Return-Path: Received: from turkey.mail.pas.earthlink.net ([207.217.120.126]) by merlin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with ESMTP id 194cX7rQ3NZFlq0 for ; Fri, 11 Apr 2003 21:49:21 -0700 (PDT) Received: from dialup-209.244.233.33.dial1.weehawken1.level3.net ([209.244.233.33] helo=earthlink.net) by turkey.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 194Cwv-0004V0-00 for transitmgr2@earthlink.net; Fri, 11 Apr 2003 21:49:09 -0700 Message-ID: <3E9798FD.3FEC3C58@earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 00:41:34 -0400 From: Harold Geissenheimer Reply-To: transitmgr2@earthlink.net Organization: PLEASE NOTE INTERIM E-MAIL ADDRESS TO REPLY TO! X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.74 [en] (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Harold Geissenheimer Subject: Transnet 113 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------DE9EEED38187959CE7A703AF" X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 --------------DE9EEED38187959CE7A703AF Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit TRANSNET RESUMES PUBLICATION PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL: WELCOME TO TRANSNET #113 KEEP AMERICA STRONG. SUPPORT COALITION FORCES. (Found in print elsewhere, an advertisement in the Newark Star Ledger) "THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR ARMED FORCES AND THEIR FAMILIES HAVE OUR FULL SUPPORT. WE THANK THEM FOR THEIR SACRIFICE AND COMMITMENT. WE WISH THEM GODSPEED IN THEIR UNDERTAKING AND PRAY FOR THEIR SWIFT AND SAFE RETURN HOME" SPONSORED BY "CALIFORNIA CLOSETS" TRANSNET, YOUR SOURCE FOR RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS This is issue #113. The next issue, #114 is in preparation. FLASH: PATH WILL RESUME SERVICE TO EXCHANGE PLACE, JERSEY CITY, ON JUNE 29, 2003. STATION HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE SEPT. 11, 2001. TRAINS WILL NOW BE ABLE TO TURNBACK HERE AND SHUTTLE TO HOBOKEN, JOURNAL SQ OR NEWARK. SERVICE THRU TO LOWER MANHATTAN (FORMER WORLD TRADE CENTER STATION) IS EXPECTED TO RESUME BY DECEMBER. NEW TUNNELS, TRACKS AND SWITCHES WEST OF EXCHANGE PLACE WILL MAKE THESE TURNBACK MOVES POSSIBLE. SERVICE WILL BE OPERATED EVERY FIVE MINUTES TO BOTH HOBOKEN AND NEWARK. PASSENGERS WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE ON TO BOTH THE WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER OR PIER 11 BY NEW YORK WATERWAYS FERRY UNTIL THE RAIL LINE FULLY REOPENS. CONGRATULATIONS TO PATH AND ITS CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS FOR THIS SPEEDY AND NEEDED RECOVERY. ALSO TO NEW YORK WATERWAYS FOR THEIR ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE AND ENLARGE SERVICES SINCE SEPTERMBER 11. FERRY SERVICE IS NOW FULLY PART OF THE NEW YORK TRANSIT NETWORK. NY WATERWAYS NOT ONLY CONNECTS TO RAIL ROUTES BUT HAS CONNECTING FREE BUSES AND LARGE PARKING LOTS. THEY DO IT RIGHT. NEW YORK HARBOR HAS REJOINED HONG KONG AND SYDNEY AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR FERRY BOAT OPERATIONS. TAKE A RIDE ON THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY (FREE) OR ANY OF THE TRANS-HUDSON ROUTES ON YOUR NEXT VISIT. NEW YORK IS STILL A GREAT FUN PLACE AND TOURISTS HAVE MUCH TO SEE AND DO. COME VISIT NY THIS SUMMER. (EDITOR-Some History: Exchange Pl. was formerly the terminal of the Pennsylvania Railroad before the opening of Penn Station. PRR trains reached Jersey City over a right of way generally pararllel to the rapid transit and then on an embankment (like the Philadelphia Chinese Wall) to the PRR Ferries to Manhattan (Desprosses Street or or 23rd Street. Electric MU's continued into the l950's. The former PRR site now boasts numerous high rise office buildings. Public Service trolleys also looped here on surface tracks visible unil the 1990's. Since September 11, PATH passengers had to transfer to the NJT Hudson-Bergen LRT to reach Exchange Place.) LIGHT RAIL PROGRESS IN SALT LAKE CITY: The TRAX LRT extension to the University of Utah's Medical Center is expected to open by the end of September in time for the APTA Annual Meeting. This is a 1.5 mile extension with three stations from the present terminus of the University Line at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Total extension cost is $89.4 million. Seven new LRV's are being acquired from Siemens for the line. Thanks to mild winter weather, fewer utility problems and the ability of the contractor to move existing crews and equipment into place, the completion date has advanced from November 2004 to this Fall. The University has 28,400 students and 18,000 faculty. The Medical Center has over 11,000 faculty, staff and students with an additional 2,500 at the nearby Primary Children's Hospital. Important was the cooperation of the University in placing TRAX deep into its campus. ALSO IN SALT LAKE CITY: UTA will test a DMU in Draper for a day next month for possible new runs on acquired railroad tracks. Also UTA is still proceeding to acquire 29 used LRT cars from the VTA in San Jose at a cost of $700,000 each. IN PASADENA; According to the Los Angeles Times, the 14 mile, 13 station opening of the "Gold Line" LRT from Union Station to Pasadena has been postponed until later this summer. The line was built by an independent construction agency, the Metro Constuction Authority, for the operator, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority at a cost of nearly $900,000 million including almost $100 million paid by the MTA for twenty-six white and orange articulated LRV"s from Siemens. Similar cars are in service on the MTA Green line. Starting from a two-track stub platform adjacent to Metrolink/ Amtrak tracks at Union Station, the line passes thru Chinatown, Mount Washington, Highland Park and South Pasadena. About 30,000 rides are expected for opening day. Running time will be about 37 minutes. On-line parking will include parking structures at Del Mar (600 spaces) and Sierra Madre Village (1,000 spaces). In Pasadena, the R/W is in the middle of the I-210 Freeway. To reach the Freeway, the line passes beneath an apartment house. This is first LRT line to open since the 1995 opening of the LA Green Line from Norwalk to Redondo Beach. In Pacific Electric interurban days, Pasadena was served by the Pasadena Short Line but service was abandoned in the l950's. At Union Station, the "Gold Line" will connect to the "Red Line" subway. Also, in the future the Gold Line will be extended to East Los Angeles. This will be a 6 mile, 8 station extension from Union Station. Also planning is under way for a long extension from Pasadena to Claremont. The line has been delayed by disputes with state regulators over safety concerns at grade crossings and the normal NIMBY opponents. It continues to amaze me how illogical many of these opponents are. Some cities apparently have a more enlightened population as evidenced by Portland, Sacramento. San Diego, Salt Lake City and Denver LRT development. One often wonders at the high cost of this opposition to improved urban mobility. Transnet readers are encouraged to inform their political leaders about these improvements elsewhere and what can be achieved with a well designed but prudent rail system. Correct information is the best way to advance rail progress. THANK YOU: I wish to thank reader Donald Duke for Pasadena clippings and Art Ellis for Pittsburgh clippings. I appreciate their sending the up-to-the minute news. Other readers send EMail news on a regular basis. We are often dependent on these reader contributions. If it is of i interest to you, it will also interest Transnet's readers. Keep up sending the latest news. Its appreciated. IN NEW JERSEY: New Jersey Transit's take one "FYI" for March 2003 contained a summary of important transit projects in the state. Light Rail and Commuter Rail have numerous improvements scheduled for later this year. HUDSON-BERGEN LIGHT RAIL IMPROVEMENTS: This line is built and operated by the Washington Group. Fall 2003: Extension from East 34th Street, Bayonne to East 22d Street, Bayonne. This will extend the line closer to the center of Bayonne. The