dane
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by dane on Mar 23, 2012 10:02:01 GMT -8
AV says opening to public April 28!!! 2012? LOL!
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Post by John Ryan on Mar 23, 2012 10:15:44 GMT -8
Great news!
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Post by bzcat on Mar 23, 2012 10:23:23 GMT -8
Official Announcement: Arthur T. Leahy, Metro CEO just announced that Full Pre-Revenue service will start Sunday, March 25, 2012. The opening date is still to be determined, but will be announced next week. [/color] Bart! @ the Metro Board Meeting. [/quote] So if the line opens April 28, that leaves 5 weeks of full pre-revenue testing.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 23, 2012 10:45:16 GMT -8
Official Announcement: Arthur T. Leahy, Metro CEO just announced that Full Pre-Revenue service will start Sunday, March 25, 2012. The opening date is still to be determined, but will be announced next week. [/color] Bart! @ the Metro Board Meeting. [/quote] So if the line opens April 28, that leaves 5 weeks of full pre-revenue testing.[/quote] 4 weeks is the minimum requirement, I believe. They are doing it for 5 weeks - 1 day. The last day of class at USC is April 27. Finals start on May 2. Commencement is on Friday, May 11. Families will now get to ride the Expo Line.
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Post by matthewb on Mar 23, 2012 14:35:34 GMT -8
Hallelujah!
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Post by tobias087 on Mar 23, 2012 16:14:10 GMT -8
Now that a date has been announced, how many weeks after that should we figure before the line will actually open?
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 23, 2012 16:37:49 GMT -8
Now that a date has been announced, how many weeks after that should we figure before the line will actually open? LOL I think they are extremely serious once they announce the opening. They will open the line unless the world comes to an end.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 23, 2012 17:01:27 GMT -8
I don't know whose Birthday the Expo Line opening coincides with, but according to the board, the announcement of it today corresponded with roadtrainer's Birthday.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Mar 23, 2012 17:21:48 GMT -8
I just found out the good news. Finally!! If anyone finds out the time for the first train can they please post it here? I hope to be on it.
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Post by gatewaygent on Mar 23, 2012 17:34:28 GMT -8
Just as I was getting ready to put on my scratchy pair of cynical boxers, I hear the great news about the 28 April 2012 opening. Today is the day before my birthday and I consider the news alone to be one of the best early birthday gifts ever!
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 23, 2012 19:03:58 GMT -8
I am disappointed with the pace of the work at the Culver City Station. They are in fact using the orange cable on the hi-rail truck by the platform, as the coil is getting smaller. This work should have been finished 8 days ago. They are now putting lighting poles in the parking lot, which still needs to be paved. I saw tonight that the red-light signals at the west end of the Culver City aerial, sitting on top of the end bumpers, are turned on. This means that the orange cable was used to connect these signals. This also means that work that is necessary to be finished before the trains can run is still taking place there. I am now guessing that it could be as long as a month before train testing can start there. I don't understand why Expo says March 15 and then it turns out that there is so much to be done there. Oh, well, I guess there is no big hurry for the Culver City Station terminus now, as the line is being partially opened without it, with the La Cienega Station terminus.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 23, 2012 20:20:24 GMT -8
OUT HEREExpo Line to fill an L.A. gapPhase 1 will go just to Culver City, but Phase 2 will extend it to Santa Monica. It's all part of making L.A.'s light-rail system more functional.Metro train conductor supervisor James Green, far right, coordinates a preview ride of the new 8.6 mile Metro Expo light rail line connecting downtown Los Angeles south to USC, and west to La Cienega. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo / March 23, 2012)
March 23, 2012, 5:29 p.m.Here's what you need to know about the new Expo Line, the latest addition to L.A.'s patchy network of light-rail spurs: It's fast — for about three miles, then it gets pretty slow. It's so brand spanking new that the slimy stuff you feel on the stainless steel handrails is actually oil, not something more infectious left behind by passengers with bad colds. It's quiet as an elevator. And it's opening April 28. Here's what it isn't: The first rail line since the closing of the old Red Car network to connect the Westside to the rest of L.A., as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other leaders of L.A.'s transportation scene said repeatedly Friday during a media test ride. If all goes according to plan, that will come true sometime in 2016, when Phase 2 of the line, running from its current terminus at Venice and National boulevards in Culver City to Colorado Avenue and 4th Street in Santa Monica, is completed. But most people would consider Culver City a tad south and east of the Westside. Geographic quibbling, of course, matters less than whether people will actually ride this $930-million train, and whether it will speed their trips. The answer: Yes, sort of. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority estimates that 27,000 people a day will ride Phase 1, rising to 64,000 when the full 15.2-mile line is completed. