Saturday, August 21, 2004

Light Rail News, 21 Aug 2004

Minneapolis' new light-rail train shows what can be (Capital Times, Madison) - On Saturday, June 26, the quality of Andrew Brantingham's life took a sudden - and rather dramatic - turn for the better. On that day, the first segment of Minneapolis' long-awaited, much ballyhooed - and still controversial - Hiawatha high-speed light-rail line opened.

Mall visitors boost light-rail ridership (San Jose Mercury News) - Riders are returning to light rail, but it's where they're headed that might be the big surprise: the mall. According to new Valley Transportation Authority figures, ridership climbed to nearly 566,000 in July -- a 31 percent increase over a year ago.

Light rail maintenance facility contract awarded (Phoenix Business Journal) - Valley Metro Rail awarded a $57.6 million contract to construct its light rail maintenance and storage facility. A joint venture between Sundt Construction Inc. of Phoenix and California-based general contractor Stacy and Witbeck Inc. was the recipient of the contract.

Monorail News, 21 Aug 2004

Monorail appeals to be heard Sept. 8 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) - The State Court of Appeals on Sept. 8 will hear two cases stemming from an attempt to halt Seattle's proposed new monorail.

Friday, August 20, 2004

Houston Light Rail Smackdown, Part 57

Prisoner van struck by Metro light rail train (KHOU-TV Houston) - The latest Metro rail accident sent five people to the hospital. A Tarrant County Sheriff's prisoner van was struck by a Metro light rail train before noon Thursday. The van made an illegal turn at Main and Commerce and collided with a southbound train.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Monorail News, 19 Aug 2004

Knappster: 'Freebie' monorail starting to get expensive (Las Vegas Mercury) - In a brief Saturday editorial, the [Review-Journal] expressed reservations about the rhetorical cartwheels and other expressions of glee emanating from monorail headquarters in recent days over the latest ridership figures for the futuristic contraption, figures which unfortunately show the monorail is falling far below its own ridership projections, and far below what it needs to break even. As the R-J sees it, such numbers don't really justify the overt optimism being expressed by yarn-spinning monorail officials.

Light Rail News, 19 Aug 2004

Light rail revenue, ridership exceed expectations (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal) - More than 462,400 passengers generated $360,000 in revenue during the first month the Hiawatha light-rail trains were in operation. Both figures were nearly double the expectations of the Metropolitan Council, which projected ridership of 231,400 and revenue of around $255,000.

Restaurants, strip club make way for light rail (The Charlotte Observer) - Talk about a diversified real estate portfolio. Guess who owns a strip club, a pool hall, a tombstone factory and a roller skating rink? The city of Charlotte. Those are some of the 59 businesses that Charlotte Area Transit System has bought to make room for its $398.7 million light-rail line.