parking lots and ADA elevators at East 34th Street are open. Spring 2004: Extension from Hoboken to the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal in Weehawken. Track construction on the former Conrail RW is well underway. The line from Hoboken proceeds west from the present Newport station wye, then north at the base of the Palisades, then east to the river and north to the Ferry. Weehawken was once the site of a large New York Central-West Shore commuter rail and ferry terminal. Public Service trolleys connected the ferry terminal to 48th street on the Palisades via a PRW along Pershing Road. The road bridge at the foot of the hill over the new LRT RW is under reconstruction. NY Waterways connects the Ferry Terminal with 39th street Manhattan. In 2005: Service will further be extended from Weehawken to Tonnelle Ave via the former West Shore RR tunnel. There will be a deep station in the tunnel at Bergenline Ave to serve the surface business and residential area and connecting bus lines in Union City. This deep station is similar in concept to the stations on SF Muni and the Porland West LRT and the future station on the San Diego Trolley at the University. (Editor-I was born in Hudson County just off of Bergenline Ave and if living there today, I would have transferred at this station.) Future: In November 2002, the NJ Transit Board of Directors approved a further study to extend the LRT into Bergen County. NEWARK CITY SUBWAY: The Broad Street Station extension from Penn Station will open in late 2005-2006. The extension is a street loop from Broad Street south via the Performing Arts Center to a tunnel portal to the long unused Center Street tunnel tracks. This tunnel previously connected the basement trolley terminal under the former Public Service building with the City Subway tracks to Penn Station Newark. It last had regular service about 1937. The Star Ledger paper on March 11, 2003 contained an excellent feature about the project. The $225 million extension is expected to carry 6,500 daily on the 10 minute ride between the commuter rail stations. A new 850' tunnel will connect the tunnel and surface portions of the line. The one mile line will serve both the Performing Arts Center and the Riverfront Minor League Stadium. Also on the City Subway, ADA elevators will open later this year at the Penn Station and Washington Street stations. Also, if the weather allows, take the Newark City Subway to Branch Brook Park to see the Cherry Blossoms. Like Washington, the blooming is dependent on the weather. The April 7 snow did not help. SOUTH JERSEY LIGHT RAIL-DIESEL DMU CARS: Construction is nearing completion of this DMU line from Camden to Trenton over street trackage in Camden and then joint operation north over Conrail tracks. The Adtanz DMU articulated cars are being tested. Service may open in this summer. The first articulated car was delivered from Europe in a giant Russian air transport to the Atlantic City Airport. Keep posted in Transnet for the opening. A field trip to Trenton shows many sections of the line complete. To provide for a possible future extention into downtown Trenton, the Trenton LRT station is across the street from the NEC station. COMMUTER RAIL: SECAUCUS TRANSFER STATION: Construction is nearing completion of the new multi-level transfer station where the Amtrak-NJT North East Corridor crosses over the NJ T diesel lines from Bergen County. When fully open, passengers will be able to transfer from the diesel lines to either Penn Station New York or south to Newark, Princeton and Ternton. Escalators, elevators, signing, train departure boards and passengers facilities are being installed. The station will connect 10 of the 11 NJT commuter lines (all except Atlantic City). It is possible that the station will open weekends in the fall for a limited transfer to Penn Station. Full weekday service will require the delivery of additional cars to provide adequate capacity and seats. NJT has ordered 100 double deck commuter cars from Bombardier and is completing the delivery of the Alston built Comet 5 cars and Bombardier built new electric locomotives. Nearby the Main/Bergen connector structure is scheduled for completion by September 2003. Also a new highway overpass for the New County Road is under construction eliminating a major highway grade crossing. On the NE Corridor, the new High Density Interlocking Signal System (HDIS) will be implemented this summer. This will increase NEC capacity from the present 21 trains per hour to 25 trains. In Penn Station New York, the new 10 track 7th Ave-East Concourse opened last fall has been a major improvement. Also the start last fall of Midtown Direct Montclair train service along with the electrification of the Montclair Branch to Montclair Heights has opened up new markets. The Secaucus Transfer station is a major improvement and NJT has demonstrated the leadership to carry it to completion. These improvements resulted from the late 1980's Penn Station Access Study where LS Transit (now Systra Consulting) studied the various alternatives. I was Project Manager of this imprtant study that will change New Jersey-New York commuting for decades. Still needed is a third tunnel under the Hudson (North) River to further increase capacity and change the Secaucus Transfer operation to a direct Secaucus Connection train service. OTHER IMPROVEMENTS: The rebuilding of the North Tube of the Bergen Portals Tunnel under the Palisades is nearing completion. Upon completion, the South Tube will close for a short time for repair and then by mid-summer, both tunnels (with four tracks) will open. Also at Hoboken, a new Yard B will provide midday storage of diesel trains. Also south of Trenton, the new Morrisville Yard just over the Delaware River in Pennsylvanis will open by fall. Also the Suffern NY Main-Bergen yard has been recently expanded. NJ Transit has also beeen adding up to 20,000 parking spaces during the next five years. A 1,500 space at Montclair State University is under construction for Montclair-Boonton passengers. And lastly, a new station at Union (NJ) to open on April 27, 2003 will add 467 spaces for Raritan Line passengers. Quite a record of improvements for this year. Congratulations to NJT Executive Director George Warrington and his staff for a job well done in completing these projects. FROM CHICAGO METRA has ordered 26 new bi-level gallery EMU's cars for the Metra Electric South Side lines. Metra Electric serves 66 km of route electrified at 1.5 kV dc overhead. This was the former electrified suburban lines of the Illinois Central. This order is in addition to a large order of push-pull gallery cars and locomotives for Metra diesel lines. PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY-PATH The lenghtened Exchange Place station will open this summer. The new World Trade Center Station is under construction and should be open late this winter. Congratulations to PATH for this rapid recovery from Sept. 11 damage. MINNEAPOLIS HIAWATHA LRT CAR DELIVERED The first articulated LRT car arrived by truck on March 16, 2003 from the Bombardier plant near Mexico City. 24 cars will be required for the Hiawatha line to open next year. SERVICE TO THE SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT The SFO people mover from Bombardier (Adtranz) started carrying passengers on February 24, 2003 with a formal opening on March 2, 2003. This is a very large people mover system serving the terminals and remote parking and car rental. It serves as the distributor for passengers arriving by BART. BART is expected to open this spring. TACOMA LRT: Public service may begin in September 2003. The Sound Transit Board has approved the payment to BNSF of $2 million to divert freight trains from the level crossing with the tramway. (LRTA) (Editor-Another example of increasing LRT costs. In my experience, the PSNJ Bloomfield #29 line crossed Erie RR tracks and there were numerous crossings in Pittsburgh, Chicago and other cities. Derails, flagmen and safety procedures protected these crossings for decades. Now BNSF wants an expensive