» Many new streetcar lines expected to begin construction last year are scheduled for this year instead; BRT projects advance all over the map.

The uncertainty in Congress over the future of funding for the nation’s transportation programs has not yet hit local transit authorities, which will collectively spend billions of dollars this year on enhancements to their local public transportation networks. At least 33 metropolitan areas in the U.S. — and five in Canada — are planning to invest in new BRT, streetcar, light rail, metro rail, or commuter rail projects in 2012. Virtually every American project listed here is being at least partially funded through federal capital grants.

The Obama Administration’s zeal for the distribution of small grants for bus rapid transit and streetcar projects through the TIGER and Urban Circulator programs will play out this year more than ever. Seven cities will begin construction on new streetcar lines (most were supposed to begin last year), and Portland and New Orleans plan to open extensions of their existing networks to the public. At least a dozen cities will either have a new bus rapid transit line under construction or completed by the end of 2012.

Meanwhile, the nation’s largest metropolitan areas have not forgotten their interest in more expensive light and heavy rail lines: Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Salt Lake, and Seattle continue to expand their light and commuter rail networks at a breathtaking pace thanks to strong local funding support. New York, perennially the country’s transit leader, will join D.C., Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto, and Vancouver in expanding its metro rail system.

The map above summarizes the planned improvements for the next year. Below is a comprehensive list of the major transit capital projects either under construction already, entering construction this year, or opening for service over the next twelve months. There is a lot to look forward to.

New Transit Capital Projects Opening in 2012

Opening in 2012

• Boston Fitchburg Line Extension to Wachusett (4.5-mile commuter rail), opening in the Spring and funded by a TIGER grant
• Calgary Northeast Line Extension (1.8-mile light rail), opening in the Fall from McKnight-Westwinds to Saddletowne Circle
• Chicago Jeffery Corridor (BRT), opening in the Fall from 67th to 83rd Streets
• Dallas Blue Line Extension (4.5-mile light rail), opening in December from Downtown Garland to Downtown Rowlett
• Dallas Orange Line Phase 1 (5.4-mile light rail), opening July 30 from Bachmann Station to Irving Convention Center Station; Phase II (3.9-mile light rail), opening December 3 from Irving Convention Center Station to Belt Line Station
• Gatineau Rapibus (7.5-mile BRT), from Alexandre-Taché to Lorrain
• Las Vegas Sahara Avenue Corridor (12-mile BRT), opening in February from Red Rock Casino to Boulder Highway
• Los Angeles Orange Line Extension (4 mile busway), opening in Summer from Canoga to Chatsworth
• Los Angeles Expo Line Phase I (6.5-mile light rail), opening in the Spring from downtown L.A. to Culver City
• Los Angeles El Monte Transit Center (new bus terminal), opening in July as the largest bus-only station west of Chicago
• Miami Airport Link (2.4-mile metro rail), opening in the Spring from Earlington Heights Station to Miami Intermodal Center Station
• Monterey Jazz (6.75-mile BRT), opening in the Fall from Sand City to downtown Monterey
• Montréal Train de l’Est (32-mile commuter rail), opening in December from Downtown Montréal to Mascouche
• New Orleans UPT/Loyola Avenue Corridor (1-mile streetcar), opening in June from Union Passenger Terminal to Canal Street
• New York Nostrand/Rogers Avenues BRT (9.3-mile BRT), opening in Summer from Williamsburg Bridge to Sheepshead Bay
• Pittsburgh North Shore Connector (1.2-mile light rail), opening in March from Gateway Center to Allegheny Station
• Portland Eastside Streetcar Loop (3.3-mile streetcar), opening 21 September from Pearl District to Riverfront District, via Lloyd Center and Burnside
• Providence Rail to Wickford Junction (commuter rail), from Warwick to Wickford Junction
• Sacramento Green Line to the River District (1-mile light rail), opening in the Spring from downtown into the River District
• San Antonio Via Primo (BRT), running on Fredricksburg Road from downtown to South Texas Medical Center
• Seattle Sounder Lakewood Extension (8-mile commuter rail), opening in the Spring from Tacoma Dome to Lakewood Station
• Seattle RapidRide C Line (BRT), opening in the fall from downtown to West Seattle
• Seattle RapidRide D Line (BRT), opening in the fall from downtown to Crown Hill, via Ballard
• Stockton Joaquin Hammer Lane Corridor (6.3-mile BRT), connecting Interstate 5 and State Route 99
• Toronto Mississauga MiWay (BRT), from Mississauga City Centre to Renforth
• Twin Cities Cedar Avenue BRT (16-mile bus rapid transit), running from 28th Avenue Station and Mall of America in Bloomington to 215th Street in Lakeville, via Eagan and Apple Valley
• Winnipeg Southwest Corridor (2.2-mile BRT), opening in April from downtown to Fort Rouge

