|
Post by darrell on Dec 13, 2011 14:30:34 GMT -8
And here is some current information from Metro regarding the testing schedule.
They note they've never implemented a junction before, with the hardware and software issues it brings. Testing north of Washington was to begin this last weekend (12/10). The signaling system still has problems some days, although apparently that's a problem with every new startup.
The greatest problem is turning trains at 7th and Flower. They'll test both using two platforms (one for Expo, the other for Blue) and having all departures from one platform. There's also a series of safety drills that must be completed, such as earthquake and fire.
To assure safety Operations wants 12 weeks Pre-Revenue. Even if there's a push to open sooner it won't be before late February.
Culver City station completion is April or May.
|
|
|
Post by bzcat on Dec 13, 2011 15:03:38 GMT -8
The delay on this line is absolutely mind numbing.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 13, 2011 15:50:49 GMT -8
To assure safety Operations wants 12 weeks Pre-Revenue. Even if there's a push to open sooner it won't be before late February. Culver City station completion is April or May. 12 weeks of prerevenue operations would actually bring the opening to early April, assuming that the prerevenue operations begin in early January. Now, why don't they hurry up with the Culver City Station? It seems to be falling behind everyday. This long prerevenue operation would be a great opportunity to have a single opening to Culver City. For many Westsiders, La Cienega Station is pretty useless.
|
|
|
Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 13, 2011 15:56:25 GMT -8
To assure safety Operations wants 12 weeks Pre-Revenue. Even if there's a push to open sooner it won't be before late February. Culver City station completion is April or May. 12 weeks of prerevenue operations would actually bring the opening to early April, assuming that the prerevenue operations begin in early January. Now, why don't they hurry up with the Culver City Station? It seems to be falling behind everyday. This long prerevenue operation would be a great opportunity to have a single opening to Culver City. For many Wetsiders, La Cienega Station is useless. And somebody laughed when I said April 1, 2012 all the way to Culver City station.........
|
|
|
Post by masonite on Dec 13, 2011 16:16:49 GMT -8
To assure safety Operations wants 12 weeks Pre-Revenue. Even if there's a push to open sooner it won't be before late February. Culver City station completion is April or May. 12 weeks of prerevenue operations would actually bring the opening to early April, assuming that the prerevenue operations begin in early January. Now, why don't they hurry up with the Culver City Station? It seems to be falling behind everyday. This long prerevenue operation would be a great opportunity to have a single opening to Culver City. For many Westsiders, La Cienega Station is pretty useless. La Cienega has parking. It would be fine as a terminus station for 2-3 months. Of course, this line is not just for Westsiders anyway (I am one btw). No reason to keep the line closed, because they are waiting for Culver City to finish. What if there are then problems with completing the Culver City station or if there is a problem in testing with Culver City as a terminus. Once this line is ready to open to La Cienega, it needs to be opened end of story. Hopefully that is the end of Feb., but if not March is better than waiting till Memorial Day.
|
|
|
Post by davebowman on Dec 13, 2011 16:28:28 GMT -8
It will be really unfortunate if Phase I does not open before the LA Times Festival of Books at USC in late April. That will be a great opportunity to increase public awareness of the Expo Line.
|
|
|
Post by simonla on Dec 13, 2011 17:15:08 GMT -8
Agreed. As if this isn't embarrassing enough. They're also lucky it hasn't rained more than it has. I want to know why they are being so lackadaisical with this--why is testing happening at a glacial pace? why is Culver City taking as long as the Colosseum to build?--we paid for this damn line.