bypass. NOTTINGHAM (UK) EXPRESS TRANSIT TRAM The first tram moved under its own power in the first test journey for 65 years on March 2, 2003. LRTA reports a November 2003 opening date for the first stage. By the end of February, eight of the five section articulated trams had been delivered. BILBAO, SPAIN The first section of northern Spain's first modern tramway opened on December 18, 2002. The 750 V dc metre gauge line will operate seven three section articulated Eurotrams from CAF Beasain of Irun. The next extension to the Guggenheim Museum should open this Spring and then in the Fall reach San Manes. Bilbao previously opened its first Metro line on November 11, 1995. Metro line 1 has been extended and a branch opened to form line 2 for a 28 km network. (LRTA) LIMA, PERU After 13 years of trial runs and delays, the city finally placed its 10-km "Tren Urbano" in commercial operation on January 13, 2003. Five 6-car Breda built trains provide a limited service from El Salvador to Atocongo for transfer to express buses for the remaining 14-km to downtown. (LRTA) DUBLIN: Trams returned to the streets of Dublin on January 17, 2003 with Citadis tram testing on a short section. Construction is underway on a two line system. Dublin also is served by the very fine DART suburban rail line. This is a 37 km, 25 station, 1600mm wide gauge line electrified at 1.5 kV dc overhead. 40 two car train sets built by LHB in 1983-84 are operated. A very nice operation. (Editor: One day excursions from London are reasonable. I used British Midland. Ryan Air also operates. A nice trip.) FROM PITTSBURGH News from the Port Authority is both good and bad. Reconstruction of the Stage II LRT line via Overbrook is underway as is the construction of new LRV's by CAF Spain. As part of this project, CAF will also rebuild the existing fleet of Siemen's LRV's. This will allow faster LRT service from south of Castle Shannon eliminating the longer present route via Mt. Lebanon. (Editor-History does repeat itself. These lines were once routed thru Mt Lebanon until the Overbrook route was opened. Then a faster service was initiated via Overbrook. When the LRT was opened, this Overbrook service was eventually shut down for reconstruction. Now it will once again replace the longer route thru Mt. Lebanon.) The South Hills LRT routes have proved to be a reliable alternative to the traffic detours caused by the reconstruction of the Fort Pitt Bridge and approaches. Phase II of this closing started this month. NORTH SIDE LRT EXTENSION IS BACK ON TRACK IN PGH. The FTA has agreed to change its ruling on a $400 million extension from Gateway Center downtown thru a tunnel under the Allegheny river to the two North Side stadiums. The FTA has changed its ruling from "not recommended" to allow final design to continue. This extension could connect to other North Side points and to the Airport. PAT FINANCIAL PROBLEMS The bad news is that Pittsburgh is once again faced with a fare increase and service cuts. For the third time in as many years, PAT is taling about raising base fares to $2.00 and eliminating weekend, evening, holiday and special event service including the South Hills LRT. This need was exacerbated by a state proposal to reduce state funds by $4 million to 67.3 million. Because Allegheny County matches state money at $1 for every $3, PAT could lose another $1.3 million. SEPTA and the other transit systems in the state are faced with similar losses of state revenue. PAT previously raised its Zone 1 base fare from $1.25 to $1.60 in 2001, and then from $1.60 to $1.75 last year. Service was cut by 7% over this two-year period. Also the extension of the East-MLK Busway has been postponed to June 2003. PENSYLVANIA TROLLEY MUSEUM AT ARDEN ADVANCES The museum is advancing a $1.5 million 28,000 sq ft display building and car house. The museum opens its 40th season with a full program of events starting with the Bunny Trolley on April 18 and 19, 2003. There will be a 1950's Diesel Train ride in August from Carnegie. Details at (724) 228-9256 or (877) 728-7655. OTHER OPENINGS IN LATE 2002 In Tampa: TECO Heritage Streetcar opened on October 19, 2002. In Dallas: DART LRT system continues to grow. - November 18, 2002: Blue line extended to Garland - December 9, 2002: Red line extended to Plano/Richardson In Toronto: TTC 5 station Sheppard subway opened in November In Boston: MBTA Silver Line Bus Rapid Transit opened on July 20, 2002 on Washington Street from Dudley to downtown DENVER RTD STRIKE PACT REACHED The RTD and ATU Local 1001 reached a last minute agreement four hours after the deadline to settle a possible strike on April 2. 2003. The strike would have affected the LRT System, the Mall Shuttle and 65% of the bus system. Other RTD buses operated by contract carriers would have continued to operate. This would have been the first strike in 21 years. RTD carries about 250,000 rides daily. Despite some membership objections, the new contract was finally approved by a vote of the members. BOSTON CENTRAL ARTERY I-93 OPENS The new major highway network known as the Central Artery opened on March 30, 2003. The project includes two tunnels, the Liberty Tunnel and the O'Neil Tunnel and a new major bridge across the Charles River. It opens up a new connection to the Airport and a bypass around downtown. PUT SECURITY CONCERN IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE Some school groups and conventions have cancelled or delayed out of state visits because of the war or for security reasons. While some may perceive these as valid reasons, in fact the Highway is perhaps a more dangerous element in transportation. On April 4, 2003, 59 people were injured in a 3 bus accident near Orlando. The 3 buses, carrying high school band students from Maryland may have been following too closely when the first made a sudden stop. (Editor-In my bus operating experience, I always believed it was safer for a multi-vehicle charter to travel separately unless under police guidance. This became even more so with the use of bus radios to comunicate between vehicles.) Also, earlier this year there were several multi-vehicle Interstate Highway accidents due to fog, weather, snow or traffic congestion. These accidents further establish the fact that the Highway may at times be the most dangerous form of transportation. I believe that we should continue to hold conventions, exhibitions and school trips and not allow possible secuity concerns to shut the nation down. We should continue to be alert and provide needed security checks but we should not hide under the blanket. Trips by students should not be denied them. They are only school seniors once and school trips are an important part of their education. FUTURE EVENTS: - April: Kenosha Electric Streetcar resumes daily 8 hour historic trolley service. Phone (262)653 4290. - April 12, 13, 19, 2003: Easter Bunny Express at Whippany Ry Museum. Reservations suggested-(973) 887 8177 - April 12 (from Glen Rock) and April 13, 2003 (from Rutherford) by NYSW T&HS - April 12-16, 2003: APTA Chicago Commuter Rail Conference at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel - April 12, 2003: Warren Hills Regional High School at Washington, NJ. EastRail professional multi-media show. Contact (973) 671 9644 (7-9 PM) - April 22, 2003: World wide Earth Day-Transit is a vital player in reducing polution and improving the environment. (Editor-When I was at PAT in Pittsburgh, we made Earth Day a major promotion to stress the value of transit. There was a green painted trolley and bus and displays downtown.) - April 25, 2003: CERA Monthly meeting. Slide presentation by David Gartler entitled "Chicago Transit Posters of the 1920's. - April 26, 2003: Annual Member and Volunteer Banquet of the Pennsylania Trolley Museum at the Golf Club of Washington. Pa. Write PTM at One Museum Road, Washington, Pa. 15301. Program: Bruce Wells's presentation on the history of the PRC Washington Interurban line, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening and the 50th anniversary of the closing. - May 2, 2003: Phillipsburg NJ RR Historians Open House - May 3, 2003: ERA Spring bus trip from New York to Scranton to ride the new Electric City Trolley over the newly retored L&WV (Laurel Line) r/w and thru the tunnel. Sponsored by the ERA's NY Division. Contact (718) 784 3643 - May 4-8, 2003: APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis. - May 5-8, 2003: Madrid-UITP 55th World Congress. Free admission. Contact - May 12-15, 2003: Orange County Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove, Ca.