NEWSLETTER Winter 2015-2016 Vol. 13, Issue 1 Save the Date for RUN’s New England Regional Conference Individual By Richard Rudolph, Ph.D. services as well as improving can promote greater equity and Highlights Chair, Rail Users’ Network the quality and level of services good health. currently provided. The morning Join us in Boston, the nation’s program will feature several The afternoon session will feature New Rail Extensions first city with a subway, for invited speakers including Gerald three panels. The first subject “Who’s Looking Out for You? Francis, General Manager, Keolis is the status of passenger rail/ In SoCal p. 2 The State of Rail Advocacy in Commuter Rail; Frank DePaola, transit advocacy and plans for New England.” The conference, General Manager, MBTA; and expanding passenger rail/rail MTA Finally Gets New sponsored by the Rail Users’ Stephanie Pollack, Massachusetts transit in New England. The Capital Program p. 3 Network, will take place Friday, Secretary of Transportation. focus will be on the Green Line April 29, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. Extension to Union Square and NJ Transit Riders Suffer to 4:30 p.m. at the Boston During lunch, participants will Medford, the Indigo Line, the Foundation, 75 Arlington St. be afforded an opportunity College Corridor, the South Coast Service Cuts p. 4 (Green Line, Arlington stop; to share information and Rail Project and expansion of rail Orange Line, Back Bay stop), experiences regarding their service in Maine. A Tribute to and will examine current actions efforts—and those of their Delores Gravning p. 5 in New England regarding organizations—to promote The second panel will explore passenger rail/transit issues. The passenger rail and rail transit in the current state of advocacy in A Focus on focus will be on how transit/ their local areas. Our luncheon the Greater Boston area, who commuter rail riders can have speaker will talk about how the major players are, the impact British Transport p. 6 a greater voice in planning new transit-oriented development (Continued on page 8) Questions Remain in Colorado Needs Front Range Canada p. 7 Passenger Rail By Jim Souby Colorado needs to supplement Colorado is one of the fastest RUN Reaches Out and Gary Sprung its road network with passenger growing states in terms of In Cleveland p. 8 railroad trains running between population and economic ColoRail’s Vision Statement for Ft. Collins, Denver, Colorado opportunity. The Colorado Indiana’s Push for Front Range Passenger Rail: Springs and Pueblo. A Front Department of Local Affairs Passenger Rail p. 10 Range passenger rail system, predicts that the state’s with connecting transit services, population will increase from • Fast, frequent and safe would provide much needed five million in 2015 to about Rail Advocacy in the passenger rail services; capacity growth, while significantly eight million people in 2040. Pine Tree State p. 14 reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 6.2 million of these people will • Connect Front Range increasing the mobility of live along the Front Range. Riding the Rails in communities; Coloradoans, and providing major Today, only Interstate 25 links Germany, Austria economic stimulus to the cities the cities. It often gets severely • Promote economic and Hungary p. 16 and communities served. It could congested, and therefore slow. development; and significantly relieve congestion on I-25 will be insufficient to meet highways, making them work better the projected population growth All Aboard St Kitts’ • Enable single-day round-trips for automobile and bus drivers and in the decades to come. Scenic Railway p. 18 for business and pleasure future smart vehicles. (Continued on page 12) RAIL USERS’ NETWORK NEWSLETTER Page 2 of 20 Impending Openings of New Rail Extensions Create Excitement in SoCal By Dana Gabbard begin on March 5, 2016. This 11.5-mile Like the Gold Line extension, the extension includes six stations in the cities extension of the Expo Line light rail is Southern California in the coming months of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale bring constructed by an independent state will be experiencing something rather and Azusa. The extension also features a created entity, in this case the Exposition unique: the opening of the extension new yard/maintenance facility in Monrovia. Metro Line Construction Authority. The of three rail lines. This unprecedented Construction and design was overseen by the 6.6-mile extension will have seven stations expansion of our rail network puts an Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority and extend the line from the current exclamation point to the regional rail (an independent agency created by state terminus in Culver City to Santa Monica. revolution in the Southland that our legislation), while the Los Angeles County The cost of the project is approximately annual conference held in Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority $1.5 