Hot Wire 13

In the two-month period since May 8^th (the date of the last update reported in The Hot Wire), 9 multilevel coaches, 2 multiple-unit electric cars, 10 single level coaches and 2 diesel-electric locomotives were returned to service.  The 22 locomotives that remained out of service included 9 ALP-45 DP dual-powered locomotives owned by NJ Transit, 7 ALP-46 and ALP-46A electric locomotives, and 6 diesel-electric locomotives.

Compared to the information made public on April 9^th, NJ Transit has added 9 recently delivered multilevel coaches to its passenger car fleet and returned 15 multilevel coaches, 4 Jersey Arrow III multiple-unit electric cars, 24 single level coaches and 2 diesel-electric locomotives to service.  As of July 12^th, 117 passenger cars and 22 locomotives owned by NJ Transit remained awaiting repairs, more than eight months after Superstorm Sandy struck on October 29, 2012.

In addition, 12 dual powered locomotives that had not completed testing prior to acceptance by NJ Transit, were at the Meadowlands Maintenance Center when they were damaged floodwaters.  The repair of these locomotives, which never saw revenue service,  has been deemed the responsibility of Bombardier rather than NJ Transit.  Thus, only 14 of the 35 ALP-45DP locomotives that were purchased at an average cost exceeding $10.5 million apiece are operable as of this date. 

NJ Transit Ridership Down Significantly in Third Quarter FY 2013: As much as five months after Superstorm Sandy struck on October 29, 2012, New Jersey Transit’s ridership on all of its major modes – Rail, Bus and Light Rail – continued to be impacted by Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath.  During the Third Quarter of its Fiscal Year 2013, extending from January 1, 2013 through March 31, 2013, NJT experienced the following declines in ridership compared with the same quarter in its previous fiscal year (3Q 2012):

Where the statistical declines in NJT’s ridership are concerned, one mitigating factor is that 3Q 2012, being a leap year, included one additional weekday, i.e. February 29^th, that increase Weekday trips by +1.4 percent compared to a 28-day month in a usual year Ridership on NJT’s eight railroad lines was reported to be at the following passenger volumes and percentages of decrease or increase during the three-month period overall and on Weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays:

For NJ Transit’s three light rail operations, the comparable statistics for 3Q 2013 are:

The devastation that Superstorm Sandy caused to the infrastructure and rolling stock of NJT’s railroad and light rail transit lines, including the flooding of the Hoboken Terminal and the Newark City Subway’s terminal beneath Newark’s Pennsylvania Station, had a lingering effect of ridership that extended throughout the agency’s 2Q 2013 and well into its 3Q 2013.  As this issue of The Hot Line was written near the end of 4Q 2013, NJT still lacks sufficient operable locomotives, coaches and multiple-unit cars to restore all of the weekday trains that were scheduled under timetables that were effect as of October 14, 2012.  NJT’s online Superstorm Sandy Recovery Progress Card documents that a total of 14 fewer weekday trains are being operated currently on the Main Line / Bergen County Line, Montclair-Boonton Line, Morris & Essex Lines (including the Gladstone Branch), and North Jersey Coast Line.  Until full service is restored to these railroad lines, it is unlikely that NJT will be able to regain riders that it lost to other travel options during the long period of gradually service restoration that followed the events of October 29, 2012.  Matters will not be helped by construction projects starting on August 4^th along the NEC that will result in either direct delays or connecting delays affecting five of NJT’s eight rail lines. Perhaps NJT will have the rolling stock resources that will require when it issues new timetables in this coming October.  By that time another hurricane season will be upon us; let us hope this year’s does not generate a repetition of 2012.

Prototype Lengthened LRV for Hudson-Bergen Unveiled:

New Jersey Transit held a ceremony on July 3^rd at the Hoboken Terminal to unveil a lengthened light rail vehicle that is being tested on the Hudson- Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) System.  LRV no. 1054, delivered by Japanese carbuilder KinkiSharyo in 2004, has been expanded from three to five carbody sections and now has two articulation units and four trucks (two powered).  Its length has been increased from 90 feet to 127 feet, with its seating capacity increased from 68 to 102, as well as adding considerable standing room.   The prototype car will be operated on all three HBLR lines during the next six months. 