-High Speed Ground Transportation Association 20th Annual Conference. Contact - May 16, 2003: New York City-NY Division-ERA meeting. - May 24,2,26, 2003 (Memorial Day weekend): Illinois Railway Museum at Union, Il. Steam on May 26. Also July 4,5,6,7, 2003: Trolley Pageant on July 4th Also Aug 39,32, Sept 1, 2003: Railfan weekend Contact - May 31-June 4, 2003: Canadian Urban Transit Association Annual Conference, Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba. - June 7-12, 2003: APTA Rail Transit Conference at Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, Ca. - June 14, 2003: ERA Testimonial Dinner for Harold H Geissenheimer at Mullen's Pub, 233 7th Ave, NYC. Contact (718) 784 3643 evenings. - June 19, 2003: London Marriott (Grosvenor Sq)-The Case for Light Rail sponsored by the Waterfront Conference Company. Speakers include Dr Peter J Schmidt, of the Parsons Transpotation Goup (formerly of the Baltimore LRT project), Nicolas Deschamps, Project Director of the Lyon LRT from Aegis Semaly Ltd. and Tony Depledge, LRTA President and Conference Chair. Contact . DONT MISS SPECIAL NYCT SUBWAY EVENTS - June 7, 8, 27, 28, 2003: Four NYCT subway trips to ride either R1/9 or IRT SMEE cars. Proceeds to the March of Dimes. Information: (347) 643-5310. Your last chance to ride some of this equipment. ERA 2003 WEEKEND - Labor Day Weekend: ERA Weekend originally planned for St Louis, will be held in Toronto. Details to follow. JOIN: New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center. $15 Individual to PO Box 147, Philipsburg, NJ 08865-0147 NORTH TO SOUTH: LRTA reports that the Russian City of Arkhangel'sk (Archangel) boasts the most northerny tramway and the heritage tramway opened in 1995 in Christchurch, New Zealand, is the most southerly. WHAT'S IN A NAME? Once transit operated horse omnibuses, then horse (or mule) cars or streetcars, then cable cars, then electric streetcars or trolley cars. In Europe and elsewhere the vehicles were called Tram cars. Then came the socalled Light Rail cars. Some cities called these cars LRV's but other older systems continued to call them streetcars or trolleys. The San Diego Trolley, a new system, picked up the trolley name. A recent incident in Pittsburgh headlined a news story that morning trolley traffic was disrupted due to a lost tractor- trailer motor truck tearing down the LRT wire in the Mt Washington Transit Tunnel. Pittsburgh now only operates its new LRV cars, PCC trolley operation ended some years ago. But the name trolley remains. At the high end of the scale, we have commuter rail and heavy rail-rapid transit. But in Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, street cars operate in a semi-rapid transit mode downtown while remaining in street operation after leaving the tunnel. The Newark Subway has been a subway since construction but it has operated regular trolley cars, then PCC cars and now LRV's. Now we are adding historic or vintage streetcars as in Kenosha, Tampa, Seattle among others. Also restored PCC car operation on Market Street, San Francisco and Girard Ave, Philadelphia offers a return to cost effective streetcar operation. And New Orleans contiuues to operate street cars on St Charles Ave and is returning street car service to Canal Street with new cars. Over time, some cities used variations for names of their lines. Rapid Transit was used in Shaker Heights and Milwaukee. High Speed in Philadelphia and the Key System operated Bridge trains from Oakland to San Francisco. Many cities used the term PCC car to describe their modern cars. No matter what it's called, the electric rail car is probably the most efficient and environmentally favorable form of transit. Call it Light Rail, a Trolley or a Streetcar. It works well. Passengers clearly have indicated their preference for electric rail. A new aspect is the diesel DMU LRV. Now operating in Ottawa and soon in Southern New Jersey, it is common in Europe. It opens a new alternative for light ridership lines. Even here there is a blending of names. In Kassel, Germany, they will soon be operating dual-mode LRV's as electric LRV's in the city and as DMU's on outlying rail lines. Equally confusing is the question of what to call the electric trolley bus. Sometimes called a trackless trolley or trolley bus as operated in San Francisco, Seattle, Dayton, Philadephia, Boston, Philadelphia, Edmonton, and Vancouver, the word trolley bus started to be applied to trolley bus replica diesel or gasoline tourist or circulator buses. Now the industry has designated the trackless trolley or trolley bus to be known as ETB's-Electric Trolley buses. There are also electric battery buses in Santa Barbara, Chatanooga, Miami and other cities. Now we also have dual-mode buses (in the Seattle tunnel operation) and hybrid buses as well as CNG or LNG alternative fuel buses. In the 1930's-1940's, the dual mode buses operated by Public Service New Jersey were given a new name of "All Service" vehicle. NEXT STOP. RETIREMENT Transnet wishes to recognize the retirement of Jeff Stern of the CTA Communications and Marketing Department after 28 years of service. A reception for Jeff will be held in the CTA Board Room, Room 734 of the Merchandise Mart at 2.30 PM on April 17, 2003. For years, Jeff provided up to the minute transit information on weather and other delays from the CTA Control Center. I worked with Jeff from 1976 to 1982 when I was the CTA General Operations Manager. Jeff handled major storms, accidents and other emergencies in a very professional way. Jeff also was responsible for the annual CTA Historical Calendar, a real collector's item. I wish Jeff well in his retirement. He was a very dedicated CTA employee. CHICAGO-MEIGS FIELD CLOSED. Mayor Daley closed the lakefront Meigs Field Airport on May 30, 2003. At one time there was a serious operation from Cleveland's Lakefront Airport to Detroit to Meigs Field. One of my National Guardmen was a pilot for this service which featured easy downtown access. Meigs in later years was handy for air travel to the state capital in Springfield. Toronto also has a lakefront airport reached by a short ferry. I am not sure of the status of this airport. I flew from Newark to there and found it very convenient at the time. NAMES IN THE NEWS: JOSEPH E HOFFMAN, former senior vice president of the Dept of Subways of NYCTA has joined Washington Group International as VP of its Washington infrastructure business unit. Joe joined NYCTA in 1970 and served as senior VP for more than eight years. He has been recognized for his professional efforts in restoring subway service after Sept 11, 2001. >From the Past: Recently named to the board of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority was Benjamin Gettler. Ben was once Chairman of the Cincinnati Transit Co., Metro's predecessor. In its day, Cincinnati Transit was viewed as a leading private transit operator. CONTRIBUTIONS: Support our Trolley Museums: Pennsylvania Trolley Museum at Arden. Write to 1 Museum Road, Washington, Pa. 15301. and the Illinois Railway Museum at POB 427, Union, Ill. 60180. Also Western Ry Museum (BAERA) at 5848 State Highway 12, Suisun City, Ca. 94585. FOR SALE: Back issues of the ERA's NY Division news letter "The Bulletin" Volumes 7 & 8 (l964-1965). 12 issues only $26 for US readers ($32 Canada & overseas) to PO Box 3323, Grand Central Station, New York 10163 KEEP AMERICA STRONG HAROLD H GEISSENHEIMER (973) 292 2916 --------------DE9EEED38187959CE7A703AF Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit  
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        WELCOME TO TRANSNET #113
 
