On August 24^th the Rochester Rail Transit Committee (RRTC) and the Empire State Passengers Association (ESPA) announced a proposal for a new intermodal passenger station at the site of the present Amtrak station. The Rochester Regional Transportation Center would serve Greyhound and Trailways intercity buses, as well as Amtrak, at an expanded facility. RRTC is also urging that R-GRTA study a series of improvements to RTS bus operations and facilities that, along with the Regional Transportation Center, would provide an alternative to R-GRTA’s controversial Mortimer Street bus terminal proposal.

Greyhound and Trailways had initially expressed strong support for the project, but backed away when R-GRTA finally involved them in discussions regarding the Mortimer Street proposal. The RRTC/ESPA plan has received tentative support from key members of City Hall and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. RRTC wants to promote the plan as a more practical and politically-acceptable alternative to the Mortimer Street proposal. However, in the absence of R-GRTA or Monroe County taking the RRTC/ESPA proposal seriously, it is not clear if the alternative will ever be given a fair chance.

R-GRTA’s Mortimer Street proposal, which was developed without the guidance of professional planners, has been criticized as raising transit operating costs without a clear benefit to transit users.

The new facility would improve connections between intercity buses and rail, and would provide intercity passengers with a first class facility similar to Syracuse’s new Regional Transportation Center. Rochester is the only city on Amtrak’s New York State Empire Corridor not to have completed or planned train station improvements.

Under the proposal, the present building would be extensively overhauled and redesigned on the interior and exterior. New additions would be added to form a single new facility. Features would include:

• New "high-level" platforms that will allow Amtrak passengers to board the train at the same level as the floor of the train (eliminating the need to climb up stairs to enter the train). High-level platforms speed the boarding of trains and improve accessibility.
• Fully enclosed and climate-controlled overhead or underground passageways between the station building and the new platforms.
• Separate tracks for the Amtrak platforms, which will reduce the interference between Amtrak passenger trains and CSX freight trains and allow for the introduction of regional rail commuter trains in the future.
• "Saw-tooth" bus bays for Greyhound and Trailways buses.
• Ticket counters and baggage-handling facilities.
• A passenger drop-off curb and taxi stand.
• Curb space and shelters for RTS buses (the N. Clinton and Joseph Avenue buses, and possibly other routes).
• Concessions that could include a newsstand and a food court.
• Expanded parking.
• Pedestrian improvements between the station and downtown south of the Inner Loop.

Funding for the project could come from federal and state sources. A number of cities have built intermodal centers over the last seven years because of the emphasis on intermodalism in the federal ISTEA and TEA-21 transportation funding bills. The federal planning funds already granted for a "Rochester Central Bus Facility" might be used to study the Rochester Regional Transportation Center and other improvements as an alternative.

The Rochester Regional Transportation Center and the following improvements to RTS bus operations and facilities proposed by RRTC could realize more benefits than the R-GRTA Mortimer Street plan and achieve those benefits in a more cost-effective manner:

• Keep RTS Park and Ride and suburban buses at the current bus terminal at the Broad Street side of Midtown Plaza. This will keep Park and Ride buses in the heart of the downtown office employment core. The area vacated by Trailways/ Greyhound would be used to improve the passenger waiting area and bus bases for Park and Ride passengers.

• Keep RTS urban route buses on Main Street with improvements to bus shelters, signage and passenger information systems. Build a "customer service center" at Main and Clinton. This could be in either existing, vacant space on the first floor of the Sibley's building or Midtown Plaza, or in a new facility on Main Street on the west side of Clinton Avenue. The service center would have a counter for selling bus passes and passing out schedules and maps, would provide rest room facilities for bus drivers and passengers, and would provide an appropriately-sized waiting area for bus riders who are transferring between buses with long connection times.

• Create several satellite suburban and city transit centers to facilitate transfers outside of downtown, as is the growing practice among US transit agencies. The 1995 GTC Long Range Transit Plan called for transit centers at the UR, Lake and Ridge, Marketplace Mall, Winton & I-490, Greece Ridge Center, I-590 & Empire Blvd, the airport, and other locations.

• Route more urban route buses (such as the #1, 2, 4 &6) down Broad Street, which will improve access to the downtown employment core and reduce bus congestion on Main Street.

