Passenger Rail Planner’s Guide 2011

Growth, planning goes on through budget crises

CALIFORNIA HSR

California’s High Speed Rail Authority plans to focus first on the Central Valley portion of its proposed $44 billion, 800-mile HSR system, linking San Diego and Los Angeles, in the south, with twin termini in San Francisco and Sacramento, the state capital, at top speeds of 250 mph. California has $5.5 billion ready to go, and will commence work first in the Central Valley, including Bakersfield. Plans for the San Francisco-San Jose HSR leg will come in two years. Some $950 million in improvements planned for San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s 86-mile, Stockton-San Jose Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) route could cut travel times in half as a partial precursor to HSR operations. The state’s HSR effort continues to benefit from additional federal funding redirected from other states rejecting federal funds for HSR development.

FLORIDA HSR

Gov. Rick Scott first froze $280 million in state contributions to the proposed Tampa-Orlando HSR route, pending a review of the state’s role in the $2.67 billion project, then killed the project Feb. 16, citing wasteful government spending as the rationale. But several surveys indicate state residents support the HSR effort. Phase I would have stretched 84 miles from downton Tampa to Orlando International Airport, operating at top speeds of 168 mph.

AMTRAK

Slowly tapping into funds provided by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of October 2008, delivering $14.3 billion over five years, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 providing $1.3 billion directly, Amtrak last year made its first substantial equipment purchase in a decade, 130 single-level cars from CAF USA. Amtrak seeks to purchase 20 coaches for Acela Express service in FY2012. FY2010 ridership of 28,716,857 set a new record for the corporation, which celebrates its 40th anniversary May 1. Ridership grew 5.7%, or about 1.55 million passengers, with all Amtrak business lines gaining. Ticket revenue increased 9%, or more than $140 million.

Amtrak released its Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan in May 2010, as well as A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor last September, signaling that it hopes to upgrade its NEC operations to true HSR status. While the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has questioned numerous HSR projects being advanced, the NEC, including Amtrak’s New Haven-Springfield spur, was subject to somewhat gentler consideration as 2011 began.

Last month Amtrak, backed by New Jersey’s two U.S. senators, offered “Gateway Tunnel,” the corporation’s preferred version of increasing Northeast Corridor capacity under the Hudson River from two tracks to four (see map on pages G6-G7).

VIA RAIL CANADA

Thanks to the C$923 million federal government funding package, VIA’s five-year program includes the rebuilding of 54 F40 locomotives and 98 tilt-body LRC cars, and major upgrades to CN, CP, and VIA-owned infrastructure. A C$230 million project will add 50 miles of triple-track at five locations on CN’s Kingston Subdivision. Under way are numerous fleet improvements, along with station upgrades nationwide which VIA announced steadily, one by one, throughout 2010.

VIA is also refurbishing 78 stainless steel long-haul cars and 21 GE Genesis locomotives in-house for C$20 million. But no new equipment orders of any significance are envisioned at present.

BOSTON

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s FY2010-2014 Draft Capital Plan seeks to address a $2.7 billion state-of-good-repair backlog and boost the more than 855,000 weekday trips on its 486-mile rail network of 13 regional rail routes, three heavy rail lines, four-route light rail system, and the Mattapan-Ashmont High-Speed (trolley) Line. Last month MBTA approved $22 million for engineering and planning for $1 billion “west of Lechmere” light rail line to link Boston with Somerville and Medford.

Motive Power, Inc. is fulfilling a $114.6 million order to supply MBTA with 20 new diesel-electric locomotives. That followed a move by MBTA in June to lease and/or purchase up to nine new locomotives from the Utah Transit Authority. Delivery of 75 new bilevel cars from Rotem USA Corp., worth $190.2 million, began last year and will continue through 2012.

A 2008 FTA Small Starts grant kick-started the $70 million upgrading of the 49.5-mile Fitchburg regional rail line, serving Boston’s northwest suburbs. Last June the state’s DOT reached agreement with CSX Transportation to acquire 30 miles of right-of-way from Taunton to Fall River and New Bedford, pursuing restoration of regional rail service to the South Coast region, southeast of Boston.

CONNECTICUT

The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s 51-mile Shore Line East (SLE) now offers five New London-New Haven roundtrip trains, with eight more originating or terminating in Old Saybrook, Conn. A $40 million ARRA grant to start New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter service was announced on January 28. The first two of 300 Kawasaki M-8 EMUs for the New Haven Line were unveiled on Dec. 24. But M-8 delivery delays impacted Metro-North New Haven Line service in February, as the railroad cut back peak-hour frequency and offered substitute bus services on some branches, with Connecticut residents suffering the most.

