Posted on 12/19/2008 4:22:09 PM PST by CedarDave
Delayed trains and other issues discouraged passengers, and traffic signals continued to puzzle drivers in Santa Fe on the second day of New Mexico Rail Runner Express service to the city.
Malfunctioning track-side signals slowed down trains Thursday morning, and that — coupled with delays they experienced the day before — caused some commuters to leave train stations in their cars and use the interstate instead.
Among them was Gary Smith, who took a car full of would-be train riders with him.
"I was an hour late for work yesterday, ... and I was on the train that hit the cow last night. And then this morning, they were 30 minutes late," Smith said Thursday. "So myself and some other people got in my car, and we saw numerous other people leaving."
Train planners say delays have plagued the opening days of service in an unexpected way, emerging both from older track-side signals just north of Albuquerque and from software that runs new signals on fresh tracks laid this year on the approach to Santa Fe.
"We have to continue to do the best we can to isolate these problems," said Chris Blewett, project manager for the state's train planners at the Mid-Region Council of Governments.
"Yesterday and today, we have had a run of problems that we have not experienced before in terms of the severity," he said Thursday. "We have a lot of people working on this, ... and we believe we have got (the problems) addressed."
For Smith, the delays became unacceptable. "If the train is not ready, then they need to shut it down and get things fixed so it ready to go," he said. "For trains to come in late like this and take so long, that effects people's jobs."
(Excerpt) Read more at santafenewmexican.com ...
And the big one, which hasn't yet materialized in a serious accident or fatality, is no fencing between a heavily used 4-5 mile long pedestrian trail next to the tracks (trail constructed when the old tracks carried short 10 mph freights a couple of times per week; now have 16 trains a day traveling 35-40 mph along side joggers, hikers, kids with dogs, skateboards and bicycles).
If there’s one thing I’ve figured out about light rail it’s that it costs four to five times what it was estimated to cost and ridership is nowhere near projections.
NM list PING!
FReepmail greyfoxx39 to be added or removed from the list.
Sounds like Richardson is getting out of Dodge just in time.
Hope they have better luck with Rail Runner than we do with Houston Metro Rail.
(So far - 57 accidents this year. Did not run for a least a couple weeks after hurricane Ike either.)
This is heavy rail (all but a few miles are shared with freight) and the cost to build is what they said it would be (or so they claim!). But with a one-way fare about the same as a super sized Big Mac ($6), 90% of the $20-25 million annual operating costs will be borne by the area taxpayers. By comparison, the current privately operated shuttle cost is $25.
No service, no problem, this is government, not private enterprise.
Just wait, someone, likely the same people responsible for the problems existing in the first place, will eventually find a solution. Then they will recieve a pay raise, a special unending yearly bonus, and great press.
In private enterprise they would be fired, as they should be.
Dont have time to post this one and Im not sure if its already posted here:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SantaFeNorthernNM/N-M—funds-exposed-to-Madoff-losses
Now all anyone needs to do to win an election in New Mexico is promise the trains will run on time.
$400-450 million — 100 miles of track, 18 miles of new track construction with a 2,000 ft. rise in elevation (3.24% grade), rehabilitation of signals, switches and remainder of track to 79 mph maximum speed, 9 new locomotives, 30 new bi-level cars, quiet grade crossings in ABQ and Santa Fe, entire project completed in less than five years. It is quiet the engineering feat. BUT, O&M costs are going to be immense (90% taxpayers, 10% riders).
Good point, woofie. It I don’t see it, I’ll post it.
I used to live in Long Beach and they have a street level metro rail which no one would ride because a) it was too slow. You had to stop at just as many stoplights as you would in a car, plus the station stops. b) it went right through Compton and Watts, which completely ruled out riding the train after dark (which this time of year is at 5:00 pm) and c) if you wanted to ride it to LAX airport, you had to allow 2 hours because the train doesn't stop at the airport.
They've done the same thing here in Phoenix: the train doesn't go to the one destination everyone would like to use it for, which is the airport. You have to get off at a nearby stop and take a bus because you can't have a train taking money away from the TAXI UNIONS!
Everyone is all excited about riding the train to the stadium for Cardinals games, or to ASU for Sun Devils games. That will get old after one try, when you have to wait for 6 full trains to go by before you can even get on!
These street-level trains are nothing but a liberal boondoggle nightmare, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars that will be wasted in the end. What else is new?
“No service, no problem, this is government, not private enterprise.
Just wait, someone, likely the same people responsible for the problems existing in the first place, will eventually find a solution. Then they will recieve a pay raise, a special unending yearly bonus, and great press.
In private enterprise they would be fired, as they should be.”
Wait....you forgot the step where those hired to make the thing work in the first place decide to hire an outside consulting firm for well into 7 figures, maybe 8 if it can really be milked, and THEN they get their performance bonuses, raises, and pensions. They then take credit for the workout and schedule luncheons where the give each other cheesy awards with little engraved brass sheet metal scraps tacked onto dark walnut wood scraps, like it was the 70’s.
He’s been out of Dodge for a while now lol.
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