LACMTA adds underground alternative to Regional Connector study (Source: /www.progressiverailroading.com)

LACMTA adds underground alternative to Regional Connector study

LACMTA adds underground alternative to Regional Connector study

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA) board recently approved the addition of a new underground light-rail alternative beneath Little Tokyo to the Regional Connector Transit Corridor study that’s under environmental review. The Regional Connector would complete a nearly two-mile transit gap between the Metro Gold, Blue and future Expo lines through downtown Los Angeles.

During scoping and working group meetings, Little Tokyo community members opposed a grade crossing at First and Alameda Streets that they believed would disrupt street activity in the historic area. Projected to cost between $200 million and $300 million, the new alternative proposes two variations of an underground crossing at the intersection to keep trains grade separated and the addition of an underground station. Portals would be built on both streets to enable trains to surface and connect with the existing Metro Gold Line.

A project team that’s preparing a draft environmental impact study/report now will conduct technical studies to determine the alternative’s costs, impacts and benefits. LACMTA plans to present the board a locally preferred alternative for final environmental review later this year.

If funding is obtained through a combination of local, state and federal sources, the project could break ground in 2014 and be completed in 2018 or 2019.

Metro Board meeting preview (Source: thesource.metro.net)

The Source » Metro Board meeting preview

Posted by Steve Hymon on February 24, 2010 - 3:17 pm
Metro Board meeting preview

The Metro Board of Directors have their monthly meeting at Metro headquarters in downtown Thursday at 9:30 a.m. I’ll be there to cover the meeting and here’s quick look at the agenda and some of the decisions the Board is scheduled to make:

Item 5 expands the draft environmental impact report for the Downtown Connector to consider the train going under Alameda Street with a new underground station in Little Tokyo. Here’s a recent post.

Item 18 would approve a comprehensive audit of the money that Metro spends on litigation. There will likely be some debate among Board Members over the need for an audit, its cost and who would perform an audit if approved.

Item 34 would make Metro the lead agency in the environmental review of the city of Los Angeles’ downtown streetcar project.

Item 47 would allow for a delay of up to 19 months in implementing Metro’s Express Lanes project on parts of the 10 and 110 freeways. Here’s yesterday’s post about that issue.


-- Steve Hymon

Mayor pushes for Subway to the Sea, 'regional connector' (Source: LA Daily News)

Mayor pushes for Subway to the Sea, 'regional connector' - LA Daily News

Mayor pushes for Subway to the Sea, 'regional connector'
Daily News Wire Services
Updated: 02/19/2010 11:42:50 PM PST

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Friday urged Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to provide federal funding for a segment of the so-called Subway to the Sea, as well as a "regional connector" that would link several light-rail lines through downtown.

LaHood was in Los Angeles, along with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., as part of a nationwide tour to solicit public opinion on which projects should be prioritized in the next surface transportation bill.

"We're hoping that as you reconsider the reauthorization (of the transportation bill), that you look to the fact that we're not only the city with the dirtiest air, the worst traffic in the United States of America, we're also a city and a county that has approved investing taxpayer money in transportation," Villaraigosa told LaHood, referring to Measure R.

The first project endorsed by the mayor would extend the Purple Line - which currently ends at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue - by 8.7 miles.

The subway extension would be built under Wilshire Boulevard and pass through Beverly Hills and Century City before ending in Westwood.

The extension is projected to cost $4.1 billion, which would be raised over 30 years through Measure R, a half-percent city sales tax increase approved by voters.

If enough funding could be secured - not only from the federal government but also from the private sector - Villaraigosa wants to extend the subway to the Pacific Ocean. Building
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the entire Subway to the Sea is projected to cost $6.1 billion.

Lisa Hansen with the mayor's press office said if enough federal funding can be secured, the money could be used either to build the entire Subway to the Sea over 30 years, or extend the subway to Westwood in 10 years.

The second project is a 1.7-mile, light-rail line connection in downtown Los Angeles, from First and Alameda streets to Seventh and Figueroa streets.

The projects, which would create thousands of temporary construction jobs, are among a dozen that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hoping to implement over 30 years.

Villaraigosa, however, wants to create a public-private partnership that could finish the projects in 10 years.

