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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 17, 2011 21:59:47 GMT -8
Also, in the last video Rick Thorpe mentioned that Metro doesn't want to open the last weekend in November because the USC-UCLA football game is that weekend. Wow. A transit service deciding not to open because they may risk attracting riders. Unbelievable. Rational thought: A busy weekend is coming up, we MOST open before it to make the most of the opportunity! Idiotic thought: People want to ride the train that weekend. We' be better off not operating so we don't convenience anyone too much. Boy jamessinclair, you have plenty of negative opinions about Metro in general. Remember, there's rationale for all these situations. It's not like Metro will close down existing rail lines for events; they increase service. Please read and understand's Metro's reasoning. Once open, it will never close for big events.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 17, 2011 23:01:40 GMT -8
Testing Crew had Small Setback today Test Train 245 Had Problems with the pantograph and Over Head Wire at Schaefer St and National Blvd in Cluver City the Wire Came Off Cross arm and Looks like the pantograph was Hung up and Pulled the wrong way See Photo this was what the Guys at the location were saying No METRO Folks around just Contractors This must be the first time they were testing trains in that area. It's almost end of the OCS there and it's not surprising that something went wrong when the train went that far. By the way, expolinefan, you can post (up to) 800-pixel images and you can link them to their originals using the code: [url=http://.........][img]http://.........[/img][/url] It's easier than attaching them and they can immediately be seen. What's currently holding the testing is the crossing gates and traffic signals that still need to be properly programmed for Metro to be able to start simulation runs.
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Post by jamesinclair on Aug 18, 2011 16:01:23 GMT -8
Boy jamessinclair, you have plenty of negative opinions about Metro in general. Remember, there's rationale for all these situations. It's not like Metro will close down existing rail lines for events; they increase service. Please read and understand's Metro's reasoning. Once open, it will never close for big events. I do have many negative comments because I think their handling of the expo line has been pretty damn terrible. You can justify any decision, doesn't mean it's a good one. LA has light rail. It's not a new mythical beast. What's so terrifying about opening a new light rail line? The auto drivers won't be surprised. After months of testing, they will have become accustomed to seeing trains go by. And again, they see the trains every day on the blue and gold lines. And why exactly will the riders need safety ambassadors? Again, this isn't a groundbreaking new technology. It's light rail. It doesn't require a degree to know how to board a train. The only thing that IS necessary are staff members to ensure that the too-tiny platforms don't get too crowded, and people dont stand and wait in the unsafely designed crosswalk areas. But thats standard crowd control. LAPD can handle that, like they handle any Coliseum event. Yes, but imagine if because Expo is still in soft opening phase and they get his with a crush of people, the service fails since it was not quite ready to take on a crush of passengers just normal service. it will inconvenience folks and loose potential riders not to mention potentially be a PR disaster. I'd avoid it if I could. There is absolutely no reason service should fail. metro has had 20 years of light rail experience, including major downtown events. If they can't hand;e a routine college football games, then they need to hire someone who isn't scared off by a weekly event.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 18, 2011 21:02:16 GMT -8
I do have many negative comments because I think their handling of the expo line has been pretty damn terrible. You can justify any decision, doesn't mean it's a good one. LA has light rail. It's not a new mythical beast. What's so terrifying about opening a new light rail line? The auto drivers won't be surprised. After months of testing, they will have become accustomed to seeing trains go by. And again, they see the trains every day on the blue and gold lines. And why exactly will the riders need safety ambassadors? Again, this isn't a groundbreaking new technology. It's light rail. It doesn't require a degree to know how to board a train. The only thing that IS necessary are staff members to ensure that the too-tiny platforms don't get too crowded, and people dont stand and wait in the unsafely designed crosswalk areas. Keep in mind, there are STATE and FEDERAL regulations that need to be complied with. We're not there yet buddy. Listen into the monthly Expo board meetings so you understand what's truly happening. It's not like Metro is sitting on an empty train line and refusing to run it. There's reasons. You can get upset at Metro; or you can take your frustration with STATE regulations, FEDERAL regulations, LA County Supervisors, etc... You can blame everybody and anybody. But solely blaming Metro is wrong. I guess you totally forgot the whole issue with LADWP who took a 2 year delay in removing the utilities in La Brea and La Cienega? Shouldn't you place some blame with LADWP? Or what about Automatic Train Control that has to be implemented which is causing numerous weekend closures of the Blue Line, something the state and LA wants. Is that Metro's fault or LA or California? It's easy to point the finger at Metro, but truly know what's happening, otherwise you just sound like another ad for LA Weekly; blindly blaming Metro for everything.