I never understood how LA could turn against transit so intensely as to pass the ban on digging in 1998--it's starting to become clearer.
|
|
|
Post by metrocenter on Dec 13, 2011 17:45:11 GMT -8
I never understood how LA could turn against transit so intensely as to pass the ban on digging in 1998--it's starting to become clearer. Yes, it is the incessant drip-drip of bad news, followed on by the noisy complaints of anti-transit partisans, that turns public confidence (and public opinion) against rail projects. Having said that, I don't think we are there yet. Most of us transit-aficionados are extremely frustrated at this point, but I see little public backlash at this point. However, we are now seeing the tipping point in public opinion when it comes to high-speed rail. With its ever-escalating price tag and lack of progress, the partisans are beginning to pile on, and the project will soon die on the vine if something really positive doesn't happen soon.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 13, 2011 17:52:51 GMT -8
Yes, but driving all the way to La Cienega somewhat defeats the purpose of public transit. It may also fill up if you don't arrive there very early.
|
|
|
Post by masonite on Dec 13, 2011 20:47:30 GMT -8
Yes, but driving all the way to La Cienega somewhat defeats the purpose of public transit. It may also fill up if you don't arrive there very early. The same is true of Culver City as well, unless of course you live right by that station. The line is not complete until it goes to Santa Monica, but that is no reason to wait to open it until then. I live a mile from the Bundy station, and will try to use the line on occasion on the weekends whether the terminus is La Cienega or Culver City. I just don't like paying for parking at USC or Downtown.
|
|
|
Post by simonla on Dec 13, 2011 20:52:23 GMT -8
Got my mits on a Metro press release dated April 3, 2011:
Metro Monday Will Begin Train Testing On New Expo Light Rail Line
"Early Monday morning Metro will begin testing a train car along a portion of the new Expo light rail line that is nearing completion of construction between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City... Metro expects to energize the power system later this month and then begin full train testing for a few months. Trains will operate intermittently during this period. No official date for the start of passenger service has been announced pending construction completion and testing but a target date has been set for Nov. 15, 2011 for most of the 8.6 mile alignment. Completion to Culver City may not occur until early next year."
So, they missed their mark by a month now and will almost certainly miss the two-month mark, and likely the three-month mark, and by what Gokhan is saying, they will likely be four months past the target date (which was already over a year late from initial estimates) set by Metro/Construction Authority. When does the public deserve an explanation--or do they not deserve one? Just asking you good people.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 13, 2011 21:55:47 GMT -8
Yes, but driving all the way to La Cienega somewhat defeats the purpose of public transit. It may also fill up if you don't arrive there very early. The same is true of Culver City as well, unless of course you live right by that station. The line is not complete until it goes to Santa Monica, but that is no reason to wait to open it until then. I live a mile from the Bundy station, and will try to use the line on occasion on the weekends whether the terminus is La Cienega or Culver City. I just don't like paying for parking at USC or Downtown. That depends of course. I live 1 mile from the Culver City Station and very close to the future Palms Station. I can easily get to Culver City Station on Blue Bus 12. To get to the La Cienega Station from the Westside is not that easy. But the Culver City Station is well served to the Westside by the Blue Bus and the 33/733 bus.
|
|
|
Post by rajacobs on Dec 13, 2011 22:36:51 GMT -8
I don't find the walk from Washington & National to the La Cienega either long or taxing. The problem would be having to combine it with a bus ride to the first location. ...And walking from Palms to La Cienega and Jefferson ...well, it would take awhile.
|
|
|
Post by jamesinclair on Dec 14, 2011 0:37:29 GMT -8
It will be really unfortunate if Phase I does not open before the LA Times Festival of Books at USC in late April. That will be a great opportunity to increase public awareness of the Expo Line. This gave me a headache. Why? Lets travel back in time... Almost a year ago Dec 27, 2010 One of the members of ERHA/SC was circulating cards to be sent to the Director of Events at the LA Times, urging that light rail service to the first three Expo stations be opened in time for the "Festival of Books" scheduled for Apr. 30-May 1, 2011. This struck me as a rather futile exercise, since Metro, not the Times, decides when to open service, after receiving OK's from the Public Utilities Commission and probably other entities. Thats right, a year ago we were hoping the line would open for the 2011 event. And now we're worried it'll miss the 2012 event.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 14, 2011 9:31:59 GMT -8
OK, I think we can say that this line is 2 years behind schedule. It was scheduled to open not in November 2011 but in June 2010.