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said that would make it the busiest light-rail line in L.A., and one of the busiest in the country. It took 24 minutes to get from the second-to-last station at La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards (the final Phase 1 station won't open until this summer) to the 7th Street/Metro Center station downtown. It won't go that fast in the real world; it skipped some stations during the media preview, and a ride along the full 8.6-mile route will probably take closer to 30 minutes. The train goes 55 miles per hour between La Cienega and Arlington Avenue, where cross-streets are blocked off with safety gates, but after that there are no more gates so it must slow to 35. It's still faster than driving surface streets because the traffic lights are timed to stay green when the train approaches. Yes, you could drive that far on the parallel Santa Monica Freeway in less than half the time it takes on the Expo Line, assuming there was no traffic. You could also flap your arms and fly to the moon, assuming your arms were equipped with retro rockets. The 10 is one of the busiest freeways in the United States, and it's only going to get worse. The train goes to USC, Staples Center and Exposition Park, and it connects to rail lines running to Long Beach, Pasadena or North Hollywood. Its completion makes L.A.'s rail network start to feel almost, well, functional. — Dan Turner
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Post by roadtrainer on Mar 23, 2012 20:49:07 GMT -8
I don't know whose Birthday the Expo Line opening coincides with, but according to the board, the announcement of it today corresponded with roadtrainer's Birthday. That's right I WON! ;D and i was right about NFSR losing their case and now we await the fulfillment of the rest of the prediction-- NFSR folds and is out of the game! I also believe that once NFSR makes their fold that the construction for Phase II accelerates!
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Post by RMoses on Mar 24, 2012 9:27:52 GMT -8
Phase 1 will go just to Culver City, but Phase 2 will extend it to Santa Monica. It's all part of making L.A.'s light-rail system more functional.That's one of the most concise, accurate articles on the current status, and from the LAT no less. This is what is needed to highlight all of the deficiencies, ratter than PR photo ops and false promises.
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Post by jamesinclair on Mar 24, 2012 13:05:14 GMT -8
If rolling stock is a concern with opening on a busy weekend, they should open for the festival of books serving USC only. That way, the same 6 trains can be dispatched every 5 minutes.
Have it be a special preview with special hours.
IE: Weekend only, 9am-8pm (or whenever the fair is open)
Thats called a soft opening, and its what restaurants and such do. You then have your real opening, with the ribbon cutting and such a week later.
Again, the point of a transit system is to get people where they want to go. People want to go to the festival. That should be the utmost priority, not making sure the ribbon cutting looks extra nice.
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Post by masonite on Mar 24, 2012 13:38:50 GMT -8
If rolling stock is a concern with opening on a busy weekend, they should open for the festival of books serving USC only. That way, the same 6 trains can be dispatched every 5 minutes. Have it be a special preview with special hours. IE: Weekend only, 9am-8pm (or whenever the fair is open) Thats called a soft opening, and its what restaurants and such do. You then have your real opening, with the ribbon cutting and such a week later. Again, the point of a transit system is to get people where they want to go. People want to go to the festival. That should be the utmost priority, not making sure the ribbon cutting looks extra nice. While that would be nice, I am sure you understand that your proposal is not legal. CPUC just signed off on the junction working. They legally have to run pre revenue for 4 weeks. so April 15 is impossible no matter what is going on then.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 24, 2012 14:43:50 GMT -8
TCM must have been celebrating the announcement of the opening of the Expo Line. Late last night they were showing two train movies, which I recorded both. They were named "Horror Express" (aka Panic on the Transsiberian Express) and "Death Line" (aka Raw Meat). LOL The former was really good, which dealt with the unwise choice of transporting a fossil on a Transsiberian train. I haven't watched the latter yet, which deals with the creatures living under the London Subway.
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Post by spokker on Mar 24, 2012 17:06:34 GMT -8
I used to work in marketing at radio station. The job had me driving a lot all over Southern California. One day I was working by myself and had some time to kill before an event in downtown, so I just drove next to the Blue Line and crossed the tracks at various places for about 20 minutes.
It seemed simple enough to follow directions and not be hit by a train. I could do the same for Expo and see if I survive. Of course, I don't want to use my own gas to do it, haha.
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Post by roadtrainer on Mar 25, 2012 11:33:32 GMT -8
8-)Wow! The train is starting, no more cynicism, complaints and murmuring! Now lets get behind the Gold line extension and dogg that line now! Or could we go back to arguing about the USC Subway (it ain't a trench, the CPUC said so! And they know more about it than you do!)-- Aw don't get excited I'm just kidding!
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Post by gatewaygent on Mar 25, 2012 13:54:18 GMT -8
HAHAHAHAAHAH! Subway or trench...all together: "Taste great, less filling; taste great, less filling; ...."