KinkiSharyo provided the additional carbody section and articulation unit to NJT at no cost as a demonstration.  Twenty-First Century Rail Corporation, the contract operator of HBLR, added them to no. 1054 at the maintenance facility located in Jersey City south of the Liberty Park Station. 

John Squitieri, NJT’s Deputy General Manager of Light Rail Operations, said that after the evaluation period NJ Transit will look to expand up to 26 cars of the current 52-car fleet.  KinkiSharyo previously provided the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) System with kits containing a low-floor center section and an additional unpowered truck that enabled it to lengthen 115 high-floor LRVs and make them accessible to wheelchair users and other mobility-limited passengers without the use of mini high-level platforms (“high blocks with ramps).

NJ-ARP does observe, however, that the combined length of a 127 foot-long five-section LRV and a 90 foot-long three-section LRV, operating as a two-car train, would be approximately 217 feet long.  HBLR stations south of Hoboken, with the exception of 8^th Street in Bayonne, are 200 feet long, which may result in a tight fit; those north of Hoboken, between 2^nd Street, Hoboken and Tonnelle Avenue, North Bergen – including the deep underground subway station at Bergenline Avenue - are 280 feet long, sized for trains of three 90 foot-long cars in anticipation of the eventual extension of HBLR along the Northern Branch of the former Erie Railroad into Bergen County.  The Hot Line will keep an eye on this experiment and inform NJ-ARP members of future developments as they occur.

NJT’s Rest Rooms in Penn Station New York Cleaned Up and Repaired: 

Al Papp, NJ-ARP’s President, hit a raw nerve at the July 11^th meeting of New Jersey Transit’s Board when he pointed out to Commissioner of Transportation James S. Simpson that, despite his having reported the deplorable conditions in the men’s restroom in the NJT area of Penn Station New York at the Board’s June 12^th meeting, nothing had been done to correct the situation during the past month.  This time, however, Al presented the Chairman, Executive Director and Acting Board Secretary with photographs taken the previous evening in both the men’s and women’s restrooms (the latter taken by his son’s fiancé) showing a cracked mirror held together with duct tape, a soap dispenser and a toilet paper holder being held up with the same material, missing soap dispensers, and the like. 

The Commissioner appeared to be incensed, exclaiming “If we cannot take care of restrooms, how can we run a railroad?” He also said that those running the statewide transit system needed to engage in “ some MBWA – Managing By Walking Around.”  Both Mr. Simpson and NJT Executive Director James Weinstein responded to Al saying that they were embarrassed by what he had told them, particularly because he had brought it up at the previous board meeting and there had been no follow up by staff.  This was widely reported by the news media, including The Record, Newark Star Ledger and Asbury Park Press, local newspapers and radio stations.

By the following week, on July 18^th, NJ Transit’s spokesman John Durso advised The Record that both the men’s and women’s restrooms had been repaired and will be monitored on an hourly basis, instead of just three times a day.  He said the restrooms would be open whenever NJT’s Seventh Avenue Concourse is open, with that period extending from the arrival of the first train around 5:00 AM and the last departure around 1:00 AM.  [Previously, NJT’s seating area and its adjacent restrooms were cordoned off with sliding metal gates at 9:00 PM, with NJT’s passengers having to find restrooms elsewhere and stand while waiting for their train to be announced.]  Mr. Durso told Karen Rouse, The Record’s reporter, “The mirrors were repaired and new soap dispensers, toilet seats and coat hooks installed.  Both restrooms were power-washed.”  Although NJT had previously said that it was looking into why the problems were not addressed after they had been brought to the attention of the board and its executive staff, Mr. Durso did not explain whether the lapse was due to NJT’s fault or the part of the contractor hired to maintain the restrooms or both.  Whoever was at fault, this incident left NJT on notice that this is another issue that NJ-ARP will continue to pay attention to and, if necessary, bring it up before its Board of Directors again.

Midday and Weekend Service on Pascack Valley Line Suspended:

New Jersey Transit has suspended train service on the Pascack Valley Line (PVL) during midday on weekdays and all day on weekends between Monday, July 15^th and Friday, September 6^th to perform track work.  West of Secaucus Junction, buses have replaced five eastbound and five westbound trains that normally operate between Spring Valley and Hoboken.  In addition, two eastbound trains that run between New Bridge Landing (formerly North Hackensack) and Hoboken and one westbound train from Hoboken to Anderson Street, Hackensack and another to New Bridge Landing have been replaced by buses.

