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I don't think many people outside of SD even know about it, it doesn't really have a lot of ridership, about 8k daily I believe. But the fact such an auto-oriented suburban area 30+ miles from downtown SD even has light rail is somewhat impressive.
Wow! It's great seeing all the rail lines being built around the world!
Here's the All Aboard Florida railway, which is slated to begin major construction on the railroad stations as well as some routes that will be running sometime in 2014.
Construction on the the railway station and platforms are already underway in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and in Orlando.
This is very exciting for us living in Florida as this is the only commuter rail service from Miami and up to the north, other than the tri-rail, which doesn't go as far as Orlando, which I'm sure tourist from Orlando, where Disney World is located, will certainly be a nice draw of people from the south in Florida going up there for vacation, plus all the other areas along its route.
What: Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) is developing a privately owned, operated and maintained intercity passenger rail service that will give business and leisure passengers a new convenient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to travel between South Florida and Central Florida.
Where: The new route will feature passenger service along the existing Florida East Coast Corridor between Miami and the Space Coast and the creation of new tracks into Central Florida. Stations are currently planned for the downtowns of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and the future Intermodal Station at the Orlando International Airport.
When: Approximately 195 of the 235 miles of Right of Way (ROW) needed are in place and the corridor has been used for rail operations for more than a century. This gives the passenger rail service a jump start to begin operating in the shortest timeframe possible. All Aboard Florida is focused on choosing its rolling stock, identifying exact station locations and other significant decisions that will affect the overall timeline.
Who: FECI would own, operate and manage the passenger rail line.
If the proposed Purple Line in Maryland ever becomes circumferential around Washington DC, hitting more suburbs in Maryland along with Virginia. I think that will be a perfect example.
With the exeption of Los Angeles, I can't think of any major city where a network of suburban rail lines feeding into a central hub wouldn't do just as good a job -- in fact, a better job than a suburb-to-suburb equivalent of a Beltway or Ring Road. For all practical purposes, rail service eliminates the factor of congestion, and I think it's a given that any expansion of rail service in those Oh!-soooh-proprty-value-conscious areas would cause a major spasm among the people affected.
Philadelphia demonstrated this beautifully about twenty-five years ago when the former Reading Terminal and Pennsylvania Railroad Suburban Staion were linked by a new tunnel - it became possible to go from just about any suburban location to another suburb with only one change (with a few exceptions like the Norristown high-speed line, subway/surface cars to the southwestern suburbs, and city subway and elevated lines).
The one questionable move in all this was the cutback of "exurban" service to communities like Betlehem, Pottstown, Reading and West Chester. I don't think the service all the way to Pottsville could have been sustained by any argument, however -- just too lightly settled, and it's pickup-truck country.
But a positive to this is that the rights of way for the suspended servces remian mostly intact and unused -- with the exception of the Reading line which became a principal freight route for Nortfolk Southern. That could be a very useful alternative if and when another round of global industialization puts more upward pressure on the supply of petroleum; I woudln't look for that to happen quite that soon, however.
The one questionable move in all this was the cutback of "exurban" service to communities like Betlehem, Pottstown, Reading and West Chester. I don't think the service all the way to Pottsville could have been sustained by any argument, however -- just too lightly settled, and it's pickup-truck country.
I would go as far to say if SEPTA restored service to those towns listed then its commuter rail ridership would rival the Chicago Metra system.
SEPTA moves forward with proposed Norristown High Speedline extension to King of Prussia. For those who don't know, the NHSL is a "suburb to suburb" rail line. The project is expected to be completed in 8 years. It will be finished around the same time the Glassboro-Camden rail line is completed in South Jersey. Hopefully the Penn Line will be finally extended the Newark, DE by that time period. I'm happy the Philly area is finally starting improving rail service after years of being stagnant.
Last edited by gwillyfromphilly; 02-06-2014 at 05:54 PM..
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