 

 KEEP AMERICA STRONG.  SUPPORT COALITION FORCES.
 

(Found in print elsewhere, an advertisement in the Newark Star Ledger)

"THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR ARMED FORCES
        AND THEIR FAMILIES HAVE OUR FULL SUPPORT.
WE THANK THEM FOR THEIR SACRIFICE AND COMMITMENT.
     WE WISH THEM GODSPEED IN THEIR UNDERTAKING
   AND PRAY FOR THEIR SWIFT AND SAFE RETURN HOME"

                             SPONSORED BY "CALIFORNIA CLOSETS"
 
 

TRANSNET, YOUR SOURCE FOR RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS

      This is issue #113.  The next issue, #114 is in preparation.

FLASH:  PATH WILL RESUME SERVICE TO EXCHANGE
PLACE, JERSEY CITY, ON JUNE 29, 2003.  STATION HAS BEEN
CLOSED SINCE SEPT. 11, 2001.  TRAINS WILL NOW BE ABLE TO
TURNBACK HERE AND SHUTTLE TO HOBOKEN, JOURNAL
SQ OR NEWARK.  SERVICE THRU TO LOWER MANHATTAN (FORMER WORLD TRADE CENTER STATION) IS EXPECTED TO
RESUME BY DECEMBER.  NEW TUNNELS, TRACKS AND
SWITCHES WEST OF EXCHANGE PLACE WILL MAKE THESE
TURNBACK MOVES POSSIBLE.  SERVICE WILL BE OPERATED
EVERY FIVE MINUTES TO BOTH HOBOKEN AND NEWARK.
PASSENGERS WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE ON TO BOTH
THE WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER OR PIER 11 BY NEW YORK
WATERWAYS FERRY UNTIL THE RAIL LINE FULLY REOPENS.

CONGRATULATIONS TO PATH AND ITS CONSULTANTS AND
CONTRACTORS FOR THIS SPEEDY AND NEEDED RECOVERY.
ALSO TO NEW YORK WATERWAYS FOR THEIR ABILITY AND
WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE AND ENLARGE SERVICES SINCE
SEPTERMBER 11.  FERRY SERVICE IS NOW FULLY PART OF
THE NEW YORK TRANSIT NETWORK.  NY WATERWAYS NOT
ONLY CONNECTS TO RAIL ROUTES BUT HAS CONNECTING
FREE BUSES AND LARGE PARKING LOTS.  THEY DO IT RIGHT.

NEW YORK HARBOR HAS REJOINED HONG KONG AND SYDNEY
AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR FERRY BOAT OPERATIONS.
TAKE A RIDE ON THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY (FREE) OR ANY
OF THE TRANS-HUDSON ROUTES ON YOUR NEXT VISIT.
NEW YORK IS STILL A GREAT FUN PLACE AND TOURISTS
HAVE MUCH TO SEE AND DO.  COME VISIT NY THIS SUMMER.
 

(EDITOR-Some History: Exchange Pl. was formerly the terminal of the
Pennsylvania Railroad before the opening of Penn Station.  PRR
trains reached Jersey City over a right of way generally pararllel to
the rapid transit and then on an embankment (like the Philadelphia
Chinese Wall) to the PRR Ferries to Manhattan (Desprosses Street or
or 23rd Street.  Electric MU's continued into the l950's.  The former
PRR site now boasts numerous high rise office buildings.  Public
Service trolleys also looped here on surface tracks visible unil the 1990's.  Since September 11, PATH passengers had to transfer to  the NJT Hudson-Bergen LRT to reach Exchange Place.)
 

                  LIGHT RAIL PROGRESS

IN SALT LAKE CITY:

The TRAX LRT extension to the University of Utah's Medical
Center is expected to open by the end of September in time
for the APTA Annual Meeting.  This is a 1.5 mile extension with
three stations from the present terminus of the University Line
at Rice-Eccles Stadium.  Total extension cost is $89.4 million.
Seven new LRV's are being acquired from Siemens for the line.

Thanks to mild winter weather, fewer utility problems and the
ability of the contractor to move existing crews and equipment
into place, the completion date has advanced from November
2004 to this Fall.  The University has 28,400 students and 18,000
faculty.  The Medical Center has  over 11,000  faculty, staff and
students with an additional 2,500 at the nearby Primary Children's
Hospital.  Important was the cooperation of the University in
placing TRAX deep into its campus.

ALSO IN SALT LAKE CITY:  UTA will test a DMU in Draper for
a day next month for possible new runs on acquired railroad
tracks.  Also UTA is still proceeding to acquire 29 used LRT cars
from the VTA in San Jose at a cost of $700,000 each.
 

IN PASADENA;

According to the Los Angeles Times, the 14 mile, 13 station opening of
the "Gold Line" LRT from Union Station to Pasadena has been
postponed until later this summer.  The line was built by an independent
construction agency, the Metro Constuction Authority, for the
operator, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority
at a cost of nearly $900,000 million including almost  $100 million paid
by the MTA for twenty-six white and orange articulated LRV"s
from Siemens.  Similar cars are in service on the MTA Green line.

Starting from a two-track stub platform adjacent to Metrolink/
Amtrak tracks at Union Station, the line passes thru Chinatown,
Mount Washington, Highland Park and South Pasadena.  About
30,000 rides are expected for opening day.  Running time will
be about 37 minutes.   On-line parking will include parking
structures at Del Mar (600 spaces) and Sierra Madre Village
(1,000 spaces).  In Pasadena, the R/W is in the middle of the
I-210 Freeway.   To reach the Freeway, the line passes beneath
an apartment house.  This is first LRT line to open since the 1995
opening of the LA Green Line from Norwalk to Redondo
Beach.  In Pacific Electric interurban days, Pasadena was served
by the Pasadena Short Line but service was abandoned in the
l950's.   At Union Station, the "Gold Line" will connect to the
"Red Line" subway.  Also, in the future the Gold Line will be extended to East Los Angeles.  This will be a 6 mile, 8 station extension from
Union Station.  Also planning is under way for a long extension from
Pasadena to Claremont.

The line has been delayed by disputes with state regulators
over safety concerns at grade crossings and the normal NIMBY
opponents.  It continues to amaze me how illogical many of
these opponents are.  Some cities apparently have a more
enlightened population as evidenced by Portland, Sacramento.
San Diego, Salt Lake City and Denver LRT development.  One
often wonders at the high cost of this opposition to improved
urban mobility.

Transnet readers are encouraged to inform their political leaders
about these improvements elsewhere and what can be
achieved with a well designed but prudent rail system.  Correct
information is the best way to advance rail progress.

THANK YOU:  I wish to thank reader Donald Duke for
Pasadena clippings and Art Ellis for Pittsburgh clippings.
I appreciate their sending the up-to-the minute news.
Other readers send EMail news on a regular basis.  We are
often dependent on these reader contributions.  If it is of                   i
interest to you, it will also interest Transnet's readers.
Keep up sending the latest news.  Its appreciated.
 

IN NEW JERSEY:

New Jersey Transit's take one "FYI" for March 2003 contained
a summary of important transit projects in the state.  Light Rail
and Commuter Rail have numerous improvements scheduled
for later this year.

HUDSON-BERGEN LIGHT RAIL IMPROVEMENTS:
This line is built and operated by the Washington Group.

Fall 2003: Extension from East 34th Street, Bayonne to East
               22d Street, Bayonne.  This will extend the line closer
               to the center of Bayonne.  The parking lots and ADA
               elevators at East 34th Street are open.
Spring 2004: Extension from Hoboken to the Port Imperial
                Ferry Terminal in Weehawken.  Track construction
                on the former Conrail RW is well underway.  The
                line from Hoboken proceeds west from the present
                Newport station wye, then north at the base
                of the Palisades, then east to the river and north
                to the Ferry.

                Weehawken was once the site of a large New York
                Central-West Shore commuter rail and ferry terminal.
                Public Service trolleys connected the ferry terminal
                to 48th street on the Palisades via a PRW along
                Pershing Road.  The road bridge at the foot of the
                hill over the new LRT RW is under reconstruction.
                NY Waterways connects the Ferry Terminal with 39th
                street Manhattan.