New Construction Starts for 2012

• Atlanta Downtown Streetcar (2.6-mile streetcar), opening in 2013 from Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site to Centennial Olympic Park
• Cincinnati Downtown Streetcar (2-mile streetcar), opening in 2013 from Over-the-Rhine to Riverfront
• Denver Northwest Rail Segment (2-mile electric commuter rail), opening in 2016 from Pecos St Station to South Westminster, part of Denver’s FasTracks program
• Fort Collins Mason Corridor (BRT), opening in 2014 from South Transit Center to Downtown Transit Center
• Jacksonville North Corridor (9.3-mile BRT), opening in 2014 from Downtown to Armsdale Road
• Los Angeles Crenshaw Corridor (8.5-mile light rail), opening in 2018 from Exposition Boulevard to LAX/Aviation Station
• Milwaukee Streetcar (streetcar), opening in 2014 from Milwaukee Intermodal Station to Central Business District
• New Britain-Hartford Busway (9.4-mile busway), opening in 2014 from Hartford to New Britain
• New Orleans French Quarter Expansion Project (2.5-mile streetcar), opening in 2013 from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue
• Orlando SunRail Line (31-mile commuter rail), opening in 2014 from DeLand to DeBary. Phase II will extend project by an additional 30 miles
• Roaring Fork Valley VelociRFTA (BRT), opening in 2013 from Aspen to South Glenwood
• St. Louis Loop Trolley (streetcar), opening in 2014 from Missouri History Museum to University Gate
• Salt Lake City Sugar House Streetcar (2-mile streetcar), opening in 2014
• San Bernardino sbX (15.7-mile BRT), opening in 2014 from downtown to Cal State San Bernardino
• San Francisco Bay Area BART to Silicon Valley Phase I (10-mile metro rail), opening in 2018 from Warm Springs to Berryessa in San Jose
• San Francisco Bay Area East Bay BRT (BRT), opening in 2015 from San Leandro to Berkeley
• San Francisco Bay Area Santa Clara-Alum Rock (7.4-mile BRT), opening in 2014 from Eastridge Transit Center to HP Pavilion
• Seattle First Hill Streetcar (2.2-mile streetcar), opening in 2013 from Capitol Hill to King Street Station, via Broadway
• Seattle North Link (4.3-mile light rail), opening in 2021 from Brooklyn to Northgate
• Seattle South Link (1.6-mile light rail), opening in 2016 from SeaTac Airport to South 200th Street
• Seattle RapidRide E Line (BRT), opening in 2013 from downtown to Shoreline
• Seattle RapidRide F Line (BRT), opening in 2013 between Burien and Renton, via Tukwila International Boulevard
• Sonoma-Marin SMART Train (commuter rail), opening in 2014 from Railroad Square in Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael
• Tampa MetroRapid North-South (17.5-mile BRT), opening in 2013 from downtown to Temple Terrace Park and Ride, via Nebraska and Fletcher Avenues
• Tucson Modern Streetcar (3.9-mile streetcar), opening in 2013 from University of Arizona to Downtown Tucson
• Vancouver Evergreen Line (metro rail), opening in 2016 from Lougheed Town Centre to Douglas College
• Washington, DC Dulles Metrorail Extension Phase 2, opening in 2016 from Wiehle Avenue to Route 772, via Dulles Airport

Already Under Construction, Opening After 2012

Opening in 2013

• Austin Capital MetroRapid (BRT), running along Lamar, South Congress, and Burnet
• Boston Fairmount Line Improvements, adding four new stations to Fairmount Commuter Rail Line
• Calgary West Line (5.2-mile light rail), from Sunalta to 69 Street Station with four intermediate stops
• Denver West Line (12-mile light rail), part of Denver’s FasTracks program
• Denver Union Station, redevelopment of city’s major transit hub, part of Denver’s FasTracks program
• Miami Central Station, new interchange between commuter rail, metro, and AirportLink
• New York City 7 Line Extension (1.3-mile metro rail)
• Salt Lake Airport TRAX (6 mile light rail), from Downtown Salt Lake City to Salt Lake International Airport, part of Salt Lake FrontLines 2015 program
• Washington, DC Dulles Metrorail Extension Phase 1 (11.6-mile metro rail), from East Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue
• Washington, DC Anacostia and H Street Streetcars (6.2-mile streetcar)

