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Transit Space Race 2013

Interactive: http://reconnectingamerica.org/space...ceracemap.html

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Projects listed within the Transit Space Race are fixed guideway projects including heavy rail, commuter rail, LRT, streetcars, various technologies such as cog railways, and Bus Rapid Transit lines that have more than 50% of their right of way dedicated to the bus alone. Rapid buses without dedicated lanes are an important part of any transit network however the inclusion of them in this project would have made the list hard to create. Additionally, this catalog is not a list of projects we would like to see built or an endorsement of any project. It is simply a list of what regions around the country have listed as potential projects.

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http://www.fastcoexist.com/multisite...ransitrace.jpg

Poll: The Hunt for the Worst Intersection in America Continues

Read More: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/01/31...ica-continues/

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Earlier this week we looked at the intersection of Route 355 and Shady Grove Road near Rockville, Maryland, flagged by Ben Ross at Greater Greater Washington for being especially hostile to pedestrians, even though it’s the site of a bus stop. We asked if it might be the worst intersection in the country and put out a call for readers to send their nominations for the title.

As some readers pointed out, the Rockville intersection at least has sidewalks on all four corners and some refuges for pedestrians caught mid-crossing, so it certainly can’t be nation’s worst. Several other submissions landed in our inbox where the engineers let the sheer car-centricity of the roads overwhelm the meager provisions for pedestrians even more. Wouldn’t you know it: We received three nominations from Florida, which Transportation for America has singled out as the most dangerous state for pedestrians. One reader sent us this stunner: State Route 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington, Florida. From this satellite picture, it looks like a walk around this intersection would cross 45 lanes, plus — is that a bike lane?

Which intersection is the worst?

• Route 355 and Shady Grove Road near Rockville, Maryland

• State Route 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington, Florida

• Gainesville’s Archer Road and 34th Street

• Bloomingdale Avenue and US 301 in West Brandon, Florida

• 132nd Street, Industrial Road, Millard Avenue, and L Street in Omaha, Nebraska

• Missouri 141 and Gravois Road in St. Louis

• Abercorn Street and White Bluff Road in Savannah, Georgia

• Potrero Avenue and Division Street in San Francisco

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One of the Worst Mass Transit Commute Horror Stories You Will Ever Read

Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/com...ver-read/4576/

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I boarded my first train at Foggy Bottom around 4:45 p.m., transferred at L'Enfant Plaza without incident. Once I got on the platform at L'Enfant Plaza, the signs said to expect delays. I waited about 15 minutes for the train to come. By this time, the platform was absolutely packed with people. Everyone crammed into the train. We went one stop, and the train operator announced the train was going out of service, and everybody would have to get off at the next stop. This had apparently happened to two other trains as well, so the platform hardly had room for us to get off the train. It was pretty damn unsafe. The train operator kept announcing to board the next train on the opposite side of the track, and it would take us in the direction we were headed due to them single tracking around a track fire.

The next thing that happened, and I wish I had this recorded was—the station announcer came on the PA system and starting announcing, “At this time, the station manager KNOWS NOTHING, I repeat, the station manager KNOWS NOTHING.” This was very unsettling to the mob on the platform. Then a train arrived on the same side we just got off on, and announces it was going our direction. At the same time, the train came, the station manager was on the PA stating no trains were heading in our direction and they have no information on any trains going in our direction, so we should all exit the station and get a bus or a cab. That train left, I was nowhere close to getting on. There were three trains worth of pissed off people all pushing and shoving to get on it. I stayed out of the way. The next train came and announced it was going in our direction, as the station manager once again comes on the PA system saying no trains are heading in our direction—UNBELIEVABLE.

I got on that train, we went maybe a mile and the train went dark--all power was shut off. The train drifted along the tracks with a ghostly, eerie silence until it came to a powerless stop. One light came on in the car I was in. It was packed with probably a few hundred people. We were standing face to face, practically on top of one-another. The train operator said, he was not sure what happened and was calling into central. We had emergency battery power on, which had enough power to keep emergency lighting on but no air circulation.