In 2005: Service will further be extended from Weehawken to
                Tonnelle Ave via the former West Shore RR tunnel.
                There will be a deep station in the tunnel at Bergenline
                Ave to serve the surface business and residential area
                and connecting bus lines in Union City.  This deep
                station is similar in concept to the stations on SF Muni
                and the Porland West LRT and the future station on the
                San Diego Trolley at the University. (Editor-I was born
                in Hudson County just off of Bergenline Ave and if
                living there today, I would have transferred at this station.)

Future: In November 2002, the NJ Transit Board of Directors
                approved a further study to extend the LRT into
                Bergen County.
 

NEWARK CITY SUBWAY:

The Broad Street Station extension from Penn Station will open
in late 2005-2006.  The extension is a street loop from Broad Street
south via the Performing Arts Center to a tunnel portal to the
long unused Center Street tunnel tracks.  This tunnel previously
connected the basement trolley terminal under the former Public Service building with the City Subway tracks to Penn Station Newark.
It last had regular service about 1937.  The Star Ledger paper on
March 11, 2003 contained an excellent feature about the project.

The $225 million extension is expected to carry 6,500 daily on the
10 minute ride between the commuter rail stations. A new 850'
tunnel will connect the tunnel and surface portions of the line.
The one mile line will serve both the Performing Arts Center and the Riverfront Minor League Stadium.

Also on the City Subway, ADA elevators will open later this year
at the Penn Station and Washington Street stations.

Also, if the weather allows, take the Newark City Subway to
Branch Brook Park to see the Cherry Blossoms.  Like Washington,
the blooming is dependent on the weather.  The April 7 snow did
not help.
 

SOUTH JERSEY LIGHT RAIL-DIESEL DMU CARS:

Construction is nearing completion of this DMU line from
Camden to Trenton over street trackage in Camden and then
joint operation north over Conrail tracks.  The Adtanz DMU
articulated cars are being tested.  Service may open in this summer.
The first articulated car was delivered from Europe in a giant
Russian air transport to the Atlantic City Airport.  Keep posted
in Transnet for the opening.

A field trip to Trenton shows many sections of the line complete.
To provide for a possible future extention into downtown Trenton,
the Trenton LRT station is across the street from the NEC station.
 

COMMUTER RAIL:

SECAUCUS TRANSFER STATION:

Construction is nearing completion of the new multi-level transfer
station where the Amtrak-NJT North East Corridor crosses over the
NJ T diesel lines from Bergen County.  When fully open, passengers
will be able to transfer from the diesel lines to either Penn Station
New York or south to Newark, Princeton and Ternton.  Escalators, elevators, signing, train departure boards and passengers facilities
are being installed.  The station will connect 10 of the 11 NJT
commuter lines (all except Atlantic City).  It is possible that the
station will open weekends in the fall for a limited transfer to Penn
Station.  Full weekday service will require the delivery of additional
cars to provide adequate capacity and seats.  NJT has ordered 100 double deck commuter cars from Bombardier and is completing
the delivery of the Alston built Comet 5 cars and Bombardier built
new electric locomotives.

Nearby the Main/Bergen connector structure is scheduled for
completion by September 2003.  Also a new highway overpass for
the New County Road is under construction eliminating a
major highway grade crossing.

On the NE Corridor, the new High Density Interlocking Signal
System (HDIS) will be implemented this summer.  This will increase
NEC capacity from the present 21 trains per hour to 25 trains.
In Penn Station New York, the new 10 track 7th Ave-East
Concourse opened last fall has been a major improvement.

Also the start last fall of Midtown Direct Montclair train
service along with the electrification of the Montclair Branch to
Montclair Heights has opened up new markets.

The Secaucus Transfer station is a major improvement and NJT
has demonstrated the leadership to carry it to completion.  These
improvements resulted from the late 1980's Penn Station Access Study
where LS Transit (now Systra Consulting) studied the various
alternatives.  I was Project Manager of this imprtant study that
will change New Jersey-New York commuting for decades.
Still needed is a third tunnel under the Hudson (North) River
to further increase capacity and change the Secaucus Transfer
operation to a direct Secaucus Connection train service.
 

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:

The rebuilding of the North Tube of the Bergen Portals Tunnel under
the Palisades is nearing completion.  Upon completion, the South
Tube will close for a short time for repair and then by mid-summer,
both tunnels (with four tracks) will open.  Also at Hoboken, a new
Yard B will provide midday storage of diesel trains.

Also south of Trenton, the new Morrisville Yard just over the
Delaware River in Pennsylvanis will open by fall.  Also the Suffern
NY Main-Bergen yard has been recently expanded.

NJ Transit has also beeen adding up to 20,000 parking spaces during
the next five years.  A 1,500 space at Montclair State University
is under construction for Montclair-Boonton passengers.  And
lastly, a new station at Union (NJ) to open on April 27, 2003
will add 467 spaces for Raritan Line passengers.

Quite a record of improvements for this year.  Congratulations to
NJT Executive Director George Warrington and his staff for a
job well done in completing these projects.
 
 

FROM CHICAGO

METRA has ordered 26 new bi-level gallery EMU's
cars for the Metra Electric South Side lines.   Metra Electric
serves 66 km of route electrified at 1.5 kV dc overhead.  This
was the former electrified suburban lines of the Illinois Central.

This order is in addition to a large order of push-pull  gallery cars
and locomotives for Metra diesel lines.
 

PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY-PATH

The lenghtened Exchange Place station will open this summer.
The new World Trade Center Station is under construction
and should be open late this winter.  Congratulations to PATH
for this rapid recovery from Sept. 11 damage.
 

MINNEAPOLIS HIAWATHA LRT CAR DELIVERED

The first articulated LRT car arrived by truck on March 16, 2003
from the Bombardier plant near Mexico City.  24 cars will
be required for the Hiawatha line to open next year.
 

SERVICE TO THE SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT

The SFO people mover from Bombardier (Adtranz) started
carrying passengers on February 24, 2003 with a formal opening
on March 2, 2003.  This is a very large people mover system
serving the terminals and remote parking and car rental.  It
serves as the distributor for passengers arriving by BART.  BART
is expected to open this spring.
 

TACOMA LRT:  Public service may begin in September 2003.
The Sound Transit Board has approved the payment to BNSF
of $2 million to divert freight trains from the level crossing
with the tramway.  (LRTA) (Editor-Another example of increasing
LRT costs.  In my experience, the PSNJ Bloomfield #29
line crossed Erie RR tracks and there were numerous crossings
in Pittsburgh, Chicago and other cities.  Derails, flagmen
and safety procedures protected these crossings for decades.
Now BNSF wants an expensive bypass.
 

NOTTINGHAM (UK) EXPRESS TRANSIT TRAM

The first tram moved under its own power in the first test journey
for 65 years on March 2, 2003.  LRTA reports a November 2003
opening date for the first stage.  By the end of February, eight of
the five section articulated trams had been delivered.
 

BILBAO, SPAIN

The first section of northern Spain's first modern tramway opened
on December 18, 2002.  The 750 V dc metre gauge line will operate
seven three section articulated Eurotrams from CAF Beasain of Irun.
The next extension to the Guggenheim Museum should open this
Spring and then in the Fall reach San Manes.

Bilbao previously opened its first Metro line on November 11, 1995.
Metro line 1 has been extended and a branch opened to form line 2
for a 28 km network. (LRTA)
 

LIMA, PERU

After 13 years of trial runs and delays, the city finally placed its
10-km "Tren Urbano" in commercial operation on January 13, 2003.
Five 6-car Breda built trains provide a limited service from El Salvador
to Atocongo for transfer to express buses for the remaining 14-km
to downtown. (LRTA)
 

DUBLIN: Trams returned to the streets of Dublin on January 17,
2003 with Citadis tram testing on a short section.  Construction
is underway on a two line system.   Dublin also is served by the
very fine DART suburban rail line.  This is a 37 km, 25 station,
1600mm wide gauge line electrified at 1.5 kV dc overhead.     40 two car
train sets built by LHB in 1983-84 are operated.  A very nice
operation.  (Editor: One day excursions from London are reasonable.
I used British Midland.  Ryan Air also operates.  A nice trip.)
 

