Urban rail, at-grade, is unsafe and unreliable; therefore, wasteful, and an ill-devised "Transit Backbone."

Short of having our Authoritarian Mayor banning passenger cars in the corridor, the tram will never be safe...or reliable.

The trains are anything but quiet. The speakers are always turned up full blast with the idiotic messages coming out nonstop making it impossible to carry on an intelligent conversation. The platforms are even worse with their earsplitting beeps nonstop which can be heard 2 blocks away. I would like to pipe this noise into the Metro office and see how long it would last.

Royko, are you saying that every at-grade urban rail system in the country (and beyond) is unsuccessful?

E-Train,

       I can safely say (according to Royko)---YES---as we're not the only city with such a light rail set-up.

Huh?  200 Yards to stop a light rail car?  Sure, if you run light rail at 60 MPH like Dallas does.  Kindly get some perspective, Ms. Sit.

Collins and Royko need to get out more.  Houston's Red Line is hardly alone with at-grade street operation for new light rail systems: Interstate Avenue and downtown in Portland; Main St., Temple St., 400 North and South Streets, Wasatch Drive, North Medical Drive in Salt Lake; all of downtown Denver to the northeast side at 30th and Downing; North 12th St. and Del Paso Blvd. in Sacramento, and long stretches of San Jose's light rail system.  Google Maps shows that much of Phoenix' 12-mile line is like Houston's light rail line.

Ummm---EXCUSE YOU, Mike Harrington?!  I RIDE METRORAIL EVERYDAY OF THE WORK WEEK!  What does "get out more" have to do with anything?  BTW, I'm not concerned about other TAs and their light rail system so.....

don said:  "The platforms are even worse with their earsplitting beeps nonstop which can be heard 2 blocks away."

If you're talking about the beeps and the message that follows telling people which train is coming, I'll buy that BUT for someone who maybe two blocks away surely wouldn't mind.  That way, can know which train is coming so they haul themselves to the station before they miss the train, IMHO!

Not only two streets away, but those beeps can be heard 2 streets away, 22 floors up, and indoors.  I hear them constantly from my office all day long.

And what about the streetcar/trolley system in New Orleans? Or the one in San Francisco? Both are at-grade, side by side with traffic...have been for DECADES!

E-Train,

Yes, urban rail, at-grade is operating in streeets with cars.  The only tram system with more accidents is the one in New Orleans.

When there are numerous accidents, the "Transit Backbone" line is unreliable.

When there is more than three inches of accumulated storm water in the street, the system halts, and METREAUX must call in the buses to rescue the "sheeple."

If you let METREAUX narrowly define success, than it is a success.  If you are a poor, minority, elderly, or handicapped bus transit dependent rider, abused daily, then it is not a success.

Mike Harrington,

I get out every day.  My profession requires that I inspect property and analyze physical characteristics and economic factors.

I was in Salt Lake City two days ago.

Thank goodness METREAUX is not as cash-straped as the transit system in San Jose, where they decided to sell-off buses just to pay operate their boondoggle system.

You've only provided a partial clarification, Mr. Collins.  MetroRail is highly successful by USA standards.  Based on European rider totals, MetroRail is not very impressive.  But then again, European communities are adequately served with buses, steeetcars, light rail, commuter rail and intercity passenger rail 24/7.  Houston has one reasonably good transit line, MetroRail, and a lot of bus lines ranging from mediocre to horrible.  It's easy for a light rail line in Paris to carry well over 100,000 riders per day, since it connects with subways and commuter rail at multiple points on its route.

Royko, you've provided old news on San Jose.  They were hit badly by the dot-com crash, but have since rebounded, both light rail and bus lines.

Unless there is a recognition that roads are highly subsidized and there is a shift to more equitable funding for public transit properties, I doubt if there are any US public transit systems that are not cash strapped.  Harris County Metro severely cut bus service in the past eight years, particularly on secondary lines in outlying areas.  

UGH!  Ummm----Mike Harrington?  I'll just leave it at that because I don't have time to deal with this right now.  All you need to know is that I ride METRO (rail AND bus) everyday of the work week (excluding holidays and certain weekends) and I like what I see.  If I didn't, then I shouldn't be riding METRO until things go my way.

