light rail

Because the news broke on a weekend, the press reports on the dissolution of the talks between Metro and AnsaldoBreda on extending the exclusive contract to build rail cars for the agency were less-than-complete.  Before the news of the verdict in the Christopher Thompson case broke, I was working on a F.A.Q. that would answer all of the questions that are being asked about AnsaldoBreda, the future rail car contract, and what's next for Metro and AnsaldoBreda.  The full F.A.Q. is available after the jump.  If you have any questions not answered, leave them in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them by the end of the day.

At a meeting of business leaders earlier today, Mayor Villaraigosa officially announced his plan, previewed earlier today in the Times, to aggressively pursue private and federal funds to complete all rail projects included in Measure R within ten years.  Villaraigosa has often talked about completing his favorite project, the Subway to the Sea.

Two weeks from today, November 13, a group of activists will pedal out from Union Station for points east to see for ourselves whether the soon-to-be-opened Gold Line East Side Extension passes our safety check.  The extension will open two days later on the fifteenth.  The ride is currently supported by L.A. Streetsblog, the Bus Bench and the L.A. Eastside Bike Club and will begin promptly at 7:30 A.M.  We'll cover the whole route of the extension, stopping at every stop to take pictures and discuss what we see.  Later in the day I'll post the "findings" of our ride here and I'm certain Browne will have plenty to add at the Bus Bench as well.

(Editor's note: Originally, this was going to be a post written by Dana Gabbard about Metro placing their public Gold Line Eastside Extension documents online.  As I was writing the introduction, the story got away from me.  A deep hat tip to Dana for his help with this article and you can see the Metro presentation on the extension at the Transit Coalition Website.)

Pre-revenue testing has commenced in earnest on the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension (MGLEE). The testing started last Sunday, October 4th. By Monday the trains were running frequently and appeared to be running without any problems. Unlike the stress and other tests, the pre-revenue tests are meant to introduce all involved parties-drivers, motorists, residents and store owners-with the trains' routes and running times. It was not difficult to spot a number of the trains passing by on Alameda, E. First, Indiana and E. 3rd Streets throughout the day.

Three potential Metro rail projects have been in the news recently, and two of them are being dogged by controversy as another continues to cruise during its early phases.

At today's Metro Board hearing, the Board punted again on deciding whether to continue it's exclusive contract for Light Rail cars with AnsaldoBreda.  Metro first decided to postpone a decision on the contract in March, partially because it would take less time to stick with AnsaldoBreda than it would to put the contract out to bid.  Three months later, they're still punting because the politics of the contract remain mired in controversy. 

Everyone knows that Phoenix has a huge sprawl problem. But now transit-oriented development is on the upswing in this Sun Belt metropolis. In December, the Phoenix region opened one of the most ambitious transit projects in recent U.S. history: a 20-mile light rail line with 28 stops serving three cities (Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa). Future plans include an extension within three years, with several new corridors being studied. 

With meetings already announced to advance the Subway to the Sea and the Regional Connector, Metro could be forgiven if they held off on any other major announcements; but that's not the way things work.  Late last week, Metro announced another set of meetings to gather information on the four possible routes for the second Eastside Extension for the Metro Gold Line.