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Post by jamesinclair on Aug 18, 2011 21:14:55 GMT -8
Keep in mind, there are STATE and FEDERAL regulations that need to be complied with. We're not there yet buddy. Listen into the monthly Expo board meetings so you understand what's truly happening. It's not like Metro is sitting on an empty train line and refusing to run it. There's reasons. You can get upset at Metro; or you can take your frustration with STATE regulations, FEDERAL regulations, LA County Supervisors, etc... You can blame everybody and anybody. But solely blaming Metro is wrong. I guess you totally forgot the whole issue with LADWP who took a 2 year delay in removing the utilities in La Brea and La Cienega? Shouldn't you place some blame with LADWP? Or what about Automatic Train Control that has to be implemented which is causing numerous weekend closures of the Blue Line, something the state and LA wants. Is that Metro's fault or LA or California? It's easy to point the finger at Metro, but truly know what's happening, otherwise you just sound like another ad for LA Weekly; blindly blaming Metro for everything. Way to miss the point. My comment was a reply to an earlier comment made about metro possibly delaying the opening from November to Feb-March to avoid things like football games and the holidays. Not anything to do with the endless delay from the original 2010 opening. What does ATC have to do with delaying the opening by three months because metro doesnt want the trains to have riders?
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 19, 2011 6:21:10 GMT -8
Way to miss the point. My comment was a reply to an earlier comment made about metro possibly delaying the opening from November to Feb-March to avoid things like football games and the holidays. Not anything to do with the endless delay from the original 2010 opening. What does ATC have to do with delaying the opening by three months because metro doesnt want the trains to have riders? Just basically saying you are picking up on one little point and extrapolating it. Not looking at the bigger picture of delays. If LADWP did their work earlier, if FixExpo wasn't a thorn, if the contractor was more efficient, etc... You look at one thing and blame Metro. Metro has been put in an unfortunate time scenario. And to be honest, November 15th was just a date used for budgeting by their finance office. It hasn't been even announced as a potential opening date, just a goal due to budget's use of that date. I'm sure we'll hear more soon. I rode the Expo bike path yesterday; nice to see it go all the way to La Cienega now! So we have a 5 mile bike path that follows the entire rail ROW between Vermont and La Cienega!! Also, I work in the Yahoo! Center in Santa Monica and it takes me 35 minutes via bike to Venice/Robertson! I predict a ton of bicyclists will be using the Expo Line as the terrain is pretty flat and LA is growing with bike lanes (note: 7th street was re-paved this last weekend) and Santa Monica is very bike friendly!
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Post by metrocenter on Aug 19, 2011 8:12:11 GMT -8
Boy jamessinclair, you have plenty of negative opinions about Metro in general. Remember, there's rationale for all these situations. It's not like Metro will close down existing rail lines for events; they increase service. Please read and understand's Metro's reasoning. Once open, it will never close for big events. I do have many negative comments because I think their handling of the expo line has been pretty damn terrible. The Expo Line project has been managed by the Expo Authority, an authority independent from Metro. Expo has certainly contributed to the delay, as did the contractors, other agencies (LADOT and LADWP), other cities (Culver City), litigants (FixExpo), etc. Through all this, how has Metro delayed the Expo Line, before now? Not really fair to blame Metro for the delays of others, is it? One of the hardest decisions for any entity to make is the decision to delay the start of a new service. But you have to always take into account all risk factors, in addition to the benefits and costs. If the the risk threshold is too high, it makes sense to wait. I don't know the particulars of this decision. I know there is enormous benefit to the region to get this line going as soon as possible. But I also know that a PR nightmare like a major failure/breakdown on a game day would be splashed across the local news for many days, and could ultimately do a lot of harm to future projects. Maybe the folks at Metro should explore a phase-in strategy that introduces limited revenue service. Maybe Sunday-only service, followed by weekday service. Or midday-only service. Something, to allow everybody to get some experience with the line in operation, and to get the kinks out in a low-risk way.
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Post by davebowman on Aug 19, 2011 10:34:13 GMT -8
Yesterday during my lunch break I walked over to the end of Trousdale parkway here at USC to see what was happening at the USC/Expo Park station, and lo and behold a train was emerging from the trench on the westbound tracks, humming right along as if it were taking riders out to Santa Monica. It slowed down and stopped behind another train parked in front of the Museum of Natural History. As someone who remembers the old freight trains running down the middle of Exposition Blvd, it was quite a milestone to see this (sorry, no pictures).
It's a shame the line won't be in service for the USC football season, but as long as it's running by next year's Festival of Books in late April I think that will be the Expo Line's coming-out party.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Aug 19, 2011 11:15:26 GMT -8
Don't forget USC basketball season at the Galen Center!
