Urban Commuter / Light Rail / Modern Streetcar News!
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LOS ANGELES, CA - Progressive Railroading reported on April 24th that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) request for a letter of no prejudice for the Purple Line extension’s third section between Century City and the Westwood area of West Los Angeles, California.
LA Metro now can proceed with a contract it awarded earlier this year to Tutor Perini Corp. for stations, trackwork, systems, testing and related section 3 activities, authority officials said in a blog. To be completed in 2026, section 3 of the subway extension will run 2.56 miles from the Century City Station to two stations in Westwood, one at Wilshire and Westwood boulevards and the other in front of the Westwood VA Medical Center.
 Artists rendering of Purple (subway) line Westwood Station |
Metro and the FTA are finalizing a $1.3 billion full funding grant agreement (FFGA) for the $3.6 billion Purple Line extension's third section. The federal grant will be combined with local funds from Measures R and M. The FTA in September 2018 gave LA Metro the go ahead to begin tunneling work on the third section, then in November allocated the first $100 million of the FFGA. Heavy construction of the Purple Line extension's first and second sections currently is underway. When all three sections are completed, the total $8.2 billion subway extension will run 9 miles underground between LA's Koreatown and Westwood.
PHOENIX, AZ - Valley Metro, operator of Phoenix light rail, received approval in April from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to advance the Phoenix agency's South Central light-rail extension project to the engineering phase. The five-mile extension will connect South Phoenix to the regional light rail system, operating from downtown Phoenix to Baseline Road. The project also includes a transit hub in downtown Phoenix, improving access to educational opportunities, entertainment and employment centers around the Valley.
 Artists rendering of the Downtown Hub enhancements part of the South Central Light Raul Extension project. |
The FTA action allows Valley Metro to move forward in its application for a federal Capital Investment Grant (CIG). Entry into the project's next phase also allows for engineering and pre-construction work to continue, including procurement of long-lead special trackwork. The 5.5-mile extension that would connect south central and downtown Phoenix includes nine new stations a transit hub, according to a Valley Metro press release.
Valley Metro is seeking federal funding from FTA’s CIG program. A full funding grant agreement is expected in 2020.
 The map above shows the South Central extension in green and the existing light rail line in gold. |
Continued momentum also allows Valley Metro and the city to maintain commitments to Phoenix voters by advancing the project and completing significant portions of underground and roadway work in downtown ahead of Super Bowl 2023, Valley Metro officials said.
Pre-construction work is planned to begin in summer. Underground utility relocation will begin in downtown Phoenix in fall. Construction is scheduled for portions of the line in spring 2020.
SAN DIEGO, CA - The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) began rolling out its fifth generation of light-rail vehicles (LRV) on the UC San Diego Blue Line that operates between downtown San Diego and San Isidro, California, at the U.S.-Mexico border. The S700 LRV, series 5001-5046, is part of a 46-car order from Siemens that SDMTS placed in 2016, according to an SDMTS press release. For the past seven months, SDMTS has been steadily receiving LRVs. The last are expected to be delivered over the next two years. The new LRVs have the same low-floor characteristics as the other S70 models in SDMTS’ current fleet, but feature a redesigned middle or C section to improve passenger flow and provide door-to-door accessibility for riders in wheelchairs or other mobility devices. Seats in previous C sections on the S70 cars have been mounted in the transverse method, perpendicular to the sides as is the case on most buses and streetcars. This allows 16 seats, of which four could only be comfortably used by people with short legs and children. Ths 500 series has "bowling alley" seating which the backs aginst the sides as is the c ase in low floor buses over the wheels. This results in 14 good seats but the operational components that used to be iunder the seats had to be related to the roof since the space under the seats is occupied by the C unit truck. Also movement through the C unit is greatly enhanced by this change.
To facilitate cleaning and maintenance, train seats will be upholstered standard in vinyl rather than the cloth used in previous models.
San Diego began service in 1981 with 14 Siemens-DuWag LRVs in the 1000 series. eventually 71 of these cars (1001-1071) would be acquired. They were purchased in five lots 1980 (24 units), 1982 (20), 1986 (6), 1988(20) and 1989 (21).
All of them were retired in January 2015.
They have 52 of the SD100s, series 2001-2052, purchased in 1993, which are curerntly normally in service as the second car of a three-car train. They are currently the only high floor cars on the system.
