“We have a community that has accepted and embraced rail,” said Valley Metro Interim CEO Scott Smith at the opening of the 2016 American public Transportation Association (APTA) Rail Conference. “I’ve seen how it changes communities and drives economics.”
During the APTA Rail Conference, industry experts shared the latest in projects from around the world and how the latest technologies are improving safety, improving performance and optimizing efficiency. The opening session heard from area political leaders on how light rail has transformed the Phoenix region.
Valley Metro’s light rail goes through three downtowns along a route that had seen better days. Today there’s been $8 billion of investment along the corridor and Mayor Greg Stanton said Phoenix is a poster child of how rail can advance a city.
Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said it’s not just infrastructure, it’s opportunity for skill sets. He spoke of his childhood, growing up on the south side of Chicago, where the Orange Line opened during his formative years. As the son of a low-income single mom, he said the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) was his second parent that drove him around.
“It changed my perspective on life,” he said. “I took the rail to school, to explore the city, to museums, to the north side to see how rich people lived. It took me to my first summer job and my first girlfriend.
“Transportation brings a different type of opportunity that we are not going to be able to measure when it comes to that social capital.” He said, “I take this personally. I am committed to fighting for more federal dollars for mass transportation.”
Smith spoke of why he became passionate about transit. When they were opening a rail line in Salt Lake City, Utah, he had a conversation with his aunt, who lived in Aurora. As he explained it, her politics run right of the Tea Party.
“I bring up rail to egg her on,” Smith said. “My aunt starts talking about her experience. ‘It’s really wonderful. My friend and I drive to Draper, get on, ride 20 miles to go downtown. It’s an amazing experience; it’s changed my life.’
“I understood the impact we can have on people.”
He said, “When people have a chance to experience what we build, they become passionate like we become passionate.”
Safety Culture
Safety is a heavily focused aspect of transit. Thomas Littleton, the associate administrator office of transit safety and oversight, hosted an educational session on safety management systems (SMS) and how agencies can make SMS a reality.
The process of implementing SMS is lengthy, Littleton said that it typically takes 3 to 5 years to get up and running. His analogy was “We’re building the firetruck as we’re trying to put out the fire”.
But he stressed how it needs to be at the forefront of agencies minds. There are many issues that can arise withing transit security, but Littleton said, "At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what caused it, but we need to prepare in the event of an accident."
Developers Bank on Light Rail
A showcase of award-winning TOD and adaptive reuse projects in central Phoenix as a direct result of the implementation of light rail was the highlight of a recent tour by HDR Inc. and Valley Metro. The three projects highlighted the initiatives of planners, developers and architects at the forefront of growth and development along the Valley Metro rail line. The tour demonstrated how in-fill developments are taking advantage of the opportunities along the light rail corridor in the Phoenix area.
Read more and see photos at http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/12223500/light-rail-drives-project-development.
Shared Experiences, Shared Lessons
Sessions at the Rail Conference gave attendees overviews of projects and studies that are in progress or have completed and offered lessons learned and best practices.
Roma McKenzie-Campbell, Amtrak project manager, previously with MBTA, and Caroline Ducas, senior transit planner with VHB, presented on a study that was done looking at the impact of DMU implementation by MBTA on an existing commuter rail corridors. The study looked at the challenges of introducing new rolling stock, such as maintenance, platforms and storage.
The presentation looked at the impacts a DMU procurement has not only in infrastructure requirements, but analyzed service levels and projected on-time performance rates and how infrastructure needs would impact that.
Brightline Manager of Operations Planning Michael Lefevre shared some of the lessons learned on the privately funded rail line from Miami to Orlando.
Everything they have worked to design for the past couple years is becoming a reality, he said, as they recently looked at the rolling stock being built in Sacramento by Siemens.
While usually not a walkable state, the stations are in downtown locations for easy access and Brightline controls the TOD at the stations, including shops and apartments. It’s entirely a Brightline project, said Lefevre.
Innovations in the Field
More than 86 exhibitors featured the latest in rail technology, products and services at the Rail Showcase and presentations during many of the sessions addressed how these advanced technologies were being implemented.
SmartDrive Systems announced that a new patent has been issued and that three additional patents are pending for its SmartDrive Rail solution and announced that Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has selected SmartDrive for rollout across its entire fleet of 2,350 buses and 315 rail cars.
Narayana Sundaram, senior engineer with Ensco Inc., talked about the testing of a portable track geometry measurement system to meet the unfulfilled need for a rapidly deployed system that measures all track geometry parameters. Under sponsorship of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the objectives were to quantify challenges to the current systems, such as high curvatures, low track speeds or characteristics requiring 124’ chord measurements, like high-speed rail.
Both the educational session and committee meetings on streetcars drew packed crowds. One of the developments that was discussed was connective systems. Both DART's Dallas Streetcar, which has been in operation for a year, and the upcoming Valley Metro Tempe Streetcar, use the same operating facilities as other parts of their operations. That arose the issue of how their streetcar and other rail systems could fit together, while accounting for the added space and maintenance needs.
"We operate from our central rail facility. We had to work on training mechanics and operators and determine where they put the vehicles and where the parts would be stored,” said John Rhone, AP capital design and construction for DART.
What makes the Dallas Streetcar interesting is also the fact that it is the first hybrid in America. Dealing with the issue of being unable to place catenary lines on a historic bridge Rhone said that they went with the American designed hybrid by Brookville Equipment Corp. in Pennsylvania - which was something that interested other agencies who were facing similar space constraints, or who wanted to venture into sustainability.
Rail Me This: How to Fix America's Infrastructure
It's no secret that there is an infrastructure issue facing the public transportation. At the Kiewit and APTA hosted general luncheon "Aging Systems Nearing the Breaking Point - Investment Needs at America’s Rail Systems" the serious issue of America's ageing rail systems was addressed.
Jake Macholtz, VP of technology for Kiewit said, "We really want our systems to be reliable so they can count on them day in and day out. At the same time our rail system play a viable role in our communities. The vital need to keep these systems safe and secure."
With a heavy dependence rail lines across America, one of the main challenges that stands in the way of revitalizing them is funding.
"Aging rail systems across America are reaching a breaking point. Rail systems across the us are dealing with aging systems and expansion. This infrastructure gap provides a danger to our rail security," said Nuria Fernandez general manager/CEO at VTA. "We still have to be mindful of the challenges of operating day in and day out. Challenges are a need for more funding and replacement for tracks."
Dorval Carter, CTA's president spoke to the current work that CTA is undergoing along its rail lines.
"There's no question that we have a lot to say about the subject. CTA is in the process of completing investments of five million dollars," said Carter, who spoke to the positives that they have already seen. "The total number of stations that are undergoing renovations is unheard of more than 40 stations are seeing improvements which represents over a third of our system. We've seen a rapid return of that with record ridership."