NEW YORK CITY

For MTA New York City Transit, construction of one subway tunnel is complete for Phase I of the Second Avenue subway between 96th Street and 63rd Street, while both tunnels have been bored for the $2.1 billion, 1-mile No. 7 Line West Side Extension (both in Manhattan). Completion has been set back to 2017 and 2014, respectively. Also delayed is the $1.4 billion Fulton Street Transit Center, though above-ground construction now has begun.

The reconfigured $527 million South Ferry station opened in March 2010, expanding capacity and improving transfers to the Staten Island Ferry and other NYCT lines.

Long Island Rail Road briefly lost its monthly No. 1 ranking among regional railroads last September to sister Metro-North, but ridership has begun to recover. Each railroad logged annual ridership of about 81 million in 2010, with LIRR remaining on top for the full year. LIRR’s $108.1 million Atlantic Terminal in downtown Brooklyn opened in January 2010., and work continues on the $8 billion East Side Access project to bring some LIRR trains to Grand Central Terminal. Begun in 2007 and scheduled for completion in 2014, it will provide direct East Side access for riders who currently transfer to NYCT subway lines, and offer in-terminal transfer opporunities to Metro-North trains.

Metro-North, viewed by many as one of the most consistently reliable regional railroads in North America, was forced to consider scaling back service on its New Haven Line (Northeast Corridor), as anticipated deliveries of M-8 EMUs suffered repeated delays and as a harsh winter plagued older equipment, forcing severe overcrowing on the line.

PATH has received nearly all 340 Kawasaki PA5 a.c. cars, though it still expects 10 more ordered last year. PATH continues implementing a $3.3 billion, 10-year program that includes $390 million for communications-based train control (CBTC), $659 million to modernize all 13 stations, and $549 million for other state-of-good-repair projects.

NEW JERSEY

With Gov. Chris Christie terminating Access to the Region’s Core late last year, New Jersey Transit’s capital program apparently is lacking in expansion projects. Christie cited financial risk to the state in the face of increasing cost estimates, topping $9 billion during 2010, and the lack of corresponding support from New York City and New York State.

NJT did complete a one-mile extension of its Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit system, to 8th Street in Bayonne, in late January. And it is moving ahead on another short HBLRT extension, in western Jersey City, near New Jersey City University. But progress on a 11.4-mile HBLRT extension from North Bergen to Tenafly has stalled, in part due to protests from Tenafly local officials.

NJT seeks to extend double-track capabilities to the southern end of its 34-mile RiverLINE, which links Trenton and Camden, to accommodate a new transfer station straddling the RiverLINE (diesel light railway) and NJT’s Atlantic City Line.

PHILADELPHIA

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has struggled to introduce smart card fare collection, planning to use $175 million in a loan agreement from the Philadelphia Industrial Development to implement the technology over three years.

System expansion is stymied even more thoroughly; rebuilding the 13.5-mile Market-Frankford Subway/Elevated concluded in 2009. An Alternatives Analysis has been completed for a 4.9-mile, $277 million Norristown High Speed Line extension to King of Prussia and Valley Forge. Rotem continues to deliver cars from its $275 million, 120-car Silverliner V order for the 13-route Regional Rail system.

Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO) officially committed to more than $100 million to modernize its 14.5-mile heavy rail Speedline from Philadelphia to Lindenwold, N.J., and to rebuild once more its aging 121 Budd and Canadian Vickers cars.

PITTSBURGH

Still under construction is the $553 million North Shore Connector, a 1.2-mile northern extension from Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle that tunnels under the Allegheny River from a relocated Gateway Center subway station. Studies continue for potential rail service from downtown to Westmoreland County.

BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON

Maryland has chosen LRT as the locally preferred alternative for the 12-mile, east-west Red Line, to operate between Woodlawn and the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and the 16-mile Purple Line, a circumferential LRT route linking Bethesda and New Carrollton.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Metrorail’s six-year, $3.3 billion Metro Matters program calls for improved maintenance and yard facilities and traction power upgrades.

The 2008 arrival of the 6000-Series Alstom cars allowed for eight-car service. In development is the design of a fleet of up to 784 7000-Series cars for delivery beginning in 2012.