Opening in 2014

• Boston Assembly Square Station, added as an infill station to Orange Line
• Dallas Orange Line Phase 2 to airport (4.7-mile light rail)
• Edmonton North to NAIT (2-mile light rail)
• Houston East End Line (3-mile light rail)
• Houston Southeast Line (6.1-mile light rail)
• Houston North Line (5.2-mile light rail)
• Los Angeles Gold Line Foothill Extension (11.3-mile light rail), from Sierra Madre Villa to Azusa
• Minneapolis Central Corridor (11-mile light rail), from Target Field in downtown Minneapolis to Union Depot in downtown St. Paul
• New York City Fulton Street Transit Center, redevelopment of downtown’s largest subway interchange
• New York City WTC/PATH Transportation Hub, redevelopment of downtown’s station for subway service to New Jersey
• Salt Lake City Draper Transit Corridor (3.8-mile light rail), from Sandy Civic Center to Pioneer Road, part of Salt Lake FrontLines 2015 program
• San Francisco Oakland Airport Connector (3.2-mile metro rail)

Opening in 2015

• Portland-Milwaukie Corridor (7.3-mile light rail)
• Salt Lake City FrontRunner South (44-mile commuter rail), from Salt Lake Central Station to Provo, part of Salt Lake FrontLines 2015 program
• San Francisco Bay Area BART to Warm Springs Extension (5.4-mile metro rail), from Fremont Station south to Warm Springs
• Toronto Georgetown South Project and AirLink (commuter rail upgrade and 2-mile extension), including spur to Toronto-Pearson Airport
• Toronto Spadina Extension (5.6-mile metro rail), from Downsview to Vaughan Corporate Center
• Toronto Union Station Revitalization, renovation and expansion of the city’s primary commuter rail hub

Opening in 2016

• Denver East Corridor (22.8-mile electric commuter rail), from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport, part of Denver’s FasTracks program
• Denver Gold Line (11.2-mile electric commuter rail), from Denver Union Station to Ward Road, part of Denver’s FasTracks program
• Los Angeles Expo Line Phase II to Santa Monica (light rail)
• New York City Second Avenue Subway Phase 1 (2-mile metro rail)
• New York City Long Island Railroad Eastside Access to Grand Central (4-mile commuter rail)
• San Francisco Bay Area eBART (10-mile commuter rail), from Pittsburgh/Bay Point to Hillcrest Avenue
• Seattle University Link (3.2-mile light rail)
• Washington, DC Dulles Metrorail Extension Phase 2 (11.5-mile metro rail)

Opening in 2018

• Honolulu Rail Transit (20-mile metro rail), from Ala Moana Center to Kapolei, via Airport; opening in phases with full completion in 2018
• San Francisco Transbay Transit Center, downtown’s planned major bus and rail terminus

Opening in 2019

• San Francisco Central Subway (1.7-mile light rail subway), from 4th and Brennan Station to Chinatown

Opening in 2020

• Toronto Eglinton Crosstown (15.5-mile metro rail), from Keele Street to Scarborough Town Centre

» Streetcar lines dominate the nation’s new transit construction landscape, but this year only light and commuter rail lines will open for service.

Lest one think that investment in transit is a coasts-only phenomenon in the United States, the sheer quantity of spending planned for new public transportation projects across the country in 2011 indicates otherwise.

In almost every major city or metropolitan area in both the U.S. and Canada, major new rail or bus links are being readied for service. Over the course of the next year, five new light rail lines or extensions will open for operations, as will two new commuter rail corridors. Perhaps more significantly, there are a dozen projects that will enter the construction process — including many streetcar projects — in addition to the dozens already underway. In sum, these represent a continent-wide public sector commitment to the extension of transit offerings.

All of the corridors opening for service, entering the construction phase, or already under construction in 2011 are listed below.

To note: Many of these lines may not get off the ground as expected. A year ago, Cincinnati, Detroit, and other cities seemed on the verge of beginning construction on their respective rail transit lines — but they have yet to get started on them. In addition, I would be remiss if I did not point out that this information is updated throughout the year in The Transport Politic’s Under Construction and Planned sections.

New Service Planned for 2011

January

» Eugene/Springfield Gateway EmX Extension bus rapid transit will open on the 9th from downtown Springfield to Gateway Mall and Sacred Heart. The 7.8-mile project cost a total of $41.3 million.

May

» Norfolk Tide light rail line, the first of its kind in Virginia, will bring service along a 7.4-mile route that will encompass 11 stations and attract between 6,000 and 12,000 riders per day. The project cost a total of $338 million.

June

» Denton County A-Train will open 21 miles of diesel commuter rail between Denton and North Carrollton, where there will be a connection with Dallas DART Green Line light rail. Construction costs totaled $191 million. This project was originally supposed to be completed in December 2010.

Mid-Year (No date yet specified)

» Los Angeles Expo Line Phase 1A light rail opens between downtown L.A. and Culver City, though the final station on the line will not be completed until 2012. The first, 8.5 mile phase cost $899 million and will share tracks with the Blue Line downtown. A further extension from Culver City to Santa Monica is planned and funded. This project was originally supposed to be completed in December 2010.

