Light Rail News

As the Gateway Corridor light rail plans twist and turn through St. Paul in ways no railroad would design a track, it'll be a wonder if trains stay on the tracks. That's also a problem in Los Angeles.

Nortrak, a rail manufacturer, is arguing with Los Angeles on non-standard rail modifications to the Expo Line. The Los Angeles Times reports:

"The junction with its tight turn is a design that has never before been approved for MTA's passenger rail operations. The track intersection also does not conform to standards recommended by a national rail engineering group that sets design and construction guidelines for the industry.... The troublesome junction could, at least theoretically, increase the odds of a derailment should it contribute to a wheel failure or cause a train to jump the tracks at the Washington Boulevard turn..."

The story about flaws in the Expo Line is worth a read, in relation to the conceptual flaws of the Gateway Corridor.

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Crime is up and down University Avenue. KAAL-ABC, Austin, MN reports St. Paul police say the number of people getting robbed on the street is up along the Central Corridor light rail route, typically at bus stops and on street corners. In the past month, more than half of all the robberies in St. Paul were on University Avenue. But the construction is causing the number of other crimes to go down. Police have seen a 22 percent drop in in shoplifting in April through June of 2012 because some businesses are harder to get to. Arrests for prostitution and gang-related activity are also down this year.

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Light rail advocates claim the train will help the community, like the Rainier Valley in Washington.

Seattle's King 5 reports "light rail is driving up rent prices and driving out working class residents who are the lifeblood of the community."

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Phoenix's KPHO-CBS reports 118 accidents for the new Phoenix light railroad since 2009. Of those, 22 drivers left the accident scene.