A $5 billion expansion of the Orange Line to Dulles International Airport is moving forward. The four-station Phase I to Reston will open in 2013 and the remaining six-station portion in 2016.

Construction is also under way on the much-delayed 1.1-mile Anacostia streetcar line and the H Street/Benning Road route in northeastern Washington, approaching Union Station.

NORFOLK

Construction delays have mounted as accusations of inefficiency have dogged completion of Hampton Roads Transit’s 7.4-mile, $338 million LRT starter line, The Tide, originally set to open in May (and originally estimated to cost $232 million). Siemens is supplying nine S70s cars under a $36 million contract. Neighboring Virginia Beach, which had been warming to the idea of an LRT connection/extension into its territory, now seems to have resumed its wariness and reluctance, pending The Tide’s opening. Virginia Beach voters in 1998 rejected joining Norfolk in any LRT.

CHARLOTTE

Charlotte Area Transit System early this year hosted the unveiling of Kinkisharyo’s AmeriTRAM hybrid light rail vehicle, demonstrating dual-power capabilities (by traditional overhead catenary and also with battery power). CATS’s $463 million, 15-station line, stretching from Center City to Interstate 485, still is in line to add its Northeast Corridor extension to University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a shorter xx-mile addition that was approved in January. CATS currently operates 16 Siemens S70s. The city also has received $25 million in DOT funding for a 1.5-mile initial streetcar route through center city, but the project’s fate remains in flux.

ATLANTA

In 2009, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) received the last of 218 rehabilitated heavy rail cars from Alstom. The fully-refurbished equipment is boosting reliability and lowering operating costs on the 48-mile, 38-station system. Plans for 12 miles of extensions to the subway, the 22-mile BeltLine, 16.5-mile Peachtree streetcars line, and a seven-spoke commuter rail service continue to advance.

Atlanta’s streetcar plans, frustrated for the past two years, got a boost last October when awarded a $46 million DOT TIGER II grant for a $56 million initial east-west route connecting The King Center with Centennial Olumpic Park. Opening is scheduled for 2013. A north-to-south route would link Brookhaven MARTA station and Fort McPherson.

ORLANDO

The targeted opening for the $165 million Central Florida Commuter Rail project, known as SunRail, continues to slip as newly elected Gov. Rick Scott reviews all projects costing the state $100 million or more. But SunRail still has the support of Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.). DMU service would operate between DeLand and Poinciana on 61.5 miles of right-of-way the state has purchased from CSX Transportation. Florida, CSX, and Amtrak reached agreement on liability issues for the service late last year.

TAMPA

Voters in 2010 rejected plans to establish a one-cent sales tax increase to establish light rail transit service in the region, leaving rail expansion limited to the Hillsborough Area Rapid Transit (HART) four-block extension to the 10-car TECO Line Streetcar, completed in early February, making the line 2.7 miles long. Despite the defeat at the polls, HART still is considering a 12.4-mile, $825 million light rail line at Tampa to connect downtown and the city’s airport.

MIAMI

Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) will open its $523 million, 2.4-mile Airport Connection from Earlington Heights to Miami International Airport in 2012; the link is Phase I of MDT’s proposed Orange Line. The new airport terminal will also be served by an extension of the South Florida Regional Transportation Agency’s 72-mile, Miami-Palm Beach Tri-Rail. A 16-mile Tri-Rail Jupiter extension on Florida East Coast’s right-of-way is being studied.

BUFFALO

The 27 Tokyu cars on the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority’s (NFTA) 6.2-mile Metro Rail LRT line have been undergoing a $32.8 million mid-life rebuild by AnsaldoBreda, but problems with subcontractors have stalled the program.

CLEVELAND

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s four-route, 38-mile heavy rail (Red Line) and light rail (Blue, Green and Waterfront lines) system suffered ridership losses for the second straight year in 2010. RTA lost more than 10% of its riders in 2010, following a decline of 14% in 2009, with the recession blamed for much of the loss.

CINCINNATI

Full funding has been identified for Phase I of the Cincinnati Streetcar, a sleeper among U.S. streetcar startups. In December the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Transportation Review Advisory Council unanimously recommended an award of $35 million for the project, bringing total identified funding to about $150 million, covering initial capital construction. The council also recommended an award of $1.8 million for planning and preliminary engineering for Phase 2. Phase I will operate on 4.9-mile loop with approximately seven modern cars and 18 stops connecting the city’s largest employment centers, Downtown and Uptown, and traveling through Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. The city has committed $108 million.