On weekends, all 12 eastbound and 12 westbound trains, including two Metro-North Expresses that normally run in each direction, have been replaced by buses west of Secaucus Junction.  NJ Transit is operating 11 bus trips in each direction between all PVL stations located in Bergen County and Secaucus Junction. In addition,12 bus trips are being operated in each direction between the Rockland County communities of Spring Valley, Nanuet and Pearl River and Secaucus Junction, no doubt at the insistence of Metro-North Railroad. 

The summer period bus substitutions have greatly increased the travel time experienced by many PVL riders.  For example, buses picking up NJT passengers at Montvale (the last station in New Jersey prior to Pearl River, New York) on weekdays take 62 minutes; in contrast, the trains they replace took 44 and 50 minutes for the same trip depending upon the number of station stops they make and meets with opposing trains at passing sidings.   On weekends, buses are scheduled to take 75 minutes to reach Secaucus Transfer; trains made the same trip in 44 to 53 minutes, again depending upon meets with opposing trains.

From Spring Valley to Secaucus Junction, replacement buses being operated on behalf of Metro-North Railroad take between 68 and 85 minutes on weekdays; in contrast, trains made the same trip in 53 to 67 minutes, depending upon the number of station stops and meets with opposing trains.  On weekends, buses are scheduled to take between 68 and 98 minutes to reach Secaucus Transfer; trains made the same trip in between 39 to 64 minutes, depending upon the number of station stops and meets with opposing trains.

Of course, Secaucus Junction is a transfer station – not a terminus; almost all passengers who pass through it have other places as their destination or origin, in most cases either New York Penn Station or Hoboken (where they connect with PATH, ferries or Hudson Bergen Light Rail).

Connections at Secaucus Junction between PVL replacement buses and Northeast Corridor (NEC) or North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL) trains range between 10 and 19 minutes, with the trip to New York Penn Station requiring an additional 13 to 16 minutes.  Similarly, connections at Secaucus Junction between PVL replacement buses and Main/Bergen County Line trains destined for Hoboken range between 6 and 12 minutes. 

On Weekends, the story is much the same with connections from PVL replacement buses to NEC or NJCL trains destined for New York Penn Station ranging between 7 and 28 minutes with 13 to 19 minutes being most frequent.  PVL passengers destined for Hoboken are met at Secaucus Junction with 10-minute transfer times between the replacement buses and Main/Bergen County Line trains.

Both during midday periods on weekdays and on weekends, overall travel time for many Pascack Valley Line passengers has been increased by the bus replacements (and an additional in the case of passengers destined to or originating at Hoboken) to the point where the service being provided is on doubtful competitiveness.  A trip from Spring Valley, New York via Secaucus Transfer to New York Penn Station on weekends can take as much as 140 minutes –two hours and twenty minutes – for a journey of approximately 30 miles at an average speed of less than 13 miles per hour.  Surely alternatives, such as taking a bus or driving, will take less time notwithstanding delays on the approaches to Hudson River Crossings.  While track work needs to be done, the bus replacement program that has been implemented seems certain to decimate the weekday and weekend ridership levels previously being experienced on the Pascack Valley Line.  Whether or not this supposition will be confirmed will be revealed when NJ Transit releases its system-wide Quarterly Ridership Trends Analysis Report for the First Quarter of its Fiscal Year 2014 (July through September 2013).

Gateway Tunnel Box Funding Arranged:

In what turned out to be his last hurrah, New Jersey’s United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg was joined on May 30^th by New York’s United States Senator Charles Schumer and United States Secretary of Transportation Raymond LaHood, and Amtrak's Chairman Anthony Coscia in announcing an agreement that will provide $185 million to Amtrak to get its Gateway Project started.  The federal funds, obtained from Hurricane Sandy relief appropriations, will be pay for construction of an 800 foot-long concrete casement, known as a “tunnel box,” between 10^th and 11^th Avenues in Manhattan under the Hudson Yards Development Project. The tunnel box will be built simultaneously with the massive commercial and residential project, under construction by Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group.      This will preserve the only option to connect any new tunnels built under the Hudson River with the existing Penn Station.  Without grasping it now, that opportunity would have been lost.