Regional Connector Transit Corridor (Source: metro.net/projects/connector)

Metro | projects | Regional Connector Transit Corridor

Overview

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is conducting an environmental review of the Regional Connector Transit Corridor, a project that, if built, creates an almost 2-mile transit link between the Metro Gold and Metro Blue Line light rail transit (LRT) systems through downtown Los Angeles.

This Regional Connector will connect the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension and the Metro Expo Line, which is currently under construction and will link Downtown to Culver City with other potential new light rail transit projects.

By providing continuous through service between these lines, the Regional Connector will improve access to both local and regional destinations – and help create a true transportation network for the region. The Regional Connector is slated to receive partial funding from Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in November 2008.

Benefits

Benefits of the Regional Connector

• The Regional Connector benefits the entire Los Angeles County region — not just Downtown.
• The Regional Connector will enhance Metro Rail service by providing one continuous trip between the Pasadena Metro Gold Line and Metro Blue Line, and between the Metro Eastside Gold Line and Metro Expo Line.
• The Regional Connector will minimize the need for transfers, reducing one-way light rail trips across the County by 10 - 30 minutes or more.
• The Regional Connector will reduce station crowding, especially at peak hours.
• The Regional Connector will provide new access to Downtown attractions as well as regional destinations.
• The Regional Connector will increase regional mobility.

The Regional Connector will enable all Los Angeles County rail and bus transit, as well as all intercity transit service, to operate more efficiently and attract higher ridership, thus reducing roadway congestion, improving regional air quality and reducing the region’s carbon footprint.

Project Area

The project area encompasses approximately two square miles of downtown Los Angeles and includes the communities of Little Tokyo, the Arts District, the Historic Core, the Toy District, Bunker Hill, the Financial District, the Jewelry District, and the Civic Center

Study of Underground Regional Connector Passes Metro Committee (Source: blogdowntown.com)

Study of Underground Regional Connector Passes Metro Committee :: blogdowntown

Study of Underground Regional Connector Passes Metro Committee
By Eric Richardson
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010, at 03:30PM

Regional Connector Render: 2nd Street Looking West Metro

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — An underground option for the proposed Regional Connector light rail link was approved for further study by Metro's Planning and Programming committee today, but project team members warned that savings would need to be found to keep the project within the original $700 - $900 million budget.

That could mean that the line ends up with one less station than was initially planned. The project currently has stops proposed at 5th and Flower, 2nd and Hope, 2nd and Broadway and 1st and Alameda. Project staff did not specify which stop they would consider cutting.

Metro staff said that the underground option could provide relief from operational issues built in to the other two options. Those issues include tight curves and traffic impacts.

The underground alignment's inclusion got unanimous support from a long list of public speakers that included staff from the offices of Councilmembers Jan Perry and Jose Huizar and from Little Tokyo stakeholders.

Assuming the full Metro board adopts the committee action, all three alternatives will now move forward in the project's Alternatives Analysis document. That should be published by summer, at which time the preferred option will be chosen by the Metro board.

The Regional Connector would link the two pieces of the existing light rail network, bridging the gap between the 7th / Metro terminus used by the Blue and Expo lines with the Gold Line's Little Tokyo / Arts District station.

Little Tokyo underground station option added to DEIR (Source: //thesource.metro.net)

Link: The Source » Little Tokyo underground station option added to DEIR

Little Tokyo underground station option added to DEIR

Two Metro Board of Director committees voted on Thursday to add the study of an underground station in Little Tokyo to the draft environmental impact report for the regional downtown connector project.

To be clear: this doesn’t mean it’s getting built. Just that it will be studied.

The issue in a nutshell: Earlier plans for the connector called for it to cross Alameda Street at street level with Alameda being reworked to cross the tracks in a new underpass. That met a lot of community opposition in Little Tokyo, so Metro planners went back to the drawing board and came up with a way for the tracks to go underground on the east side of Alameda.

This means that the environmental study will consider a regional connector that would travel underground between 1st and Alameda and Metro Center at 7th and Figueroa. The study will also consider a street-level version of the connector. A decision on what will get built will come later in the process and ultimately be up to the Metro Board of Directors.

The cost of an underground station at Little Tokyo and moving the tunnel entrance east of Alameda is estimated to be $200 million. At the Board’s Planning Committee, Metro CEO Art Leahy encouraged staffers to try to find cost savings in the project to help pay for that station should it be the one to get built.