The third group of cars are the 11 full size (88.5 ft long) S70s or SD70 as named by SDMTS in the 3000 series (3001-3011), purchased in 2004. It was these cars that led to the later cars, known as the Siemens S70 Ultrashort or SD70 US (79.2 ft long, when it was discovered that a three-car train of these cars would block traffic in the previous intersection when it stopped at the next intersection. So these cars are not used on Blue and Orange lines which run downtown on C street. The next illustarion shows the difffrence in length of the 200 and 400 series LRVs,
The fourth group of cars were the 65 S70 Ultrashort models (series 4001-4065) purchased in 2012-2013.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - San Francisco Municipal Railway's oldest operating streetcar is not seen often but it played a part in getting the F-Line started in 1995.
 Car 578 restored to its original number and colors! |
Car 578, which for some time was 0601, was originally constructed by Hammond Car Co. in 1895 from the Hayes-O'Farrell 578. Incidentally, the Hammond Car company also built the California Street cable cars. This car and 28 others (series #1-29) came into Muni ownership when the Presidio and Ferries Railroad (P&FRR) was purchased on December 1913. They were designated "Class C" and renumbered 301-329. This car is believed to have been 317.
 Car 308 lettered for Municipal Railway on the E line in the 1930s
(Photo from San Francisco's Century of Streetcars by Fred A. Stindt) |
The cars had originally belonged to the United Railroads until the P&FRR purchased them to replace cable car lines abandoned after the earthquake and fire of April 1906. These cars were replaced by the Class J (series 351-371) when retired in 1922. The 300 class would be the location of all Muni single truck cars affectionately known as the "dinkies".
 American Car Built Class J #368 at the North Ferry Terminal in late 1930's - all scrapped 1947! (Bert Ward photo) |
By the early 1900s, four-wheel wooden cars were becoming obsolete, being replaced with two truck-eight-wheel steel cars that hauled more passengers. for the few routes left whose particular limitations forbade the use of the larger cars, Muni did invest in twenty one Class J cars like car #368 shown above. The rest were scrapped except those that were assigned to work duty such as sand cars, which task was assigned to this car. It was used to apply sand to the frails to give streetcars more traction on slippery wet rails. It kept that job for decades.
However, in 1947, there were a few bond measures on the ballot, one of which was to replace many streetcars with buses. So this car was selected as the "billboard" for one of the measures, which passed and thereby dooming the car. the following poetic message was scribbled on the sides of the car:
MY WHEELS ARE FLAT; MY BODY SAGS;
MY UPHOLSTERY IS IN RAGS.
PLEASE VOTE YES ON 1 THRU 7;
SO I CAN GO TO STREETCAR HEAVEN.
Well the car actually ended up in a streetcar heaven created almost fifty years later. Age is not thew only reason that this car is not operated often. The car also had no air brakes, relying on the strength of the operator.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), responsible for the operation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) will end switchbacks on the MUNI T Third Street light-rail line in an effort to provide more reliable service to southeast San Francisco, agency officials announced in early April 2019.
 Soon to be replaced by Siemens vehicles, late 1990s-built Breda LRV on the T Line. |
To accommodate the elimination of switchbacks, a train will be on standby along the route to fill gaps of service and the agency will provide updated schedules with more accurate travel times. Light-rail wait times and performance data will also be reviewed regularly and rail service controllers will be integrated into a modern transportation management center.
A switchback, also called a short-turn or "cut" car, occurs when a train changes directions in the middle of a scheduled run, usually to address service gaps throughout the line usually caused by a huge delay such as a major accident or incident. to provide more balanced service across the city, SFMTA officials said in a press release.
Simply put, if the southbound trains can not get to the south terminal, there are no trains for the northbound runs. Switchback helps return the schedule to normal. Switchbacks can only be done with double ended cars. Single ended cars require loops or wyes. Double end cars merely change ends, reverse direction and crossover to the opposite track.
“For years our residents in the southeast corner of San Francisco have felt isolated and disenfranchised and switchbacks on the T-Line have continued to keep us isolated, as they cause the train not to finish the route,” San Francisco County Board Supervisor Shamann Walton said.
At mid-April, the San Francisco Examiner reported that roughly half of Muni’s fleet of Siemens S200 Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) are out of service due to mechanical issues, transit officials acknowledged on April 23rd. Out of 68 new LRVs delivered so far, only 20 to 30 are functional enough to be in full-time service at any point in time..The rest are in repair for various mechanical issues, mainly braking issues that are causing the trains’ wheels to flatten prematurely. Those wheels are now wearing out far faster than the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency expected.
 Siemens California-built S200 eastbound in Muni subway. |
Transit officials revealed the problems at a San Francisco County Transportation Authority meeting on April 23rd. Additionally, NBC Bay Area found faulty couplers on the new trains, the discovery of which stopped Muni from running two and three-car trains.
The flattened wheels are caused by emergency braking maneuvers, which happen more frequently than expected with Muni’s automatic train control system, a known issue between the new train cars and the computer control system.
