use the Lyft ride-hailing service to travel to or from the JW/Clay UNC Charlotte Station or the Parkwood Station in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Only these two outlying stations would be involved initially in the nine-month pilot project but more might be added if it is successful. The discount would be $4.00. Trips must originate or terminate at either of those two stations or in certain areas surrounding the station. The areas were selected to fill gaps in the existing transit network to provide better access to the region's extended rail system, CATS officials said in a press release.
The JW/Clay UNC Charlotte Station opened in March as part of CATS' $1.1 billion Blue Line light-rail extension.
One of Charlotte's Siemens S70 low floor LRVS delivered 2014-2015!
Lynx Car 135, one of 22 cars delivered in 2017-18, under testing just before the new line opened!
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The Charlotte Observer reported on April 20th that ridership was strong on March 16th which was the first day of public service for the $1.1 billion, 9.3-mile light rail extension from Charlotte Uptown to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. But passenger volume fell off in the first two seeks of service, More than 37,000 riders took first day trips. CATS had projected some 18,000 weekday trips. For the first full week, ridership was 23,000 and 26,000 for the second week. Saturday ridership has been strong possibly due to students taking light rail to Uptown for sports events and nightlife. Use of the extension may be a tougher sell for commuters. The line has four park-and-ride lots but two of them have been mostly empty. The Charlotte System, called Lynx, is operated with 42 Siemens S70 partially low floor vehicles, 22 of which were delivered in 2017-2018.
CINCINNATI, OH - Middle school student Angie Jolevski was the one-millionth rider Friday, April 13, on the Cincinnati modern streetcar line which runs from downtown to the Over-the-Rhine historic district. It was the girl's first ride on the streetcar, WVXU public radio reported.
QLine's 1,000,000th rider!
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The station reported that Jolevski was surrounded by balloons, confetti, music and mascots to celebrate the occasion. The car line hit the 500,000 rider milestone in May 2017. The streetcar lags behind its predicted ridership, however, the amount of people riding this system is still impressive. There are ideas from City Hall to increase reliability including higher fines for vehicles needlessly blocking the tracks.
DALLAS, TX - The Dallas Morning News reported on April 25th that the Dallas City Council on an almost unanimous 14-1 vote has approved a $1.00 fare for the downtown Dallas to Oak Cliff modern streetcar line. This only would raise about $133,000 toward the $2.1 million annual cost of operating and maintaining the route into Oak Cliff, which includes a wire free segment over the Trinity River bridge using dual-mode Brookville Equipment Corporation Liberty model streetcars. Advocates of the fare said it's a matter of fairness since Dallas Area Rapid Transit [DART] charges a fare to ride its light rail line which connects downtown with the streetcar.
 Dallas Brookville-built "Liberty" Low-floor Streetcar!
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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - The second round bids to build the Wave modern streetcar at Fort Lauderdale on Florida's Atlantic Ocean coastline came in too high when they were opened by state officials Thursday, April 26th and now the project is all but dead, the Sun Sentinel newspaper reported on its website. The project could have moved forward if the low bid was no higher than $142.5 million. But the low bid was $144.7 million and a second bid was $154.8 million. Broward County's mayor says it appears to be the end of the line for the streetcar. Fort Lauderdale's city commission has been on record as opposing the streetcar.
 Siemens S70 in proposed WAVE Streetcar dress!
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HOUSTON, TX - Despite declining ridership on the Metro transit light rail system in Houston, located in south Texas, the agency is considering purchase of 14 new LRVs, the Houston Chronicle reported on April 22nd. Officials of the Harris County transportation agency say ridership will have increased by the time the new LRVs are delivered. The purchase would piggyback onto a deal with Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Transit and would be in the range of $70 million to be financed with federal funding, Houston Metro has until December 31, 2018 to finalize the purchase.
Here is a little more detail about the Houston Metro System from Trolleyville sources. Currently, Houston Metro currently uses three type of light rail vehicles, designated H1, H2 and H3.