Secretary LaHood observed that Amtrak’s 103 year-old tunnels were flooded during Hurricane Sandy highlighting an urgent need for flood-resistant infrastructure and the redundancy that the Gateway Project would provide.  That provided the justification for the use of Hurricane Sandy Relief funds to pay for construction of the tunnel box.

Senator Lautenberg died at age 89 on June 3^rd, four days after the tunnel box funding agreement was announced.  At the time of his death, he was the oldest serving senator and its last member of the United States Senate to have fought in the Armed Forces during World War II.  Called “the last of the New Deal Liberals, he was know for this legislative initiatives against drunk driving and his support for Amtrak and urban public transportation systems, as well as for gun control, stronger environmental regulations, consumer projections, and reigning in the abuses of Wall Street.  Following a memorial service held in New York City on June 5^th, Senator Lautenberg’s flag-draped coffin was transported from Secaucus Junction (which bears his name) to the nation’s capital on a funeral train consisting AEM-7 electric locomotive no. 928, baggage car no. 1762, Amfleet café no. 48140, Amfleet 1 coach no. 81512, and Beech Grove business car no. 10001.  Joseph Boardman, Amtrak’s President, issued a statement of condolence saying “Amtrak is honored to be chosen to carry him back to Washington, D.C. one final time.  Thank you Senator Lautenberg for your service to the nation.” 

MTA New York City Transit Re-Opens Rockaway Line:

 MTA New York City Transit restored A-Train service to the Rockaway Peninsula on Thursday, May 30^th, seven months and a day after the former line of the Long Island Rail Road and its predecessors across Jamaica Bay was largely washed away with the remainder covered with debris on October 29, 2012 by Superstorm Sandy.  The total reconstruction of the line’s infrastructure – trestles, embankment, track, traction power distribution facilities, signaling and communications equipment, damaged stations, etc. – cost over $75 million, much of it covered by federal disaster relief funds.  The ceremonial train used to celebrate the line’s reopening was the historic set of R-1 through R-9 cars built for the then brand new Independent Subway System of the New York City Board of Transportation.  Its first car bore a banner reading “Rockaway Here We Come!” duplicated that used on June 28, 1956 when subway service to this seaside community within the Borough of Queens was inaugurated.

Metro-North Railroad to Open West Haven Station: 

The Metro-North Railroad will open a new station on its New Haven Line at West Haven, Connecticut on Sunday, August 18^th following a ribbon cutting ceremony. Sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT), this station will have 658 parking spaces.  Parking permits, which will be valid from September 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014 and can be renewed on a semi-annual basis, will cost $300.00 for the six-month period, were placed on sale on July 15^th.  Passengers without a permit will be able to park for $6.00 per day.  Passengers will be allowed free parking until September 1^st. 

In announcing the date for new station’s opening and the beginning of the sale of parking permits, Connecticut’s Commissioner of Transportation, James Redeker said “The opening of the West Haven Station is an exciting opportunity for us to help alleviate traffic congestion along the busy Interstate corridor.  This long anticipated station will serve the needs of residents and businesses in the community of West Haven.” The $80 million project also included restoration of the fourth track for most of the 18 miles between Woodmont and New Haven, the eastern terminus of the New Haven Line.

Thomas Prendergast Approved as Chairman of New York MTA:

 The New York State Senate approved Governor Andrew Cuomo’s nomination of Thomas F. Prendergast as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA on June 20^th.   State Senator Charles Fuschillo, Jr., the Chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, said Mr. Prendergast’s “… extensive professional experience, both within the MTA and in other public and private section transportation positions, will serve him well as he addresses the numerous issues and challenges facing the MTA.”

Mr. Prendergast had served as MTA’s Interim Executive Director Since January 1^st.  Prior to that he was President of MTA New York City Transit for three years and, with a hiatus away from the MTA, President of MTA Long Island Rail Road for six years.  A native of Chicago, Mr. Prendergast began his career in the transportation field in 1975 with the Chicago Transit Authority.  [See the April 15, 2013 issue of The Hot Wire for a more extensive review of Mr. Prendergast’s career moves.]

In a statement applauding the State Senate’s action, Governor Cuomo said “As Interim Executive Director, Tom was vital to the recovery of the MTA after Superstorm Sandy and he will continue to play a crucial role in making the MTA more modern, efficient and story ready.”

