Commuter-rail system envisioned for Valley December 3rd, 2009
Enough people would board a train in the Valley’s suburbs that a future commuter-rail system would be as popular as some of the busiest lines in the West, new studies have found.
A trio of yearlong rail studies, in nearly final form, indicates commuter rail could carry almost 18,000 passengers a day by 2030. Planners at the Maricopa Association of Governments say, based on the findings, they favor a 105-mile, X-shaped system that could feature 33 stations and cost roughly $1.5 billion. That’s a little more than the Valley’s 20-mile, light-rail starter line.
The commuter-rail network would use existing freight track through downtown Phoenix
, with lines from Queen Creek to Buckeye and from Chandler to Wittmann…
Surprise buys land for a park-and-ride lot May 29th, 2009
Lily Leung reports in May 29, 2009’s Arizona Republic –
Surprise’s strategic placement of a park-and-ride lot near a railway stretching from downtown Phoenix to Wickenburg is the first heartbeat in an ongoing effort to bring commuter-rail service to the Valley…
The Surprise City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to pay… for land on the southeastern corner of Grand Avenue and Bell Road. The 3.27-acre lot is near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and will be used for a 500-space park-and-ride facility… [initially express buses] to downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale. But city officials also see securing the property as a “good positioning exercise” if a commuter railway does come in within the next 5 to 10 years, said Randy Overmyer, city senior transportation planner.
Grand Avenue and Bell Road is a heavily traveled intersection that could be a possible commuter-rail stop, according to a Maricopa Association of Governments feasibility study slated to come out by year’s end…
Rest of the story at: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/05/29/20090529parkandride0529.html
Tucson orders modern streetcars May 28th, 2009
The City of Tucson in late May ordered seven modern streetcars from Oregon Iron Works (www.oriron.com), the first American company in sixty years to manufacture one. The company, in Clackamas, Oregon, has received orders both from Portland and now Tucson. The company, founded in 1944, builds bridges and military patrol craft; and especially because of “Buy American” requirements, could capture a fair percentage of orders from the dozens of cities across the country considering streetcar service.
Story from Oregon Public Broadcasting: http://news.opb.org/article/5078-tucson-orders-seven-streetcars-oregon-company/
METRO adds permanent weekend Owl service May 27th, 2009
PHOENIX: “Metro will start late night service on weekends in July… [using] some of the savings that cities accrued when the feds paid back early… [this is about double the cost of] Owl trains… about $256,000 a year… Metro won’t run a one-year experiment. [Huzzah!] Late trains will be part of service from now on. That means the last train will cruise through downtown Phoenix and downtown Tempe just after 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday…”
Also: “planners told the board that the economic slump will force Metro to delay by one-to-two years the upcoming extensions and that plans to extend light rail toward Paradise Valley Mall may have to wait until voters adopt a new sales tax. The problem is the last transportation tax, Prop. 400, is bringing in billions of dollars less than expected. No decision was reached. A vote is scheduled for June 17…”
Rest of the story: http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/lightrailblog/53722