H1 (101-118) - The original fleet of 18 S70 vehicles was built by Siemens in Florin (Sacramento), California. They were delivered in 2003–2004, for the opening of the first stage of their Red Line. Each vehicle is 96 feet (29 m) long and has a top speed of 66 mph (106 km/h). The H1 series cars are distinguishable by their streamlined cab ends and rectangular head lights with the electronic destination signs (which have been modified to indicate the line with a colored square) mounted directly in front of the cab rather than above it.
 H1 #103 (Siemens S70) in Downtown Houston!
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H2 (201-219) In the spring of 2011, METRO purchased another 19 Siemens S70 vehicles. These cars were originally intended for Salt Lake City Utah's TRAX system. As with the H1 cars, these new cars were built in Florin, California, but they differ slightly from the cars Utah received in some details. They were delivered in October 2012 and entered service that December. The H2 series cars are shorter than the H1 series, at 81 feet (25 m) in length, and are distinguishable by their flatter cab ends and circular head lamps, with the electronic destination sign (which use colored dots to indicate the line) conventionally mounted above the cab. The H1 and H2 series are electrically compatible and can operate together in multiple unit (MU ) operation in the same train.
 H2 #219 approaching Fannin South Station. |
In September 2011, METRO approved the purchase of 39 vehicles from CAF upon receipt of a new proposal compliant with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and "Buy America" guidelines. The first six of these cars were delivered in January 2015 and entered service shortly afterwards. The H3 series cars, built in Elmira, New York and based on CAF's Urbos platform used in cities across Europe and Asia, are similar to the H1 series in dimensions, but are distinguishable by their boxier design and framed window panes. However, as should be expected, the H3 series is electrically incompatible with the older types and cannot MU with them in the same train.
 H3 #325 at Wayside Drive !
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Last is a diagram of the current Houston Metro System, showing the Red, Green and Purple lines:
KANSAS CITY, MO - Ballot applications were due April 3rd by 5 PM at the Jackson County Courthouse for the third round of a referendum by eligible voters on expansion of the Kansas City modern streetcar line south from Union Station to the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, the "university news": site reported. The voting will set the tax rates for the rail transit extension. It's a mail-in election.
KC CAF-built streetcar 803 at work! |
KCUR public radio reported on April 9th that the Kansas City Streetcar Authority has provided details about stops on the proposed modern streetcar extension south from Union Station to the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, There would be eight stops and the line would use Main Street and then the former Kansas City Public Service private right of way of the Country Club line.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority [LACMTA] restored service to five Green Line light rail stations on Easter Sunday, April 1, following a two-month closure to provide a connection for the Crenshaw line with the Los Angeles International Airport [LAX] people mover transfer station The work resulted in closure of South Bay stations west and south of LAX, KABC television reported March 31.
KinkiSharyo P2020 car 156 on the Green Line eastbound August 12, 1995!
This car currently works the Blue and Expo lines! |
MEMPHIS, TN - The Memphis Daily News reported on April 17th that heritage streetcar service was to be restored April 30th in Memphis, Tennessee, following an absence of nearly four years due to fires that destroyed two ex-Melbourne "W" class trams, . At first three cars will be used on the Main Street line with three more to follow in May. Service will be free of fares until May 14 and after that the fare will be $1. During the outage, a safety audit was performed and improvements made. The Riverfront and Madison Avenue car lines will be revived in 2019 and 2020.
One of the cars to be used to restart service April 30th is a Gomaco built double truck Birney shown below.
The system now uses pantograph current collection. |
NASHVILLE, TN - Voters in that city will decide a $5.4 billion mass transit plan May 1 with light rail and a downtown LRV tunnel but there is opposition to the costly proposal. The Tennessean newspaper reported April 2 that a city councilman opposed to LRT will offer his own plan in advance of the referendum, suggesting autonomous self-driving vehicles as a better option to reach all neighborhoods.
