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.