• Lay over some suburban and Park and Ride bus routes at the Rochester Regional Transportation Center (Amtrak site) after stopping at Midtown.

The current Amtrak station, constructed in 1978 on the site of the former New York Central RR station, is in need of repairs and does not comply with the accessibility requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Greyhound and New York Trailways currently operate out of the cramped Midtown bus terminal, which was built as part of the Broad Street side of the mall in the early 1960’s. The Midtown site, which is shared with RTS Park and Ride buses, lacks the passenger drop-off and parking facilities that intercity bus passengers find in most other cities.

Greyhound attempts to co-locate their facilities with Amtrak wherever possible, and does so in 29 cities today. Shared intercity bus and rail facilities offer passengers the flexibility of improved connections. For example a SUNY Geneseo student might take a bus to Rochester to transfer to an Amtrak train to their home downstate.

A project to build a revolutionary diesel light rail line in southern New Jersey from Trenton to Camden (across the river from downtown Philadelphia, PA) has survived a potentially crippling ruling from the Federal Railroad Administration.

The project originally proposed running diesel light rail transit vehicles in mixed traffic with infrequent freight rail. Several other recent proposals, including Raleigh-Durham, NC, have proposed using lightweight diesel multiple units (DMUs) that are similar in many characteristics to traditional LRT with the exception that the cars are powered by on-board diesel engines instead of overhead electric catenary.

The South Jersey line was the most advanced in planning, and was revolutionary in that the original plan did not call for complete physical separation of heavy freight rail from the lightweight LRVs. New Jersey Transit (NJT) planned to use advanced signaling systems that would automatically slow down or stop any two trains potentially at risk of collision. Traditionally, only commuter rail equipment that meets stringent crashworthiness requirements has been allowed to operate on the same rails as freight traffic at the same time of day. Several light rail lines, including Baltimore, Sacramento and San Diego share tracks with freight rail, but with the two functions separated by time of day.

The Federal Railroad Administration ruled that lightweight passenger equipment and freight rail could not operate on the same rails at the same time of day, even with automatic train protection signaling systems. This forced New Jersey Transit to re-evaluate the project. Changing to a commuter rail mode was not deemed to be desirable, as the project called for street running portions to reach the heart of downtown Camden. (Heavy commuter rail cannot be operated over streets, whereas LRT can due to its ability to brake and accelerate rapidly.)

NJT’s solution to the dilemma called for ending passenger service at 10PM so that freight and rail uses could be separated by time of day. The last hurdle to be overcome was that the insistence of Conrail (and later CSX) that the tracks would have to be purchased by NJT in order to absolve the freight railroad of any liability issues. New Jersey Transit reached an agreement with Conrail on June 1^st to purchase the 33-mile right of way this summer.

The 34-mile, $452-million line will include 1 mile of street running in Camden. NJT recently approved a study to examine a 1-mile extension in Trenton from the currently-planned terminus at the rail station to the capitol district. It will serve 20 stations, including 17 park and ride lots with 3,800 parking spaces. The line will connect with Amtrak and commuter trains in Trenton, and with the PATCO Philadelphia rapid transit line in Camden.

The vehicles chosen for the line will be the first true "diesel LRVs" in the US. While lightweight diesel-multiple-units (DMUs) such as the Siemens RegioSprinter and the Bombardier Talent characteristics such as wide turning radii which restrict them to railroad operations, the Camden-Trenton vehicle have LRV-like turning radii, acceleration and braking which enable them to operate both on railroads and in street running applications.

The Adtranz vehicles for South Jersey are based on the company’s GTW2/6 diesel LRVs vehicles used in Europe. The 102.5’ double-articulated low-floor cars have a top speed of 60 MPH, can accelerate at a crisp rate of 1.34 mphps and can decelerate at a rate 2.24 mphps.

The FRA ruling that nearly derailed the project will impact a number of other prospective light rail projects that planned on sharing tracks with low-volume freight traffic. As a result, the FRA ruling is quite controversial. Only time will tell if the FRA can be convinced that modern signaling systems will allow freight and light rail to safely intermix, or whether light rail planners will have to have to make costly changes to separate freight for light rail transit.

While Rochester leaders continue to characterize rail transit as a distant, unattainable goal, Syracuse has quietly introduced commuter rail, albeit on a temporary basis. The existing OnTrack rail shuttle was extended south to Jamesville Beach while I-81 was shut down for reconstruction.