But then I would much rather have the line open as a safe line, as opposed to how it is now. Traffic lights are green towards the gates when the gates are down or towards the cross traffic when the cars are passing by. There is a lot to be fixed before this line can/should open.
|
|
|
Post by LAofAnaheim on Dec 14, 2011 10:42:08 GMT -8
OK, I think we can say that this line is 2 years behind schedule. It was scheduled to open not in November 2011 but in June 2010. But then I would much rather have the line open as a safe line, as opposed to how it is now. Traffic lights are green towards the gates when the gates are down or towards the cross traffic when the cars are passing by. There is a lot to be fixed before this line can/should open. I'd rather have them fix this issue first. Look at the Eastside Gold Line, aren't those red lights extruciating? Also, I don't think this is a big fix; it should be simple manuevering. But, what do we know, we're not traffic engineers! I'm more concerned about the train turn around with 7th/Metro. There's been no live testing on this yet. And it's different than Red/Purple Line which are completely grade separated so cannot be hampered by car traffic. This is a different case.
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Dec 14, 2011 16:56:41 GMT -8
Here's Dwight's new video of a Blue Line train making the turn north at Washington while and Expo train crosses south, too good not to post. This will soon be commonplace....
|
|
|
Post by davebowman on Dec 14, 2011 17:27:27 GMT -8
I took a short break from the office this afternoon, and walked over to the USC/Expo Park station shortly before 5:00 p.m. in hopes of seeing a test train rolling by, which seemed unlikely this late in the day. As usual, no luck, but as I headed back to the center of campus I thought I heard a clanging bell off in the distance, and when I turned around lo and behold a westbound train had emerged from the Figueroa tunnel and was parked at the station. As it sped away towards Vermont an eastbound train arrived at the station, and for a moment it was very easy to imagine the trains were in service and taking rush-hour commuters home. Unfortunately, since I live in Santa Monica it will be a while before I'm one of them.
For those of you who are trainspotters, the westbound train was #241, and the eastbound one #233.
|
|
|
Post by jamesinclair on Dec 15, 2011 2:05:10 GMT -8
^I saw a train being tested at 6:40pm.
Was in a car heading west on 30th street. We were stopped at a red. During the wait, the flashing "train" sign began to flash. Maybe 30 seconds later an expo train headed south at a good clip. The red light and flashing sign continued for quite some time after, and I was expecting another train in the other direction but none came.
I have no idea how long that traffic light phasing was at 30th before expo, but at least in this one incident today, it did seem that we had red for much too long.
This may not eve be expo related, as I said, it was rush hour time, and it makes sense that 30th would have to wait for Figueroa traffic for a while.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 16, 2011 13:31:11 GMT -8
And somebody laughed when I said April 1, 2012 all the way to Culver City station......... Unfortunately I think you're wrong about the Culver City Station. I don't expect it to open before around August. The progress has virtually stopped and a minimal number of workers are being employed. This is what you get for offending a contractor. They had asked for the full $900k for the early-completion reward and Expo paid them only $300k, for only the trackwork completion. Expo Line will be known as one of the most poorly managed transit projects. What were they thinking when they offered the reward for the trackwork completion? It should have been for the substantial completion. This is an example of one of the many gross mismanagements in this project. The reasoning behind the construction management is almost always wrong. Meanwhile, there was no train testing today. It looked like they were working on the signals again, with the door of the building east of Western Ave open. I predict an April 15 opening to La Cienega and an August 26 opening to Culver City (in 2012).
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Dec 17, 2011 0:08:39 GMT -8
Meanwhile, there was no train testing today. It looked like they were working on the signals again, with the door of the building east of Western Ave open. I saw regular train testing this afternoon after 3 p.m., but only as far north as 23rd Street station. Cars were also parked on both tracks south of Washington Blvd., and curiously both with their headlights on facing south.
|
|
|
Post by bluelineshawn on Dec 18, 2011 11:08:50 GMT -8
Unfortunately I think you're wrong about the Culver City Station. I don't expect it to open before around August. The progress has virtually stopped and a minimal number of workers are being employed. This is what you get for offending a contractor. They had asked for the full $900k for the early-completion reward and Expo paid them only $300k, for only the trackwork completion. Actually it makes sense not to pay extra to have Culver City finished early if it might mean that it's open before the rest of the line is ready. The line is over budget and they are looking to save money anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 19, 2011 14:18:25 GMT -8
Expo Line update:
Culver City Station lights are now being turned on.
