This blog presents wiki announcements, as well as news and views of transit issues where the wiki covers.
Monterey-Salinas Transit SURF! project going through final hurdle
In Monterey, Monterey-Salinas Transit is proposing to build a busway between Marina and Seaside on an abandoned rail corridor adjacent to Highway 1 to support faster bus service between Salinas and Downtown Monterey. The project was awarded federal Small Starts funds, and construction is planned to start at the end of this year. Initially, the California Coastal Commission staff recommended denying the project. However, after a postponement requested by MST, CCC and MST reached an agreement to secure a recommendation for approval by the CCC next week.
The main concern for the CCC staff is the busway’s impact on sand dunes within the right of way. The project initially proposed building a two-lane busway next to the track but within the rail right of way. As part of the agreement, one lane would be shifted to replace the track to reduce the footprint. Although far more trackage would be removed compared to the initial plan, less grading and fewer retaining walls would likely be required.
Sacramento RT introduces low floor light rail vehicles
Earlier this week Sacramento RT introduced low floor light rail vehicles in Green and Gold lines (Sacramento Valley to Iron Point). This transition replaces aging equipment with new vehicles offering better accessibility, but it required raising light rail platforms, originally built at track level. The construction necessitated temporary station closures and bus bridges.
Riders with disabilities can now board the new low-floor light rail cars using a short ramp (by pressing a blue wheelchair button) from the main platform, rather than relying on a mini-high platform at the front with the assistance of a light rail operator. For now, the Gold Line will have a mix of low-floor and high-floor cars. When the double-track construction in Folsom is complete in October, low-floor cars will serve the entire Gold Line.
The Blue Line is undergoing construction to modify its platforms, so only high-floor cars will provide service.
Similar systems in Salt Lake City and San Diego operate a mix of low-floor and high-floor cars in their light rail fleets, as they purchased different generations of high-floor cars over many years, which will be gradually phased out and replaced by low floor cars.
Sound Transit Link Line 1 extends to Lynnwood
On Aug 30, Sound Transit will open the Link Line 1 extension from Northgate to Lynnwood to passengers. This will complete two phases of northward expansion of the Link rail system, part of the ST2 sales tax approved by voters in 2008. It will also expand light rail service to Snohomish County.
The extension features four new stations in the cities of Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. All the new stations will have parking available. The light rail alignment is all above ground on exclusive right of way, adjacent to the I-5 freeway, and have no at-grade crossings. The service is planned to operate every 8 minutes during peak hours and every 10 minutes midday and on weekends.
Continue reading Sound Transit Link Line 1 extends to LynnwoodEnough with unhelpful sensational headlines
Last weekend, Caltrain had a relatively successful soft launch of electrified service. I spent the early part of Sunday riding electric trains along with other rail fans. Despite the learning curve for the train crews and some technical issues, the new trains are quiet, smooth, and accelerate rapidly.
Unfortunately on the last electric train of the day, a trespasser stepped on the track in Menlo Park and died upon impact with the train. I found out the incident the next morning by checking with social media accounts that covered the first day of electric service. Caltrain, following its new policy on not reporting fatalities, announced the delay and eventual train cancelation on Twitter/X that evening but did not reveal the nature of the delay.
Continue reading Enough with unhelpful sensational headlinesSamTrans to revisit busway on Dumbarton Corridor
On the agenda for the SamTrans Board of Directors July 10, 2024 meeting is an action item to request funding for a study of putting a busway on Dumbarton Rail Corridor. Unlike the previous attempts that considered bus and rail options (including pods) through the entire corridor from Fremont/Newark to Redwood City, this time the agency is only looking to build a busway on the San Mateo County side between Redwood City and East Palo Alto, on the rail right of way that the agency owns.
