New People Mover train coming to LAX in 2023
The Automated People Mover (APM) train at Los Angeles International Airport is on track to open in 2023. The train guideway is 2.75 miles in length and is about 75% complete. The train will connect travelers directly to airport terminals and L.A. Metro’s Light Rail System along with LAX’s new 18,000-vehicle rental car facility and passenger pick-up and drop-off locations outside the central terminal area. Unlike most major US airports, LAX has lacked a direct connection to regional transportation in the past. [abc7.com]
$10 billion high-speed rail for Southeast US pushed
As President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan continues stalling in Congress, Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is hoping to get $10 billion included in the budget reconciliation bill for high-speed passenger rail for Georgia and the Southeast. In a recent letter to Congress, the Georgia senator emphasized the need to allocate robust resources for high-speed rail necessary to advance the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, a long-planned project of national significance. Planning is currently underway for an intercity rail line between Atlanta and Charlotte. [capitol-beat.org]
New York MTA tests retro subway map circa 1970s
A new subway map is slowly appearing in some stations across New York City — and it looks a lot like the one that was scrapped in the 1970s. The city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is testing an alternative to the familiar subway map in use for more than 40 years. The new map distorts the shape of the city more than the current one to better show how the system’s tracks interact with each other. Which version of the subway map do riders prefer, and why? The maps are accompanied by a QR code that subway riders can scan to access a webpage to give feedback. [wsj.com]
Hartford link would boost Springfield-Boston ridership
Planning for east-west rail shouldn’t ignore potential passengers to the south, transportation advocates from both sides of the Connecticut/Massachusetts border agree. Connecting at least some of the potential Boston-Worcester-Springfield commuter rail trips with Hartford could boost ridership by as much as 54% according to a MassDOT study that estimates ridership of about 469,000 a year by 2040. Service requiring a train transfer in Springfield — often as simple as walking across a Union Station platform — would yield an increase in potential ridership to 540,00, according to a competing report. [masstransitmag.com]
Pittsburgh Port Authority ditches two-car light rail trains
After a one-month trial with double cars, Pittsburgh’s Port Authority has not received an expected boost in light rail ridership and has returned to operating trains with one car between Downtown Pittsburgh and the South Hills. The agency had returned to using two-car trains during rush hours on September 7th because ridership usually increases in September. When that didn’t occur, it returned to one-car trains October 4th. Light rail cars can seat 64 passengers but a sampling done in August and September showed there were never more than 60 passengers on a trip. [govtech.com]
