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Post by rubbertoe on Nov 11, 2013 15:18:42 GMT -8
Some people just shouldn't drive. He won't for a while...
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Post by joemagruder on Nov 11, 2013 15:41:11 GMT -8
Notice the train is running against the current and that car is not too shabby.
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Post by joemagruder on Nov 11, 2013 15:41:24 GMT -8
duplicate entered in error
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Nov 11, 2013 16:09:58 GMT -8
Well, he sure demonstrated a thorough commitment to his stupidity. Or pehaps it's just a testament to German engineering that he got as far as he did.
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Post by skater on Dec 2, 2013 17:39:27 GMT -8
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Post by TransportationZ on Dec 2, 2013 22:48:09 GMT -8
The fact is, we wouldn't have the size system we have now if it wasn't for putting it at-grade. It's expensive to put in grade separations. They make it like the train is the problem. At-grade automobiles are. Perhaps California should actually make an effort to educate people on proper driving around light rail vehicles besides a few sections in the driving booklet. EVERY major city in California has light rail now.
Sadly, this isn't India, Europe, China, or some other foreign country that build a 300 mile subway system in 10 years.
I do agree with the comments to some degree, however. The Flower street cluster is a result of the fact that when they built and designed the Blue Line there were no plans for stadium, LA Live, and a busy light rail line to Santa Monica duplexing on the same track. These are HUGE changes in the span of just 20 years. If these variables were known ahead of time, money would have been put to extend the tunnel farther down flower.
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 2, 2013 23:41:34 GMT -8
Thanks for the post. However, no, Flower St section shouldn't have been grade-separated. It should have been gated.This 18th St crossing is actually not an Expo Line crossing but a formerly built Blue Line crossing. It's probably the most accident-prone crossing along the entire Blue Line, where there is a complicated freeway-ramp entrance. There seems to be an accident there every month. So far, Expo Line has been running a clean slate with virtually zero accidents. This one still doesn't count, as it's on the old, shared track.
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Post by bobdavis on Dec 3, 2013 0:34:59 GMT -8
That photo of the Mercedes on the track along Exposition points up the contention that some US drivers get their license in a box of corn flakes. The term "more money than brains" also comes to mind. At least it wasn't as nasty as that movie actor who came to a tragic end while out for a spin with his friend the race car driver. Many years ago, back when there was still a West and East Germany, I interviewed a West German consular official in San Francisco; he told me how strict driver licensing and car inspections are "over there". It explained why my friends who had been there told me, "You'd love it in Germany! Trams, metros and passenger trains all over the place!" The authorities don't hesitate to yank someone's license, knowing that they'll still be able to get around. One commentator here in the US said that for most Americans, taking their license away would be like "sentencing them to house arrest".
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Post by rayinla on Dec 3, 2013 8:49:18 GMT -8
It's expensive to put in grade separations. Its frustrating that even though automobiles benefit as much from grade separation as the trains the money to pay for them always has to come from the transit side, never the budget for street improvements and enhancements.
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Post by JerardWright on Dec 3, 2013 17:22:45 GMT -8
Thanks for the post. However, no, Flower St section shouldn't have been grade-separated. It should have been gated.This 18th St crossing is actually not an Expo Line crossing but a formerly built Blue Line crossing. It's probably the most accident-prone crossing along the entire Blue Line, where there is a complicated freeway-ramp entrance. There seems to be an accident there every month. So far, Expo Line has been running a clean slate with virtually zero accidents. This one still doesn't count, as it's on the old, shared track. Gates is an idea I would like or eliminating the 18th Street on ramp completely which they could practically do since the next on ramp is down 18th Street at Main that can handle the extra demand. However another idea that should be considered is just converting Flower Street completely as a pedestrian and transit mall from LA Live to Washington. This adds capacity and further reduces the potential incidents to the perpendicular cross streets and only if one or the other runs the light. In many German cities they have at-grade rail operating through pedestrian malls on short head ways (every 75-90 seconds) and very few incidents occur.
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Post by skater on Dec 16, 2013 9:41:59 GMT -8
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Post by RMoses on Dec 16, 2013 11:18:56 GMT -8
I would not trust any "study" that uses this as the basis: "In fall 2011, researchers asked more than 200 households in the Exposition Corridor, the Crenshaw Corridor and Harvard Park to track their travel habits and odometer readings for seven days. The same households repeated the exercise in 2012, when the Expo Line had been open for about six months." Sample size, demographics and cyclicality seem to be ignored.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 16, 2013 12:25:53 GMT -8
I would not trust any "study" that uses this as the basis: "In fall 2011, researchers asked more than 200 households in the Exposition Corridor, the Crenshaw Corridor and Harvard Park to track their travel habits and odometer readings for seven days. The same households repeated the exercise in 2012, when the Expo Line had been open for about six months." Sample size, demographics and cyclicality seem to be ignored. Why are people disputing that more people will use public transportation when the conditions of 1) rail availability and 2) increased bus frequencies are prevalent? It's like all the naysayers are denying facts. Sounds familiar to a certain political party................
