Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858
Not all of the at-grade sections are in the median of freeways.
Sure it's a mix in between the two types of systems but not sure if I would say it's "fundamentally different" and closer to heavy rail. 48 minutes to travel 20 miles isn't exactly impressive nor that heavy rail like.
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Well, going from the 145th Station to Pioneer Square Station - for example - is nearly 11 miles and will take 18 minutes. That's actually faster than driving, even in moderate traffic, and much faster than driving during the peak period. And it's not like we're talking about an express route - there are 7 stations in urban neighborhoods between those two stops. Same applies to lines to Ballard and Bellevue. In those cases I'd say it's functionally more on the side of heavy rail.
It's true that once you start to get out into the farther out suburbs the difference (between Seattle's and more traditional light rail systems) is much less pronounced - but mass transit really needs to be most efficient in the densest, most congested areas. That's where the biggest differences between heavy and light rail usually exist.
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