This his new role, Mr. Prendergast has the New York City Transit Authority (MTA NYCT) and its subsidiary the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA now operated as MTA City Bus); MTA Regional Bus Operations (MTA Bus): the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (MTA Bridges and Tunnels); the Long Island Rail Road Company (MTA Long Island Rail Road), the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company (MTA Metro-North Railroad); and the MTA Capital Company all reporting to him and the MTA Board for policy decisions and guidance. 

Final Construction Contact for Second Avenue Subway Awarded:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced on June 13th that it had awarded the tenth and final construction contract for Phase One of the Second Avenue Subway.  The contract scope to be performed at the 86^th Street Station includes entrances and finishes; mechanical, electrical and plumbing work; and ancillary buildings. The $208.4 million contract was awarded to the 86^th Street Constructors, a joint venture of Schiavone Construction Company LLC and John P. Picone Inc.  Michael Horodniceanu, President of the MTA Capital Construction Company said “This is a great milestone for the MTA and all New Yorkers. The $4.45 billion project will have stations at 72^nd Street, 86^th Street and 96^th Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.  Construction, which began on April 12, 2007 – actually resumed after a hiatus of 32 years following the 1975 termination of the MTA’s previous attempts to build the line – is expected to be complete in time for commencement of revenue service in December 2016.  At that time, MTA NYCT’s Q-Line will be extended from its current northern terminus at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue under Central Park and 63^rd Street, serving the Lexington Avenue Station, and then turning north under Second Avenue to 96^th Street. 

Opening Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway, planning for which dates back to 1929, is considered by MTA NYCT to be essential for relieving peak-period crowding on the Lexington Avenue Subway (the No. 4, 5 and 6 Lines).  These three subway services are the only remaining north-south rapid transit lines serving Manhattan’s East Side (since abandonment of the Second Avenue Elevated in 1940-1942 and then the Third Avenue Elevated in 1950-1955, both in anticipation of construction of the Second Avenue Subway).  Drawing passengers away from the Lexington Avenue Subway is viewed by MTA as a priority for creating capacity for additional passengers expected to ride between the Grand Central-42^nd Street Station, Union Square and stations in Lower Manhattan when Long Island Rail Road service via the East Side Access Project (ESA) to and from Grand Central Terminal commences.  The latter $8.4 billion project, having fallen behind schedule from its originally projected 2013 opening, is currently forecast to open in August 2019.  With the Q-Line scheduled to be extended to 96^th Street and Second Avenue more than two years before ESA opening, MTA NYCT will have time to determine whether or not the riding public reacts as projected.  But if not, what will be “Plan B”?   

Charlotte Breaks Ground for Lynx Light Rail Extension:

Federal, state and local officials gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, July 18^th to participate in a ground breaking for a 9.3 miles long extension of the Lynx light rail transit line from its current northern terminal at Seventh Street in Uptown to the University of North Carolina’s Charlotte Campus.  Federal Transit Administrator Peter G. Rogoff, North Carolina Governor Patrick L. “Pat” McCrory, Charlotte Mayor Patsy Kinsey, UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois, and other area leaders donned hard hats to turn shovels of earth as part of a ceremony held in Uptown near the site of the future Ninth Street Station.

Half of the projected cost of the $1.16 million extension is being provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under a $580 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) signed on October 16, 2012.  The matching share will be provided by $299 million from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and $281 million being raised by a half-cent sales tax collected in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), the operator of the regional bus and light rail system, is responsible for completing the extension within budget and on time under the terms of the FFGA.  At the present time, CATS is finishing the pre-construction phase of the project, including acquiring land for the right-of-way.  Construction is expected to start in the Fall. 

The project will virtually double the Blue Line’s current length to 18.9 miles and increase the number of stations that it serves from 15 to 26.  Opened on November 24, 2007, the Blue Line current carries approximately 16,000 passengers on weekdays.  This volume is expected to increase by 18,000 to 34,000 after the extension to UNCC opens in 2017.

Mr. Rogoff said “ This project will create thousands of jobs during construction, create economic opportunity be connecting the city’s financial, high-tech and cultural centers with the thriving UNC-Charlotte Campus, and give commuters an alternative to sitting in traffic on Interstate 85 and US 29.”  Governor McCrory, who was Mayor of Charlotte in 1995 when planning started for what became the Blue Line said about the extension “This connects the region to education, to work and jobs, to entertainment.  And this is the fulfillment of one part of a major dream that so many of us were a part of. 