The commuter service consists of two morning, one midday and two evening departures. In addition to the existing stops at the Carousel Mall shopping center, Armory Square on the west side of downtown, and Syracuse University/Carrier Dome, stops were added for Colvin Street, Rock Cut Road and Jamesville Village.

The OnTrack rail shuttle is operated by the New York, Susquehanna and Western railroad using overhauled RDC diesel multiple units. Funding for the commuter service was provided from federal highway funds to provide a transit alternative during the highway reconstruction.

In early October, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released its proposal for its next 5-year construction program. The $17 billion plan contains $16 billion for transit system expansion and subway, bus and commuter rail improvements, with an additional billion for MTA bridge and tunnel maintenance. The new 5-year plan represents a major increase in funding from the current $12 billion 6-year plan.

The new transit program breaks down as follows:

* NYC Transit buses and subways: $10.1 billion
* Commuter railroads: $3.4 billion
* System expansion projects: $2.5 billion

NYC Transit programs would include purchase of over 1,000 new buses and 1,000 new subway cars, a $1.66 billion station rehabilitation program, improved signal systems, better communications and customer information systems, and overhauls for four subway train maintenance shops.

The transit expansion budget includes $1.6 billion to complete design and begin construction on a Long Island Rail Road connection to Grand Central Station, $700 for design and initial construction of the Second Avenue subway north of 63rd Street, and $170 million in planning funds for other future projects. The 2^nd Avenue subway project is designed to ease crowding on the Lexington Avenue subway by connecting a new tunnel between 63^rd Street and 125^th Street to the existing express tracks of the Broadway BMT subway.

The new capital budget plan has a $2.36 billion deficit that would have to be filled with "new governmental assistance and other resources." Political support for additional downstate transit funding appears to be strong. However, there is no apparent effort to significantly increase funding for upstate cities.

The Empire State Transportation Alliance, a new coalition of New York business, environmental, labor and civic organizations, has been formed to promote an expanded MTA capital program. The group ostensibly supports transit throughout the state, but the emphasis is clearly on the NYC metro region. The group has called for an $18.2 billion MTA capital program, which is $2.2 billion more that what the MTA has asked for (see previous article).

ESTA's transit plan, prepared by the Regional Plan Association, calls for higher levels of funding to modernize the existing system and funding for a Second Avenue subway to run the full length of Manhattan.

Manhattan’s east side is currently served by only a single subway line: the extremely overcrowded Lexington Avenue subway. Political support is growing for a Second Avenue subway that would run the full length of Manhattan. NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has vowed not to approve the MTA budget unless it included a full-build version of the Second Avenue Subway.

ESTA's business members include the NYC Partnership, the Long Island Association, the General Contractors Association, the Real Estate Board of NY, the Westchester County Association and the Association for a better New York. The coalition also features transit advocacy organizations including the Straphangers Campaign, the Transport Workers Union, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund and Tri-State Transportation Campaign. ESTA is planning a major public outreach and mobilization effort.

Columbus, Ohio officials are evaluating a diesel powered surface light rail transit line to distribute transit riders and workers up and down High Street downtown. Momentum is also building for commuter rail lines. Columbus had previously rejected a regional light rail line, and recently turned down an expensive proposal for an elevated transit circulator.

The proposed 1.2-mile street running circulator would operate on High Street from Nationwide Boulevard to I-70. The LRT circulator and commuter rail lines would interchange passengers at a proposed intermodal facility.

Long range transit plans include eight commuter rail lines on existing freight rail corridors to be built over the next 20 years. The Central Ohio Transit Authority has already undertaken a project to double track a railroad bridge to provide a key link for one commuter rail route. The first line, paralleling congested I-71 north to Worthington could open in 2005.

The long-delayed Midland Metro light rail line opened up in Birmingham, England on May 30^th. The 12.7-mile line operates from Snow Hill Station in downtown Birmingham to suburban Wolverhampton to the north.

Most of the route uses the former Great Western Railway trackbed. The final 1 ¼ miles from Priestfield to Wolverhampton is in street surfaces. Proposals are being advanced to extend the system on street surfaces into the heart of downtown Birmingham to serve the main shopping and employment areas as well as connecting to the main railway station at New Street.