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outthere15
New Member
Take back the rails
Posts: 33
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Post by outthere15 on Aug 25, 2011 20:05:03 GMT -8
Excuse my ignorance but I see that Expo is testing Siemens equipment on the line. Did they place an order for Siemens or the Breda trains? Mark I
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Post by transitfan on Aug 26, 2011 7:41:32 GMT -8
Excuse my ignorance but I see that Expo is testing Siemens equipment on the line. Did they place an order for Siemens or the Breda trains? Mark I AFAIK, MTA has not placed an order for any LRVs. The full allotment of 50 Breda cars from a previous order has apparently arrived or will soon arrive; all those will be used for the Gold Line, freeing up the Siemens P2000s that had been on the Gold Line to the Expo Line (I heard that only 2 P2000s are left at the Gold Line, I guess those will come over later). MTA will need to make an order for future lines (Expo phase 2, Gold Line Foothill extension, Crenshaw, etc.)
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 26, 2011 8:02:58 GMT -8
They will be testing the crossing gates for the first time today and next week. Perhaps this is a sign that the software is now working and the prerevenue can start soon. If this is the case, the line can open as early as late October.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 26, 2011 10:20:45 GMT -8
I saw the initial tests of the crossing gates at Hauser Blvd this morning. There are still a lot of manual tests with many crossing guards and the train was moving through the crossing slowly. I didn't have a good video opportunity.
I also noticed really beautiful cherry-red-blooming trees around the Crenshaw Station. They look really good.
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adamv
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by adamv on Aug 26, 2011 15:26:26 GMT -8
I've been driving by La Cienega and La Brea a lot recently. The lighting is really nice at night. Completely transforms the neighborhood.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Aug 26, 2011 17:16:20 GMT -8
They will be testing the crossing gates for the first time today and next week. Perhaps this is a sign that the software is now working and the prerevenue can start soon. If this is the case, the line can open as early as late October. Are you sure? Rick Thorpe strongly implied in TTC video that Tony posted from July that if the gates weren't completely tested in the next few weeks (mid-August I guess) that he wasn't optimistic that they would be able to open by the end of the year. We're now past that point so my assumption is that it's 2012. Here's the video. youtu.be/_EAOAUpqYeE?t=6m50s
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 26, 2011 18:35:02 GMT -8
They will be testing the crossing gates for the first time today and next week. Perhaps this is a sign that the software is now working and the prerevenue can start soon. If this is the case, the line can open as early as late October. Are you sure? Rick Thorpe strongly implied in TTC video that Tony posted from July that if the gates weren't completely tested in the next few weeks (mid-August I guess) that he wasn't optimistic that they would be able to open by the end of the year. We're now past that point so my assumption is that it's 2012. Here's the video. youtu.be/_EAOAUpqYeE?t=6m50sWell, no one really know. But once the line is completely finished (software etc.) with everything working, it would be handed out to Metro for prerevenue service. Prerevenue service is 5 weeks; so, one can do the math. If they could hand out the line to Metro in September, they should be able to finish their prerevenue and open the line in November or December. I would guess Metro would have to do some more testing before they can start prerevenue but these tests are now partially being done in collaboration with the contractor at the moment, which speeds up things.
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Post by roadtrainer on Aug 26, 2011 21:50:42 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 26, 2011 22:35:32 GMT -8
;D Well I would like to know ----Has it happened yet? Do the arms and bells go into service when the train is approaching? It's a gradual process to ensure that the gates are operating properly. Today was the first day, when the gates used a little hand to operate. Throughout next week they will test them, gradually making the test conditions more severe.
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Post by jamesinclair on Aug 26, 2011 23:32:29 GMT -8
Is the pre-revenue requirement a federal one?
Could metro offer free rides starting September 19? Revenue collection could then begin November 15.
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 27, 2011 0:06:14 GMT -8
Is the pre-revenue requirement a federal one? Could metro offer free rides starting September 19? Revenue collection could then begin November 15. It's federally required, yes. But you also need prerevenue to tune the line and ensure safety. Prerevenue is the actual simulations tests and everything before is preliminary testing to see if the trains can actually run on their own. So far no train has been allowed to run on its own (without crossing guards and personnel along the tracks).
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Post by Gokhan on Aug 27, 2011 0:08:51 GMT -8
By the way, I noticed today how quiet the bells are at the at-grade crossings. You can barely hear them.