FROM PITTSBURGH

News from the Port Authority is both good and bad.  Reconstruction
of the Stage II LRT line via Overbrook is underway as is the construction of new LRV's by CAF Spain.  As part of this project,
CAF will also rebuild the existing fleet of Siemen's LRV's.  This
will allow faster LRT service from south of Castle Shannon eliminating
the longer present route via Mt. Lebanon.  (Editor-History does
repeat itself.  These lines were once routed thru Mt Lebanon until
the Overbrook route was opened.  Then a faster service was initiated
via Overbrook.  When the LRT was opened, this Overbrook service
was eventually shut down for reconstruction.  Now it will once again
replace the longer route thru Mt. Lebanon.)

The South Hills LRT routes have proved to be a reliable alternative
to the traffic detours caused by the reconstruction of the Fort Pitt
Bridge and approaches.  Phase II of this closing started this month.
 

NORTH SIDE LRT EXTENSION IS BACK ON TRACK IN PGH.

The FTA has agreed to change its ruling on a $400 million
extension from Gateway Center downtown thru a tunnel under the
Allegheny river to the two North Side stadiums.  The FTA has
changed its ruling from "not recommended" to allow final
design to continue.  This extension could connect to other
North Side points and to the Airport.
 

PAT FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

The bad news is that Pittsburgh is once again faced with a fare
increase and service cuts.  For the third time in as many years,
PAT is taling about raising base fares to $2.00 and eliminating
weekend, evening, holiday and special event service including the
South Hills LRT.  This need was exacerbated by a state proposal
to reduce state funds by $4 million to 67.3 million.  Because
Allegheny County matches state money at $1 for every $3, PAT
could lose another $1.3 million.  SEPTA and the other transit
systems in the state are faced with similar losses of state revenue.
PAT previously raised its Zone 1 base fare from $1.25 to $1.60
in 2001, and then from $1.60 to $1.75 last year.  Service was cut by
7% over this two-year period.

Also the extension of the East-MLK Busway has been postponed to
June 2003.
 

PENSYLVANIA TROLLEY MUSEUM AT ARDEN ADVANCES

The museum is advancing a $1.5 million 28,000 sq ft  display
building and car house.  The museum opens its 40th season
with a full program of events starting with the Bunny Trolley on
April 18 and 19, 2003.  There will be a 1950's Diesel Train ride in
August from Carnegie.  Details at (724) 228-9256 or (877) 728-7655.
 

OTHER OPENINGS IN LATE 2002

In Tampa: TECO Heritage Streetcar opened on October 19, 2002.
In Dallas: DART LRT system continues to grow.
      -      November 18, 2002: Blue line extended to Garland
      -      December 9, 2002: Red line extended to Plano/Richardson
In Toronto: TTC 5 station Sheppard subway opened in November
In Boston: MBTA Silver Line Bus Rapid Transit opened on
              July 20, 2002 on Washington Street from Dudley to downtown
 

DENVER RTD STRIKE PACT REACHED

The RTD and ATU Local 1001 reached a last minute agreement
four hours after the deadline to settle a possible strike on April
2. 2003.  The strike would have affected the LRT System, the
Mall Shuttle and 65% of the bus system.  Other RTD buses
operated by contract carriers would have continued to operate.
This would have been the first strike in 21 years.  RTD carries about
250,000 rides daily.  Despite some membership objections, the new
contract was finally approved by a vote of the members.
 

BOSTON CENTRAL ARTERY I-93 OPENS

The new major highway network known as the Central Artery
opened on March 30, 2003.  The project includes two tunnels,
the Liberty Tunnel and the O'Neil Tunnel and a new major bridge
across the Charles River.  It opens up a new connection to
the Airport and a bypass around downtown.
 

PUT SECURITY CONCERN IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE

Some school groups and conventions have cancelled or delayed
out of state visits because of the war or for security reasons.  While
some may perceive these as valid reasons, in fact the Highway is
perhaps a more dangerous element in transportation.  On April
4, 2003, 59 people were injured in a 3 bus accident near Orlando.
The 3 buses, carrying high school band students from Maryland
may have been following too closely when the first made a sudden
stop.  (Editor-In my bus operating experience, I always believed
it was safer for a multi-vehicle charter to travel separately unless
under police guidance.  This became even more so with the use
of bus radios to comunicate between vehicles.)

Also, earlier this year there were several multi-vehicle Interstate
Highway accidents due to fog, weather, snow or traffic congestion.
These accidents further establish the fact that the Highway may at
times be the most dangerous form of transportation.  I believe
that we should continue to hold conventions, exhibitions and
school trips and not allow possible secuity concerns to shut the
nation down.  We should continue to be alert and provide needed
security checks but we should not hide under the blanket.  Trips
by students should not be denied them.  They are only school seniors
once and school trips are an important part of their education.
 

FUTURE EVENTS:

     -     April: Kenosha Electric Streetcar resumes daily 8 hour
           historic trolley service.  Phone (262)653 4290.
 

     -     April 12, 13, 19, 2003: Easter Bunny Express at Whippany
            Ry Museum.  Reservations suggested-(973) 887 8177
     -     April 12 (from Glen Rock) and April 13, 2003 (from
            Rutherford) by NYSW T&HS <www.nyswths.org/easter>
     -     April 12-16, 2003: APTA Chicago Commuter Rail Conference
            at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel
     -     April 12, 2003: Warren Hills Regional High School at
            Washington, NJ.  EastRail professional multi-media
            show.  Contact (973) 671 9644 (7-9 PM)
     -      April 22, 2003: World wide Earth Day-Transit is a vital
            player in reducing polution and improving the environment.
            (Editor-When I was at PAT in Pittsburgh, we made Earth Day
            a major promotion to stress the value of transit.  There
            was a green painted trolley and bus and displays downtown.)
     -      April 25, 2003: CERA Monthly meeting.  Slide presentation
            by David Gartler entitled "Chicago Transit Posters of the 1920's.
     -      April 26, 2003: Annual Member and Volunteer Banquet of the
            Pennsylania Trolley Museum at the Golf Club of Washington.
            Pa. Write PTM at One Museum Road, Washington, Pa. 15301.
            Program: Bruce Wells's presentation on the history of the PRC
            Washington Interurban line, celebrating the 100th anniversary
            of the opening and the 50th anniversary of the closing.