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Post by bluelineshawn on Mar 25, 2012 14:14:41 GMT -8
I used to work in marketing at radio station. The job had me driving a lot all over Southern California. One day I was working by myself and had some time to kill before an event in downtown, so I just drove next to the Blue Line and crossed the tracks at various places for about 20 minutes. It seemed simple enough to follow directions and not be hit by a train. I could do the same for Expo and see if I survive. Of course, I don't want to use my own gas to do it, haha. I saw a woman run a red light when turning left on 12th from Flower just yesterday. She appeared to be looking up in the air (tourist maybe) and turned without ever stopping at the light directly in front of the tunnel. Had a train been exiting, she would have been screwed. I think that light rail in its own ROW is the way to go for most of LA, but crossings are always going to be a problem.
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 25, 2012 15:23:55 GMT -8
well, not all crossings are built equal. there's a huge difference between a completely private ROW, where the crossings are going to be perpendicular or close-enough angles and a street-based ROW, where cars aren't allowed on the tracks but you still have left-turn lanes.
best-case scenario, cost is no option, you make it underground or elevated, since really separate ROWs are going to be increasingly hard to come by in the future.
in some cases, you may want to have crossing gates. but the problem would have to be really bad for that.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 25, 2012 16:28:07 GMT -8
Crossing gates are not uncommon in street-side-running non-private-right-of-way sections. It would certainly decrease or eliminate collisions on Flower Street. Solid red arrow? Means don't turn despite the solid green light? What? And what was that flashing train signal? LOL
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Post by James Fujita on Mar 26, 2012 0:36:00 GMT -8
theoretically speaking, for all practical intents and purposes, the 12th Street crossing is private trackage.
Immediately north of 12th, the tracks disappear into the 7th/ Metro tunnel. Nobody is definitely ever supposed to drive into that. And the tracks to the south of the crossing head for the Pico Station platforms. There are concrete barriers to separate the tracks from the street. That's no streetcar operation.
I'm not saying I would necessarily support gates there, but gates would make more sense there than anywhere else on Flower.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 26, 2012 11:03:13 GMT -8
theoretically speaking, for all practical intents and purposes, the 12th Street crossing is private trackage. Immediately north of 12th, the tracks disappear into the 7th/ Metro tunnel. Nobody is definitely ever supposed to drive into that. And the tracks to the south of the crossing head for the Pico Station platforms. There are concrete barriers to separate the tracks from the street. That's no streetcar operation. I'm not saying I would necessarily support gates there, but gates would make more sense there than anywhere else on Flower. Yes, there is one more crossing north of Pico, which is no different than the other crossings on Flower, with the exception that it's probably more dangerous because of the portal as you said. Crossing gates would probably be good there. Streetcar means trains sharing tracks with automobiles. Street-running means only mountable curbs or 3-ft-high fences separating the right-of-way with no automatic train protection (ATP). Private right-of-way means 6-ft-high fences separating the right-of-way and usually with automatic train protection (ATP). CPUC safety rules and regulations governing light-rail transit -- general order 143-B (Microsoft Word document)
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 26, 2012 11:04:39 GMT -8
I think they are starting the relocation of the overhead power lines at Venice/Robertson, which will be a long process. I saw DWP trucks parked there.
Meanwhile, not a lot of progress at the Culver City Station yet. Train testing may not start there for a few more weeks.
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 26, 2012 11:08:54 GMT -8
No train testing is taking place right now for some reason. Two trains are parked at the west portal of the USC trench. There is a Metro SUV parked at the grade-separated Pardee Way crossing and two Metro employees are talking on their phones. I don't know what is going on. Perhaps it's the rain again. LOL
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Mar 26, 2012 11:56:36 GMT -8
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Post by Gokhan on Mar 26, 2012 12:16:59 GMT -8
Ha, it sounds like the Blue Line isn't built to handle the rain either.
Blue Line: Monday, March 26, 2012: due to several equipment issues throughout entire line, please anticipate significant delays today when traveling on the Blue Line.
As of 8:30am, trains are serving all stations EXCEPT Pico & 7th St/Metro Ctr. Additionally, trains are sharing 1 track at the following stations: Wardlow, Del Amo, Florence, Slauson, Vernon, San Pedro, Grand, Pico. This is creating a signficant delay due to train congestion and rush hour crowds. Here is the current service plan in place for affected customers:
Blue Line is running approximately every 25-30 minutes w/ intermittent holding delays due to train congestion. Service has been suspended btwn Grand & 7th/Metro due to power systems issues at Pico. Bus shuttles are in place between these stations.
...
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Post by davebowman on Mar 26, 2012 13:48:11 GMT -8
In this week's issue of the USC Chronicle for faculty and staff, there is a sidebar about the Festival of Books, and this helpful advice: "Because of the large number of expected attendees, the use of public transportation is strongly encouraged."
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