Quote:
Originally Posted by M1EK
Capital Metro doesn't plan to run streetcars at all - they begrudgingly shat out a ridiculous and useless plan in 2005 that called for running streetcars in shared lanes (making them even less useful than buses). It's the city that's making this happen in reserved guideway and somewhere worth going, and if it ends up happening, it'll be DESPITE Capital Metro, not because of them.
This new plan pays lip service to commuter rail because it has to, but the movers behind it understand that even a transfer from commuter rail to reserved-guideway light rail is probably still bad enough to turn off a choice commuter from riding, so the primary realistic sources of riders are local, not transfers - hence the trip out to the airport, running through all the current and future density on Riverside.
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The CapMetro trains for the Leander Line are Regional Rail European trains, they would use STREETCARS for running on city streets. Skoda makes T10 streetcars being used in Tacoma, Seattle, and Portland. Minimum turning radius for the Skoda streetcar is 60 feet.
http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/do...y_pdf17766.pdf
Skoda specifications:
Configuration: Bi-directional, articulated three-section vehicle, two traction bogies, dual sided entry
· Floor height: 14 inches above top of rail
· Length: 66’-0” (39’-0” wheelbase)
· Width: 8’-1”
· Minimum turning radius: 60 ft.
· Grade parameters: 9% continuous grade (max.)
· Passenger Capacity: 30-40 seated, 130-140 maximum occupancy
· Vehicle weight: 63,500 lbs. (empty), 85,800 lbs. (fully occupied)
· Power requirements: 750 volts DC
· Pantograph height: 15’-0” to 20’-6” (operating), 13’-0” (storage)
· Maximum operating speed: 46 mph
I'm extremely confident it could make any 90 degree turn in downtown Austin without requiring more right of way than the city's streets.
What's so difficult about using streetcars in streets and trains on train tracks that you can't understand?