     -      May 2, 2003: Phillipsburg NJ RR Historians Open House
     -      May 3, 2003: ERA Spring bus trip from New York to
            Scranton to ride the new Electric City Trolley over the newly
            retored L&WV (Laurel Line) r/w and thru the tunnel.
            Sponsored by the ERA's NY Division.  Contact (718) 784 3643
     -      May 4-8, 2003: APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference at
            Hyatt Regency Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis.
     -      May 5-8, 2003:  Madrid-UITP 55th World Congress.
            Free admission.  Contact <www.uitp.com>
     -      May 12-15, 2003: Orange County Hyatt Regency in Garden
            Grove, Ca.-High Speed Ground Transportation Association
            20th Annual Conference. Contact <www.hsgt.org>
     -      May 16, 2003: New York City-NY Division-ERA meeting.
     -      May 24,2,26, 2003 (Memorial Day weekend): Illinois
            Railway Museum at Union, Il.  Steam on May 26.
            Also July 4,5,6,7, 2003: Trolley Pageant on July 4th
            Also Aug 39,32, Sept 1, 2003: Railfan weekend
            Contact <http://www.irm.org>
     -      May 31-June 4, 2003: Canadian Urban Transit Association
            Annual Conference, Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

     -      June 7-12, 2003:  APTA Rail Transit Conference at Fairmont
            Hotel, San Jose, Ca.
     -      June 14, 2003: ERA Testimonial Dinner for Harold H
            Geissenheimer at Mullen's Pub, 233 7th Ave, NYC.
            Contact (718) 784 3643 evenings.
     -      June 19, 2003: London Marriott (Grosvenor Sq)-The
            Case for Light Rail sponsored by the Waterfront
            Conference Company.  Speakers include Dr Peter J Schmidt,
            of the Parsons Transpotation Goup (formerly of the
            Baltimore LRT project), Nicolas Deschamps, Project
            Director of the Lyon LRT from Aegis Semaly Ltd. and
            Tony Depledge, LRTA President and Conference Chair.
            Contact <www.thewaterfront.co.uk>.
 

               DONT MISS SPECIAL NYCT SUBWAY EVENTS

     -      June 7, 8, 27, 28, 2003: Four NYCT subway trips to ride
            either R1/9 or IRT SMEE cars.  Proceeds to the March of Dimes.
            Information: (347) 643-5310.  Your last chance to ride
            some of this equipment.
 

                                  ERA 2003 WEEKEND

     -      Labor Day Weekend:  ERA Weekend originally planned
            for St Louis, will be held in Toronto.  Details to follow.
 

JOIN: New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center.  $15 Individual
            to PO Box 147, Philipsburg, NJ 08865-0147
 

NORTH TO SOUTH:  LRTA reports that the Russian City of
Arkhangel'sk (Archangel) boasts the most northerny tramway
and the heritage tramway opened in 1995 in Christchurch,
New Zealand, is the most southerly.
 

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Once transit operated horse omnibuses, then horse (or mule) cars
or streetcars, then cable cars, then electric streetcars or trolley cars.
In Europe and elsewhere the vehicles were called Tram cars.

Then came the socalled Light Rail cars.  Some cities called these
cars LRV's but other older systems continued to call them streetcars
or trolleys.  The San Diego Trolley, a new system, picked up the
trolley name.  A recent incident in Pittsburgh headlined a news
story that morning trolley traffic was disrupted due to a lost tractor-
trailer motor truck tearing down the LRT wire in the Mt Washington
Transit Tunnel.  Pittsburgh now only operates its new LRV cars, PCC
trolley operation ended some years ago.  But the name trolley remains.

At the high end of the scale, we have commuter rail and heavy
rail-rapid transit.  But in Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, street cars operate in a semi-rapid transit mode downtown while
remaining in street operation after leaving the tunnel.  The Newark
Subway has been a subway since construction but it has operated
regular trolley cars, then PCC cars and now LRV's.

Now we are adding historic or vintage streetcars as in Kenosha,
Tampa, Seattle among others.  Also restored PCC car operation
on Market Street, San Francisco and Girard Ave, Philadelphia
offers a return to cost effective streetcar operation.  And New
Orleans contiuues to operate street cars on St Charles Ave and is
returning street car service to Canal Street with new cars.

Over time, some cities used variations for names of their lines.
Rapid Transit was used in Shaker Heights and Milwaukee.
High Speed in Philadelphia and the Key System operated
Bridge trains from Oakland to San Francisco.  Many cities
used the term PCC car to describe their modern cars.

No matter what it's called, the electric rail car is probably the
most efficient and environmentally favorable form of transit.
Call it Light Rail, a Trolley or a Streetcar.  It works well.
Passengers clearly have indicated their preference for electric rail.

A new aspect is the diesel DMU LRV.  Now operating in Ottawa and soon in Southern New Jersey, it is common in Europe.   It opens a new
alternative for light ridership lines.  Even here there is a blending
of names.  In Kassel, Germany, they will soon be operating dual-mode
LRV's as electric LRV's in the city and as DMU's on outlying
rail lines.

Equally confusing is the question of what to call the electric trolley
bus.  Sometimes called a trackless trolley or trolley bus as operated
in San Francisco, Seattle, Dayton, Philadephia, Boston, Philadelphia,
Edmonton, and Vancouver, the word trolley bus started to be
applied to trolley bus replica diesel or gasoline tourist or circulator
buses.  Now the industry has designated the trackless trolley or trolley
bus to be known as ETB's-Electric Trolley buses.  There are also
electric battery buses in Santa Barbara, Chatanooga, Miami and
other cities.

Now we also have dual-mode buses (in the Seattle tunnel operation)
and  hybrid buses as well as CNG or LNG alternative fuel buses.  In
the 1930's-1940's, the dual mode buses operated by Public Service
New Jersey were given a new name of "All Service" vehicle.
 

NEXT STOP. RETIREMENT

Transnet wishes to recognize the retirement of Jeff Stern of the
CTA Communications and Marketing Department after 28 years
of service.  A reception for Jeff will be held in the CTA Board
Room, Room 734 of the Merchandise Mart at 2.30 PM on
April 17, 2003.  For years, Jeff provided up to the minute transit
information on weather and other delays from the CTA Control
Center.  I worked with Jeff from 1976 to 1982 when I was the CTA
General Operations Manager.  Jeff handled major storms, accidents
and other emergencies in a very professional way.  Jeff also was
responsible for the annual CTA Historical Calendar, a real collector's
item.  I wish Jeff well in his retirement.  He was a very dedicated
CTA employee.

CHICAGO-MEIGS FIELD CLOSED.

Mayor Daley closed the lakefront Meigs Field Airport on  May 30,
2003.  At one time there was a serious operation from Cleveland's
Lakefront Airport to Detroit to Meigs Field.  One of my National
Guardmen was a pilot for this service which featured easy downtown
access.  Meigs in later years was handy for air travel to the state
capital in Springfield.  Toronto also has a lakefront airport reached
by a short ferry.  I am not sure of the status of this airport.  I flew
from Newark to there and found it very convenient at the time.
 

NAMES IN THE NEWS:

JOSEPH E HOFFMAN, former senior vice president of the Dept of
Subways of NYCTA has joined Washington Group International as
VP of its Washington infrastructure business unit.  Joe joined NYCTA
in 1970 and served  as senior VP for more than eight years.  He has
been recognized for his professional efforts in restoring subway
service after Sept 11, 2001.

From the Past:  Recently named to the board of the Southwest Ohio
Regional Transit Authority was Benjamin Gettler.  Ben was once
Chairman of the Cincinnati Transit Co., Metro's predecessor.
In its day, Cincinnati Transit was viewed as a leading private
transit operator.
 

CONTRIBUTIONS:

Support our Trolley Museums:  Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
at Arden.  Write to 1 Museum Road, Washington, Pa. 15301.
and the Illinois Railway Museum at POB 427, Union, Ill. 60180.
Also Western Ry Museum (BAERA)  at  5848 State Highway 12,
Suisun City, Ca. 94585.

FOR SALE: Back issues of the ERA's NY Division news letter
"The Bulletin" Volumes 7 & 8 (l964-1965).  12 issues only $26
for US readers ($32 Canada & overseas) to PO Box 3323, Grand
Central Station, New York 10163
 

KEEP AMERICA STRONG

HAROLD H GEISSENHEIMER
(973) 292 2916
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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