Nobody's perfect in this country when it comes to mass transit and hopefully you'll know that by now.

Mr. Harrington,

Houston's density is too low to make the tram economically viable.

METREAUX has diverted nearly 2/3 of all fixed bus routes so as to "feed" the tram.  This forces the bus transit dependent to ride the tram a couple of platforms to another transit center to board another bus just to complete a one-way trip.

This "churns" the tram boardings, but wastes excessive amounts of time for the transit dependent who are trying to get some place in a nominal amount of time.

This discussion may well be moot, as with the meltdown of the world economy, we might be returning to the 18th century.  After November 4th, we very well may be on par with life in Cuba.

Population density is less relevant than corridor density.  The population density of the Illinois side of the St. Louis light rail line is quite sparse, yet the corridor density is heavy and the 21 miles of Metrolink rail into the forest and prairie of Illinois is well patronized.  

Tramcars are far more efficient in energy expended per passenger mile than buses. In Houston 18 tramcars have replaced several dozen buses.  That is a cost savings.  The inconvenience of transferring is mitigated by frequent MetroRail service and faster running time than buses.  

Two thirds?  Your count is grossly exaggerated.  Metro has 100 bus routes, most of which go nowhere near the MetroRail line.  

Other LRT's in Streets:

1.  Island Transit, Galveston

2.  Portland OR Streetcar.  Owned by the city, but works with Tri-Met.  Smaller, lower cars than the Tri-Met MAX.

3.  Portland Or Tri-Met.  Expansion of MAX in into the 5th and 6th  Street Bus Mall.

Mary:

I don't mind seeing what other places are doing.  They might have something, like BRT, WE can use.

Other LRT's in Streets:

1.  Island Transit, Galveston

2.  Portland OR Streetcar.  Owned by the city, but works with Tri-Met.  Smaller, lower cars than the Tri-Met MAX.

3.  Portland Or Tri-Met.  Expansion of MAX in into the 5th and 6th  Street Bus Mall.

Mary:

I don't mind seeing what other places are doing.  They might have something, like BRT, WE can use.

Two posts for one.  Computer must like BRT.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6051176.html

I don't fully understand what's going on here.  First, it says that a pickup truck hit something at 11am.  Later, you'll read that a trash hauler hit something at 10:45am.

Can somebody at METRO give the real scoop of what happened here?

Nice job, Chron.com---NOT!

Nevermind the previous comment.  Just checked the news yesterday and it was one of those front loader "trash haulers" that hit the line.  Hopefully Chron.com would update their article about this incident.

Mr. Harrington,

Just because I am opposed to the boondoggle urban rail, it is not necessary for me to fabricate numbers when I have METREAUX, or their local propaganda daily as a source.

Below is documentation that I did not make up, merely cite.

There are just over 100 fixed routes, and if the number of fixed routes diverted to the tram rises from 65 to approx. 86 which now "interact" with the tram, I am comfortable in my "over 2/3 of fixed route" statement.

++++++

Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: TUE 06/01/2004

Section: A

Page: 1

Edition: 3 STAR

Bus, rail changes set to go into effect today

By LUCAS WALL, RAD SALLEE

Staff

---snip---

The changes to 65 bus routes, mostly designed to beef up ridership on MetroRail, will take an estimated 1,200 bus trips out of the Main Street corridor each day.

---snip---

"With these route modifications, Metro is forcing commuters to use the train by providing no other routes to downtown," said Zac Nelson, a Route 15 rider. "This is a terrible idea and is nothing but an inconvenience."

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HTML Download from METROSolutions:

The Facts: METRORail on Main Street

---snip---

Bus routes interacting with METRORail

86 (approximately)

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Copyright © 2006 METRO. All rights reserved.

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M-W dictionary definition

"Interact" -  to act upon one another

Many of the safety comments for the LRT also apply to the hyway-grade crossings.  A freight train hitting your and your car is the same mass ratio as you and your car running over a 12 oz. soda can!  (IE, train wins!)  And many locomotives have CCTV:  Candid Camera!