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Streetcar delivered for testing on new Tucson line
Your not going to change the auto-centric part overnight and it’s not possible to build a comprehensive rail system overnight either. At least it’s a start, good luck to Tucson.
Great for Tucson! I am happy for them.
However, there has been virtually no report on the progress of METRORail’s light rail expansion in Houston. The original Red Line is being extended north of downtown. Two new lines are under construction where they converge east of downtown and proceed to the financial and theatre districts west of the Red Line.
3.9 miles, unfortunately, is a bit of a joke in an auto-centric city of 900,000.
Thanks Paul. San Antonio just approved 2014 light rail construction start up and not much mentioned. Are the Tucson cars pictured completed? They must have been designed by a committee.
NIMBY’s always cause trouble like this everywhere.
this line may only go 3.9 miles but it’s going to serve some very good potential traffic generators. Hopefully any expansion of this will serve even more traffic generators. There’ve been a fair number of rail transit lines which would do better if they just served more potential traffic generators.
Sometimes people ask, “Why streetcars or light rail? Why not buses?” Where using steel-on-steel is feasible, the simple answer is, LRVs (and trolleys before them) are crowd swallowers.
Living in Vail, AZ, just east of Tucson, I look forward to riding on the new system. It should ease a lot of congestion downtown and serve the city well. I am sure futher expansion will occur in the future. Now I wish they had light rail to Phoenix.
Susan, Cities must start somewhere. You can’t just build a system all at once. Once the starter line is in service, the city, county or whomever is the agency that owns the system will experience growth from there as riders discover how convenient the service is. As you have witnessed, trolley systems, light rail and commuter trains have proliferated. especially since commuters found out that freeways aren’t the panacea they were thought they were in the fifties.
Arizona needs to expand its rail services to include commuter rail between Phoenix and Tucson, as well as having an intercity passenger corridor between Arizona and Los Angeles through the Coachella Valley.
@Paul Vinson - The difference between Hoiston and Tucson is that Houston is a light rail project, while Tucson is a true street car. The light rail is designed to move quickly with limited stops, while the streetcar generally has multiple stops. I agree with you that in this publication there has been little about the Houston light rail. I lived in Houston when the METRORail Res Line became operational. It was (and is) one of then best things to happen to Houston in a long time! The system will win over many people once it is fully operational - just like the DART light rail did here in Dallas. I plan to journey to Houston to ride the system once it is fully operational. I know that the excitement is building!
@Paul Vinson - The difference between Hoiston and Tucson is that Houston is a light rail project, while Tucson is a true street car. The light rail is designed to move quickly with limited stops, while the streetcar generally has multiple stops. I agree with you that in this publication there has been little about the Houston light rail. I lived in Houston when the METRORail Res Line became operational. It was (and is) one of then best things to happen to Houston in a long time! The system will win over many people once it is fully operational - just like the DART light rail did here in Dallas. I plan to journey to Houston to ride the system once it is fully operational. I know that the excitement is building!
Neal…PHX’s Valley Metro LRT started running a couple years ago, is expanding east into downtown Mesa, is well-used.