TPSS work still continues at Culver City as of today. This means there is still no train testing there.
The station area is still all dirt. I wonder if it will be possible to open the Culver City Station before they start building or even complete the Venice Boulevard bridge.
The Culver City Class 1 bike and pedestrian multiuse path is still in the utility-construction stage.
There were some electrical tests along the line.
There is going to be some construction at Farmdale in the next few days.
There was a very large fire and police safety drill at the Crenshaw Station, with perhaps 100 firefighters and police officers.
I shot a video of a westbound train, starting just west of Vermont Avenue. Unfortunately I should admit that I was easily able to beat the train all the way to the La Brea Station. There is no signal priority and the Farmdale Station is a very big and annoying slowdown. Also, signals are not working very well. Crossing arm gates come down either too early or too late -- causing delays to the traffic or presenting a safety risk. Sometimes flashing train signs don't go off after the trains pass by.
Anyway, enjoy a Nippon - Sharyo train in the following video. The train stopped at Raymond Avenue because of a green arrow there, and I ended up passing it. The gated crossing is Buckingham and notice how late the gates come down. The train moves slowly through Farmdale and climbs the La Brea aerial very fast at the end of the video.
|
|
|
Post by simonla on Dec 19, 2011 15:23:53 GMT -8
Thank you, Gokhan, as always. The Farmdale slowdown is annoying but it doesn't seem absolutely horrible. I imagine even without the station, some sort of slowdown would be required (or necessary, at least) at this busy area.
Re: Culver City--do you think there is some issue with the Venice bridge construction that's preventing the build-out of the parking lot and station amenities? It seems ridiculous that they haven't poured the concrete yet.
So, it sounds like the gates and lights are a mess, but do you think the ventilation issue in the tunnel has been solved? Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 19, 2011 17:09:06 GMT -8
Thank you, Gokhan, as always. The Farmdale slowdown is annoying but it doesn't seem absolutely horrible. I imagine even without the station, some sort of slowdown would be required (or necessary, at least) at this busy area. Re: Culver City--do you think there is some issue with the Venice bridge construction that's preventing the build-out of the parking lot and station amenities? It seems ridiculous that they haven't poured the concrete yet. So, it sounds like the gates and lights are a mess, but do you think the ventilation issue in the tunnel has been solved? Thanks. Thanks Simon. I think the ventilation issue has been solved and the Expo - Blue junction has been finished but I might be wrong. It looks like they need to update the software on the signals. Although, I doubt that there will be signal priority. Hopefully they are wrapping up the TPSS work in Culver City. Once this is done, train testing can start. Note that the concrete immediately under the aerial structure has been poured and the amenities have been put there. What is dirt is the area around the station. I have no idea when they will start building around the station or how it will work when they have to start drilling the 120-ft-deep, 15-ft-diameter holes and then put the falsework from the station to over Venice Boulevard.
|
|
|
Post by simonla on Dec 19, 2011 18:01:19 GMT -8
Yeah, that Culver City stop is feels very far from ready for primetime--meaning there seems to be no integration--yet--from the station to the sidewalks and from the station to the parking lot, which hasn't even begun construction.
|
|
|
Post by rajacobs on Dec 19, 2011 22:21:27 GMT -8
Expo Line update: Culver City Station lights are now being turned on. . 9:00PM, 19 Dec 2011...Well, sort of.
|
|
|
Post by jamesinclair on Dec 19, 2011 22:47:12 GMT -8
Nice video. The timing of the gates looks fine to me.
|
|
|
Post by Gokhan on Dec 20, 2011 14:12:50 GMT -8
Here is a cell-phone video of a westbound two-car Siemens Expo Line train departing from the Expo Park/USC Station, shot about half hour ago. Two Metro safety ambassadors can also be seen. In the video I also noticed later that an eastbound train crosses the Trousdale Parkway at the same time.
|
|
|
Post by metrocenter on Dec 23, 2011 8:21:30 GMT -8
Last night, I saw a south/west-bound train pulling into Jefferson/USC station at around 9 PM. For whatever that is worth.
|
|