Calif. / Nevada
As of October 26, there are ten daily San Diegans. Capitol corridor trains now carry over 500,000 annually.
Los Angeles’ Metrolink recorded over 900 riders on its trial Saturday Lancaster line service, almost 1/3 of weekday ridership on that line (with 3 roundtrips instead of the usual 5). All Metrolink’s lines posted ridership gains this year.
Los Angeles — Las Vegas service should begin Summer 1998 using San Diegan equipment until the new Talgo trains are ready. With the advent of the Las Vegas service, Amtrak West has “adopted” Nevada, according to Gil Mallery at the NARP convention. (Asked whether Amtrak West could proceed to take over the states west of the Mississippi one-by-one, Mallery declined to comment.)
Illinois
The Chicago METRA North Central service—serving communities from Antioch to Chicago via the O’Hare transfer station, doubled its ridership in its debut year. As Chicago’s first new rail line since 1928, it saw an average of 1,905 daily trips in August 1996. As ridership grew, an additional round-trip was added; and ridership by August 1997 had skyrocketed to 3,773.
METRA plans to double-track much of the line to allow over twice as many daily trains (22 vs. the current 10). Ken Bird, president of the Illinois Association of Railroad Passengers, says the North Central experience demonstrates that “there’s always been a pent-up demand for this, and it’s only going to increase. People are tired of cluttered highways. Once you get on a train, you don’t want to go back.”
Massachusetts
On September 29, the MBTA opened the Boston-Plymouth/Kingston and Boston-Middleborough/Lakeville segments of the “new Old Colony” commuter rail line. Initial ridership bears out the expectation that these trains will be a popular alternative to the highly congested Southeast Expressway.
TrainRiders/Northeast says the cost of completely rebuilding the railroad with new track, signal systems and grade crossings, and 13 new stations was $537 million.
Northwest
“August ridership on the trains running between Vancouver, BC, Seattle and Portland and Eugene hit the highest single-month total in Amtrak’s history. Just under 56,000 people rode our three Northwest Corridor trains or the Coast Starlight in the corridor… DOT estimates 5 million passenger miles were eliminated from I-5.” [Washington ARP Rail News]
Ohio
Commuter rail trials in Ohio, from Madison and Lorain to Cleveland, were judged successes this November.
According to the Akron Beacon-Journal, “more than 500 people took advantage of the one-day [Madison] demonstration… filling most seats. Laketran General Manager Frank Polivka said it was fitting that the long-anticipated commuter rail demonstration Wednesday between Cleveland and Madison came on a day when heavy snow and icy roads snarled car and truck traffic: “…Never in our wildest dreams did we think there would be this kind of interest in this.”
Similar crowds greeted the run between Cleveland and Lorain, says RTA General Manager Ron Tober: “There’s tremendous interest in commuter rail.”
The Beacon-Journal reports, “The suburban commuter rail experiment, which is expected to cost about $65,000, was held to show federal officials that it’s possible to establish such service on existing Conrail tracks… With the anticipated breakup of Conrail, Tober said, RTA and Laketran want to ensure that federal officials reviewing the future of area rail lines are aware of the region’s desire to establish commuter rail service.”
Ken Prendergast of Ohio ARP recorded these comments from riders:
“The movement of people into the city, and from the city out to outlying communities is vitally important. (But) it makes no sense to put more money into roads that bring more congestion and pollution when there are tracks already available.” – Jay Westbrook, President, Cleveland City Council
“Transit was an afterthought when it comes to development. There is a growing awareness that we should use rail to get people to where the jobs are.” – Thomas Coyne, Mayor, Brook Park
“It’s a quick, efficient way of moving people. We should pursue it.” – Dennis Clough, Mayor, Westlake
“This is really thrilling. The opportunities that go through your mind in terms of economic development are really exciting.” – Vince Urbin, Mayor, Avon Lake
Other officials, like Bay Village Mayor Tom Jelepis and Lakewood Mayor Madeline Cain, were overheard as saying that the commuter demonstration whetted their appetites for seeking a permanent service.
Mr. Prendergast notes an interesting point from the above quotes: Unlike many highway widenings, which tend to occur in developing areas, a new commuter rail service, such as these, represents a simultaneous investment in both established and developing communities.