The FTA’s Administrator pointed out that funding the Lynx Blue Line extension is but the latest investment of the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) in Charlotte’s public transportation system.  The department is providing an $18 million grant of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds to expand capacity on the existing Blue Line by building additional traction power substations and lengthening platforms at three stations to allow three-car trains to be operated in the future. USDOT also has made a $25 million grant to help the city build a 1.5 mile-long streetcar line through Downtown Charlotte that will extend from the Time Warner Cable Arena to the Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Elizabeth.  Construction of this line, named CityLynx Gold Line, is underway and scheduled for completion in March 2015.  Initially, it will be operated by three Gomaco-built double-truck “replica Birney” streetcars already on hand, 

The City of Charlotte plans to apply through the FTA’s New Starts Program for a TIGER grant to fund half of the $126 million cost of a 2.5 miles long extension of the CityLynx Gold Line to Johnson C. Smith University.  After the City Manager advised that - if the requisite federal grant can be obtained - extending the streetcar line could be funded without a tax increase on May 13th, the Metropolitan Transit Commission approved the proposal on May 22^nd and the Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 to set aside $63 million for that purpose.  With the President’s appointment of the former Mayor of Charlotte, Anthony Foxx, to be the new US Secretary of Transportation having been confirmed by the United States Senate, the prospects of that grant request being approved probably are not dim.  

Maryland’s Governor Announces Funding for Purple Line: 

As part of a package of $650 million to be spent of transportation projects in Prince George’s County, Maryland’s Governor Martin J. O’Malley announced on July 8th that $280 million in funding from the state’s Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013 will be allocated to the Purple Line light rail transit project for right-of-way acquisition and final design.  The proposed Purple Line will extend for 16 miles inside the Capital Beltway from New Carrollton in Prince George’s County to Bethesda in Montgomery County.

Design/Build for Denver’s North Metro Commuter Rail Line: 

As The Regional Transit District of Denver (RTD) released a request for proposals for design/build construction of its North Metro commuter rail line on July 18^th.  The 18.5 miles long electrified line, part of RTD’s FasTracks program, will connect Denver with Commerce City, Northglen and Thornton.  The RFP calls for bids to construct the line from Denver’s Union Station to at least as far as 72^nd Street with options to extend the line further into Adams County.

Issuance of the RFP follows RTD’s receiving an unsolicited proposal from Graham Contracting Limited and concluding that it had technical merit and provided an opportunity to speed up the bidding process and the line’s construction.  Offers in response to the RFP are due on September 23^rd.  RTD’s staff expects to make a contract award recommendation to the agency’s board in late November with construction to begin in 2014 

Philip A. Washington, RTD’s General Manager, said “For the past few years, we’ve been inviting the private sector to come up with their ideas on how to get FasTracks projects done sooner than later.  We are looking forward to seeing how the market once again responds to our call for innovation.”

Cincinnati Signs Over The Rhine Streetcar Construction Contract:

Officials of the City of Cincinnati signed a $71.4 million contract with the Meser/Prus/Delta Joint Venture for construction of the first phase of the Ohio city’s new streetcar line on July 15^th.  The contract provides for track work, traction power substations and overhead line equipment [hopefully trolley wire, not catenary], maintenance and operations facility, and station stops.  The streetcar line will be in the form of a 3.6 miles long loop connecting Second Street at The Banks on the Ohio River waterfront and Henry Street, just north of the Findlay Market in the Over The Rhine neighborhood.

The streetcar project’s first phase is estimated to cost $147.8 million, which will be funded by $44.9 million in federal fund, including a $25 million Urban Circulator grant and a TIGER 3 grant of $15.9 million, and $4.0 million in Federal Highway Administration Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds.  The remaining $102.9 million, including $15.0 million placed in escrow pending judicial resolution of a dispute with the Duke Power Company over utility relocations, is being provided by the City of Cincinnati.  In an effort to kill the streetcar project, Ohio’s anti-rail Governor John R. Kasich, a Tea Party supported Republican, took away $51.8 million in state funds that had been awarded to it by the previous administration of Democratic Governor Theodore “Ted” Strickland, notwithstanding its being the Ohio Department of Transportation’s top rated project.  Not willing to give in, the City of Cincinnati came up with alternative funding strategies to keep the project moving forward.

