2007 Symposium Presentations October 17th, 2007
The Arizona Transit Association has posted the presentations from the 2007 Commuter Rail Symposium on its website.
In N.M., long haul is easy ride September 30th, 2007
New Mexico’s year-old Rail Runner Express [nmrailrunner.com] commuter-train system carries about 3,000 people a day into and out of downtown Albuquerque, removing cars from busy freeways and a lot of stress…Light rail debuts next year between Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. Commuter rail would connect outlying cities such as Buckeye and Queen Creek to metropolitan Phoenix and run on the same tracks freight railroads use…
Commuter rail is gaining momentum in the Valley. City, state and county officials are meeting, and a study for creating a system in Maricopa and Pinal counties is under way. The Maricopa Association of Governments is overseeing that study, which is expected to be completed by year’s end…
Ridership [on the Rail Runner] has been increasing since the train began operating, and officials say it has exceeded expectations…
Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic, September 30, 2007
LA Metrolink facts July 7th, 2007
from the Metrolink Fact Sheet, received May 2007
- Metrolink operates 7 routes, serves 54 stations, and covers 388 route-miles (counting only once, track served by multiple routes).
- Metrolink operates 145 trains on weekdays, 40 on Saturdays, and 22 on Sundays. Trains average 40 miles per hour.
- In December 2006, 40,852 passengers rode Metrolink trains on an average weekday. (So much for the idea that Los Angelenos love their automobiles too much to ride transit!)
- 88 percent of Metrolink riders formerly made the trip, drove alone or carpooled.
- Metrolink carries 2.9% of the capacity of parallel highways.
Commuter rail between Phoenix, Tucson gaining support July 1st, 2007
from the Arizona Republic, 29 Jun 2007
Commuter rail in Arizona is beginning to gain traction, backers of building a so-called “heavy rail” line said this week.
More than 100 city, state, county and rail advocates met Thursday in Mesa to begin hashing out the pros and cons of high-speed trains that would link cities as far flung from each other as Phoenix to Tucson and counties as vast as Pinal to Maricopa.
“We must have rail that connects Phoenix to Tucson,” said Mesa Vice Mayor Claudia Walters in kicking off the meeting of Commuter Rail Stakeholders Group…
ARPA members Jay Smyth and Sam Morse are quoted.
Hybrid Technology for Railroads July 1st, 2007
RailPAC’s Paul Dyson explains how hybrid technology can save 20% or more fuel compared to traditional diesel-electric in this article on the RailPAC site.