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 16, 2013 13:32:39 GMT -8
It's good to hear that people are using the lines in their neighborhood. If only we had more of these lines...
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Post by jamesinclair on Dec 21, 2013 19:06:14 GMT -8
I would not trust any "study" that uses this as the basis: "In fall 2011, researchers asked more than 200 households in the Exposition Corridor, the Crenshaw Corridor and Harvard Park to track their travel habits and odometer readings for seven days. The same households repeated the exercise in 2012, when the Expo Line had been open for about six months." Sample size, demographics and cyclicality seem to be ignored. Youre not going to get a larger sample size for a study that requires so much work from the participants.
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Post by Gokhan on Dec 23, 2013 14:13:44 GMT -8
Volkswagen commercial's filming was timed so that a southbound Blue Line train rises from the Flower Street tunnel portal while a Jetta drives by: Click here for the video.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 28, 2014 10:49:22 GMT -8
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Post by simonla on Apr 28, 2014 11:05:57 GMT -8
Reports seem to indicate she walked in front of the train, intentionally.
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Post by Gokhan on Apr 30, 2014 13:53:32 GMT -8
OK, this was an attempted suicide; so, it doesn't count as an accident either. Expo Line still has a perfect record! I'm glad she only escaped with a broken leg. The little black cross on the track shows the location she ended up after she was dragged by the train from the crosswalk.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 28, 2014 12:42:15 GMT -8
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Oct 27, 2014 6:49:18 GMT -8
Some Move LA/Expo marketing piece:
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Nov 3, 2014 0:48:39 GMT -8
Woman pinned by Metro Expo Line train near USCBy City News Service POSTED: 11/02/14, 9:13 AM PST LOS ANGELES A woman was pinned under the front of a Metro Expo Line train near USC just before midnight, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said today. The accident was at the Vermont/Expo station, at Vermont Avenue and Exposition Boulevard, and it took place about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, said Metro spokesman Luis Inzunza. “A trespasser was struck by a coupler on the train and pinned under the engine,” Inzunza said. The coupler connects rail cars together on the train and this coupler was in the front of the engine, he said. The woman was freed and transported to a hospital for treatment of her injuries, according to Inzunza. Her medical condition was unavailable under federal privacy laws. The Metro spokesman said it was unclear what she was doing on or by the tracks when she was struck. Expo Lines stop for passengers at the intersection, and there are regular street crosswalks that extend across the rails at the intersection as well. But people are not allowed to walk across the tracks except in the crosswalks, and while it was not clear where the pedestrian was when she was hit, Inzunza called her a “trespasser.” The Expo Line experienced delays after the accident and the track was finally cleared about 12:30 a.m., according to the MTA.
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Post by bzcat on Nov 3, 2014 15:11:52 GMT -8
Probably another suicide attempt
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Nov 4, 2014 6:35:12 GMT -8
Gold Line, Expo Line extensions may sit idle waiting on rail cars to carry passengersBy Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley TribunePOSTED: 11/03/14, 6:10 PM PST The simultaneous completion of two light-rail lines next year is raising concerns that the projects may not receive enough cars to carry passengers and the shortage could delay line openings for up to a year and a half, interviews and public records show. With completion of the Expo Line Phase 2 line from Culver City to Santa Monica expected by summer, and the Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa on Sept. 23, the race is on to supply the necessary train cars to carry passengers at full capacity. Adding to the anxiety of both construction managers is the fact that the contract awarded by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) board to Kinkisharyo International, a Japanese company that’s assembling the light-rail vehicles in Palmdale, occurred in late August 2012, three years after the board reached a tentative agreement with AnsaldoBreda to build the cars but later failed to execute the contract. One of the biggest fears comes from the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, a separate entity building an 11.5-mile extension from east Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border. Once complete, the Authority will turn the line over to Metro for operation. Today, the Gold Line carries more than 44,000 daily passengers from East Los Angeles to L.A.’s Union Station to the terminus at Sierra Madre Villa in east Pasadena. Chief Executive Officer Habib Balian worries that the lack of train cars for the foothill extension will force Metro to reduce frequencies — the intervals between train arrivals at the extension’s six stations. The extension is scheduled to receive 15 cars and run trains about 10 minutes apart. “But instead of them coming every 10 minutes, they could come every 30 minutes. That would be a big turnoff to the building up of ridership. It would take you a long time to regain their trust. That is our fear,” Balian said. One manager close to both agencies said most train watchers call lengthy inaugural headways “the kiss of death” tantamount to a restaurant grand opening with an inadequate number of servers. During the past few weeks, Metro officials have tried to reassure managers of the Gold Line Foothill and Expo Line extensions that enough train cars will be available. The only question is when. The Expo Line, a 