» Sacramento Riverfront District Green Line Extension opens, extending light rail an additional mile into a major development zone north of the state capital’s downtown. The line is the first section of a larger program to bring rail transit to Natomas Airport.

August

» Salt Lake City West Valley and Mid-Jordan TRAX light rail will open on the 7th. The West Valley line will run 5.1 miles southwest from 2100 South Central Pointe to West Valley City Center. The $250-290 million project is expected to attract 10,500 riders per day by 2030. The Mid-Jordan line will run 10.6 miles from 6400 South to Daybreak and is expected to attract 19,000 riders per day.

December

» Rhode Island Wickford Junction Commuter Rail Extension will open between T.F. Green Airport near Providence and Wickford, where a large transit village is planned. Boston MBTA commuter rail service will offer service.

New Construction Starts

Atlanta

» Downtown Streetcar (2.6-mile streetcar) from Centennial Olympic Park to Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site, via downtown. $289 million project (including a second phase not yet funded) will open for service in 2013.

Cincinnati

» Downtown Streetcar (4.9 mile loop streetcar) from the Banks to University Plaza, via downtown and Over the Rhine. $128 million project is expected to open in 2012, and is estimated to attract 6,400 daily riders.

Detroit

» Woodward Avenue Corridor (9.3-mile light rail) from Hart Plaza to Eight Mile. $500 million project could be completed by 2016. Being built in cooperation with privately funded M1 group.

Hartford

» Hartford-New Britain Busway (9.4-mile BRT) from Hartford to New Britain. $579 million project will open for operations in 2013.

Honolulu

» Honolulu Rail Project (20-mile metro rail) from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center. $5.5 billion project will open in stages between 2012 and 2018.

Los Angeles

» Crenshaw Corridor (8.5-mile light rail) from Exposition Boulevard (Expo Line) to LAX (Green Line), via Inglewood. $1.4 billion project will open in 2016 and serve between 15,200 and 21,300 riders a day.

New Orleans

» Loyola Avenue Corridor (1.5-mile streetcar) from Howard Avenue and Union Passenger Terminal to Canal Street. $45 million project will open in 2012.

Orlando

» Sunrail Phase 1 (31-mile commuter rail) from DeBary to Orlando. $615 million project will open by 2013. 30 miles of additional extensions, north to DeLand and south Poinciana, expected to be completed by 2015, will produce 7,400 daily trips by 2030.

Portland

» Portland-Milwaukie Corridor (7.3-mile light rail) from Portland State University to Milwaukie and Oak Grove. $1.5 billion project will open in 2015 and is expected to attract 22,000 and 26,000 daily trips.

Salt Lake City

» Sugar House Streetcar (2-mile streetcar) from Central Pointe to McClelland. Project will open in 2013 and is expected to attract 4,000 daily riders by 2030.

San Francisco Bay Area

» Sonoma-Marin Train (SMART) (70 mile diesel commuter rail) from Cloverdale to Larkspur, via San Rafael and Novato. $590 million project will open in 2014 and is expected to attract 5,300 daily riders.

Seattle

» First Hill Streetcar (2.2-mile streetcar) from First Hill to the International District, connecting areas on Capitol Hill. $140 million project will open for service in 2013.

Tucson

» Tucson Modern Streetcar (3.9-mile streetcar) from Arizona Health Sciences Center to downtown, via University of Arizona. $197 million project will open in 2013.

Vancouver

» Evergreen Line (6.8 mile metro rail) from Lougheed Town Centre to Douglas College, via Port Moody. C$1.4 billion project will extend existing Millennium line in 2015 and is expected to attract 70,000 daily riders by 2021.

Already Under Construction, Opening After 2011

Opening in 2012

• Boston Fitchburg Line Extension to Wachusett (4.5-mile commuter rail)
• Calgary Northeast Line Extension (1.8-mile light rail) and West Line (5.2-mile light rail)
• Dallas Blue Line Extension (4.5-mile light rail) and Orange Line Phase 1 (9.3-mile light rail)
• Los Angeles Orange Line Extension (4 mile busway) and Expo Line Phase 1B (6.5-mile light rail)
• Miami Orange Line Phase 1 (2.4-mile metro rail)
• Montréal Train de l’Est (32-mile commuter rail)
• Pittsburgh North Shore Connector (1.2-mile light rail)
• Portland Eastside Streetcar Loop (3.3-mile streetcar)
• Seattle Sounder Lakewood Extension (8-mile commuter rail)
• Washington, DC Anacostia and H Street Streetcars (6.2-mile streetcar)

Opening in 2013

• Denver West Line (12-mile light rail)
• Salt Lake Airport TRAX (6 mile light rail)
• Toronto Sheppard Avenue East Line (8.7-mile light rail); Note that this project is a bit up in the air because of the election of anti-light rail Mayor Rob Ford in fall 2010
• Washington, DC Dulles Metrorail Extension Phase 1 (11.6-mile metro rail)

