BOSTON, MA - It was reported by both Tramways & Urban Transit in their July 2019 issue (referencing the BSRA Rollsign magazine) that the MBTA has awarded a contract to Brookville Equipment Corporation for eight sets of solid-state DC propulsion equipment that will be used to modernize and upgrade the PCC cars on the now historic Mattapan-Ashmont line. Cars 3234 ands 3265 will be the first two to be so outfitted along with body refurbishment. The work is to take place at the Everett shops and these two cars should re-enter service late this summer. Cars 3087, 3230, 3238, 3254, 3263 and 3268 should follow. The program should be completed in 2020 and should be a win-win for both parties. Brookville had become an expert in the rebuilding of air-electric PCC cars having "teethed" on the El Paso cars.
 |
At right is one of the PCC cars to be "rejuvenated" by Brookville. Above is a map of the urrent Mattapan-Ashmont line |
The last of the much loved and reliable KinkiSharyo Type 7 cars, 3707, to be refurbished by Alstom arrived back in Boston in May 2019. The photo below was taken at Alstom in Hornell, NY just before the car left for Boston.
It was also reported that Type 7s 3602, 3630, 3650 and 3693 were dismantled for parts.
DALLAS, TX - Progressive Railroading reported on June 4th that The Dallas Area Rapid Transit's (DART) board last week entered a contract with Stadler US Inc. to assemble and build eight FLIRT trains, as well as design an equipment maintenance facility for the Cotton Belt regional rail project. Stadler’s FLIRT, (Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train), is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) and meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 emissions standards. Each train will seat 230 passengers.
Stadler Concept DART Five Unit Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) train. |
Stadler Rail is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. It is headquartered in Bussnang, Switzerland. Stadler Rail is also focused on niche products and is one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock.
The fact that federal funds were being used for the order made it subject to the Buy America Act, so Stadler quickly found a former Union Pacific plant in Salt Lake City, Utah that was for lease by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and was also well suited to the requirements of the Texas order. Concurrently, plans also began to build a permanent 230,000 sq ft, $50 million state-of-the-art facility on a 62-acre property, just five minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport. Completion of the first phase of the US facility is set for late 2018.
The Cotton Belt project includes construction of a 26-mile alignment planned for DART's northern service area. The line will serve Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano, Texas, and is scheduled to go into service in 2022, according to a DART press release.
The vehicles seat 230 passengers and include automatic passenger counters and closed-circuit television. Each train is approximately 318 feet long and has four units, a power pack, four powered axles and eight unpowered axles.
Stadler intends to assemble and build the new DART trains at the new Salt Lake City facility. Stadlker also metnions lon their web site that they had secured an order from Caltrain for the construction of 16 bi-level electric multiple unit trains in August 2016, and an additional order by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority of three diesel-electric low floor multiple unit FLIRTS for the Arrow passenger rail service, also known as the Redlands Passenger Rail Project, quickly followed. Prior to these contracts, Stadler began doing business in the US with sales to the New Jersey Transit Authority (NJTA) for the River line in 2002, Capital Metro Transportation Authority (CMTA) in Austin, Texas in 2005, and Denton Country Transportation Authority (DCTA) in 2009. 2014 brought more even success with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District Authority (BART) in San Francisco, California purchasing eight GTW model diesel-electric articulated multiple units.
DENVER, CO - Beginning May 19th, light rail service, lines E, F & R, was extended southeast another 2.3 miles to Lone Tree via Sky Ridge, which features a large park-and-ride site.
Denver entered the light rail era in 1994 with 11 Siemens SD-100 vehicles and now has 172 vehicles operating on eight routes.
EL PASO, TX - For those who may be in the city this summer, here is the best map of the El Paso streetcar that we have seen to date:
LOS ANGELES, CA - Progressive Railroading reported on June 14 that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) earlier this week announced that its first tunnel boring machine has broken through from the Wilshire/La Brea Station site to the Wilshire/Western Terminus in Los Angeles.
 |
The boring machine is one of two being used to mine parallel subway tunnels to extend LA Metro’s Purple Line from the current Wilshire/Western Terminus to the Wilshire/La Brea Station site. Since the tunnel boring machine was lowered into the ground at the La Brea site in October 2018, the machine has been operated five days per week and has burrowed about 60 feet per a 20-hour day. The digging has taken eight months to reach the bulkhead, or retaining wall, at the face of the Wilshire/Western Terminus. A second tunnel boring machine was launched six weeks after the first, and is expected to break through later this month. After this first leg of tunneling, the boring machines will be moved and tunnel west to future station sites at Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega to complete the first of three sections in LA Metro’s Purple Line Extension project by mid-2020.
 |
The $9.8-billion, 9-mile underground subway project ultimately will extend LA Metro’s Purple Line from its current terminus in Koreatown to Westwood/VA Hospital in West Los Angeles. Following the tunneling operation, LA Metro will focus on completing construction of its first three subway stations over the next three years. This first section of the Purple Line extension is scheduled to open in 2023.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) will close two Expo Line stations beginning June 22 as crews begin construction on the Blue Line improvement project's northern segment. The Blue Line was the first urban electric transit line in Los Angeles since the demise of the "Red Cars" in 1961 and the "Yellow Cars" (PCC trolleys) in 1963.