The next two hours were spent in the dark on the train. An hour in, panic started to set in. In our car, one woman had passed out. We heard people pounding on windows in other cars, we heard glass breaking and people screaming. More than two hours in, folks in our car forced open the emergency door to get some air into the car. Some to actually exited and walked the tunnel. Mind you, we were in the dark somewhere under the Anacostia River. Inside the temperature was close to 90 degrees. Most people managed to get their coats off, and in some cases, even shirts came off, I was dripping with sweat, but tried to keep breathing and conserve my energy and keep calm. I did not talk much, and kept my eyes closed while standing face to face and body to body with the other sweaty passengers.

About two and a half hours, someone threw up in our car. The car also smelt of urine. I’m certain more than one person had pissed themselves. The car smelt rank, and the situation was getting out of control. Multiple emergency doors were forced open, and now passengers were wondering around in the train tunnels in the dark. The train operator came by our car, asked us to help him get the door closed and said not to open it again. He said several other doors were open and had to be closed. He had police and firemen with him. They were trying to round up everyone and get them back on the train before the fire department would give permissions to the power company to restore power to the third rail.

Once the train operator got all passengers back on train and all doors closed, the power came on. The train operator said we would be moving forward, but at a very slow pace, as there might be stray passengers wondering around in the tunnel. They took a good 30 minutes to get everyone off who needed medical assistance. I got home close to 9 p.m. that night.

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http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img...in/largest.jpg

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Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 5998253)

One of the Worst Mass Transit Commute Horror Stories You Will Ever Read

Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/com...ver-read/4576/

http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img...in/largest.jpg

Wow... that is a really scary thing to encounter! My worst transit nightmare was trying to catch the R5 train out of Center City Philly as a severe thunderstorm was pushing through the area back in 2008. The entire regional rail network was delayed. Suburban Station kinda resembled the description of that subway station in that article linked above. There was no moving any which way in that mass of insanity. I was with a neighbor and her who worked in the IBX building some blocks away. We decided to forget about the train and took the 125 bus to King of Prussia. My neighbor called her husband and told him to come to KOP to pick us up.

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Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 5996792)

Poll: The Hunt for the Worst Intersection in America Continues

Read More: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/01/31...ica-continues/

The Votes Are In: Omaha Abomination Voted Worst Intersection in the U.S.

http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/02/05...on-in-the-u-s/

#1. Omaha, Nebraska: 132nd Street, Industrial Road, Millard Avenue, and L Street

http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...CAAAUmeB-1.png

#2. St. Louis, Missouri: 141 and Gravois Road

http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content.../02/ou8d-2.jpg

#3. Savannah, Georgia: Abercorn Street and White Bluff Road

http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...Picture-22.png

I must admit, I don't know where this is. Nor do I know if it is real.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7RwdIax9A...-Crosswalk.jpg

Going to the Bay Area on business next week. I'm driving. If we had high-speed rail, I'd take the train. Wouldn't fly if you held a gun to my head. Just sayin'.

In Pittsburgh, they're talking about merging 10 public transit agencies into one large entity serving 9 counties in Western PA:

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/3...#axzz2Lm8JwEMI

Frankly, I've suggested this for years. Public transportation in the Pittsburgh region is very fragmented. Just like in the greater Philly region, many people travel from one suburban area to another (i.e. Bethel Park or Upper St. Clair to Washington County, or from Ross Twp to Cranberry. Yet, Port Authority and the neighboring transit agencies all offer overlapping services. Why not remove the crowded buses and either extend BRT or establish a commuter rail network to handle trunk routes where applicable and have bus feeder routes providing connections to the trunk routes/lines.

Instead of having the state coughing up a small fortune year in and year out to 10 different agencies, they could provide one large amount to one large agency and ultimately save millions over the years as stated in the article. I like that idea as well.

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Originally Posted by Jonboy1983 (Post 6026569)

Western should have one agency and Eastern should have 2 agencies its not that hard too do and would a lot of money along with possibly making expansions easier.

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Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 6026572)

Western should have one agency and Eastern should have 2 agencies its not that hard too do and would a lot of money along with possibly making expansions easier.

Thank you. I feel exactly the same way. If Pittsburgh is going to have one massive tranist network serving 9 counties, then they're going to need to have a better rail network for the trunk routes branching out from the city to the suburban centers of Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland etc.

Besides SEPTA, what is the other eastern authority?

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Originally Posted by Jonboy1983 (Post 6026897)

Well North of I-78 there would be a Northeastern Agency handling Buses and Rail. Septa , BARTA , CAT should all be one agency , Amtrak Keystone should be run by SEPTA..... The Northeastern Agency is should handle Lehigh Valley and Wyoming Valley along with Poconos and Delaware Gap area...