CHICAGO

The Chicago Transit Authority completed several station renovations during 2010 on its Dearborn corridor, part of its capital program to eliminate slow zones, overhaul the fleet, and bring the system to a state of good repair. Red, Orange, and Yellow line extensions are planned, as is a new Circle Line combining rebuilt and new elevated segments in an outer loop linking all CTA and Metra rail lines. Prototype cars arrived in late 2009 from a $674 million, 406-car Bombardier order; another 300 may be ordered.

Still unfunded is Metra’s $1.5 billion Suburban Transit Access Route, a 55-mile outer belt DMU service. Also proposed is a $500 million, 32-mile SouthEast DMU on Metra’s Rock Island and UP/CSX lines. Metra also postponed bridge work on its Northwest Line during 2010, but expects to address it this year.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is upgrading its 90-mile electric South Shore Line (SSL). Major components are new catenary, signals, and CTC covering 75.5 miles from South Bend to the connection with Metra Electric. Purchase of 14 gallery EMUs from Nippon Sharyo/Sumitomo for $51 million has boosted the SSL fleet from 68 to 82 cars.

DETROIT

The Final Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be ready in May for Woodward Light Rail, a public/private initiative, with Phase 1 running 3.4 miles from downtown Detroit to West Grand Boulevard. The final alignment has yet to be chosen. The federal government granted Detroit $25 million early this year for the 12-station project. Future extensions are eyed to Eight Mile, near the state fairgrounds, a distance of 9.3 miles. Local private-sector interests have committed $125 million to the project.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL

The Metropolitan Council has submitted a full funding grant agreement for the $957 million Central Corridor light rail project to Congress for review. The 11-mile route is set to open in 2014, linking the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Service on the 40-mile, six-station Northstar commuter rail line, which started in November 2009, utilizes six MPXpress locomotives and 18 Bombardier bilevel cars.

ST. LOUIS

St. Louis’ two-line, 46-mile MetroLink LRT system has put on hold Phase III of the $676 million, eight-mile Cross County LRT, which would extend the line 5.3 miles to MidAmerica Airport. But local planners and politicians are proposing service restoration and expansion under the Moving Transit Forward plan, which would add eight LRT extensions and two new commuter rail services.

NASHVILLE

Low average daily ridership of 800 on Nashville’s Music City Star East Corridor commuter rail service continues to thwart the development of a five-line system.

MEMPHIS

Service on the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s three-line downtown streetcar system has been suspended indefinitely for maintenance, with bus service being substituted. Still stalled is a build-out plan to create a three-line regional LRT system.

LITTLE ROCK

The Central Arkansas Transit Authority’s 2.5-mile River Rail streetcar system, connecting downtown with North Little Rock, continues to pursue a 2.5-mile extension to Little Rock National Airport.

NEW ORLEANS

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority and Brookville Equipment Corp. are completing the full rebuilding of the last of 31 Riverfront and Canal cars. A $45 million TIGER grant will cover the full cost of the 1.5-mile Union Passenger Terminal/Loyola Loop addition to the three-line system.

DALLAS

Calling it the largest addition by mileage to a U.S. light rail system in at least two decades, Dallas Area Rapid Transit late last year opened large tracts of its Green Line, with extensions reaching northwest and southeast of the city center. Core portions of the 28-mile Green Line opened in 2009. Work continues on the Blue Line eastern extension from Garland to Rowlett. The Blue Line extension south from Ledbetter Station to the University of North Texas and a second line in the Dallas CBD are in the works.

With community groups in the lead but aided by DART and the Dallas city government, streetcars may be added to the city rail transit mix shortly.

Ridership on the 34-mile Dallas-Ft. Worth Trinity Railway Express (TRE) service averaged 9,800 weekday boardings.

HOUSTON

Early last month, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Board of Directors voted unanimously to increase the capital budget for fiscal year 2011 MetroRail Expansion project from $158 million to $343.5 million. Metro President and CEO George Greanias said the increase came in part due to the “termination, successfully, of the rail car contract with the Spanish car company [CAF USA]; and the preparation of a new procurement plan moving forward in conjunction with the FTA.”

The Federal Transit Administration last year voided Metro’s $330 million contract with CAF USA, a subsidiary of Beasain, Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, saying Metro had failed to adhere to competitive bidding practices and Buy America in its contract with the company. Last month CAF reimbursed Metro with a $14 million refund.