Opening in 2014

• Dallas Orange Line Phase 2 to airport (4.7-mile light rail)
• Edmonton North to NAIT (2-mile light rail)
• Houston East End Line (3-mile light rail), Southeast Line (6.1-mile light rail), and North Line (5.2-mile light rail)
• Los Angeles Gold Line Foothill Extension (11.3-mile light rail)
• Minneapolis Central Corridor (11-mile light rail)
• New York City 7 Line Extension (1.3-mile metro rail)
• San Francisco Bay Area BART to Warm Springs Extension (5.4-mile metro rail) and eBART (10-mile commuter rail) and Oakland Airport Connector (3.2-mile metro rail)

Opening in 2015

• Denver East Corridor (22.8-mile commuter rail)
• Salt Lake City Airport Line (6-mile light rail) and FrontRunner South (44-mile commuter rail)
• Toronto Spadina Extension (5.6-mile metro rail)

Opening in 2016

• New York City Long Island Railroad Eastside Access to Grand Central (4-mile commuter rail)
• Seattle University Link (3.2-mile light rail)
• Washington, DC Dulles Metrorail Extension Phase 2 (11.5-mile metro rail)

Opening in 2017

• New York City Second Avenue Subway Phase 1 (2-mile metro rail)

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

The Transport Politic

• New York to study Red Hook streetcars, but what are the city’s goals?
• New Heartland Corridor increases freight capacity between East Coast and Chicago
• Tampa outlines plan for spending after transit tax referendum
• Political will disappearing, New Jersey’s ARC project could be on the way out

Bus Rapid Transit in San Francisco’s East Bay, on Next American City

• Look Out? Building a BRT line in California is No Simple Matter
• Opposition to a Bus Rapid Transit System is More than Just NIMBYism
• Envisioning a Different Kind of Region

California and Its Friends

• With the November elections in the U.S. likely to be difficult for generally pro-high-speed rail Democrats, the likelihood of increasing federal funding for the transportation mode over the next few years is depressingly low, putting in peril California’s plans for a $45 billion network of fast trains linking all of the state’s major cities. This in spite of increasing evidence that high-speed rail provides serious economic benefits.
• Foreigners, however, may be coming to help. Last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to Asia and received commitments for aid from both Japan and China. Each pledged significant loans for the project, even as China continues its domestic rail expansion; it announced that it would have 13,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in operation by 2012 and 16,000 kilometers by 2020.
• Siemens, which is intent on selling its Velaro trainsets to U.S. customers including California and Florida, will be shipping an example model to the latter state. In California, especially if Asian countries step in to help finance that project (Germany has made no such agreement), Siemens may face competition from Chinese and Japanese manufacturers.

Everyone Else

• Houston continues to face the negative consequences of its decision to award a contract to a Spanish company to build light rail trains for its planned transit network. That deal, which included the construction of several example vehicles in Spain rather than the U.S., was called out as in violation of federal “Buy America” rules by the Federal Transit Administration. This will delay the completion of the North, Southeast, and East End corridors, once expected to be done by October 2013 but now at least a year late.
• Germany may finally be lifting its 79-year ban on domestic intercity buses, which it has had in place to ensure the stability of its national rail system.
• Charlotte, which has had a major transit expansion plan on the table for more than a decade, runs into major cost limitations thanks to the effects of the recession. This means that the city and its suburbs will have to duke it out over the next few years to determine which lines will be prioritized and how to find more funding.

Image above: CAF light rail train such as was planned for Houston, from CAF

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

The Transport Politic:

• European transport agencies consolidate intercity rail operations in face of competition
• Stations picked, huge automated transit project for Paris is closer to realization
• Promoting a second stimulus with the goal of actual job creation

Next American City:

• Minding the Gaps: Streetcar plans in Detroit and New Orleans (in the magazine)
• New Orleans could be up for radical change with the removal of a highway
• If transit investment produces jobs, why isn’t there more of it?

Canadians like transit

• The Canadian federal government has agreed to commit $265 million to the Waterloo light rail project, which will extend into Kitchener and Cambridge. The local governments involved may not be able to find the rest of the funds to pay for the almost $700 million program.
• Elsewhere in Ontario, the provincial government has found $600 million to fund the light rail system there, which will replace a busway with a rail tunnel through downtown. Though that project is being contested in the upcoming mayoral election, this money makes its construction more likely. Ontario has already agreed to spend billions on the Toronto area transit system.
• Calgary planners propose two express buses and a streetcar all serving the airport. Many politicians, on the other hand, want a light rail extension there.

