<<

TRB Special Report 195 57

Figure 3. Ranking of corri- I EVERETT An LRT system has a significant potential for dors, transit feasi reduced energy consumption, particularly petro- bility. © leum fuels. LYN N WOOD These findings indicate that a feasible LRT project exists and warrants inclusion in a detailed alternatives evaluation. However, the findings also indicate that the project must be on a lesser scale than the full 80+-mile

SELLEVUE/KIRKLAND system described in this assessment. In that context, the 0 probability of a feasible and cost-effective project within a corridor or combination of corridors may be ranked as follows (Figure 3): CBD 0 The north corridor, including the Seattle CBD, between the CBD and the general Lynnwood area; The east corridor from the Seattle CBD to some point north or northeast of Bellevue; The south corridor to some point south of South

SOUTUCENTER Center (preferably in a nonfreeway corridor); The south corridor to Tacoma; and The north corridor to Everett.

0 FUTURE STEPS

FEDERAL WAY! I AUUPN The first step after completion of the feasibility study was to put light rail transit in the regional transportation plan TACOMA CD update as a long-term recommendation. The next step will be detailing the system and evalu- ating light rail compared to in individual corridors. This will involve looking at alignment, station location, major cost savings and reduced transfer volume in system operation, and connections with a feeder sys- terminals when compared to various bus-related tem. The consultant has done a fairly detailed scope of options for solving the Seattle CBD issues. work for this phase, and the PSCOG plans to request an Light rail costs may be comparable to those of an UMTA Section 8 alternatives analysis grant when the all-bus system, considering the level of invest- FY 1982 appropriations bill becomes effective. ment expected in the high-volume segments of In the meantime, PSCOG is working with the of Seattle and Metro on the environmental impact statement the corridors with the all-bus option. Life cycle for the midrange transit alternatives for the Seattle CBD costs may also be comparable and potentially more favorable because of differences in oper- to ensure that light rail transit could be accommodated if it later became the chosen mode. The CBD project also ating costs and life. A more detailed has tasks, not yet begun, that deal with such long-term analysis is necessary to determine these relation- solutions as dual-mode operating in a tunnel, LRT ships accurately. in a tunnel, and LRT on the surface with terminals and a LRT system operating costs may be lower at the mall. The objective is to preserve the option for a future demand levels projected by recent PSCOG regional light rail transit serving the Seattle CBD. studies.

Suburban and Applications of Light Rail Transit

RICHARD F. TOLMACH, Department of Trans- portation

While analysis of light rail transit has been focused on The words "light rail transit" often do not convey the urban and semimetro development, many of the technology or development philosophy symbolized by them. more successful European light rail developments have They are misunderstood by the public and even by some been on routes that operate primarily on off- surface transportation professionals. Many Californians fixate on trackage through low-density suburban and rural areas. the word "light,' and imagine light rail transit to be a form This paper examines design and operations of light rail of automated technology; this causes some- systems that serve areas of low population density. Six one to explain that light rail is 'modern streetcars.' This European and three North American examples are de- simplified definition has been tolerated by transportation scribed, with attention to geographic, sociological, and professionals, but it causes more misunderstandings. To financial aspects of their operating environments. Sched- describe the light rail systems being built in North America uling strategies, structures, and methods of today in terms of streetcars is obviously inadequate. One generation used by these systems are given special em- can invoke such European terms as 'pre-" or phasis. The prospects for future North American inter- "," but this does not help explain the attributes of urban light rail developments are examined, with a view to light rail. 's new system being a model for selected con- The model for light rail's development is not street- version of North American railroad facilities to down Main Street but the ' innovative use provide electric interurban services. of a variety of rights-of-way. Light rail's future is not in

