BALTIMORE, MD -The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration's (MDOT MTA) light-rail service to Baltimore-Washington International Airport was scheduled to resume on August 20th following severe storms that eroded track. The agency plans to wrap up repairs and restore service from its Patapsco and Cromwell stations to the airport.
MDOT MTA on July 22nd halted service along that segment for repairs following flood damage. The work was expected to take two weeks, but the continued rainfall delayed the work, The Baltimore Sun reported. To mitigate flooding and future erosion, the agency over the next two weeks will build a 36-inch drain pipe under tracks in the area of the Twin Oaks grade crossing. In addition, crews will cut and remove sections of track, gravel and soil. For added stabilization, reinforcements will be constructed along the hillside next to the tracks.
BILOXI, MS - The failure of CSX and the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, to mitigate known safety hazards at a grade crossing is the probable cause of a 2017 fatal crash at the crossing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on August 7th. Four people died March 7, 2017, when a chartered ECHO Transportation motor coach grounded on the "high profile" grade crossing in Biloxi was struck by a CSX freight train. The four killed were among the 49 passengers on the motor coach, NTSB officials said in a press release.
Although the CSX engineer saw the stranded vehicle and applied emergency braking, the train struck the coach at 19 mph.
No one on the CSX train was injured.
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The grade crossing had an "unusually high vertical profile," which put trucks and buses at risk of being "grounded" on the tracks, NTSB officials determined.
Three years before the accident, there were 23 known vehicle groundings there. Although the city and CSX were aware of the number of "safety-critical events," neither acted to mitigate the hazard, NTSB officials said. "This tragedy was preceded by numerous unheeded warnings in the three years leading up to it," said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt. "They came in the form of known groundings of other vehicles at the very same grade crossing where the fatal crash occurred. Warnings call for action."
Inadequate guidance from the Federal Highway Administration on how to mitigate risks associated with high vertical profile grade crossings contributed to the crash, the NTSB determined.
The board recommended that high-profile grade crossings have clearer, less ambiguous signage so that drivers of all types of vehicles can better determine if their vehicle could safely traverse the crossing.
In addition, the NTSB made 11 new safety recommendations to the following: the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the city of Biloxi, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, the Association of American Railroads, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and all Class Is.
The final report will be available in several weeks.
CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) Light rail extension from Uptown northeast to the state university campus is causing traffic backups for motor vehicles, WFAE public radio reported on August 16th. Some drivers have had to wait 10 to 20 minutes to cross the light rail tracks and the city has struggled to keep up with replacing or repairing broken crossing gate arms when motorists bypass them. The city has been re-timing traffic signals in hopes of improving the situation.The $1.2 billion light rail project opened five months ago.
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CLEVELAND, OH - The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) began signal system repairs on portions of its Blue and Green light-rail lines on Monday, August 20th. The project, which might cause minor train delays, is expected to take three to four months to finish, agency officials said in a press release. The signal upgrade is part of a $47 million effort to maintain GCRTA's rail system. Earlier this month, the agency replaced 7,300 ties and improved track structure along its Red Line subway route. In total, there are 34 stations and 30 miles of one-way track along the Blue and Green lines.
One of 48 light rail vehicles (LRVs) manufactured by Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie in 1980-1981. |
EL PASO, TX - As preparations related to the the El Paso Streetcar Project continue, the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority and Sun Metro conducted several testing and training operations during the month.
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On-Street Operator Training
On Monday, August 13, 2018, Sun Metro began training streetcar operators during daytime hours from 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This was the first opportunity for the public to share the road with the Streetcar while it operated in daytime traffic throughout its route. The public was reminded to always follow standard safety procedures when driving, cycling or walking and to obey traffic laws and cross safely at designated locations.
Electrical Testing on Uptown Loop
Contractors working for the CRRMA conducted electrical testing along the Uptown Loop between 7:00 p.m. and midnight on Monday, August 13, 2018. During this test, contractors intentionally short-circuited some of the electrical components in a controlled environment to ensure safety mechanisms were properly functioning. Those along the Uptown Loop at the time may have heard hear two loud ‘booms’ during this test. There was no danger to members of the public.
The Uptown Loop includes Franklin Avenue, Stanton Street, Glory Road, Baltimore Drive and Oregon Street.
Overnight Testing Continues on Uptown Loop
On Tuesday, August 14, 2018, the CRRMA resumed other overnight on-street vehicle testing which required intermittent street and lane closures along the Uptown Loop. More information on those closures will be released in the coming days.
Peter Ehrlich, a retired San Francisco Muni operator, very familiar with all types if streetcars, was in El Paso during this training and was a guest speaker at one of the sessions. He provided these photos:
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 Car 1504 during the training run with traineees on board at Kansas Street and Father Rahm Avenue. |
 Peter Ehrlich (left) with some of the trainees! |
 Car 1506 pulling out of the new carbarn. Note the mural depicting the former streetcar line in El Paso! |
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will begin a $350 million project to modernize the 28-year-old Blue Line, the agency's oldest rail line, beginning in January 2019.
Work on the light-rail line will include improvements to signaling, tracks, overhead wires and several stations. In addition, crews will build four new crossover tracks to reduce service interruptions. The "New Blue" project will require two extended four-month closures starting in January, Metro officials said in a press release. One half of the line will be closed and buses substituted during each closure. Additionally, service to the station in Willowbrook, California, will be halted for eight months as workers rebuild that stop.
The agency has committed $1.2 billion for Blue Line improvements, including system upgrades, safety enhancements and new rail cars. In April, the agency wrapped up a project to improve pedestrian safety at 27 grade crossings along the Blue Line. Metro is scheduled to retire the last of the original 54 Nippon Sharyo P865 cars, that opened the line in 1990. They are being replaced with new Kinkisharyo P3010 units.