High-speed rail takes time

• South Korea, which already has a high-speed system roughly based on the French TGV, plans a major expansion to connect all of the country’s major cities. Links to North Korea, however, aren’t likely for a long time.
• Siemens promotes its trains in ads across the internet, hoping to win commissions for contracts in California, Florida, and the Midwest. For now, though, the only company that will for sure build new trains for the U.S. is Spanish concern Talgo, which will construct trains for Wisconsin.
• Despite the big benefits of high-speed rail for California, people on the Peninsula are continuing to fight its development. A Palo Alto committee declares “no confidence” in the project. But the High-Speed Rail Authority reaffirms its push for an alignment through that city.

Bikes!

• Washington, D.C. has begun the installation of its new bike sharing stations, Beyond DC reports. The first station was actually put up in Arlington, but the whole system should be up and operating later this fall. I questioned the density of the system earlier in the summer.

Image above: Montréal Métro, from Flickr user David Salafia (cc)

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

On The Transport Politic:

• U.S. Announces $8.5 Billion in Requests for High-Speed Funds; $2.3 Billion Available
• Can Bike Sharing Work in Cities With Monofunctional Job Centers?
• Chicago’s Parking Fiasco Fails to Stem Calls for Privatization of Infrastructure
• Chicago’s Plans for a High-Speed Airport Link Revived Thanks to Investor Interest

A note on the last article: In discussing the matter of access between Chicago’s downtown and its airport, I neglected to mention two important issues about such links that generally apply to places throughout the country. One, that they’re too often proposed as elixirs (even “money-makers”) for struggling transportation agencies and thus that they are sometimes prioritized over more important projects; and two, that the City of Chicago would do well if it truly thought over the value of such a connection before it pushed its construction. The second is especially relevant considering the clear current federal emphasis on high-speed intercity projects. Last year, French national railroad company SNCF proposed a bypass loop around Chicago, running through the airport, as an essential element of its proposal for a Midwest high-speed rail project, but didn’t suggest a direct fast downtown-airport connection. Perhaps that should put in question what is the more important investment for the whole region.

New Directions for the Old South series on Next American City:

• For an Increasingly Urban Nashville, the Waterfront is the Place for Change
• Driven Over by I-69

Fast Trains Aren’t Easy

For those hoping high-speed rail could be a non-partisan issue, this week likely served as an ugly wake-up call. In Wisconsin, which received hundreds of millions of dollars from the Obama Administration earlier this year, GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker has been making a big deal about how he would return the money if he’s elected to office later this fall. This isn’t new news from Walker, who’s been fighting the project for months, but now he has created a special website designed to criticize the Milwaukee-Madison intercity rail project, which he’s opposing because it would require the state to chip in annual operating subsidies. He prefers investing in roads subsidies instead.

Over at the California High-Speed Rail Blog, Robert Cruickshank has detailed the push by Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to delay funding for the high-speed rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Her Democratic rival Jerry Brown supports a project speed-up, whatever that means.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal suggests that the $8.5 billion in requests for funding the DOT received for a $2.3 billion pot earlier this month means that states are backing off from high-speed rail because of the now-required 20% local commitment. This, evidently, is too much for many states, especially those controlled by conservatives who are uninterested in putting up their own money.

Image above: Light rail at Denver’s Union Station, from Flickr user DanTheWebmaster (cc)

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

On The Transport Politic:

• Transportation user fee model obsolete, but no solution on the horizon
• Jacksonville’s transit future, at least for now, is in bus rapid transit
• Dallas compromises, finding funds for some light rail projects
• Overselling the benefits of high-speed rail

New Directions for the Old South series on Next American City:

• Raleigh’s downtown upgrade pans out
• Raleigh’s streetscape renewal, part of an integrated effort to transform downtown
• Knoxville’s Market Square shows pedestrian-only spaces can work, too

Politics

• Setting a different tone, Ohio Senator George Voinovich (R) calls for an expansion of the federal gas tax for transportation, describes Robert Cruickshank on California High-Speed Rail Blog. Of course, virtually no one else in power agrees with the plan and Voinovich will retire early next year.
• Transportation can play an important role in electoral politics. Joe Sestak (D), running for one of Pennsylvania’s Senate seats, promotes high-speed rail as a campaign initiative. Governor Martin O’Malley (D), running for re-election in Maryland, argues that two transit lines set him apart from his competitor.
• Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who has promised his constituents a vote on the expansion of light rail service to West Seattle, will likely not be able to stage a referendum next year. Opposition from City Council is causing problems.

Big Things

• Chinese authorities announce that all of their high-speed rail lines will eventually be operationally profitable. The first corridor, from Beijing to Tianjin, will set the precedent later this year.
• Stuttgart’s €4 billion project to reshape the way intercity trains move through the city gets underway. The program has met lots of opposition because it requires the demolition of part of the existing terminal for the construction of a huge underground concourse.
• Dallas provides a beautiful visualization of its airport light rail connection, now finally funded according to news this week. On a far smaller scale, the expansion south to downtown Bayonne of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line in Northern New Jersey is planned to be completed by this fall.