58 TRB Special Report 195

narrow, 45-foot cars based on street railway practice but Each of these created its Stadtbahn by linking in cars that are longer, wider, heavier, and owing more to high-standard suburban and interurban lines by constructing interurban practice. The functional role proposed for most new sections of central city trackage to bypass restrictive new systems is not to serve compact cities local trips but curves and clearances. This allowed higher speeds and the to provide regional trunk services for the decentralized use of wider, longer cars with rapid-transit-type capabili- urban areas of North America, with bus services providing ties. The station spacing, speed characteristics, and off- the local feeders. street rights-of-way of German interurbans were elements The purpose and meaning of light rail transit are not critical to the success of the Stadtbahn concept. These simply modern streetcars—it is the creation of affordable elements are now being attributed to light rail; however, metropolitan railways to serve regional needs. In where interurbans still survive, these elements, as well as a view of this, suburban and interurban applications of light wealth of lessons about economics and expedients of the rail have the most to offer American cities in terms of transit business, may still be observed. relevant examples. (See Figures 1 and 2.) The sources of interurbans financial viability—freight haulage, charter traffic, resorts and other innovative side- THE EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE lines, labor productivity, efficient equipment use, and unconventional traffic such as tourist and intercity trips— The technology used in , San Diego, and are important examples for transportation planners in an came from West German Stadtbahn development, which era when urban bus networks typically have a farebox ratio also was heavily influenced by interurbans. Stadtbahn of less than 30 cents on the dollar. European interurbans systems incorporated many elements of standard rapid today operate cost-effectively, even in environments that transit practice; however, much of the Stadtbahn concept, would be considered impossible territory for rail transit by including design of Stadtbahn cars, originated from the North American transportation planners. need to optimize existing interurban electric railways for An examination of today's interurban networks and modern transit needs. , , and Hannover, their operating environments may help define the limits of the first cities in West to develop Stadtbahn light rail—how sparse a population can support light rail or systems, all began with interurban lines that influenced how large and dispersed an urban area can be and still have their system and vehicle designs. an effective light rail network.

Figure 1. Comparative population of areas with inter- urbans. (çP J\ 0 •. 10

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TRB Special Report 195 59

The Rhein- agglomeration in West Germany is the The least densely populated areas served by inter- site of the largest network of electrified urban transit urbans in the Rhein-Ruhr are on the Krefeld (22 km) and services in the world. The German Federal Railway and Duisburg (25 km) lines of the Rheinischebaim, which local transit enterprises provide hundreds of miles of roughly parallel the Rhein on opposite banks. The Krefeld- railway and services spanning a 90-mile expanse Düsseldorf line has no intercity railway competition; it has from Bad Honnef and Bad Godesberg in the south; north a heavy through ridership to Krefeld on its direct route. through Bonn, Kln, Dusseldorf, and Duisburg; east through There are 20-minute headways, often using two 8- Mülheim, Essen, and Bochum to . The Rhein- Düwag cars. The Duisburg-Düsseldorf line, which must Ruhr urban area is even more decentralized than Los compete directly with a faster, 20-minute S-Bahn Angeles; it does not contain a single predominant center of service, has had less end-point-to-end-point travel. Its business activity, but 3 primary ones and 6 secondary ones. main ridership comes from intermediate towns unserved by Most jobs are outside these centers, in and strip the S-Bairn, but it also attracts some through passengers on commercial developments reminiscent of American re- its half-hourly service by providing a buffet in the gional cities. The northern tier of cities, from Düsseldorf center section of its Rheinbahn cars. to Dortmund with the cooperation of the German Federal These 2 interurban lines both went underground in Railway, recently organized all local rail and bus services Düsseldorf with the October 1981 start of U-Bairn service, into a consolidated tariff organization, the Verkehrsver- and Duwag "Stadtbahn " cars, similar to those of Essen, bund Rhein-Ruhr. Four separate "schnellverkehr" (express Cologne, and Bonn, are now assigned to these runs. The transit) services are incorporated into the VRR: Düssel- subway sections eliminated the last sections of line on the dorf's Rheinischebahn interurban lines to Krefeld and Duis- 2 interurbans that necessitated the sharper turning radius burg, sections of the projected Rhein-Ruhr Stadtbahn, the of the Rheinbahn cars. Duisburg is also constructing a German Federal Railway's S-Balm services throughout the section of subway trackage to be used by the Rheinische- region, and Wuppertal's unique . bahn line, as well as by the projected Rhein-Ruhr The southern tier of cities on the Rhein, from Koln's Stadtbahn, and Duisburg will also use the Stadtbahn B car. northern to Bonn's southern suburbs, now also have The street railways of the Ruhr basin have become through tramway service and tariffs and have organized increasingly constricted by . Although their lines into the Rhein-Sieg Stadtbahn. their span is 25 miles and total trackage is in the hundreds,

Figure 2. Comparative scale of interurban electric )&KnOAER railways. , 1o.r.n_A(t liz