With the capital budget commitment in place, Houston’s 7.5-mile METRORail Red Line LRT will likely become the spine of a much larger LRT system, with five additional lines and extension of the Red Line itself. Construction of the East End LRT began in 2008 and will be completed in late 2012. Groundbreaking for the North and Southeast lines took place last July.

AUSTIN

Capital MetroRail Red Line DMU service began last year between downtown Austin and Leander after repeated delays, many due to disputes with the Federal Railroad Administration over safety regulations. Anti-rail partisans in Texas’ capital city continue to snipe at the service. But MetroRail ridership has improved since the agency added midday rail service in both directions January 18. The agency reported initial average boardings of 1,191 a day, with a high of 1,390 on Jan. 26, following the service change, up from roughly 850 a day prior to the change.

DENVER

The 35-mile Denver Regional Transportation District LRT system averaged 42,600 weekday riders in the third quarter of 2010. RTD is proceeding with FasTracks, a multibillion-dollar program to build 122 miles of regional rail and LRT by 2017. Construction continues on the 12-mile, $708 million West Corridor LRT from downtown to Golden and a 2013 opening is expected.

“Commuter” rail has been selected for the East Corridor to Denver International Airport, the Gold Line to Wheat Ridge, the Northwest Rail Corridor to Boulder and Longmont, and the North Metro Corridor to Broomfield. LRT projects include the I-225 Corridor through Aurora, the downtown Central Corridor improvement project, the Southwest Corridor Highlands Ranch extension, and the Southeast Corridor Lone Tree extension.

SALT LAKE CITY

The Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) has grabbed national transit headlines with its aggressive $2.4 billion FrontLines 2015 program. The program includes four new light rail lines and a 45-mile regional rail extension.

Three of the four light rail lines are currently under construction: the 10.6-mile Mid-Jordan line and the 5.1-mile West Valley line are slated to open in August, while the 6-mile Airport line will connect downtown Salt Lake City to the International Airport. The 3.5-mile extension of the North-South line into the City of Draper should break ground in 2011.

On Feb. 7, UTA began testing the first of 77 new Siemens S70 low-floor LRT cars, with plans to place some of the cars in revenue service by spring.

Streetcar service is also in UTA’s plans, with its $55 million, 2.74-mile Sugar House streetcar project designed to link the namesake neighborhood in Salt Lake City with South South Lake, Utah. The project received $26 million in TIGER funding in October; Salt Lake City has pledged $2.5 million in funding. The line would connect with existing TRAX light rail service at Central Pointe Station.

A new 45-mile rail line from Salt Lake City to Provo is also under construction. UTA has ordered 18 bilevel regional railcars and 11 locomotives for this service.

ALBUQUERQUE

The 96-mile New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail system was completed on Dec. 17, 2008, with the extension of the Phase I Belen-Albuquerque operation to Santa Fe. It came under increased political attack during 2010 as ridership declined, due in part to the economy.

PHOENIX

METRO opened its 19.6-mile, $1.4 billion LRT starter line on Dec. 27, 2008, and the line, served by 50 Kinkisharyo cars, has established itself firmly as a net plus linking north-central Phoenix through downtown Phoenix, through Tempe, and ending one mile into Mesa, Ariz.

Analysts are recommending extensions to the starter line; the region’s 20-year transportation plan calls for 57 miles of high capacity transit by 2030.

Phoenix suburb Tempe, in conjunction with METRO, hopes to use a federal grant to pay half of the estimated $160 million cost to build the 2.6-mile length of streetcar track connecting to LRT.

TUCSON

Building on its Old Pueblo Trolley service, Tucson was awarded a $63 million TIGER grant for its 3.9-mile modern streetcar project. The $177.5 million project will link the University Medical Center with the west side of the Santa Cruz River via downtown. Seven streetcars have been ordered from Oregon Iron Works, Inc. subsidiary United Streetcar LLC.

SAN DIEGO

The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) placed a $205.2 million order in September for 57 Siemens low-floor cars for its 53.5-mile San Diego Trolley system. The 11-mile, Mid-Coast Line from Old Town to the University of California San Diego in La Jolla, now estimated to cost $1.2 billion, is progressing, with university officials and students participating in route alignment and potential station stops; the line is expected to open in 2016. NCTD’s 22-mile Sprinter service uses 12 Siemens Desiro DMUs from Escondido to the Oceanside Transit Center; it debuted in March 2008 as the second U.S. diesel light-rail transit (DLRT) line.

