The Boston Fitchburg line Wachusett extension officially opened yesterday with a limited schedule.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ember_2016.JPG

http://mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/r...route=FITCHBRG

Why does Boston have such a weird mix of single and bi-level coaches? Why not just have all bilevels and be done with it...

Because they bought only what they needed at a time. :tup:
Here's their commuter rail equipment roster:
(not sure when the last update of my source occurred)
http://www.transithistory.org/roster/
55 single levels built by Pullman-Standard in 1978-1979, rebuilt in 1996, plus 2 out of service.
141 single levels built by Bombardier in 1987-1990, plus 3 out of service.
21 single levels built by MBB in 1987-1988, plus 43 out of service. This class is being phased out.
126 double levels built by Kawasaki in three batches 1990-2006, plus 13 out of service.
74 double levels built by Rotem in 2012-2014?, plus 1 out of service. This is the latest class of cars they have ordered. I'm not sure if they have ordered more.
Subtotal of active single level cars = 217
Subtotal of active double level cars = 200
Total of active cars = 417

That's a lot of cars to order simultaneously.

Boston is working on transitioning to all bilevels but they don't have the money to order enough bilevels to replace all the single levels at once so for now they run hybrid sets. This is also a line that runs out of North Station and the Northside gets more single levels and less bilevels because the Worcester and especially the Providence line need the bilevels to a greater degree.

Obviously I didn't mean to buy them all at once, (seriously?) I meant to decide on the best type of configuration based on the carrier's needs and infrastructure and standardize all future orders to that format. GO transit for example has over 600 coaches ordered in various batches from mid 1970s - current and they're all basically the same with just minor modernizations and updates.

That is what they have done they have decided that they will switch to a completely bilevel fleet and are currently starting to phase out single levels with each new order of coaches. They just didn't start doing that as early as it sounds like Toronto did so they still have a lot of single levels. The transition is just going to take some time and until it is done there will be trains like the one in the picture above with a mix of cars based on the expected demand for capacity and what is available.

New Orleans streetcar & Boston commuter rail extension moved to complete.\

The first phase of New York's 2nd Avenue subway should open by the end of the year.

The Gilbert Road Extension of the Phoenix-area light rail officially broke ground yesterday.

http://www.valleymetro.org/pressrele...ension-in-mesa

The extension extends the line an extra 1.9 miles into Mesa and can be added to Under Construction list.

^
Added. Thanks.

Dallas Blue line to UNT opened today.

^
Updated to reflect DART blue line.

We've had a ton of projects completed over the past year and very few added, so I'm using The Transport Politic's Transit Explorer to do a quick audit of US cities, to see if we're missing anything.

So this list goes city by city. A dash means this thead already accounts for all rail construction. A note in regular text means there's something set to begin construction this fall but not yet ready to be put on the list. A note in bold means we had missed a project that's under construction and I've added it to the list.

• Atlanta: -
• Baltimoe: -
• Boston: -
• Charlotte: Gold Line phase 2 is in bidding right now. Not u/c yet.
• Chicago: -
• Cincinnati: -
• Cleveland: -
• Columbus: -
• Dallas/Ft Worth: ADDITION: TEXrail commuter rail broke ground in August.
• Detroit: -
• Denver: -
• Grand Rapids: -
• Honolulu: -
• Houston: -
• Indianapolis: -
• Kansas City: -
• Los Angeles: -
• Miami: -
• Minneapolis: -
• New Orleans: -
• New York: -
• Oklahoma City: Streetcar scheduled to begin construction in November.
• Orlando: -
• Philadelphia: - Elwyn to Wawa extension
• Phoenix: -
• Portland: -
• Saint Louis: -
• San Diego: -
• San Francisco/San Jose: -
• San Juan: -
• Seattle: -
• Raleigh: -
• Washington DC: Purple Line LRT utility work is underway but real construction hasn't started yet.

The next phase of Sound Transit (including another 62 miles of light rail and a second rail tunnel through Downtown Seattle) is winning 55-44 today. More results coming in later today but looks encouraging.

http://soundtransit3.org

OKC streetcar update: Construction hasn't started yet, but it will "within weeks." It's not on this list yet.

Technically a third rail tunnel through Downtown Seattle including the BN Tunnel used by Amtrak, Sounder commuter rail, and freight.

But yes it'll be a pretty epic expansion of the system.

We talk about the "Big 6" US cities for urbanism & transit, NY, SF, DC, Chicago, Boston, Philly. Seattle & LA are often mentioned as the next group down, not quite there. Isn't it interesting how the 2 cities w/ the biggest transit expansions going on right now are... Seattle & LA.