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Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 6027119)

I could see BARTA becomming part of SEPTA, but Capital Area Transit might be a bit far-fetched IMO. I could see Capital Area merged with Red Rose and Rabbit Transit.

I know that aside from the larger transit agencies, there are also some smaller, more neighborhood-scale transportation providers that could handle some of the paratransit routes. Here in Chester County, we have Rover which provides mobility-less folks with access to shopping and healthcare in the Coatesville, Downingtown, and West Chester areas, and there's the Transportation Management Association of Chester County serving the Great Valley area.

Altho, I'm not sure why those two providers don't merge and become one entity. Then again, with mergers, especially with transit providers offering mostly paratransit, there's the danger of someone getting left stranded...

Someone made a live map of where the trains are in the London Underground.

http://traintimes.org.uk/map/tube/

Prague plans ‘Love Train’ subway dating

Read More: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/201...-subway-dating

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Underground commuters in Prague who are looking for love will soon be able to try their luck in designated dating cars, a transport spokesman said Friday.

“People meet there, pass by each other, and if they like one another they can start a relationship,” said Filip Drapal, spokesman for Ropid, a company involved in the project. The special cars are part of a drive to make public transport more popular. “We are planning a campaign to show people things they can do on public transport,” he said. So along with reading or studying, bored commuters will soon be able to flirt or pick up a date.

The Prague “Love Train,” which will use a laissez-faire approach rather than set strict speed-dating rules, is to launch at year’s end. Drapal said the firm is now deciding which of the five cars is most suitable, the number of trains to include and what kind of signs to display. Drapal said that while no one will be forced to flirt in the new cars, some passengers are concerned. “When I’m in a rush, I enter the first open door I see. I should watch out now and make sure no one starts seducing me,” said Petr Voracek, quoted by the DNES daily.

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Stockholm is getting new subway cars
SL is buying 96 new cars (i.e. 48 full trains) at a cost of about 5 billion SEK. All of these ar going to go on the Red Line which is also getting a new signalling system. First delivery in 2017 and final delivery in 2021.

Screenshot of the layout (no exterior renders are around yet)
http://oi40.tinypic.com/m79s09.jpg

got it directly from the source:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fp6xhfuz7x...0%20130521.pdf

High-Capacity Flash Charger Can Juice Up an Electric Bus in Under 15 Seconds

Read More: http://inhabitat.com/high-capacity-f...er-15-seconds/

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Electric vehicles are a great option for personal use, but when it comes to public transportation, the technology has its limitations. Electric buses require overhead power lines or lengthy recharge times to stay running. But that may all change with TOSA’s new “flash-charging” stations, which can fully charge a bus in 15 seconds flat! That means the bus could be fully re-charged and ready to go in the time it takes to let people on and off at a stop.

- The electricity for the project comes from clean hydroelectricity and the charging time is so quick that it won’t interfere with the flow of transportation. The roof-mounted charging system runs both the bus itself and the interior electronics like lighting. The flash-chargers will be placed at every 3rd or 4th stop and the shape of the charger will change to suit the needs of each stop. The project is a partnership between several innovative companies, including ABB, OPI and the Geneva energy company SIG. If everything works as planned, it could spell the end for overhead lines and will give mass transit more flexibility and make cities more beautiful by removing the webbing of overhead power lines

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http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-conte...us-537x357.jpg

http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-conte...-transport.jpg

Japan tests 310mph bullet train

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...let-train.html

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The new generation L0 Series trains, which employ the latest magnetic levitation technology instead of conventional wheels, will begin commercial services in 2027.

The first five cars of the new train, which has a distinct aerodynamic "nose" at the front, were displayed on a test track in Yamanashi Prefecture. The carriages, which are propelled by magnetic forces, were pulled along the track by a special maintenance vehicle as part of preliminary trials, with wide-scale tests due to commence in September.

The new train, designed by Central Japan Railway Co (JR Tokai), will initially link central Tokyo with Nagoya station, cutting current bullet train journey times by more than half, from 90 to 40 minutes. The final train will consist of 16 carriages carrying up to 1,000 passengers at a time, with plans under way to extend the line to Osaka by 2045. The plan is ultimately to create a high-speed mass transit maglev network across the country.

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• Video Link

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