Beginning June 1 (next Wednesday), New Jersey Transit will be adding quiet cars to all rush hour trains to/from Hoboken. It will be the Eastmost car, first on inbound trips, last on outbound trips, cab car under normal circumstances.
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9. Cal-Train: Thru Mar weekday ridership up 12% ; weekend up 21% maiinly due to 2 daily Baby Bullet round trips added cuting time from San Jose - SFO from 1:38 to :57. 2011 vs 2010.
1. ACE – California congressman McNerney introduced a bill that is probably dead before action to have US DOT grant $450M to build a separate track ( separate from UP ) for ACE from San Jose to California central valley. Indication that this would be planning in conjunction with the Ca HSR with ACE stations located on turnouts from HSR. Possible time savings from 2:10 to :55.
ACE has let out for bids new maintenance facility in Stockton with construction starting this summer.
ACE ridership up to 2900/day vs 2400/day in 2010.
2. Caltrain starting grade separation project in San Bruno raising tracks over three streets and closing a couple other crossings. Project will also build a new station.
Construction proceeding at Santa Clara station will provide a wider and longer center platform with a pedestrian underpass allowing trains to pass in station. ACE will return to station and maybe Capitol corridor trains stop.
Construction started on San Jose Diridon station adding 2 full platforms on west side that were closed in SP times. The 4 new tracks are being built for UP freight, Amtrak CS, ACE, Capitol corridor, Caltrain, and HSR services along with present tracks and platforms. Signaling at each end of station being added to allow quicker accelerations in and out of station as station already has a movement every 2 minutes during rush hour.
Caltrain average daily ridership Feb 2011 new record 41,400k vs 36,700 2010 with 86 trains vs 90 in 2010 and 98 in 2009. All time periods up except midday (barely down) which had 4 fewer trains in 2011. Approximately 5 rush hour trains 85 - 100% full. Weekend ridership up 21% over 2009 &2010 to 22,200 passengers.
3. Chicago Metra – resuming construction on UP north line bridges this month with 2 tracks remaining in service. Something about building a new track being built closer to the western edge of the ROW?
4. LAX – Metrolink has added a new track 1A to station at Laguna Niguel / Mission Viejo. This in conjunction with rebuilt track 1 and platform work with 1A being a new stub track. 7 (more to be added when other Fullerton line improvements completed Oct 2011 ) Inland Empire and Orange County trains terminate / originate from /to north at this station. This will improve fluidity of Amtrak trains in case of off schedule operation.
Metrolink will offer train service for both Dodgers and Angels late night baseball games from LAX Union station, Laguna, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, & Ventura County lines in various combinations.
Lancaster line getting track shift and a siding extension to 10,000 ft to allow better passing of 5+ UP round trip freight trains.
5. San Diego – Coaster has started Sunday service with 4 round trips San Diego – Oceanside. Weekdays 11 RTs 2 extra Fri night, Sat 6 RTs. No sprinter service sun from Oceanside.
6. Delaware – DART SEPTA starts Sun service to Wilmington, De 7 daily RTs SAT & Sun.
7. Miami -- Tri-Rail placed 1st two of a 24 car order of Hyundai cars into service after assembly in LAX. 1st one was a cab car. The temporary closing of the Miami airport station scheduled for Mar 11th still has not occurred. This closing will last for about 2 years as the airport station is rebuilt into the Miami Central station (Miami Intermodal Center) for Tri-Rail, Amtrak, Metrorail, & airport people mover. Hialeah Market station will resume being the airport station it once was. Since there are many more trains now there are problems with CSX due to their freight route branch off the line about ½ mile south of the single track Market station. There is a siding there that may be used to bypass Market. The Airport station closing will save #14M and 2 years of construction time. Tri-Rail claims bused passengers to MIA will only take 3-5 minutes longer but my experiences on LaJune Rd and 36th street anticipate rush hour delays of 10 – 20 minutes.
8. VRE -- Ridership bumping 20,000/day. 7 stations parking overfull with 2 stations ready to build 200 + parking spaces. Fredericksburg no relief until Spotsylvania (at least 3 yrs) comes into VRE and builds a station with 500 – 1000 parking spaces.
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