I wonder if it'll be enough to make it a "Big 8."

LA and Seattle are willing to self-fund to invest in modern. reliable, transit that will create good jobs. As I posted on another page here, with Congress's biggest Amtrak hater or a Reason Foundation Inc. hack rumored to be the next Secretary of Transportation, the only growth in transit systems will likely come from those metro areas that are willing to commit their own funding.

^ it's a real shame that the republicans are back in charge because if the feds had renewed the 'moving forward' program, let alone supplied transit matching funds, the system build-out voters just approved could have been done in half the time. imagine getting that full system up in 15 years. you'd be talking about lines opening every year for several years in a row, 2022-2030 - imagine what that would do for the city, the built form, the patterns of movement. not hard to imagine in that reality another return to the voters to further expand, fill in, bury, elevate, convert to rail, cut headways.

trump is a tragedy for a giant number of reasons more important than LA transit, but just on this narrow one, man, it stings.

It isn't slated to start until January now. :/

Not sure why, but they pushed back the start date.

In August the city announced it is rebidding the Gold Line (streetcar) phase 2 and will award contract in November. Per the city website:

"Construction is projected to begin early 2017. Phase 2 service start date is projected in late 2020."

Also, right now they are using the heritage trolleys that the city already owned on the existing phase one streetcar line, but have agreed on the purchase of new streetcars that will start use when phase 2 is complete:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/up-bucket-0...b9de373287.jpg

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/i.../59/c1/map.jpg

^
Good. If you want people to think it's serious transportation, not just a toy train for tourists, that's what it should look like.

Any news going on? What about Miami or Phoenix? Haven't they already got an approved? Any news on Metrorail?

Yes, that's always been the plan, but to get the first phase going sooner it made sense to use the trolley cars the city already owned. These will be good once the line is extended with phase two (and beyond).

EDIT: Charlotte received a re-bid on construction contract $29 million lower from Johnson Bros Corporation and will award the contract be the end of this month.

New York's 2nd Ave subway will open New Year's day.

Per the city website, OKC is now scheduled to begin streetcar construction in February. Will post an update once it's officially U/C.

Houston's Green Line extension opens today. Houston no longer has any LRT under construction.

Charlotte's Gold line supposedly broke ground today, so I'm adding it to the list.

Oklahoma City's Streetcar is officially under-construction.

Photo's here: http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.ph...449#post980449

It's been pretty low key but major work is scheduled to start on a three mile regional rail extension in Philadelphia in a few months.

Added OKC. Let me know when work in Philly begins and I'll add it then.

Denver's I-225 light rail line opened yesterday. I moved it off the list.

BART's Warm Springs extension (5.4 miles) is opening on March 25th.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...o-10993146.php

The BART Warm Springs has been moved to complete.

The under-construction list still includes the 11 miles for the Berryessa extension. Is that actually under construction yet or should it come off?

Yes, it has a tentative opening date of later this year.

Rail for the Milwaukee street car has started to be welded. Should this be on the "Under Construction" list?

Denver's RTD finally fixes the A-Line software gliches:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/21...ossing-solved/

G-Line could be closer to testing and revenue service..

Updated to include Milwaukee's streetcar.

Detroit's streetcar will open to the public on May 12 and will come off the list then.

Detroit's streetcar opened yesterday and has been moved to complete.

An update on SMART:

Construction on the initial 43-mile segment has been essentially done for a while and service is supposed to start very soon, but they still haven't announced a start date.

No construction start yet but the Sacramento Streetcar looks to be a go-downtown and midtown businesses passed a vote to tax them selfves for part of the local match plus 50 million was in for it in the last federal budget passed in May. For those not familiar the Sacramento Streetcar is proposed to run from midtown through downtown then across the Sacramento River on the historic Steel Bridge to Raleys Field in West Sacramento where the Triple A Sacramento Rivercats play. Here's some info:

Sacramento streetcar line gets $50 million in congressional budget
BY TONY BIZJAK
tbizjak@sacbee.com

Sacramento’s effort to build a downtown streetcar got a critical financial boost this week from Congress, opening the possibility that construction could begin in a year or two on the long-stalled project.

As part of its bipartisan 2017 budget agreement, announced Monday, Congress has included $50 million to help construct the four-mile rail line planned for downtown Sacramento streets and for the riverfront area in West Sacramento.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/tra...#storylink=cpy

A streetcar tax just passed in Sacramento
BY RYAN LILLIS AND TONY BIZJAK
rlillis@sacbee.com
My feed
Sacramento’s planned streetcar system is another step closer to reality.