Image above: Nashville’s Music City Circuit stopped at waterfront rail station, by Yonah Freemark

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time. I’ll be traveling this week and next; if you’d like to meet up in New Orleans (July 29-August 1) or San Francisco (August 2-7), send me an email.

On The Transport Politic:

• Ohio Hub advances as passenger rail connections to Toledo and Pittsburgh studied
• New Haven, Stamford enter streetcar wars with proposed station-to-downtown links
• Ensuring the efficient workings of a bike-sharing system
• The U.S. emphasis on passenger rail and the future of freight

Beginnings

• Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell announces that he’ll consider “flexing” some of his state’s highway dollars for the purposes of funding transit. Despite the fact that federal law allows almost all roads money to be used for public transportation, the instances of that being done are rare.
• High-speed rail plans in Florida and Illinois are rapidly approaching reality. In the Sunshine State, surveying has begun despite the fact that not all cash has yet been appropriated to the project. Meanwhile, Illinois has announced that construction on the Chicago-St. Louis line (110 mph) will begin in September.
• Two rail projects of vastly different magnitudes are beginning to have their tracks laid. In Sonoma and Marin Counties north of San Francisco, Caltrans has been installing steel along Highway 101 for the 70-mile SMART commuter train (pictured above). In China, the 820-mile Beijing-Shanghai line has had its right-of-way cleared, and similar operations are under way.

Expansions

• A Québecois leader, affirming his desire to be closer to the U.S. than the rest of Canada, suggests that high-speed rail between Montréal and New York is a top priority, but does little to advance Montréal-Toronto link, despite that being a more realistic and probably more attractive project.
• Detroit Mayor Dave Bing argues that the U.S. Government is planning to fund the expansion of his number one goal: a light rail line from downtown to 8 Mile. The U.S. DOT has yet to demonstrate its commitment to the program outside of the initial corridor to Grand Avenue.
• The San Francisco Bay Area’s BART commuter system, advances plan to fund the Oakland Airport Connector, in face of months of protests.

Improvements

• After one year in service, Seattle’s Central Link light rail system demonstrates steadily increasing ridership, but it may not be able to reach pre-opening projections for the end of 2010. Aaron Renn of the Urbanophile says that “commuting market share is the wrong way to judge transit,” but it would be interesting to know what percentage of people along Seattle’s transit corridor are using the new line to get to work. In the U.S. capital region, overall transit commute share increased from 17% to 21% between 2001 and 2010; that’s an exciting change.
• Jarrett Walker argues that the Strasbourg model, which uses light rail to promote sustainable transportation between top destinations, isn’t necessarily applicable to many cities in the United States. Now that the U.S. Senate has reduced spending for high-speed rail, increased money for highways, and removed references to “livability” and a future infrastructure bank, that seems especially true. Nevertheless, the DOT continues its relentless pursuit of transit-oriented cities.

Image above: Proposed Petaluma SMART Station, from SMART

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

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On The Transport Politic:

• San Juan unveils plan for “Walkable City,” hopes for light rail on Isleta
• China agrees to major investments in Argentina’s rail and metro lines
• Fort Worth wins grant for streetcar, but whether it’s ready is another question
• Miami’s long-sought plans for metro extensions dissolve as funding disappears
• For French high-speed rail, a lower cost future pondered

Fast!

• Begin: Brazil opens bidding for the construction of the Rio-Sao Paulo high-speed rail link. Planners hope to have the project completed in time for Rio’s 2016 Summer Olympics.
• Closer: Saudi Arabia receives six bids for the building and maintenance of its Haramain high-speed line, which would connect Mecca and Medina after €10 billion in investment. The Alstom/SNCF team is apparently the front-runner.
• Almost: France chooses Vinci-led consortium of companies to begin work on the Tours-Bordeaux fast train line, a €7.8 billion project that will be the biggest of its type in Europe.
• Ready: By the end of the year, Turkey plans to begin operation on its Ankara-Konya high-speed line, cutting a currently 10-hour trip to only 75 minutes.

Not so fast!

• The global light rail market is expanding at a rapid clip, expected to reach $7.5 billion annually by 2015. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean every planned project will be built.
• The Boston Green Line extension into Somerville, proposed for years and the result of a settlement to mitigate the effects of the Big Dig, is increasing in construction costs, now up to one billion dollars. Partly for that reason, it has been delayed until October 2015.

Feats

• Los Angeles celebrates the 20th birthday of its Metro Rail system, whose Blue Line began the Southern California train revolution with a link between downtown and Long Beach.
• New York finally completes initial tunneling work on the 7 train extension into the Far West Side.
• Guangzhou BRT, a one-line system, is now recording 800,000 trips a day, a world record. It is one of the heaviest-used corridors of any type in the world.