 Artists concept of Nashville Light Rail (Using Minneapolis-St. Paul METRO paint scheme)!
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ORANGE COUNTY, CA - Plans for Orange County’s first modern streetcar rolled forward when the Orange County Transportation Authority board of directors on approved the purchase of the streetcars that will carry passengers on the route through Santa Ana and Garden Grove.
The contract with Siemens Industries, in the amount of up to $51.5 million, will provide eight streetcar vehicles and spare parts and tools. The OC Streetcar route will have six vehicles in operation and two spare cars that can be rotated into the system as needed. “This is an important and exciting milestone for the OC Streetcar project as we have decided upon the vehicles that will provide Orange County residents another public transit option,” said OCTA Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, also the Fifth District supervisor. “We’re looking forward to making the vision for a modern electric streetcar here in Orange County a reality.”
 Artists rending of Siemens S70 in current OC transit livery!
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The contract for the streetcars comes with the option to purchase up to 10 additional streetcars at a later date, if necessary. As part of the deal, Siemens will provide systems support and training to operators and maintenance technicians once the vehicles are delivered. The OC Streetcar project is estimated to cost $299 million, with funding coming from Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, and a mix of state and federal funding.
OCTA has been working closely throughout planning and design with the Federal Transit Administration, which is considering a full funding grant agreement to pay for about half of the project’s cost. Of that, $50 million was included in the President’s 2017 budget. Because OCTA met all federal guidelines during the development of the project, FTA officials gave OCTA written pre-award authority to move forward with the purchase of vehicles. On March 23, Congress funded about $2.6 billion toward Capital Improvement Grants funding, which is a promising signal for the OC Streetcar project to receive the full funding grant agreement.
The OC Streetcar will operate from the busy Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, along Santa Ana Boulevard and Fourth Street and along the Pacific Electric right-of-way to Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. The route will serve Santa Ana’s thriving downtown and dense employment areas that include county and local government offices and courthouses in the Civic Center. The OC Streetcar route will also connect with many of OCTA’s busiest bus routes and Metrolink (Los Angeles) commuter rail. It is expected to carry more than 7,300 passengers per day within its first year of operation.
The model of streetcar that Siemens will provide, called the S70 model, has proven successful in other cities nationwide. At least 342 streetcars of that model are in operation in eight U.S. cities. 65 of them are in San Diego alone!
 Atlanta, Georgia Streetcar S70
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 Salt Lake City, Utah Sugarhouse Streetcar S70
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The vehicles are 88 feet long and have 70 seats, carrying up to 180 passengers at a time. The streetcars will have doors on each side, operator cabs in the front and back, and level boarding – meaning no steps are required to enter or exit the streetcar.
This summer, the OCTA board will review branding of the OC Streetcar, which is expected to be similar to the blue, orange and white branding of the OC Bus system. Construction on the OC Streetcar is set to begin later this year with testing and operations beginning in late 2020.
PHOENIXVILLE, PA - Phoenixville, northwest of Philadelphia, wants SEPTA Regional Rail service and there is a proposal being floated to extend the existing Manayunk/Norristown line because the infrastructure is in place, the "patch dot com" website reported April 18th. Phoenixville Borough Council will hear a detailed plan on May 8th. An alternate proposal would require building new track to link Phoenixville with the Paoli train station along the Main Line, connecting with SEPTA Philadelphia service along Amtrak's Keystone Corridor. The SEPTA line to Norristown is electrified but non-electrified Norfolk Southern freight railway tracks would continue the passenger service to Phoenixville.
 Typical SEPTA Commuter Train station at Overbrook!
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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -
The contractor building the new light rail line at Sydney to the Australian city's eastern suburbs has more bad news. The system won't open to the public until March 2020, a one-year delay, the "news dot com dot au" website reported April 19. New South Wales transport minister Andrew Constance says the government wants to see the 7.45-mile system completed in 2019 accord with the construction contract.
Sydney, Australia light rail concept!
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