Coaster service linking Oceanside and San Diego offers 11 weekday round trips, and four trains each way on weekends.

LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) achieved weekday ridership of 1.4 million last August. It’s also made headlines through its “30/10” expansion plan to advance transit (and road) projects, funding by the Measure R half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2008, in 10 years and not 30. The plan would accelerate construction in part through low-cost federal financing and other sources. Metro received such a boost from the FTA last October though a $20 million TIGER II grant for the 10-mile Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Light Rail Project.

Other LRT expansion continues: A 23.6-mile Gold Line Foothills Extension to Montclair is in planning and a $458 million contract awarded for the first 11.4 miles to Azusa. Metro’s $862.3 million Exposition Line LRT to Culver City is slated to open in 2011. The 8.6-mile line will run west from the Blue Line to Washington and National Boulevards. Metro has 34 of 50 AnsaldoBreda cars for the line and Phase II will extend it to Santa Monica.

Under environmental review are the Purple Line “Subway to the Sea” extension, a downtown Blue-to-Gold LRT connection, and an Eastside Gold Line Whittier extension.

Weekday ridership on Southern California Regional Rail Authority’s seven-route, 512-mile Metrolink rail network dipped to around 38,000 during 2010, down from 40,300 riders per weekday in 2009.

Prompted by the 2008 Chatsworth collision, a $4.3 million automatic train stop system has been installed as a precursor to full PTC. Under a $211.9 million contract, Metrolink has begun receiving 107 Rotem bilevel cab cars and trailers, the first U.S. cars with crash energy management technology. The existing 136 Bombardier BiLevels will be retrofitted with energy absorbing push-back couplers and the cab cars converted to trailers.

SAN JOSE

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) three-line, 42.2-mile LRT system averaged 32,800 weekday boardings in 2010, down from 34,305 in 2009. A 16-mile, $5.9 billion BART Silicon Valley extension from Fremont to San Jose is projected to generate 98,000 weekday trips by 2030 and connect with VTA bus LRT, Capital Corridor, Caltrain, Amtrak, and Altamont Commuter Express. VTA is working with Caltrain on various capital improvements to the Palo Alto-Gilroy rail service, also coordinating with California High-Speed Rail Authority planning.

SAN FRANCISCO

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s $1.3 billion Central Subway project received a positive review as part of the FTA’s New Starts program and the FY2011 USDOT budget recommends $20 million in New Starts funding to support ongoing design work. The project has received $72 million in New Starts funding to date. The 1.7-mile Central Subway—Phase II of the Third Street LRT project—will extend the line north to Stockton and Clay Streets under 4th Street.

Bay Area Rapid Transit District (above) weekday ridership was bolstered by several events in 2010, ranging from unexepected traffic snarls on the Bay Bridge to revelers riding the rails to celebrate San Francisco’s first Major League Baseball championship team. BART’s $1.3 billion Earthquake Safety Program will be completed in 2017. An $890 million, 5.4-mile extension from Fremont south to Warm Springs is expected to be complete in 2014.

February was the last month for paper monthly pass on Caltrain, the regional rail service linking San Francisco, San Jose, and Gilroy. Beginning this month, Caltrain monthly passes are available only on Clipper, the regional fare card, Caltrain said.

Caltrain scrambled to cut costs in the past year, with fears of negative impact on operations, but it continued construction work, including right-of-way upgrades, in preparation for electrification of service by 2015.

STOCKTON

The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s 86-mile, Stockton-San Jose Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) and the California High Speed Rail Authority are studying a plan to upgrade ACEcrail service on a separate, dedicated line while implementing HSR.

SACRAMENTO

The Regional Transit District’s 4.3-mile, $270 million South Line Phase II expansion project, though slipping behind its original 2012 target date, is moving ahead and will include four stations, including one at the line’s new terminus, Cosumnes River College. RTD is also moving forward on a 13-mile, $785 million Green Line extension to Natomas and Sacramento International Airport; a 1.1-mile section is set to open this year.

PORTLAND

TriMet’s 44.3-mile MAX light rail system continues to expand. The 8.3-mile I-205/Portland Mall MAX line opened on September 12. Phase II will build a second line 7.3 miles southeast from downtown to Milwaukie and North Clackamas County by 2015.

