METRO light rail unveils first assembled vehicle

Ron Feland

A story on the first completed light rail vehicle and there is not even one picture that gives a good idea of what it looks like. All you have are pictures of politicians. Thanks for nothing. Suggest removal of this comment

February 21, 2007

Steve S

The only saving grace of this light rail debacle is that I can finally take the train to the plane at the airport and not have to fight for a parking spot in an overpriced airport terminal garage! Suggest removal of this comment

February 21, 2007

b

Wow a picture of the first vehicle that will be running near empty most of the time surrounded by 3 idiots. Nice job. Suggest removal of this comment

February 22, 2007

Sean Horan

It seems from the comments here, few people have actually rode a bus.

How many times have I gotten on the Red Line and found it standing-room only? About as many times as I've been one of the only people on board. Just because
you see an "empty tube" doesn't mean that's always the case--some routes pick up the majority of their passengers along the way. Secondly, your car is 4/5th
empty when it's just you driving it--I wonder why the bus company has to be held to a different standard.

And no, light rail is NOT a bus. Buses are just not comfortable--even the new ones that try ever-so-hard to look like a train rumble and bang like nothing
else, and if there's road construction or any imperfections it feels like you're driving through an earthquake. The floor of the light rail vehicles is level
with that of the station, making entry and exit a breeze--compare that to a bus that takes it sweet time to kneel down and eject a ramp for disabled passengers.
Light rail runs on tracks and you are guaranteed a smooth, comfortable ride. This is why people who have to take the bus ride the bus, and light rail does a fanta$
And AJC ... for a minute can you think beyond your own little world and the streets you travel on? ADOT and MAG are proposing BILLIONS of sales tax dollars to
be spent on the 12-lane South Mountain Freeway, double-decking I-17, and widening I-10 to a staggering 24 lanes--the widest in North America. If light rail is
nothing but subsidized transportation for those that live and work along the route, what about the 202, the 10, the Williams Gateway Freeway--talk about
subsidising sprawl--or ANY road for that matter? Oh wait, the free market doesn't count when government is expected to build more and more freeways and nothing
else.

Given the significant federal reimbursement, we can build light rail for 1/3rd the per-mile cost of freeways, yet ADOT is throwing all our money into turning
Phoenix into Orange County.

And yes, it will take to 2020/2025 to finish the system--this is what happens when you "pay as you go"--the sales tax dollars aren't there yet. If we had any
sense we would have bonded this out and the whole thing could have been under construction years ago. Oh wait, we shot that down years ago--Val-Trans would
be wrapping up by now if County voters had any sense in the 80's.

And some day I will figure out how so many of you are so emphatically certain light rail is doomed from day one--even tho it's abundantly clear most of the rail
naysayers have no idea what they're talking about or can't even look to other cities where light rail is incredibly successful.

See you on the train ... that is, unless you like wasting your life stuck in traffic.
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February 22, 2007

American

All of the nay Sayers for public transportation cannot see beyond their own two feet. Every city in this country, and on this planet for that matter, has reaped intangible economic benefits when investing in infrastructure. The only city that's on record for having a bad rap for their trains was NYC during the 70's and 80's and that was because during that time the entire city was full of corruption and mismanagement, a problem that is not prevalent here. A more recent historical timeline for economic boom directly related to light rail comes from Los Angeles (you remember the megatropolis 350 miles away on the 10). When the Blue Line was completed in 1992 between downtown and Long Beach everyone whined and complained, just like the majority of you above. In this particular situation the Blue Line ran through the worst neighborhoods in L.A. County, so the criticism was deserved. Today home values have risen significantly and new construction has arisen all around the route and further beyond. Now downtown Los Angeles and downtown Long Beach are no longer considered homeless and gang havens. They are among the trendiest places to live work and play. These are the growing pains of any City. And in the long run it will be well worth it. So everyone calm down and take a deep breath. Let's all hope this mass transit overall will be well managed and that the heat will not deter too many people from using it. Suggest removal of this comment

February 22, 2007