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these predominantly meter-gauge lines had few real inter- wilderness and scenic areas. The Tatra National Park in urban or light rail characteristics until recently, when the Czechoslovakia, for example, uses a narrow-gauge electric sections of subway and other -separated routes con- tramway to provide access to the park from the intercity structed for the Rhen-Ruhn Stadtbahn came into use. main-line railhead in Poprad, 13 km away. There is also The Stadtbahn was originally planned to be a wholly 20 km of additional tramway routes inside the park that standard-gauge, grade-separated network that incorporated provide access to certain areas where automobiles are the strongest routes in the region. About 15 percent of its banned. Switzerland has many such places where automo- routes are still to be constructed to full metro standards, biles are denied access to areas served by- , including with grade separations and high platforms. Stadtbahn B mountain villages such as Zermatt and Wengen, whose cars have been ordered, indicating that some on-street or lively tourist trade is because of their unspoiled tranqui- at-grade operations are anticipated. The main east-west lity. Switzerland's auto-free villages are pleasing to the route of the Stadtbahn is taking shape through separate eye, the nose, and especially the ear. It is an uncanny construction projects in Duisburg, Muiheim, Essen, experience to be outdoors in a village where sounds of Bochum, and Dortmund; the Mülheim-Essen segment and a human activity predominate rather than those of internal Bochum segment are already in operation. North-south combustion engines. links of the Stadtbahn, some of which may remain meter If the concept of auto-free recreation area develop- gauge, are to be constructed (or upgraded) to feed the ment is too advanced for Americans, there are examples of east-west spine and its S-Bahn competition. The inte- European tramways that compete with automobile access gration of the Federal Railway's S-Bairn and the Stadtbahn in such areas. The coastal Vicinal tramway of and is particularly good, with common facilities at the main the Albtalbahn of West Germany illustrate the use of such railway stations in Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, and Dort- recreation-oriented tramways. rnund. Operated by the Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Kln (Cologne) may be said to have begun the Vicinaux, Belgium's coastal tramway may be the longest Stadtbahn movement. Its Kolner Verkehrs-Betriebe ac- continuous tramway corridor under exclusive passenger commodated interurban operators on its tracks; accord- operation. Its 40-mile (65-km), narrow-gauge route fol- ingly, many of its lines are constructed to impressive lows the coastal dunes from the French border to Holland standards. Since completion of central city U-Bahn - and links all Belgium's coastal towns. In the absence of any age, the KVB has operated large Stadtbahn cars virtually to north-south railroad service along the coast, the line serves the exclusion of 4-axle cars. The Kóln-Bonner Eisenbahn, as a de facto part of the national railway system. Its an interurban similar to Chicago's North Shore line in speed Ostend terminal is located optimally, adjacent to the and facilities, has now had one of its 2 routes integrated railway and channel terminals. The line incorporates into the U-Balms of Kàln and Bonn, as Route 16. This a wide variety of trackage, including mixed-traffic running 45-km line links Köln, Bonn, and Bad Godesberg with half- in Ostend. hourly service, which lacks the 80-mph top speeds of the Until recently, its capital facilities had been allowed old KBE equipment, but makes up for that with improved to deteriorate. The new 6-axle , built by BN connections and better coverage of the commercial centers Industrie in Brugge in 1981 to replace the 1940's 4-axle of KóIn and Bonn. Bonn's cross-Rhein suburban routes trams, have been accompanied by substantial reconstruc- serve an area with the most Americanized landscape in tion of portions of the route, new power supply equipment Europe, including a -like in and overhead wire support, and a certain amount of relo- Rheinau. cation of tracks into reservations. The Rhein-Ruhr provides the most pertinent model for Inefficient labor practices and undercapitalization in transit development in large decentralized cities of the the past limited the financial success of the line. Insti- western , as it has combined the following tuting a one-man operation system and providing new, techniques: attractive equipment and automated ticketing are likely to improve its performance. The nature of the line's traffic is Utilization of existing main-line railroads for more typical of a main-line intercity railroad than a transit trunk high-speed transit, line. It offers no peak-hour service except one short run Combination of existing interurban tramway morning and evening, because no major employment trackage between cities with new grade-separated centers are on the line. construction to tap commercial centers, and The Vicinal has a heavy summer peak; British and Full integration of these two "schnellverkehr" Continental tourists besiege the Belgian Coast in July and modes with each other and with local feeder buses August. During these 2 summer months, the coastal and streetcars. tramway runs on 30-minute headways, compared to 60-minute headways in the colder months. These techniques have effectively linked all major The decision by Belgian transportation authorities to employment centers, commercial centers, and residential invest substantial sums in the line to rebuild its capital areas in the decentralized Rhein-Ruhr area with high facilities and provide new cars was made in the context of quality transit at a reasonable cost. land use planning decisions that called for preservation of Other interurbans show how less populated areas can undeveloped areas of the coast. A tramway is more support rail transit and how recreation areas can be appropriate than further highway development for this developed without heavy investment in highway access. A area; it is less visually intrusive and requires less land. The recurrent issue in California is how to preserve popular tramway can provide access to beaches by simply stopping; coastal or mountain areas from overdevelopment and yet auto access