Annual ridership on TriMet’s WES regional rail service rose 15% to more than 340,000 total trips in 2010 during the second year of operation. Unlike other Portland-area rail starts, WES initially struggled with lower-than-expected ridership. But weekday trips rose 14% to 1,325 last year compared with 2009.

The eight-mile Portland Streetcar will add a 3.3-mile loop, a $146 million extension, in 2011, employing cars built by hometown-area producer United Streetcar LLC.

SEATTLE-TACOMA

Sound Transit’s (ST) $2.44 billion 15-mile Central Link LRT (left) reached Sea-Tac Airport in December 2009. An $813 million FTA Full Funding Grant Agreement cleared the way for construction of ST’s 3.1-mile University Link LRT extension from downtown to the University of Washington. The $1.7 billion line will run north from the Central Link’s Westlake terminus through the most densely populated residential and employment area in the Central Puget Sound region. Seattle’s City Council endorsed a four-line, $685 million streetcar network, building on the success of the 1.3-mile South Lake Union line, which opened in 2007.

ST’s Sounder regional rail service provides nine round trips per day on the 40-mile Seattle-Tacoma route. The $32 million purchase of 18 miles of BNSF track south of Tacoma will support a Lakewood extension, projected for early 2012.

VANCOUVER

South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority’s 30.5-mile, two-route SkyTrain system saw weekday boardings averaging 358,700 during 2010, aided in part by the Winter Olympics. All 48 Mark II cars on order were delivered by January 2010, in time for the event. In August 2009, the C$1.9 billion fully automated Canada Line, with 16 stations along 12 miles, linked downtown with Vancouver International Airport and Richmond Centre using a 40-car Rotem fleet.

In February, the Evergreen Line, a 6.9-mile, Port Moody-Coquitlam service connecting with SkyTrain, received its environmental approval from the province’s Environmental Assessment Office. Completion is planned for 2014.

EDMONTON

Edmonton Transit System (ETS) completed its 4.8-mile southern LRT extension to Century Park last April. Delivery of 37 new Siemens SD160s was designed to accommodate the added length. Engineering design is under way for a 2.8-mile northern extension.

CALGARY

Calgary Transit carried 276,000 weekday riders on LRT, on average, in 2010, down slightly from the 280,000 average weekday ridership in 2009. The CTrain’s electricity has been entirely wind generated since 2001. Thirty-eight new air conditioned Siemens SD160 LRVs began arriving in 2010. Work has begun on the new West leg of the LRT scheduled to open for service in 2012.

TORONTO

The Toronto Transit Commission has a severe critic, newly elected Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who has questioned TTC’s C$10 billion, 76-mile “Transit City” plan for expanding light rail/streetcar service. Ford says expanded subway routes are the best option.

Work continues on the C$2.6 billion extension of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway from Downsview to Vaughan. When completed in 2015, the 3.8-mile, route will carry more than 80,000 riders daily. Delivery of prototypes for the 234-car, C$473 million “Toronto Rocket” subway car order has suffered delays.

The new mayor’s position notwithstanding, construction continues on the Sheppard LRT, the first of seven lines under Transit City, which will include up to 400 low-floor cars. Bombardier won a C$851 million order for 204 low-floor cars to re-equip the existing 49-mile streetcar system.

The seven-line, 240-mile GO Transit rail network has a federal-provincial funding agreement for an order for 20 MP40 locomotives. Work continues on multiyear improvement projects, including a C$281 million signal modernization by Siemens Canada.

OTTAWA

Ottawa City Council approved engineering and environmental review of a 7.8-mile, 13-station LRT line in 2010. The C$2.1 billion electrified line will link Blair in the east with Tunney’s Pasture in the west. At Bayview, it will connect with the 4.5-mile O-Train, which was launched in 2001 as North America’s first DMU light rail operation.

Local political debate continues to dog the project.

MONTREAL

Exclusive of rolling stock, C$1 billion will be invested in the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) Métro during the next decade. Soon to be awarded is a 765-car order to replace the entire Métro fleet.

Agence Métropolitaine de Transport’s five-line regional system has design work in progress for the C$400 million, 36-mile Train de l’Est, which will link Central Station with 11 new stations in northeast Montréal using Bombardier dual-power (diesel/a.c. catenary) locomotives and Multilevel cars.

A C$386 million, 160-car Multilevel order will boost system capacity 70% by 2015. In February 2010, Bombardier won a three-year, C$34 million contract for maintenance of Dorion-Rigaud, Delson-Candiac, and Blainville-St. Jerome services fleet.