(This article is cross-posted at the Center for Transportation Studies’ Conversations blog) Sunday, June 14, marks the one-year anniversary of the start of service on the Twin Cities’ Green Line LRT route. At the Accessibility Observatory, we like to celebrate transportation anniversaries the way we wish everyone would: with a detailed evaluation of access to destinations. […]
Last week’s train crash in Philadelphia was horrific. Fortunately, crashes like this and the associated deaths and injuries are quite rare; despite the horrific nature of these crashes, rail and air are exceptionally safe modes of transportation on the whole. Note: While the data above are accurate it is important to provide some context. […]
When I first heard about the fatal Green Line crash at Snelling Avenue Station last Thursday morning, I was shocked and dismayed. And as additional reports gave the name of the victim–Lynne Thomas–and focused on how highly she was valued for the role she played as receptionist at the Minnesota Senate research department, I became even more upset and saddened. Finally, I […]
Just as obituaries were being written for Southwest Light Rail, a recent piece on NPR about the stubbornly high cost of international air travel caught my ear. Earlier reports blamed the airlines for being locked into higher-priced fuel contracts and therefore being unable to reap the benefits of more recent lower fuel prices. However, this piece included a snippet from […]
On Monday I talked about Shørtstår, transforming a section of the Northstar commuter rail line into actually useful transit. As with all transit right-of-way problems, “the railroads would never agree” was raised. And that is certainly true if all you do is politely ask. However states are actually bigger and more powerful than railroads, though […]
Lots of news on the Southwest Corridor lately. You may have heard about it: The question of which route is chosen is important not only for the light-rail system Hennepin County wants to build, but also for the rest of the metropolitan area in terms of rail transit philosophy. That’s because this southwest route offers […]
Imagine you were in a region that was growing and had a transportation problem. Imagine you had a grade separated rail line into the heart of the city, connecting with other rail lines. Imagine this line already had two stations constructed. Imagine this line passed through some high density neighborhoods without stopping. Imagine you already ran […]
In the run-up to construction of the Green Line between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, neighborhood activists spent a huge amount of effort to get three extra stations included on the route at Hamline Avenue, Victoria Street, and Western Avenue. These extra stations cut the distance between stations in half on that section, from one mile […]
From Southwest Community Works, see planned concepts for connecting the downtown Hopkins LRT Station to Hopkins Mainstreet, via 8th Avenue.
Here is a map showing the route for trains that are expected to run from Minneapolis to Duluth once the Northern Lights Express project is completed. Like my previous map for Amtrak’s Empire Builder, this shows segments of single- and double-tracking (usually sidings) along the corridor. This highlights the places where trains may be able […]