Nearly 80 percent of major central city businesses have agreed to tax themselves a combined $50 million over the next 25 years to help cover the system’s operating costs. Of the 314 ballots counted as of Wednesday, 250 voters agreed to the tax, easily surpassing the required two-thirds threshold needed, according to results released by the city clerk’s office.

With that approval, city officials and streetcar advocates are expected to seek a full-funding grant agreement with the Federal Transit Administration later this summer or fall. Local and state agencies are putting up $100 million for the project and advocates are hoping for a $100 million match from the federal government.


Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the vote was “another important step forward in making Sacramento a true destination city.”

“I was thrilled to hear the property owners have helped us take the next step,” Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, said in a written statement. “The streetcar project is critical to Sacramento and West Sacramento’s enhanced connectivity.“

Officials want to break ground on the 4.2-mile system next year. It would connect West Sacramento, downtown and midtown.

“Our streetcar project is on track to bring new mobility options to downtown, midtown and West Sacramento,” Sacramento Councilman Steve Hansen wrote in an email. “I’m thankful to the area’s property owners for their financial commitment to transit. Onward!”

Businesses that voted on the tax included the Sacramento Kings, Macy’s and downtown hotels. The Kings likely will pay the most into the fund, with an estimated annual contribution of about $125,000. The team has voiced its support for the project.

Ryan Lillis: 916-321-1085, @Ryan_Lillis

^ i haven't seen any budget or timeline for sacramento's downtown streetcar, do you have a link? btw - great news on both counts!

^ I do have a couple of links:
https://www.sacog.org/downtown-river...eetcar-project

http://www.riverfrontstreetcar.com

https://gettingaroundsac.blog/tag/streetcar/

so i'm pulling out that this is a $200 million project? basically no set timeline?

Minor update, the Durham-Orange light rail line has received approval to enter engineering phase after revisions were approved by the FTA. Project will be 17.7-mile light-rail line with 18 stations. Construction on schedule to start 2020 and open 2028.

8 years for an 18 mile light rail line?

Montreal is building a 67km (42 miles) rapid transit system in 4 years...

Although Montreal's rail project is much larger, it's not how large the project is or how much money it will cost, but when the money becomes available that determines construction timelines. Obviously, Raleigh-Durham must spread the spending out over more years to afford their rail project.

Durham and Orange counties combined have a population of 445,000. Montreal has a population of something like 1.75 million. It's slow going

(Note: this will connect Chapel Hill and Durham, not Raleigh. A commuter rail line between Raleigh and Durham is still in early planning phase.)

For comparison, the 9.6 mile Blue Line light rail extension in Charlotte took two years of design, and five years to construct. It is scheduled to open March 2018.

That's a more standard timeline.

I get that Durham's not big like Montreal, but I don't think population matters all that much when government funding is involved.

The cities of Kitchener and Waterloo (Canada) are building a 12 mile light rail line in 4 years as well. Almost the same population numbers as Durham and Orange counties.

A better explanation can be read at
https://www.indyweek.com/news/archiv...pay-more-of-it

Quote>>>
A few factors contributed to the $3.3 billion price tag.
First, partners in the project decided to add a stop at N.C. Central, at a cost of $133 million. Second, the Federal Transit Authority said that it would reimburse no more than $100 million in project costs each year, forcing GoTriangle to stretch out the project to maximize reimbursements. Third, the legislature passed a law limiting state funding for all rail projects to 10 percent of the project cost, as opposed to the 25 percent GoTriangle originally thought it would get.

Council members on Thursday stressed that no tax increases would be needed to cover the difference. Instead, GoTriangle will have to borrow more to complete the project.
<<<Finish Quote

It's difficult to add up to half of $3.3 billion ($1.65 billion) quickly from the FTA with a yearly cap of $100 million per year. My calculations suggest it'll take 16.5 years to collect what the FTA promises.
Some simple math follows:
3,300,000,000 / 2 = 1,650,000,000
1,650,000,000 / 100,000,000 = 16.5

Is Canada limiting its contributions to individual Canadian light rail projects at $100 million per year? I didn't think so.

Who knows, maybe Congress will authorize more "New Starts" funding than Trump's proposed budget so the FTA can promise more every year? Than maybe not?

Never-the-less, as I suggested earlier, when the money arrives is the main reason why this project will take so long.

Additionally, the FTA rated this project as a medium priority, other higher rated projects will be getting more funds per year than this one, which is basically getting the scraps that's left from the FTA budget every year. it's rated high enough to get some funding every year, just not high enough to get a lot of funding every year.