Difficulties

• BART continues its campaign to build the Oakland Airport Connector, despite significant criticism over its social utility.
• German railways simply can’t stand the heat.

Image above: Buses in Guangzhou, from Flickr user Michael Mooney

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Slow updates this week and next — I’m on vacation. Happy Fourth! Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

On The Transport Politic:

• Once assured, Dallas light rail expansion to airport now off track
• Barcelona’s Metro continues its expansion at a relatively cheap price
• Lyon’s Rhônexpress project pioneers a new way of thinking about public-private partnerships

Tension

• Charlotte prepares to receive a $25 million grant from the federal government for the first 1.5-mile section of its proposed streetcar. Nothing is assured, though: The city’s competing with a number of other big competitors for grants, including Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Washington.
• A commentator in Kansas City makes the almost laughable comparison between public transit in Stockholm, Sweden and his Missouri city. One has a fast rail link to the airport, a metro system, commuter trains. The other has… none of that.
• Portland may be orienting the route of its future Milwaukie Light Rail project in the interests of wealthy developers. Is that a good idea?
• The New York Times‘ San Francisco bureau exposes some of the conflicts between proponents of big transit-oriented developments and environmentalists.

Relief

• New York may be slow at building new subway lines, but that doesn’t mean it’s incapable of improving its system appropriately. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has produced an interesting video on the currently under construction passage linking the Lawrence Street and Jay Street stations in downtown Brooklyn. This block-long tunnel will handle 32,000 commuters everyday, allowing them a quicker route to their Manhattan destinations.
• They’ve been talking about it forever, but L.A. is finally getting its Gold Line light rail extension program under construction. The so-called Foothill expansion will run from Sierra Madre Villa to Azusa. One hopes L.A. Metro avoids the kind of revenue problems that have led to service cutbacks in cities like St. Louis, which is only now restoring operations thanks to a sales tax increase approved earlier this year.
• A month after the plan was announced, the City of London (the Greater London Authority, not the “City”) takes full control of the Underground, buying off a group of public-private partnerships. The Taiwan high-speed rail project, which was financed by private groups and had trouble last year keeping afloat, posted last month its first operating profit after three years.

Image above: Charlotte Streetcar project map, from CATS Application for Urban Circulator Grant

» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

On The Transport Politic:

• Readying streetcar plans, Cincinnati considers reducing parking requirements
• Philadelphia may accept money to privatize station naming; Pittsburgh considers similar move
• Seattle’s North Link light rail, originally considered for highway-running, may be partially tunneled
• Alberta dedicates $2 billion to transit programs

Making existing transit work better

• Reinforcing the sense that the top priority for transit systems around the country is getting to a state of good repair, Chicago announces that it has a $24 billion backlog to get its elevated, commuter, and bus lines back in order.
• After an evaluation, Charlotte comes to the conclusion that it loses a total of $300 a day to fare beaters on its light rail system, hardly making a dent in its overall budget. In Paris, turnstile-jumpers form an informal insurance society to pay back tickets.
• Berliners, convinced that the stairs into the U-Bahn are just too boring, opt to build a slide down into the subway.

Gearing up for rail

• Kansas City, having tried repeatedly to fund a light rail line, turns increasingly towards commuter rail and hopes to get a federal commitment.
• Paresh Dave writes an intriguing article on the forces at play in the construction of Los Angeles’ Expo light rail line. Meanwhile, California voters will consider a measure this fall that will prevent the state government from removing transit funding.
• Maryland announces that it will prioritize development around transit stations through subsidies and incentives.

Fighting for speed

• The United Kingdom, whose newly conservative government is demanding massive reductions in public sector spending, plans to sell off the rights to High-Speed 1, which terminates into London’s St. Pancras International (pictured above) after a trip northwest from the Channel Tunnel.
• Texas politicians assemble to discuss the potential for implementing a “T-Bone”-shaped high-speed rail line, despite the state government’s manifest unwillingness to put any local money into the project.
• California High-Speed Rail Blog expounds on the inevitability of fast train service to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, some California legislators promote a bill that would require the state’s high-speed rail project to judge potential operators based on their involvement in the Holocaust — a policy that could affect France’s SNCF, Italy’s Trenitalia, Spain’s Renfe, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn…

Gone…

• When it was completed in 2005, the SAFETEA-LU transportation bill included billions of dollars in Congressionally approved earmarks for transportation projects around the nation. Five years later, some of that money went unused. At the top of the list: North Carolina’s Triangle, which missed out on $20 million for regional rail; Rochester, which was given $10 million for a transit center; and Michigan, which got $5 million to help build a commuter rail line between Ann Arbor and Detroit.

Image above: Eurostar trains at London’s St. Pancras International, the terminus of High-Speed 1, by Flickr user slideshow bob (cc)