The full Board of Directors will consider adding the underground station to the DEIR at its meeting next Thursday. The Board often follows the lead of committees.

-- Steve Hymon

L.A. MTA to review Eastside Corridor options with the public (Source: www.progressiverailroading.com) Today, a new term possibly appearing for the first time: Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project

L.A. MTA to review Eastside Corridor options with the public

L.A. MTA to review Eastside Corridor options with the public

Later this month, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) will hold four community scoping meetings to review two alternatives for the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project.

The agency is considering plans to build a light-rail line or improve bus services along the corridor. LACMTA also is weighing a no-build alternative.

The scoping meetings are the first step in preparing a draft environmental impact statement/report. During the meetings, agency officials will review the proposed project and obtain input on the alternatives, as well as the evaluation process used to identify and mitigate environmental impacts.

Since 2007, LACMTA has analyzed alternatives and prepared supplemental technical studies to identify feasible routes to extend the Metro Gold Line Eastside Corridor to cities farther east of L.A.
Comments

Roundup of articles on high-speed rail. 2 articles on Korean high-speed rail. 1 article on the lastest Bullet train. The last article deals with the question of whether high-speed rail dollars are being spent well.

Article 1

Link: Arirang | Korea for the World, The World for Korea - Arirang.co.kr

Korea, California Sign MOU for US High-Speed Railway Project

Amid heightening global competition to participate in America's eight billion US dollar high-speed rail project the Korean government signed a memorandum of understanding with the California state government on Thursday promising continuous cooperation in construction efforts.
The signing took place in the state capital, Sacramento, between Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Vice Minister Choi Jang-hyun and California High-Speed Rail Authority board member Quentin Kopp.

The MOU, which is California's fifth including those with China, Germany, Japan and Italy, will allow information sharing between the two governments regarding the state's passenger rail service which was granted 2.2-5 billion dollars in investment from the Obama administration's mass transit program.
The Californian project is anticipated to link San Francisco and Los Angeles in as little as two and a half hours.
Backed by Korea's high technology in the field since the construction of its own high-speed railway, Korea Train eXpress, or KTX, in 2004, the Korean government says it will put utmost efforts in winning the construction deal in the Golden State and prove its competitiveness by providing quality maintenance services.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority responded to such comments by saying that the US is aware of Korea's outstanding economic success and hopes that the railway project will further strengthen ties between the two countries.
Jang Sou-ie, Arirang News.

FEB 12, 2010

Article 2

Link: The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Korea's 1st Homemade Bullet Train on Track in March

Korea's 1st Homemade Bullet Train on Track in March

Korea Railroad on Thursday said it will put the KTX-II, the first bullet train produced with local technology, into service between Seoul and Busan and between Yongsan and Gwangju/Mokpo four times a day starting March 2.

The KTX-II, produced by Hyundai Rotem, can run up to 350 km per hour, the same top speed as the current KTX model made by France's Alstom. But seats on the KTX-II trains have 5 cm more leg room than the KTX and can rotate 360 degrees. They are also furnished with mobile TV receivers and wireless Internet access.

The train's design is inspired by the shape of cherry salmon, an indigenous fish species, KORAIL said.
The KTX-II train is revealed to the press on Thursday. The KTX-II train is revealed to the press on Thursday.

Article 3

Link: Japan's bullet trains: Coming soon to a station near you - News & Advice, Travel - The Independent

Japan's bullet trains: Coming soon to a station near you

Relax News

Friday, 12 February 2010



East Japan Railway has unveiled a new state-of-the-art bullet train that may be the model for other super-express trains around the world.

Photo courtesy of East Japan Railway Co.




Japan has rolled out the latest version of its state-of-the-art bullet trains at the same time as developers go looking for new markets for the technology.

East Japan Railway unveiled its eye-catching new E6 series shinkansen this week. The sleek, seven-car train will go into operation on the Akita Shinkansen Line in northern Japan in the spring of 2013, company officials said, operating at speeds of up to 320 kph.

The new train has caught the imagination thanks to its 13-meter long nose, which is a full 7 meters longer than the nose on the present E3 Komachi generation of super express trains and is designed to reduce drag and noise.

The design of the train was overseen by Ken Okuyama, who previously served as a senior designer for Ferrari.