The Denver Regional Transportation District has approved construction of a $7 million, 1.8-mile light rail transit spur that would serve three sports stadiums, an aquarium, an amusement park, a university campus and the Denver Union Terminal Amtrak station. The Platte Valley Line would branch off of the existing Central Corridor at the Auraria educational complex. Demonstrating that light rail projects need not be expensive and time consuming, the project could be finished within a year.

Denver’s first LRT line is carrying 17,000 riders per day compared to the 14,800 initially forecasted. Currently under construction is the $177.6-million Southwest Corridor project, which will extend the current line 8.7 miles south to Littleton.

The RTD is advancing planning on three other rail transit projects, although it is not clear when funding packages can be assembled to advance the projects to construction:

- An eastern commuter rail line from Union Terminal to Denver International Airport. A one-mile northern extension of the existing Central Corridor would connect the two lines at 40^th Street and 40^th Avenue.

- A 9.5-mile western LRT line from Union Terminal to Lakewood.

- A 19.7-mile Southeast Corridor LRT line running along I-25 and I-225.

New York City’s Franklin Avenue Shuttle reopened on October 18^th. The $74 million project included station reconstruction, newly accessible elevators and ramps, tracks rehab, structural work, signals, power supplies, communications links, and MetroCard automatic fare vending machines. A new free transfer was built at the Botanic Garden Station to four subway lines.

Construction work on the project began in September of 1997, and train service along the route was suspended in July 1998 to allow for extensive demolition and reconstruction. The project opened three months ahead of schedule. The MTA had at one point planned on closing the 113-year-old line, until citizen groups pressed for a reconstruction.

The Canadian city if Edmonton, Alberta is planning an extension of its existing light rail transit line from the University of Alberta to Heritage Mall at 23^rd Avenue and 111 Street NW.

Construction has begun on Portland, Oregon’s third major rail transit project. The Central City Streetcar project will bring a version of light rail transit that will use smaller light rail vehicles exclusively on street surfaces. The 2.1-mile phase 1 route will link downtown the Northwest District and Pearl/River District neighborhoods and Portland State University.

The Central City Streetcar will operate in mixed traffic on street surfaces. Streetcar stops will typically consist of sidewalk "bulb-outs" into the parking lane for a length of about 40 feet. This will allow the streetcars to stop in the right traffic lane while minimizing the chance of being blocked in by illegally-parked cars. The trackway is being laid in one-foot thick by eight-foot-wide concrete slabs. The construction methods being used minimize utility relocation and speed construction.

The vehicles are being purchased from the Czech streetcar manufacturer Skoda-Inekon. The double-articulated cars consist of a low-floor center section cantilevered between the trucks of the two end sections.

Rochester-sized Portland currently enjoys 33 miles of light rail routes. The 15 mile Eastside MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) line to Gresham opened in 1986. The 18 mile Westside MAX line to Hillsboro opened last year.

Other rail transit projects in Portland include:

- A MAX branch to Portland International Airport, which is partially-funding by an innovative private-public partnership. Preliminary construction on this line has already begun, and the line is scheduled to open in 2001.

-A new north MAX line, which is in the early study phases. This 7-mile "Interstate Corridor" line is a scaled-back version of a more ambitious N-S line.

-A commuter rail line from Wilsonville to the Westside MAX line in Beaverton, which is in early planning stages. A commuter rail demonstration project was conducted last year to give riders a taste of what the service would be like.

Transit usage in the United States grew 4.6 percent in 1998, with 8.7 billion trips during the year compared with 8.3 billion trips the previous year. In the last three years, ridership is up collectively more than 12 percent.

For the year, bus systems serving populations of less than 50,000 showed the largest ridership increase, 7.4 percent. Bus systems serving areas with populations of more than two million grew 5 percent. Among rail systems, light rail led the way with a 6.3 percent increase, followed by 5.5 percent for heavy rail and 5.4 percent for commuter rail during 1998.

A new study has shown that land values within a quarter mile of Dallas’ new DART light rail stations have grown 25 percent faster than comparable properties that are outside of the transit corridors. The study also showed that train service has helped office occupancy rates and retail sales, particularly in Dallas' central business district.