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Post by darrell on Aug 31, 2011 10:44:26 GMT -8
Here's a great new photo taken by Alan Fishel on 8/22/11 of a test train crossing the Ballona Creek bridge. Also note the new trees in the median of National Blvd. and the bike path east of National. Alan was one of the original members of the Committee to Preserve the (Exposition) Right-of-Way in 1989-90.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 1, 2011 14:48:41 GMT -8
Enjoy the Expo board-meeting audio from today (September 1, 2011)! Expo board-meeting audio 2011/09/01The meeting starts with long public comments by Mr. Clint Simmons, whose complaints get more and more outrageous every month. Now, he is asking that the line should be redesigned and rebuilt. The good news is that the signals and crossing gates are now all operational and no flagsmen are further needed, as LADOT has signed off on that. As a result, the actual operational testing of the line by Metro, which is known as the prerevenue service, where the trains actually run at full speed, will begin in two weeks. So far there have been only static and dynamic tests but no operational tests of the line. Unfortunately the Blue Line junction is still not completed and the testing will only be done between 23rd St Station and La Cienega Station. The contractor is expected to finish their work in October. Note that there is usually about a two-month-long period between when the operational testing (prerevenue service) starts and the line could open. So, a mid-November opening is now looking likely, but the Blue Line junction could delay this. The project is $3.5 million overbudget again. Phase 2 design is now at 60%. They will now start assessing what to do with the Kenter Canyon storm drain, if anything at all. Listen to CPO Eric Olson's project-status update in the audio for full firsthand information.
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Post by bobdavis on Sept 1, 2011 19:40:03 GMT -8
There are always a few "nattering nabobs of negativism" who aren't happy unless they're complaining about something.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Sept 1, 2011 21:36:02 GMT -8
Unfortunately the Blue Line junction is still not completed and the testing will only be done between 23rd St Station and La Cienega Station. So, a mid-November opening is now looking likely, but the Blue Line junction could delay this. Is this the ATP that they want to install on the Blue/Expo junction due to the Metrolink Chatsworth crash of 2008?
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 1, 2011 22:32:52 GMT -8
Unfortunately the Blue Line junction is still not completed and the testing will only be done between 23rd St Station and La Cienega Station. So, a mid-November opening is now looking likely, but the Blue Line junction could delay this. Is this the ATP that they want to install on the Blue/Expo junction due to the Metrolink Chatsworth crash of 2008? This is something required by CPUC. I think they required it before the Chatsworth crash. What was encouraged (not required) for Metrolink was brought up by NTSB and then agreed by FRA. They call it ATS (automatic train stop). However, this will be required for all freight and commuter lines in a few years. I think what they have at the Blue Line junction is ATP + ATS; although, they are merely technical terms and they can mean many things and be implemented in many ways. It will basically stop the train automatically if there is a risk of collision with another train in the wye.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 1, 2011 22:43:44 GMT -8
Mr. Clint Simmons Clams the EXPO LINE has ruined the Neighborhood (boy is he looking at the Same Line??) The Line that I know has all that Wonderful Landscaping and changed a dumpy area to a nice area I think he is not being honest about the actual noise. The adjacent Jefferson Blvd is very noisy and I can't believe he can hear the currently slow-running electric light-rail trains. I think he is trying to be preemptive -- complain about the noise before it may actually happen. It's sort of like George W. Bush invading Iraq in case they could have WMDs, which they didn't. In any case, the most he will get would be double-pane windows and a ventilation fan so that he can keep his windows closed. I can't imagine him hearing anything over those sound walls even with his windows open though. I think the real problem is that his hearing aid is turned up too much -- he needs to turn it down. LOL
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 2, 2011 16:03:38 GMT -8
So, a mid-November opening is now looking likely, but the Blue Line junction could delay this. There is a (the UCLA game at 7 pm on November 26, 2011. We'll see if they will open the line on November 13, 20, or 27 (if they open it in November at all).
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Post by masonite on Sept 2, 2011 17:45:07 GMT -8
So, a mid-November opening is now looking likely, but the Blue Line junction could delay this. There is a (the UCLA game at 7 pm on November 26, 2011. We'll see if they will open the line on November 13, 20, or 27 (if they open it in November at all). Let's hope November is the date. I am not too confident however as there doesn't seem to be much confidence that the Blue Line tie-in will be done in the next month. However, it is really good news that the gates are working. I am wondering what work will be done on Phase 2 from the groundbreaking through the end of the year. I am thinking it will really only be demo work.
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Post by Gokhan on Sept 2, 2011 17:57:17 GMT -8
I am wondering what work will be done on Phase 2 from the groundbreaking through the end of the year. I am thinking it will really only be demo work. Well, Skanska - Rados claims that they will have the first columns in the ground by January.
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