Some of this work will affect the Expo Line, the newest of the four currently operating light rail lines (Blue, Expo,Gold & Green Lines). The 7th Street/Metro Center (current terminal for both the Blue and Expo lines) and Pico stations will close June 22 and reopen August 21 so that crews can replace shared track at the junction of the Expo and Blue lines at Washington Boulevard and Flower Street in the 7th Street/Metro Center tunnel in downtown Los Angeles, LA Metro officials said in a press release.
The Blue Line is undergoing an eight month, $350-million modernization that began in January 2019.
The project's southern section was completed June 1 and marked the total project's halfway point. The northern segment — from Compton Station to 7th St/Metro Center — is expected to reopen in fall.
MESA, AZ - Tramways & Urban Trnasit magazine reported in their July 2019 issue that local officials and hundreds of local residents welcomed the new light rail service to the Gilbert Road/Main Street light rail station in Mesa, Arizona on May 18th. The 1.9 mile extention cost $184 million and include the systems first "roundabout" - only the second on a US Light Rail system.
Incidentally, the first "roundabout" was installed in Salt Lake City in 2003 at Horne and Main Street. Work began in October 2016 and includes a newe stoip at Strapley Drive and a m ulti-model interchange and park-and-ride facility at Gilbert Road.
Valley Metro placed an order with Siemens for 11 of their S70 Low-floor Light Rail Vehicles in May 2017, with options for another 67 for a system now expanding to 28 miles.
PITTSBURG, CA - Bombardier Transportation announced in June that it will open a rail-car assembly site in Pittsburg, California. The first equipment off the assembly line will be for Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) 775-car contract with Bombardier. All 775 cars are expected to be delivered by 2020.
Currently, Bombardier is assembling BART’s order at a site in New York state. Later this year, the work will be transferred to the Pittsburg location to free up space at the New York site for new and upcoming orders on the East Coast, according to a Bombardier press release. As of May 1, BART had received 84 rail cars, with 48 currently in service, according to the BART website.
In a recent passenger survey, BART found that the majority of features on the Bombardier cars in service were well-received. The top-rated features included ease of boarding, lighting, audio announcements, floor-to-ceiling poles and digital displays.
SANTA CLARA, CA - According to a June 11th report from Progressive Railroading, in early June, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) approved the final supplemental environmental impact report (EIR) for the Eastridge-to-BART Regional Connector project, which will extend the light rail 2.4 miles from Alum Rock Station to the Eastridge Transit Center in San Jose, California.
VTA Light Rail is a light rail system serving San Jose, California, and its suburbs in Silicon Valley. It consists of 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of network comprising two main lines and a spur line. Originally opened in 1987, the light rail system has gradually expanded since then, and currently has 62 light rail stations in operation on the three lines. VTA operates a fleet of 99 Kinki Sharyo Low Floor Light Rail Vehicles (LFLRV), obtained in 2002-2005 to service its passengers
.gif)
KinkiSharyo 916 and mate in Tasman Station on August 11, 2005! |
The final supplemental EIR includes design changes made since 2016 and an analysis of how those changes impact the environment. The revised extension design eliminates grade crossings, which will allow light-rail service to travel at faster speeds, according to a VTA press release. With the supplemental EIR's approval in hand, VTA can now work on utility agreements and property acquisition to advance the utility relocation.
Engineering work is expected to be completed by mid-2020. Construction of the $453 million light-rail extension could begin in 2021 with a target opening of 2025, according to the VTA.
SEATTLE, WA - Progressive Railroading also reported in June 4th that Siemens Mobility has entered into a contract worth $80 million contract to overhaul part of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon’s (TriMet) light-rail fleet.
Siemens will overhaul 79 of TriMet’s Siemens SD660 light-rail vehicles, which are at their projected mid-life. The work will allow the fleet to retain safety, performance and passenger comfort standards, according to a Siemens press release. “This group of vehicles have been in service since the mid-to-late 1990's, and they’re still running strong,” said Michael Tyler, head of Siemens Mobility Rail Services in North America. “This mid-life overhaul not only provides the fleet with a face-lift, [it] adds current technology and functionality in order to improve the customer experience.”
Tri-Met purchased 52 Siemens SD660 in 1993, locally called Type 2 cars, and another 27, called Type 3, in 1999. These were among the first partial low floor vehicles mass produced and Tr-Met was the first light rail system in North America to acquire and use low-floor vehicles. The Siemens S70 is a further refinement of the partial low floor design.
 Siemens SD660 vehicle first used in 1997.
|
 Siemens SD660 vehicle first used in 2003!
|
Two pilot light-rail vehicles will be overhauled at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, California. The remaining overhauls will occur at a new Siemens Mobility Rail Services facility in Clackamas, Oregon.