[Trolleyville Comment: Three truck, two unit articulated vehicles, regardless of manufacture have a tendency to incur flat wheels on the C unit during emergency stops due to unequal weight, power and brake capability between the three trucks. A lot of emergency stops are caused by operator errors which force the train into emergency stops as they were designed to do.]
“The issue with wheel 'flats' is such that some wheels are approaching condemning limits,” the team wrote. “We are working with Siemens to make trucks and axles available for swap out, even though we did not expect to have to do this so early and our equipment is not yet in place.”
[Trolleyville Comment: The solution to correct flat wheels is to prform wheel truing, an action similar to that done to automobile disc brake rotors to eliminate grooves cause by worn out disc brake pads. And there are legal limits of wheel tire size so wheels can only be trued so many times.]
In addition to the braking issue, supervisors also pressed transit officials on the door issue, which as shown in video first obtained by the Examiner, dragged a woman from the platform at Embarcadero Station and onto the tracks on April 12. She was hospitalized and then discharged.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Early last month, Utah Transit Authority (UTA) officials marked the completion of construction on a new section of double tracking on the S-Line streetcar route, which connects the Fairmont Station in Salt Lake City to the Central Pointe TRAX light-rail station in South Salt Lake City.
Begun in 2018, the project was designed to reduce the amount of time riders wait for trains, reduce congestion, improve air quality and provide better connections with UTA's other modes of transportation, officials said in a press release.
The S-line Streetcar opened on December 8, 2013, with a single track and 20 minute headways. Since the completion of the line, a great deal of development has occurred and continues to occur in the area. The Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency found the construction of the line has accelerated or was partially responsible for the creation of over 1,000 residential units and 2 million square feet of redevelopment, resulting in over $400 million in private investment through 2017. The S-line had 370,500 weekday boardings in 2017.
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The project was funded with $4 million from Salt Lake County Infrastructure and by a $1.9 million Wasatch Front Regional Council Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program grant. The Salt Lake City County is also pledging $500,000 for additional operating costs for the first three years of double-track service. Since the S-Line streetcar service began in 2013, the South Salt Lake and Sugar House areas have experienced "significant growth," including 1,000 additional residential units and over 2 million square feet of redevelopment, they said.
Salt Lake City currently operates 117 vehicles, consisting of 23 Siemens SD-100 light rail vehicles, series 1001-1023, acquired in 1998; 17 Siemens SD-160 light rail vehicles, series 1024-1040, obtained in 2001 and 2003 along with 77 Siemens S-70 low floor model light rail vehicles, series 1101-1177, acquired in 2010. They also had acquired 29 cars from the Santa Clara Transit Authority (VTA) in 2004 and renumbered them 1041-1069. These cars had been built by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC ) in 1987. They were all withdrawn from service in 2018.
SEATTLE, WA - On April 10th Seattle's Sound Transit yesterday received approval from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to advance its light-rail Federal Way Link Extension project to the engineering phase — a step toward securing a critically important federal grant. The Federal Way Link Extension would extend the light-rail line nearly 8 miles from Angel Lake Station in SeaTac, Washington, to the Federal Way Transit Center bus station in Federal Way. The project includes building three stations and adding 3,200 parking spaces along the route. The 7.8-mile extension includes three stations in Kent/Des Moines near Highline College, South 272nd Street and the Federal Way Transit Center. All three stations add parking for a total of 3,200 spaces along the route.
 Two of Sound Transit's Link KinkiSharyo LRVs! |
With FTA's approval of Sound Transit’s Federal Way Link Extension project into the engineering phase, FTA locked in the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) funding at $790 million, the amount requested by the transit agency, according to a Sound Transit press release. The project earned an FTA rating of “medium-high” in the annual federal review of transit projects seeking grants. Sound Transit now will work with the FTA to demonstrate the transit agency's readiness and capacity to achieve the project's scheduled 2024 completion. Demolition and utility relocation work is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2019, with major construction activities beginning in 2020.
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During April 2019 Sound Transit will begin pre-construction work on the 8.5 mile Lynnwood Link extension, which will extend light-rail service from the Northgate Link station in Seattle to the Lynnwood Transit Center in Lynnwood, Washington. The work includes removal and replacement of 77 percent of the existing trees located in the right of way, removal of sound walls and utility relocation, according to a Sound Transit press release.The sound walls will be replaced with temporary noise barriers. Construction of this extension, which includes four stations, will begin early this summer.
Above is one of the many structures from the original community of Oceanside preserved at the Heritage Park.
Sneak photo of the first Brookville Liberty Milwaukee "HOP" streetcar in N scale before the B unit was painted!