Quite apart from the look of the trains, they are increasingly in demand for their reliability, high levels of comfort and impeccable safety record - no passenger has been killed since the first bullet train went into operation in 1964.

Taiwan has already introduced a high-speed railway system based on shinkansen technology linking Taipei in the extreme north of the country with Kaohsuing in the far south, while discussions between Vietnam and Japan on a route that would link Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city are reportedly close to completion.

A final decision on that project is expected in May, although the developers of the Japan Railway fleet appear to have fought off competition from France's TGV and the German ICE.

The latest country to express an interest in acquiring Japan's railway know-how is the United States, with President Barack Obama keen to promote a more comprehensive railway system.

Officials representing JR Tokai, a sister firm to JR East that operates in central Japan, have identified the route connecting Tampa, Orlando and Miami as being very promising, as well as a line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The company also believes there is potential in the even faster maglev system of magnetically levitated trains operating between Baltimore and Washington DC and from Chattanooga to Atlanta.

Other markets that Japanes firms are exploring include Brazil, while the Japanese-built Javelin trains, which operate between London and Folkestone, in Kent, are also based on shinkansen technology.

Article 4

Link: High-speed rail: Stimulus dollars wisely spent? / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

High-speed rail: Stimulus dollars wisely spent?

President Obama's $8-billion investment in high-speed rail may be a giant step forward in the country's transportation system, but experts question if it will gain traction among car-loving Americans.

By Mark Clayton / Staff writer / February 11, 2010

President Obama wants to put a multibillion-dollar down payment on a national high-speed rail network. But will Americans leave their bucket seats to ride those rocket rails in sufficient numbers to justify the investment?

For years, while the United States has focused on its highway and air-transport systems, passenger rail has been an afterthought. Now Mr. Obama has an Eisenhoweresque plan to spend $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build 13 high-speed rail corridors in 31 states. He also plans to budget an additional $1 billion each year over the next five years. Many say it's a needed "first step."

"Our most congested corridors have to have high-speed rail," says Jack Schenendorf, vice chairman of a blue-ribbon commission that studied America's transportation needs in 2008. "Obviously we can't build an unlimited amount of highway capacity. It's necessary to get people out of their cars and into these high-speed trains."

Who's riding the rails now?

Riders on Amtrak, America's pas- senger rail service, rose steadily from 21.5 million riders in 1999 to peak at 28.7 million in 2008. A weakening economy and lower fuel prices brought the number of riders down to 27.2 million last year, still the second highest in Amtrak's history.

Amtrak's Acela – connecting Boston, New York, and Washington – provides the only existing high-speed rail service in the US. It grew steadily through 2008 to 3.4 million passengers. But last year, ridership dropped below 2007 levels, partially as a result of cooling business travel.

What will $8 billion buy?

The initial investment will pay to build, upgrade, and plan about 7,100 miles of track, including 1,340 miles of new track, 4,724 miles of upgrades to existing track, and planning for 1,032 more.

Building a national network could eventually cost more than $100 billion and take decades, Mr. Schenendorf says. The US High Speed Rail Association, an advocacy group, envisions a 17,000-mile high-speed system to be completed by 2030. But that would require sustained support from Congress and the backing of future presidents.

How fast is 'high-speed'?

Top speeds could reach 220 m.p.h. on the California line that would go through Los Angeles and the San Francisco area, but will be substantially less in the other corridors. None is expected to be as fast as European and Japanese high-speed trains.

What will be the impact?

According to some projections, the $8 billion might be expected to produce about 320,000 jobs and roughly $13 billion in economic benefit.

A nationwide high-speed rail network could mean 29 million fewer car trips and 500,000 fewer plane flights annually, according to a 2006 study. That would save 6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of removing a million cars from the road annually.

Can high-speed rail compete with air and auto?

In Europe and Asia, high-speed rail lessens congestion at airports and on highways.

In the US, the main impact is expected to come on 100- to 600-mile routes. For example, a five-hour, 300-mile trip from St. Louis to Chicago could be cut to about three hours and 40 minutes by high-speed rail, potentially reducing the need for short-hop jets and taking thousands of cars off the road, says Ross Capon, president of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, which represents train riders.

Will it be a boondoggle or a boon?

The plan is "a giant step forward in the transformation of our nation's transportation system," says Howard Learner, whose Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center supports high-speed rail.

But others are leery of what they see as a plan that won't lure Americans from their cars and therefore may not pay off.