Ground for the Cincinnati Streetcar Project was broken on February 17, 2012 with the commencement of relocation of underground utility, water and sewerage facilities; this work is well advanced, allowing notice to proceed to be issued for the major construction contract as soon as it was signed.  The Meser/Prus/Delta Joint Venture can proceed now with ordering materials and preparations for construction of its scope.

The City also awarded CAF USA Inc., a subsidiary of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A. of Spain, a $20.5 million contract to build five modern streetcars and provide a supply of spare parts in December 2012.  The cars will be CAF’s 100 % low floor Urbos 3 design and assembled in Elmira, New York with 60 % US content to satisfy Buy America requirements.

Opening day for the streetcar is now planned for September 15, 2016.  As a courtesy, Governor Kasich probably will be invited to the ceremony.  But if he fails to win reelection in 2014, a successor will be likely to receive a warmer welcome.  

Los Angeles MTA Approves Crenshaw/LAX Construction:

A $1.3 billion design/build contract for construction of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail transit line was awarded to Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors by the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LACMTA) on June 27^th.  Walsh/Shea is a joint venture between Walsh Construction and J. F. Shea Company.  It was one of four firms that submitted proposals for the contract and, during the bid evaluation, received the highest technical score for the lowest price. 

The LACMTA Board also approved an additional $160 million in contingency funds resulting in a total project budget of $2.058 billion.  This amount includes planning and design costs, real estate acquisition, the fixed guideway, stations at Liemert Park and Hindry, a maintenance and storage facility, light rail vehicles, and project administration.

The Crenshaw/LAX line will serve the Crenshaw Boulevard Corridor, Inglewood, Westchester and the area adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  The 8.5 miles long line will run the Metro Expo Line at Exposition Boulevard and the Metro Green Line, starting at an underground Expo/Crenshaw Station (no track connection to the Expo Line) and ending at the Imperial/Aviation Station of the Green Line.  The northern half of the route will follow Crenshaw Boulevard as far south as 67^th Street, after which the alignment will follow the BNSF Railway's Harbor Subdivision right-of-way to a triangular junction (already provided for) with the Green Line just south of the Imperial/Aviation Station.  Utility relocation work is underway with heavy construction scheduled to begin early next year.

Revenue service is expected by 2019.  After stopping at the Century/Aviation Station (where a people mover connection to LAX) is anticipated), Crenshaw/LAX trains will continue via the north-to-west leg of the junction onto the existing Green Line viaduct to Redundo Beach.  Similarly, using the east-to-north leg of the junction, alternate Green Line trains running from and to Norwalk via the fully grade-separated alignment in the median of the Interstate 105 Freeway will be routed to the Century/Aviation Station.

Why will the Crenshaw/LAX Line not have a track connection to the Expo Line and instead have an underground terminal station at Exposition Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard?  The answer is that LACMTA staff have concluded that there would not be capacity for three trains services (Blue Line, Expo Line and Crenshaw/Lax Line between the flat junction at Flower Street and Washington Boulevard on the edge of Downtown and through the Regional Connector to the Little Tokyo junction south of Los Angeles Union Station, where the through-routed Blue Line (Long Beach-Azusa/Montclair/Ontario) trains and Expo/Gold Line trains (Santa Monica-East Los Angeles) will converge and diverge.  Absent fully grade-separated junctions (ala New York City subway system), there is validity to this argument. 

In a Phase 2, the Crenshaw/Lax Line may be extended north from its Crenshaw/Exposition terminus to Wilshire Boulevard where it would have a transfer station connecting with the planned extension of the Metro Purple Line (a heavy rail rapid transit subway line with third rail traction power distribution). 

All of the above indicates that passengers traveling to or from LAX, whether with or without luggage, will have to make at least one transfer (to and from the airport people mover) regardless of their origin or destination.  For many passengers – whether travelers or airport employees – those using the Blue, Expo or Purple Lines for access to and from the Crenshaw/LAX Line, at least two transfers will be involved (three if coming from or destined for stations on the Red Line north of Wilshire Boulevard).  Why will not at least some light rail transit trains run directly into LAX’s Central Terminal Area?  The answer is that the airport authorities are not interested in that option, being hooked – as usual – on automated people movers.