requires parking lots and other facilities that accommodate greater public use of these areas. would despoil the beauty of the coast. In the United States, development of recreational The Albtalbahn, operated by the Aibtal Verkehrs resources has almost always assumed that there is no Gesellschaft (AVG), is a standard-gauge interurban tram- alternative to highway-based access. Unfortunately, high- way that links , West Germany, with its northern way-based development for recreational use of scenic and southern suburbs and provides a regional service areas often results in marring the natural beauty that through the woods to several small towns and resorts on originally attracted the tourist traffic. Although parking the northern edge of the Black Forest. Both the Ittersbach lot proliferation and air pollution in western parks has been and branches are sparsely populated, and a the subject of numerous newspaper articles and govern- number of the Albtalbahn's relatively infrequent stops are ment studies, no alternative development model has made at locations where no urbanization is visible. South emerged. of , the last true of Karlsruhe, the primary In Europe, interurban tramways have been widely used traffic on the Bad Herrenalb line is vacationers traveling in place of, or along with, highways to provide access to to spas and Black Forest resorts. The traffic to Ittersbach TRB Special Report 195 61 is more typical. Both branches use Düwag and Waggon- The South Shore's adoption of railroad standards and Union 8-axle, articulated cars to provide staggered half- practices and integration into the freight-hauling railroad hour headways during off-peak periods. A local service system are the primary reasons for its survival. Its volume fills in from Rüppurr to Karlsruhe, so the closer suburbs of freight haulage is substantial, with unit coal have 10-minute headways all day. contributing a large proportion of ton-miles. The South The German Federal Railway interchanges freight Shore penetrates the primary industrial area of northern traffic with the AVG near Ettlingen, and the AVG does a Indiana, a center for steelmaking, manufacturing, and moderate freight business on its southern lines, using diesel other industries that require mass quantities of resources switching for traction. Despite the presence and must have ample freight traffic both inbound and of freight, there are gradient changes on the Ittersbach outbound. line that would preclude long trains, and the line's en- On the other hand, the South Shore's passenger ser- gineering appears to be optimized for tram use. vices were a major financial liability for over a decade. The Albtalbahn's financial performance is good. Ac- The Illinois Regional and the cording to the 1979-1980 Jane's World Railways, the line State of Indiana have stepped in to support these services. has an operating ratio of 0.83. This profit may be partly In the face of declining passenger traffic during the 1970s, due to such side businesses of the AVG as charter , the South Shore adopted a tactic from intercity main-line rail freight, and motor , but the rail passenger railroading—it cut back passenger services and raised business is a near break-even operation. . The public response was predictable and led to a Some factors making the Albtalbahn so cost-effective subsequent round of service cuts and truncation of most of merit examination. The Bad Herrenalb line has no peak- the trains at Michigan City. hour operations; the stations exclusive to it are beyond the The South Shore has gradually lost many attributes commuter zone. Its equipment is shifted to the Ittersbach required to attract passenger travel. Its fleet of Pullman- line during peaks; it actually has two 60-minute gaps in the Standard cars, dating from the 1920s, is literally falling to schedule during the morning peak. This substantially pieces. Service has been cut to an almost unsalable level, reduces the need for equipment that would be used only in with only 2 daily round trips beyond Michigan City and the peak hours. 2-hour headways during midday between Michigan City and Much of the Albtalbahn's traffic is linked to arrival Chicago. and departure of midday intercity trains, so it realizes The appearance and condition of many of its stations revenue during periods when most transit systems have deter ridership. The level of maintenance of vehicles and light patronage. The tourist traffic is not as seasonal as electric power facilities has reduced reliability and com- that of the Belgian coastal tramway but has several peak fort of service. periods, e.g., spa traffic in the spring, hikers in the summer The South Shore has also lost most of its interurban and fall, and substantial winter sports traffic. Tourist character by terminating on-street operations penetrating traffic fares are appropriately priced to maximize reve- the commercial center of South Bend. This cutback lost nues. Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof to Bad Herrenalb had a most of the remaining South Bend traffic and is now 4-Deutschmark tariff ($2.05 U.S.) in 1980, substantially recognized as having been a mistake. higher than for equivalent distances on other transit sys- New terminal facilities in South Bend and possible tems or the German Federal Railway. At the same time, direct service to the South Bend area are expected local commuter travel was reasonably priced. to recover the ridership losses there. New 85-foot main- Freight haulage is also an important supplemental line railroad-type cars are on order and will provide the revenue source for the Wiener Lokalbahn, a 30-km, stan- foundation for reinstituting more frequent operations, the dard-gauge interurban linking Vienna, Austria, with the best hope for improvement of the South Shore's market resort of Baden. The Lokalbahn's right-of-way includes share. mixed-traffic street operations, sections of railroad-type Although other surviving electric tramways in the right-of-way, highway-side, tramway-type reservations, United States are not now operated in conjunction with and shared trackage with Vienna's light rail system in freight service, many of the more successful surviving lines subways and on the surface. have sections of off-street rights-of-way and station The nonarticulated 1920s and 1930s interurban cars of spacing typical of interurban operations. These lines the Lokalbahn are slowly