P865 #144 at Division 14, Santa Monica! |
P3010 #1071 at Division 14, Santa Monica! |
Meanwhile, the agency is launching a "robust" outreach campaign to keep riders updated about the New Blue project, Metro officials said.
LOS ANGELES, CA - A new $590 million funding package will advance the downtown Los Angeles modern streetcar project, the NBC Southern California website reported August 11th. City Councilman Jose Huizar says downtown transportation is needed because the area has half a million workers there on weekdays and hosts 19 million tourists and out of town visitors annually. The funding package includes federal grant money, county sales taxes and local funds. Planners have completed an environmental report and are putting together a request for federal money that must be submitted by September 7th.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - A proposal to build an aerial tram between Dodger Stadium and Union Station was moved forward to the next level of consideration Friday by Los Angeles Metro (LA Metro). The transit agency said it sent a “request for information” to the firm proposing to build the aerial tram, Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies (ARTT), which is funded by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. McCourt sold the team in 2011 but still owns half interest in the 130 acres of parking around the stadium. McCourt’s investment firm would fund a portion of the project’s estimated $125 million cost and would seek private financing for the remainder, the Los Angeles Times recently reported.
 Artist's Rendering of fans leaving the tram at Dodger Stadium!
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LA Metro said the RFI, which is a confidential document, will help guide ARTT in writing a more detailed proposal for the aerial tram, as it includes technical, operational, business-related and legal questions that Metro would like to see addressed. ARTT first proposed the tram in April between the stadium and the LA Metro-owned Union Station, and the agency announced in June that the proposal had enough merit to advance to a Phase II analysis, with the agency promising to issue an RFI within 60 days. Metro said if it approve LA Metro and ARTT or another arrangement depending on Metro’s role and relationship to the project.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Los Angeles' subway may become the first mass transit system in the U.S. to install body scanners that screen passengers for weapons and explosives, officials said on August 14th. The deployment of the portable scanners, which project waves to do full-body screenings of passengers walking through a station without slowing them down, will happen in the coming months, said Alex Wiggins, who runs the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LA Metro) law enforcement division.
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In the above photo, taken on Tuesday, February 27, 2018, ThruVision suicide vest-detection technology reveals a suspicious object on a man, at left, during a Transportation Security Administration demonstration in New York's Penn Station. Los Angeles is poised to have the first mass transit system in the U.S. with body scanners that screen passengers for weapons and explosives. The TSA has been working on the experimental devices, known as standoff explosive detection units, since 2004 with transit agencies. They hadn't yet been deployed permanently at any transit hub.
The machines scan for metallic and non-metallic objects on a person's body, can detect suspicious items from 30 feet (9 meters) away and have the capability of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour. "We're dealing with persistent threats to our transportation systems in our country," said Transportation Security Administration Administrator David Pekoske. "Our job is to ensure security in the transportation systems so that a terrorist incident does not happen on our watch."
MILWAUKEE, WI - (Why is this not a surprise??) Fox 6 News reported on August 10th that a motorcyclist may file a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee after being injured when his bike got caught in tracks of the modern streetcar line now under construction,The victim's tire got wedged in the track throwing him off his motorcycle. He suffered a broken arm and injured elbow. A similar complaint by a bicyclist at Tucson, Arizona, was tossed out on appeal by the city. Officials say bikers must learn to live with streetcars and cross tracks at a 90 degree angle.
NEWARK, NJ - The Progressive Railroading website reported on August 9th that Newark, N.J.-based NJ Transit is slating improvements to its system for Fiscal 2019, The agency adopted a $1.4 billion capital budget and it includes $34 million for the proposed northern extension of Hudson Bergen Light Rail. The operating budget totals $2.3 billion and the good news for riders is there are no planned fare increases.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) restored Muni light-rail service in its century-old Twin Peaks Tunnel following two months of rehab work on August 25th. During the tunnel closure, the agency updated tracks, walls and drainage systems to "keep up with the demands of the Muni system," SFMTA officials said in a press release. The new tracks will enable the agency to lift a speed restriction in the tunnel. The updated infrastructure also supports running two-car trains along the K/T Line for added capacity, according to an agency blog post.
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Crews also completed seismic reinforcements and fire safety enhancements to protect the tunnel's structure and stability, agency officials said. In addition, workers installed four track crossovers to enable trains to switch from one track to another during delays. The crossovers are expected to boost overall train operations by adding flexibility. Later this fall, there will be two weekend overnight closures at the Forest Hill Station in the tunnel and three nearby stops so that crews can complete additional electrical upgrades. The project cost $40 million, according to the SFMTA's website.
SEATTLE, WA - Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan put a stop work order on the Center City Connector streetcar project in April and business leaders now are worried about the future of the pr0ject, KING television reported August 18. Retailers along the proposed route see the connector as an economic development tool. It remains in limbo for now and the business leaders fear City Halk is losing confidence in the plan to connect the South Lake Union and First Hill streetcar lines,. But Seattle Department of Transportation says the connector is inlcuded in the 2020 transportation network plan.
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TORONTO, ONTARIO, CA -The Toronto Star reported on August 9th that four fare inspectors were disciplined for misconduct last year. Three officers were suspended for periods ranging from one to six months and another got a written warning. The incidents included a fare inspector who used personal information gathered from a female rider to later ask her for a date. She told investigators she feared for her safety. Also, two fare inspectors were unable to account for time when their patrol car was damaged, and another officer was accused of trying to bully a rider who complained about a streetcar running late.