billion, which includes a new yard/ earlier this year heralded. (Metro) will operate it. Cost of the project is maintenance facility. The Expo Line $957 million. mainly utilizes a right of way purchased The first opening is slated for the end of in the 1990s from Southern Pacific and this year. This will be an extension of the The right of way being utilized for the which from 1909 to 1953 had been served Metrolink commuter rail system’s 91 Line. extension was purchased in the early 1990s by PE streetcar passenger service (known From the current terminus in downtown by Metro from the Atchison, Topeka and as the Santa Monica Air Line). Riverside, the extension stretches 24 miles and Santa Fe (ATSF). Until 1994, this alignment includes four new stations in Riverside Hunter was served by Amtrak’s Southwest Chief (until Train testing along the alignment has Park, Moreno Valley/March Field, Downtown it was rerouted via Fullerton). A further already begun (as with the Gold Line, Perris and South Perris. The Riverside County extension along the right of way is being Metro will be operating the Expo Line) Transportation Commission is the lead agency planned, extending the Gold Line 12.3 but the actual start of operations will likely for the project, in partnership with the Federal miles and adding six further stations in be delayed until next summer. This is Transit Administration, Southern California Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, due to an unfortunate situation involving Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), March Claremont and Montclair. the availability of rolling stock. In 2009, Joint Power Authority, County of Riverside, controversy engulfed Metro’s procurement City of Perris, City of Riverside and the The terminus in Montclair will actually of light rail cars (known as the P2550) Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The extend the line a mile or so into San from the Italian firm AnsaldoBreda. Metro estimated cost of the project is $248.3 million Bernardino County and thus entails claimed the cars were overweight and (excluding the 1993 purchase price of the San cooperation in planning and funding with delivery was years behind schedule. As a Jacinto Branch Line, which is the right-of-way the Metropolitan Planning Organization consequence, Metro’s then-CEO, Roger being used). for that county, SANBAG (San Bernardino Snoble, recommended to the Board of Associated Governments). Currently the Directors that the agency not exercise an While initially this will be a weekday- project is undergoing advanced conceptual option for an additional 50 cars. Given its only service, many rail activists hope it engineering, with it being ready for design- plans for expansion, additional cars would will eventually provide weekend service build procurement in approximately a year. be needed but Snoble felt that instead to access the Orange Empire Railway of exercising the option, a competitive Museum in Perris, which has electrified Funding for the approximately $1-billion bidding process should be undertaken for track for the operation of the historic cost of constructing the Glendora to the building of the additional cars. streetcars in its collection (which include Montclair segment has not been identified. several PE Red Cars and LA Railway Most activists anticipated it will be among AnsaldoBreda vigorously fought to Yellow Cars), at least during special events the projects included in a proposed 0.5% instead have the option exercised and like its annual Spring festival. As this transportation sales tax to put before Los even dangled the possibility that a issue went to press, a specific date for the Angeles County voters next November, manufacturing plant in the Los Angeles opening had not been announced. the details of which are being worked out area would be built to construct the under the leadership of Move LA and its vehicles, This inducement drew support It has been announced that passenger service politically savvy leader Denny Zane. Once for exercising the option from then-Los on the extension of the Gold Line light funded, design and construction of the Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. rail line between Pasadena and Azusa will project should take about five years. (Continued on page 19) RAIL USERS’ NETWORK NEWSLETTER Page 3 of 20 Finally—the MTA has a 2015-2019 Capital Program By Andrew Albert is, and continues to be, the way things get the expansion plans, and apparently, it done in New York State. Caught in the was actual construction of phase 2 of the It’s been a tough struggle, made all the middle of all the tumult was the Chair of 2nd Avenue subway. Engineering and tougher by the long-running feud between the MTA, Tom Prendergast, who I’m sure other non-construction work will proceed, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has earned his salary during all the tense however. The State of New York will kick in and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.