The study's author, Dr. Bernard Weinstein, director of the University of North Texas' Center for Economic Development said that more business prospects are asking about access to public transit.

The light rail line has boosted at least three new upscale urban residential complexes that ultimately will have more than 1,100 housing units. These include a redevelopment in the old Sears building south of downtown near the Cedars station, and apartment complex on the site of the old Dr Pepper building and a mixed-use complex.

Transit planners in Phoenix, Arizona are re-introducing a proposal for light rail transit. The new proposal is for a 17-mile line from downtown to Tempe and Mesa. Phoenix has already received federal funds for planning and preliminary engineering.

A tax to support an ambitious transit expansion proposal was rejected at the ballot box two years ago by a narrow 1/10 of 1% margin. A scaled back plan for a 0.4% sales tax increase may be brought before the voters in May of next year.

The State of Wisconsin is using a $500K federal grant to study regional transportation options, including commuter rail service in the Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha corridor. The South-eastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission will do the research. The route last saw service in 1971.

Meanwhile, the agency that runs the Milwaukee convention center has voted unanimously to seek federal funding for a circulator linking Miller Park and the lakefront with downtown activity centers. Previous plans for a 15-mile regional light rail line was killed two years ago by lukewarm support and stiff opposition from suburban governments.

A missing gap in Washington DC’s Metrorail rapid transit system opened on September 18^th. The "Mid-E" segment connected two portions of the Green Line that had been separated by a 3-mile gap. The new segment includes two new stations: Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue-Petworth.

The completion of the latest segment allows riders from the College Park, Maryland a direct entrance into downtown, and it provides new subway coverage in the northern part of the city. Five existing bus routes will be truncated to take advantage of the new subway line, and four new shuttle bus routes will feed passengers.

The only segment of the originally-planned 103-mile Metrorail network that remains unfinished is the southern end of the Green Line, which will open to Branch Avenue within two year. Two additional projects on the drawing boards were advanced on August 12th: a western extension of the Blue Line to Largo, Virginia, and a branch off the Orange Line from West Falls Church to Tysons Corner, Virginia.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization for San Antonio, TX is developing a Long Range Plan that identifies a proposed four-line LRT network. The LRT proposals are embryonic, and may be years away from further action.

The plan outlines the transportation improvements to be carried out over the next 25 years.

Houston, Texas is conducting a Major Investment Study (MIS) for a 7.5-mile corridor between downtown and the Astrodome. Both light rail transit and enhanced bus transit options are being weighed. The LRT proposal would cost between $285 million to $300 million and would serve 30,550-38,400 riders per day by 2020.

Los Angeles’ new subway system opened its latest extension of on June 11^th. The Red Line extension to the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine brings the LA subway to 11 miles. A further extension of 6.4 miles, to North Hollywood, will open next year.

The new Hollywood and Vine station features palm-tree-shaped columns, ceilings lined with old film reels, and a vintage movie projector. The other four stations also reflect the local neighborhood.

The LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been criticized for its emphasis over the last few years on subway construction. The Federal Transit Administration had been harshly critical of MTA budget and management practices, including a pace of construction that outstripped the supply of available funds. Last fall, voters approved a ballot measure that barred further subway construction.

LA is also served by two other relatively new rail transit systems that to date have been more cost-effective than the Red Line subway system. The 40-mile light rail system consists of the Blue to Long Beach and the cross-town Green line. The extensive Metro Link commuter rail system covers the region. Light rail construction will continue with the construction of the 13.6-mile line from downtown to Pasadena.

The next business meeting will be on Nov 15 at 7PM at 6 Sibley Place (the home of Sterling and Nancy Dean), which is one house from the SE corner of East Avenue and Sibley Place. Parking is allowed in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Federation, which is across Sibley Place on the SW corner of East and Sibley Place. Bus access is provided by the # 17 East Avenue. Sibley Place is located on the south side of East Avenue one block east of Alexander Street.

Editor’s Note: Rochester Rail Transit Committee gratefully acknowledges the research, writing and submission of articles and names the authors. Members are encouraged to submit articles or other information for publication in the newsletter. It is very important that veteran members or those more experienced with issues and technology share their knowledge with new members and those who may wish to join us.

Copying. Yes, you are encouraged to make copies of this publication and distribute them to others. All help is welcome.

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