Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why is St. Louis even in the discussion? I've ridden the Metrolink, and besides the Airport, Busch Stadium, and Downtown it's not much of a system which on the map looks like a sideways Y. Portland IMO is the most effecient and extensive; with Houston possibly challenging in the coming years assuming the light rail extensions are complete.
Why is St. Louis even in the discussion? I've ridden the Metrolink, and besides the Airport, Busch Stadium, and Downtown it's not much of a system which on the map looks like a sideways Y. Portland IMO is the most effecient and extensive; with Houston possibly challenging in the coming years assuming the light rail extensions are complete.
Your just a little late to come in on this thread.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,783 posts, read 23,952,192 times
Reputation: 14715
Quote:
Originally Posted by MB8abovetherim
A lot of small cities have light rail. Cities like Portland, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque...It makes me wonder how necessary they are in places like that?
There is no light rail in Albuquerque, nor has it even been proposed. Sure a line down Central Ave or out to Rio Rancho has had plenty of discussion but it doesn't get much further than that. ABQ is just at the brink of passing the 1 million mark threshold for population of its metro area so I doubt it will see light rail for many years to come. Especially since places like Portland and SLC have about double the population in their metros and other much larger metros like Tampa, Kansas City, San Antonio, and Detroit don't have any sort of urban rail at all.
What we do have here is the NM Rail Runner which is a heavy commuter rail between Albuquerque's southern suburbs (Los Lunas/Belen) and Santa Fe to the north.
As for Portland, the city is semi dense and it has a very walkable urban core in downtown and its metro population is well over 2 million (not that small) so it works well with very high ridership.
Going by ridership the 5 busiest in the Country are:
Boston
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Portland
Philadelphia
I've ridden light rail in Boston, LA and SF. Boston IMO is among the best, LA isn't too far behind (LA's light rail is what I ride regularly) and SF is really convenient too. The problem with SF's is that it isn't grade seperated so you are crawling with everybody else stuck in traffic. San Diego's trolley is good too but I don't think it's all that expansive. LA's blue line is always standing room only and is quite convenient although it goes through some shady parts of town lol If LA linked the Greenline to the airport like they said they would I would actually consider LA to have the best overall lightrail system in the Country. But no, somehow they messed that up, the train stops a few blocks south and you have to transfer. Not really all that big a deal as I have used it in that capacity but nothing beats a direct rail connection to the airport.
I think it's Portland OR. Mind you, I am only considering cities with only right rail. Including cities with heavy-rail/dedicated rail subway type trains does NOT make this an apples to apples comparison.
Portland has 4 lines. Two of them cover the extreme west-to-east of the metro area, being the Red Line and the Blue Line. The red line also has a spur that goes right into the airport terminal. There are two other lines: the Green and the Yellow, with the Green going southeasterly and terminating at a major shopping/business hub, and the Yellow going north into poorer, older neighborhoods. With a new I-5 bridge going in over the Columbia River into adjacent Washington state, it is envisioned that the Yellow Line will cross the border and service Vancouver WA.
Seattle: only has one line, but at least it connected the airport to downtown in its first leg. It will be essentially worthless unless it keeps going north to the Univ. of Wash. and to the north end of Seattle, and deplorable if it doesn't cross Lake Washington to pick up some of the congestion on the floating bridges to the East Side suburbs.
Sacramento: what a POS - two lines - the north line is pathetic in that it only goes a little ways north of downtown, ending in a God-forsaken industrial zone, when they should have gotten bi-county cooperation to get it to growing Roseville, which has offices and tech. The south line stops short of Elk Grove, which is within the county that funds it. Lastly, it does not go into the airport, for which much of the route is still farm land. Maybe the cows will get upset.
Why is St. Louis even in the discussion? I've ridden the Metrolink, and besides the Airport, Busch Stadium, and Downtown it's not much of a system which on the map looks like a sideways Y. Portland IMO is the most effecient and extensive; with Houston possibly challenging in the coming years assuming the light rail extensions are complete.
St. Louis has two light rail lines that connect two states, two major business districts, A major and minor airport, an air force base. At multiple universities, one of the largest medical facilities in the country and plenty of other cultural institutions. It could be more extensive and there are plans for future expansions, but a lot of it has to do with funding on the state level in Missouri. Not to mention it runs in its own ROW of way which makes it function more like light weight subway than a tradition street running light rail. St. Louis also has the largest rail system outside Chicago, with the 2nd highest ridership in the Midwest. Not all that bad if you ask me.
Going by ridership the 5 busiest in the Country are:
Boston
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Portland
Philadelphia
I've ridden light rail in Boston, LA and SF. Boston IMO is among the best, LA isn't too far behind (LA's light rail is what I ride regularly) and SF is really convenient too. The problem with SF's is that it isn't grade seperated so you are crawling with everybody else stuck in traffic. San Diego's trolley is good too but I don't think it's all that expansive. LA's blue line is always standing room only and is quite convenient although it goes through some shady parts of town lol If LA linked the Greenline to the airport like they said they would I would actually consider LA to have the best overall lightrail system in the Country. But no, somehow they messed that up, the train stops a few blocks south and you have to transfer. Not really all that big a deal as I have used it in that capacity but nothing beats a direct rail connection to the airport.
The Crenshaw Line includes a connection to LAX and has actually broken ground, with a completion date of 2018 at the latest (2016 at the earliest). I believe there are several option on the table for the LAX connector, from BRT to a couple variations of LRT.
I am most excited about the foresight Metro had to make the Crenshaw / Exposition stop an underground subway stop so the Crenshaw line can eventually be extended through Mid-City and someday even through West Hollywood to Hollywood / Highland (this will be post-2030 so a long way off). The Mid-City / Weho extension will have to be a subway or elevated because the building density is too high through those areas.
The Crenshaw Line includes a connection to LAX and has actually broken ground, with a completion date of 2018 at the latest (2016 at the earliest).
Someone else said this a few pages back, but if I may not only has it not broken ground, they haven't even awarded a construction contract and won't award one until next April. What some were calling a "groundbreaking" a few months ago was the start of the utility relocation contract which was awarded separately. We won't see a construction groundbreaking for at least a year. The last that I saw, the date for completing the line is late 2017 with revenue service by early 2018.
Yeah its somewhat of a random trolley system, but it does
go to the border, through downtown, and also through sdsu and all the ghetto areas where hardly anyone can afford a car, so it kind of means something for those people. Daily ridership has surpassed 125,000 and is quickly approaching 150,000. San diegos coaster and sprinter fast rail systems are doing well. I just wish the coaster had more stops and a more persistent service. Many people don't realize that it is possible to live almost anywhere in urban San diego county without a car
Thats good to hear. I have always heard that San diego is not a good public transportation city.
Going by ridership the 5 busiest in the Country are:
Boston
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Portland
Philadelphia
I've ridden light rail in Boston, LA and SF. Boston IMO is among the best, LA isn't too far behind (LA's light rail is what I ride regularly) and SF is really convenient too. The problem with SF's is that it isn't grade seperated so you are crawling with everybody else stuck in traffic. San Diego's trolley is good too but I don't think it's all that expansive. LA's blue line is always standing room only and is quite convenient although it goes through some shady parts of town lol If LA linked the Greenline to the airport like they said they would I would actually consider LA to have the best overall lightrail system in the Country. But no, somehow they messed that up, the train stops a few blocks south and you have to transfer. Not really all that big a deal as I have used it in that capacity but nothing beats a direct rail connection to the airport.
Going by track miles, the 5 largest are:
Dallas
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
San Diego
Portland
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