being replaced by 8-axle cars include 's Riverside line; 's Media, similar to Düwag's Rheinbahn cars. Other investment in Sharon Hill, and Norristown lines; 's Shaker the line seems to have been postponed, and the Lokalbahn Heights line; and 's South Hills line. retains its quaint stations and arching catenary supports. America's new interurban, the , was Other such traditions persist as a on-board, fashioned out of the remains of a marginal freight-hauling manned stations in place of automatic machines, and railroad—the San Diego and Eastern. It has been a charter parlor car service. The Wiener Lokalbahn also remarkable experience for Californians to observe how provides scheduled bus services that parallel and connect rapidly and inexpensively it was converted. Only 20 years to the Vienna-Baden corridor and has a fleet of 3 switching ago, ' , a major passenger- locomotives to work the freight carried to its connection hauling interurban, became a set of marginally viable with the Austrian Federal Railway. freight branches with limited social utility. The Lokalbahn's operating environment is increasingly The SD and AE's conversion into the San Diego Trolley competitive, but its market share has not suffered greatly. was accomplished by adding electrification, new rail, and a Its terminal in Vienna is on the surface at the Opernring, a new line tapping the commercial center of San Diego. The more central location than that of the S-Bahn trains. It only station facilities are several parking lots and tile- also has an advantageous central location in Baden, while roofed shelters located at major cross along the the S-Bahn must use a station on the edge of town. line. Total cost, including, cars, was about $5 million per Additionally, significant traffic is generated by suburban mile. stops 10 to 16 km from Vienna. The specifics of the facility have been discussed but what is important is the applicability of the development THE AMERICAN APPLICATION to other Californian cities. It would be just as easy to revive the Los Angeles- of the Pacific The Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend Railroad, the Electric as it was to convert the San Diego-Tijuana line. last surviving interurban of Chicago's Insull empire, is a Despite protest of Los Angeles freeway apologists, it is good example of integration with main-line railroads. It is difficult to imagine how something that works so well in owned by the Chessie system, and its trains enter Chicago San Diego would not work 100 miles up the coast. on the tracks of the fllinois Central Gulf Railroad and Previous claims held that California was different share the ICG's on the lakefront. from other places because its population density was so low 62 TRB Special Report 195 that it could never afford systems extensive travel, and amusement parks and other traffic-generating enough to serve its metropolitan regions. 's facilities often were purpose-built by the companies. If BART and San Diego's light rail system have put the lie to public transit enterprises are to be operated in a more these suppositions. businesslike manner in the future, the industry must re- San Diego's accomplishment is particularly embar- cognize that off-peak discretionary traffic is good for rassing for Los Angeles because the San Diego-Tijuana business no matter what its purpose. capital works have been accomplished for about the same Finally, the potential revenues from freight haulage sum as Los Angeles public agencies have spent over the should not be overlooked. Even lines with marginal car- past 25 years on alternative analyses and engineering for loading levels and lines that railroads consider abandoning never-built rail lines. may, with more efficient labor practices, offer a net gain Whatever the eventual outcome of the Los Angeles by continuing freight service. The successful mixing of debates over transportation policy, it should be obvious freight and transit on the Koln-Bonner Elsenbahn, the that population density is a not an issue in coastal - Albtalbahn, the Wiener Lokalba}in, the South Shore, and the fornia. The Los Angeles-Long Beach line has roughly twice San Diego Trolley shows that this practice is not hazardous the density of San Diego-Tijuana and roughly 20 times the and is by no means innovative. density of the Belgian coast or the Karlsruhe area in West Germany, where the Albtalbahn operates. CONCLUSIONS Beyond about 100 passengers per trip, the economics of electric rail transit are superior to that of the bus, The electric railway is a flexible, versatile, and inex- regardless of population density, length of the travel pensive means of providing transportation of people and corridor, or category of traffic. There is little hope of materials. Only when inadequate conceptions of its para- fares ever covering 80 percent of bus system operating meters and capabilities are applied do its form and abilities costs. San Diego's light rail system is already achieving become limited. When conceived and constructed as a this coverage rate, largely because of "recreational" traf- street-railway, it becomes limited in speed and passenger fic, such as tourists and intercity travelers. attraction because of traffic congestion. When conceived Highway and air transportation systems derive a large as a subway with full , it becomes unduly percentage of their traffic from recreational travel, a expensive to construct and limited in range. Under either trade that currently gives the industry its only conception, it loses the ability to provide freight haulage profitable seasons. The transit industry's failure to attract or attract significant recreational traffic and also becomes a substantial noncommute traffic with buses shows the limited in its applicability to modern cities. public's lack of acceptance of the all-bus mode. The The term "light rail transit" has been moderately recreational and intercity connection markets are parti- successful in breaking through the inadequate conceptions cularly lucrative ones for the transit industry, because the of what rail transit can be. To continue the breakthrough, trips are most often made during nonpeak hours when there a definition of light rail that incorporates all the capabili- is ample excess capacity. When transit systems were ties and potential uses of the electric railway must be privately run, there was more promotion of recreational applied.

