Montreal's REM aka RER is about to start construction. I believe it's about 40km of totally grade separated new line.

Please let us know when it actually does start.

The CDPQ infra site says that the preparatory work will begin in the fall of 2017, so the project could break ground this year, following a tendering process to determine which consortiums will be awarded the construction contracts (infrastructure and rolling stock).

Source

Also, it will be 67km long, not 40km (some of it will replace current suburban train service)

^plus it's not RER at all, it's an automated light metro network. Groundbreaking should start at the end of 2017, but it's premature to announce it here yet.

So basically no coupling of cars? Interesting, certainly gives a little more interior space.

Correct. No coupling of cars. All trains will be one single long railcar. A lot like Toronto's new streetcars, except even longer (Toronto's are 99' long).

Houston uses CAF Urbos trams(in addition to two generations of Siemens Avanto).

I'm guessing the purple line vehicles are essentially a super long version with 2 extra segments?

More or less, yes. CAF's website say's Houston's model is the "Mc-T-Mc" configuration, while the Purple Line model will be the "Mc-R-S-M-Mc" configuration. The letter combos relate to the tram modules, so it looks to me like the end cap modules will be the same, but the central modules will be different somehow (in addition to there being 2 more of them). I can't find a legend to tell me what those letters actually mean beyond that, unfortunately.

Regardless, CAF will make anything from a 3-segment version up to a 9-segment version. Check out Budapest: 183 feet long (in the "Mc-S-T-S-M-S-T-S-Mc" configuration).

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/714/31...c060d26e_b.jpg
gabor timar on flickr

Ok this is fun. Let's decode those letters. I looked through CAF's info sheets for all its models and can seemingly sort of decode most of the letters:

• Mc = cab module
• S = module with door(s), no catenary
• T = module with catenary, no door(s)
• M = module with nothing but windows
• R = ??? unknown. The Purple Line is the only CAF product with a module coded as R, so there's little to go on. This graphic from earlier makes the R module appear identical to the M module, but there must be some difference or the Purple Line would've been coded as Mc-M-S-M-Mc. Or I'm just completely wrong about what the codes are, or the graphic isn't right.

Not sure if this is the right thread for this, but here is a picture of a transit construction of sorts. Stadler Rail is leasing space in the Utah Transit Authority's Commuter Rail Maintenance center in Salt Lake City to assemble the DMU's for Fort Worth's TexRail. Progress is visible to anyone riding FrontRunner:
http://i.imgur.com/oJsez3W.jpg?1

Are there other manufacturing or assembly plants that are so readily visible to the public?

I’m often surprised there isn’t more happening with new rail construction in Austin.

8 to 10% Grades for El Paso Street Car
 

Will El Paso's Streetcars be able to handle the steep grade on Stanton Street?

KVIA Channel 7 El Paso

EL PASO, Texas - Work on El Paso's new streetcar system continues with track now being laid in some of the steepest areas of the route.

The nearly five-mile loop runs up Stanton Street to Glory Road and across to Oregon Street before heading back Downtown. As it ascends Stanton Street, it will climb grades of eight to 10 percent between River and Rim Road.

ABC-7 spoke with a project engineer today about that steep slope. The American Public Transportation Modern Streetcar Guidelines states the desired maximum sustained grade is six percent and the absolute maximum grade is nine percent.

ABC-7 watched Wednesday as work was being done on that steep stretch of tracks running along Stanton between River and Rim.

Streetcar Construction Manager Stephanie Maltby told ABC-7 the grade is about eight percent between River and Schuster. For a 50-foot stretch between Schuster and Rim, it actually climbs to as high as 10 percent, she said, which exceeds the maximum recommended by the American Public Transportation Association.

Maltby said since its just a 50-foot stretch at 10 percent, preceded and followed by grades of around four percent, she believes the steel wheels on steel tracks will still be able to handle the grade for a short stretch.

"We'll be able to carry through that 10 percent section," Maltby said.

She added that the streetcars being used are lighter than usual.

"We're using the old vehicles that used to run here and they've got a modern streetcar engine in them and so they go pretty good," Maltby said. "The old vehicles the bodies are lighter than the modern streetcar vehicle, so they'll have some zip to them."

But what happens if the tracks are wet or there's snow or ice when it comes to that steep section of the streetcar route?

"We've got what's called a sandbox in them just like the old ones in the old days, where the operator if he's having a little bit of traction issues, like if it's wet, raining or icy, you can drop a little sand on the track," she said. "Just like putting cat litter out with your car, and you get a little bit of traction that way and they make their way up."

It doesn't qualify yet, but Seattle's Center City Connector streetcar is close to construction. Utility work will likely begin this month, with track construction beginning in the late winter or early spring.

It'll connect Seattle's 2 streetcar lines, forming one single longer line.

This wasn't on the list specifically because I'm not tracking smaller Amtrak projects, but Amtrak's Virginia DC-to-Lynchburg line will open an extension to Roanoke tomorrow.

Washington Post story

Map:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7362/9...22d5f9b3_c.jpg

^ This one is a great story Cirrus-thanks!!

I love to travel on Amtrak and they need to expand especially along Colorado's front range (Colorado's front range could do something quite similar to what CALTANS did with Amtrak California).

Gold line light rail extension 2 in LA broke ground today:
https://urbanize.la/post/groundbreak...line-extension

https://urbanize.la/sites/default/fi...?itok=MGhI9RnM
11 miles and 5 new stations in the San Gabriel Valley, with another mile and station of San Bernardino County comes up with the cash.

^
Thanks! Updated the main list.

At this rate the Gold Line will reach Phoenix by 2030

LMAO pretty much. Its good to see that the San Gabriel cities are all clamoring for more rail in the area and it will get decent usage, but im more excited by the fact that we can now allocate future money towards rail where it will make an even bigger impact, the core of LA.

San Bernardino Metrolink extension
 

Here is another one to add for Southern California.

Metrolink wraps up extension to downtown San Bernardino

Progressive Railroading
Dec. 6, 2017

"Metrolink yesterday marked the completion of a 1-mile extension to downtown San Bernardino, California.

The commuter railroad's San Bernardino and Inland Empire/Orange County lines have been extended from their terminus at the San Bernardino Santa Fe Depot to the recently finished San Bernardino Transit Center.

Trains will begin rolling on the extension on Dec. 16, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) officials said in a press release..."

http://www.progressiverailroading.co...nardino--53408

The Spadina Subway extension in Toronto opened this morning at 8am EST. At 8.6km / 5.3 miles, it is the longest extension to Toronto's network since 1978 and the first extension since 2002.

The line has 6 new stations, and for the first time, extends the subway past the municipal boundary of Toronto into the City of Vaughan. The stations are quite grand, and have several mass transit connections. One connects to the Barrie GO commuter rail line, one will soon have a connection to the Finch West LRT, which is currently in early prep construction, and the terminus station has a connection to an in median BRT system in Vaughan.

This the second of 3 major transit openings in Toronto in the tail end of 2017. Earlier in November, the Mississauga Transitway grade separated BRT opened it's final station, Renforth, and on December 30th, the Barrie GO commuter rail line will officially launch all day hourly frequency train services, making it the 5th GO line to offer off peak all day GO services.