"To believe this makes economic sense, you'd have to be foolish," says James Moore, director of the transportation and engineering program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "In the US, autos cover shorter trips better and airlines capture longer trips. That doesn't leave room for high-speed rail to compete."

Schenendorf sees a need for high-speed rail in the US, but says that future funding will be the key.

While the Obama initiative is a "positive first step," he says, it's just "a drop in the bucket of what the nation will need to get the kind of high-speed rail network it needs. It will take a lot more money to get these systems built out."

Underground Connector Up for Metro OK (Source: blogdowntown)

Link: Underground Connector Up for Metro OK :: blogdowntown

Underground Connector Up for Metro OK
By Eric Richardson
Published: Tuesday, February 02, 2010, at 01:18PM

Regional Connector Render: 2nd Street Looking West Metro

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A popular plan to take Metro's proposed Regional Connector light rail link under the intersection of 1st and Alameda will be officially considered by the agency's planning committee this month.

First presented to the Little Tokyo community in November, the underground option must be formally added to the two currently being studied in the project's environmental documents.

The project would link the two pieces of the existing light rail network, bridging the gap between the 7th / Metro terminus used by the Blue and Expo lines with the Gold Line's Little Tokyo / Arts District station.

Two plans currently under consideration both involve at-grade links to the existing Gold Line tracks, an option that the community has been consistently against since the project outreach first started in late 2007.

The new alternative could add up to $200 million onto the project's price tag, which would then total roughly $1 billion.

Project staff will present the new option to the Planning and Programming committee on February 17. The Metro board will officially select a "Locally Preferred Alternative" for the project this summer.

Our View: Regional Connector will link up our region (Source: Pasadena Star-News)

Link: Our View: Regional Connector will link up our region - Pasadena Star-News

Our View: Regional Connector will link up our region
Posted: 12/09/2009 04:50:51 PM PST

CONNECTING our region by rail line to other parts of Los Angeles County - Downtown L.A., Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley - is the ultimate goal of rail planners. After all, if you can't get there from here by train, you might as well drive.

While we have been advocates of the San Gabriel Valley getting its share of rail lines built, we also see the bigger picture. Now that the Metro Board of Directors agreed in October to fund the Gold Line Foothill Extension's first leg from east Pasadena to Azusa (at Citrus College/Azusa Pacific University), it's time to plan for future connecting light-rail lines.

One of those planned is the two-mile long Regional Connector line, which is aptly named: It will connect to the existing Gold Line at the Little Tokyo Station, moving passengers directly to the Long Beach Blue Line and the under-construction Exposition Line, which by 2011 will run from 7th Street in Downtown L.A. to Culver City.

Why is such a connector line so important for San Gabriel Valley light-rail riders? Because there's a flaw in our region's still young and growing light-rail system. The lines don't always connect. In fact, they rarely overlap. Riders who have ridden rail lines in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and even the Bay Area expect rail lines to connect and to reach their destinations without getting out, changing trains, changing lines and platforms.

This is not the case with most of our light-rail and subway
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lines. The result is an inconvenient trip, one that often takes longer than if the trip was made by car, which is why many have not switched from car to rail.

With a completed Regional Connector, which will cost a cool $1 billion, a rider can get on a Gold Line Eastside train in Monterey Park or East Los Angeles and get to Staples Center for a Lakers/Clippers/Kings game, or to L.A. Live across the street, site of concerts, museums, movie theaters and restaurants. The MTA is still deciding where the stations will go, but we would recommend stops at the Disney Hall (supported by Los Angeles County taxpayers) and the financial district. This would open up the rail choice to weekday commuters who work in these more far-flung Downtown locations and to weekend riders and tourists who want an easy, convenient way to reach L.A.-area destinations and events without driving and paying for parking.

We support the funding of the Regional Connector in the Metro's Long Range Transportation Plan, which right now would get $160 million. Metro has asked that each of the five subregions of the county served by the Regional Connector pay a one-fifth share of that start-up costs. This is a reasonable and appropriate funding approach. We also support the Metro going after Federal New Starts funding for the balance.

The Regional Connector is a project that would add riders to both Gold Line Eastside and Gold Line Foothill. It fills in some connectivity missing from a nascent rail line system that is behind other big metropolitan areas - but rapidly catching up.




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