Maintaining Transit Service During Light Rail Rehabilitation in Newark: A Case Study

GREGORY P. BENZ and JEROME M. LUTIN, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.

The Newark City Subway is a 4.3-mile (6.9-kin) light rail financial problems of its owners and operators limited the system with 11 stations and an average weekday ridership resources available for maintenance and rehabilitation. of 12 600 passengers. As part of the $15 million rehabili- During the 1970s, state agencies' increased concern tation of this Transit Corporation line, alter- with mass transit led to renewed interest in preserving the native transit service will be required during off-peak mass transit of urban areas. This concern periods when rail service must be suspended. Suspension of caused state and local officials to take a fresh look at the service at night and on weekends is necessary to accom- Newark subway and to include it in an overall program of modate rehabilitation of the track, stations, and right-of- transit rehabilitation in New Jersey called Transpac." way. In developing alternative service options, the ad- Under the terms of .Transpac, funds from a bond issue and vantages of light rail service along the corridor became from the Authority of and New Jersey apparent, both from the perspective of the passenger would be used as a local matching share for an UMTA (travel time) and the operator (operating cost). This paper capital grant. Approximately $14 million was earmarked documents the planning methodology used to develop rider- for improvements to the Newark City Subway. ship data and operating plans for alternative bus service. The subway rehabilitation program was to stress re- As a result of the alternative service planning, it was newal of the fixed facilities of the system. Procurement determined that the light rail system required significantly of new vehicles was to be included in the program's later fewer vehicle and crew hours than did buses to provide phases. During the planning of the rehabilitation design equivalent service and capacity. and engineering work, it became obvious that normal service would need to be suspended for extended periods to The Newark City Subway is one of the few streetcar expedite the trackwork and right-of-way rehabilitation. As subways remaining in operation in the United States. part of the engineering design, an operations planning task Completed in 1935 and operated continuously to the was undertaken. present time, the line has gradually deteriorated as the This paper reports on the methods used to plan for