6.6-mile extension with seven new stations and an anticipated daily ridership of 64,000 by 2030, is nearly complete, said Expo officials. In July or August, it will be turned over to Metro for about four months of testing, followed by actual revenue-producing ridership, said Samantha Bricker, Expo Phase 2’s chief operating officer. “We are assured they (Metro) will have vehicles in time for revenue operation,” Bricker said. Metro officials met with CEO Rick Thorpe two weeks ago to assure him the train cars would arrive on time, she said. Still, the wiggle room in Metro’s testing and operations schedule in the unprecedented light-rail buildup occurring on opposite sides of the county left traces of concern in her voice. “Everyone would hate to have a system built on time and not be able to operate it,” she said. “But it is not in our control and not in Foothill’s control. We are dependent on Metro to deliver these vehicles.” While construction of Expo and Foothill extensions would be completed by July/August and late September, respectively, Metro said in a statement the two lines will be completed by summer 2016 — about a year later. A Foothill official who asked not to be named said they had never heard that date mentioned. Metro CEO Art Leahy said in a prepared statement dated Oct. 17: “All 78 vehicles in the base order are scheduled to be in service by January 2017.” When asked to clarify, Metro Spokesman Paul Gonzales said the 78 vehicles from Kinkisharyo’s shop in Palmdale would be delivered to Metro by January 2017. Since that represents a 16-month gap between the completion of Gold Line Foothill construction and receivership of the rail cars, and an 18-month gap between completion of the Expo Phase 2 and receiving the cars, managers are wondering if the two lines would not carry passengers during the gaps. “When passengers will ride? I can’t tell you,” Gonzales said. “There is a lot that can happen between now and then.” Bricker said after a normal testing period, the new Expo Line to Santa Monica should begin running in January 2016 or earlier. Balian said Metro would be done testing the foothill line in four to six months and therefore it would be ready to carry passengers in March 2016. Metro did not confirm these dates. In a May 22, 2013 memo from Balian to the Foothill Authority’s board, Metro forecasted it would not fulfill the required number of rail cars to operate both the Foothill and Expo extensions once the lines were built and tested. The memo said Metro was trying to secure 30-year-old rail cars from St. Louis “as a way to address the shortage of vehicles.” Metro also told the Foothill board it would take 33 months from the issuance of the contract for the company to begin delivering cars. That would start the clock in May 2015. At four cars per month, the full 78-car order would not be received until January 2017. But since Expo needs 42 cars and Foothill 15, the two are banking on getting the first 57 cars of the base order sooner, rather than later. “We are trying to get this so we have the cars we need at the time we need them,” Gonzales said. “That is why Kinkisharyo is committed to having this done on time.” Kinkisharyo, in a show of good faith, delivered a test rail car to Metro on Oct. 17. Several train cars are scheduled to be delivered to the new operations yard in Monrovia by the end of December, when they will be tested on the Foothill line. However, Balian said he’s unsure if that deadline will be met. John Fasana, a member of both Metro and Foothill boards, said the schedule for train car deliveries is “definitely a concern” and “tighter than we’d like.” He agreed that longer headways would taint the hard work of the construction crews working feverishly these past years to complete the extensions on time. Bricker said to open a line with inadequate service is an insult to the thousands of residents on L.A’s west side who’ve suffered through lane closures and traffic delays so the line could be built. “Yes, there is a lot of anticipation on both corridors,” Bricker said. “Ours will be a great alternative (to driving). So we would like to get it open.”
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Post by erict on Nov 4, 2014 11:53:18 GMT -8
While it's obviously bad, it seems like a good problem in a way: too much train expansion and not enough trains...
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 13, 2015 11:10:10 GMT -8
Someone got hit by a train near Western Ave.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 13, 2015 11:32:51 GMT -8
The accident was at or near Arlington Ave. I saw a large dead dog in the middle of the eastbound track. Perhaps the guy was walking his dog on the tracks. News crews were there.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 13, 2015 11:47:51 GMT -8
I can't imagine how any person would get hit by a train at Arlington Avenue, where it's all fenced and gated. Was it a suicide or perhaps he was trying to retrieve the dog? We'll probably find out more later today.
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Post by Bart Reed on Jan 13, 2015 12:53:16 GMT -8
I can't imagine how any person would get hit by a train at Arlington Avenue, where it's all fenced and gated. Was it a suicide or perhaps he was trying to retrieve the dog? We'll probably find out more later today. Here is the report from the LA Times. No mention of a dog.
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Post by Gokhan on Jan 13, 2015 13:14:02 GMT -8
I can't imagine how any person would get hit by a train at Arlington Avenue, where it's all fenced and gated. Was it a suicide or perhaps he was trying to retrieve the dog? We'll probably find out more later today. Here is the report from the LA Times. No mention of a dog. The strike of the dog could be unrelated. It was lying a few hundred feet west of the intersection in the middle of the eastbound track. Again, it's very hard for a person to be hit by a train at Arlington Ave unless it's a suicide attempt or the person was doing something crazy.
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