MAGAZINE S The U.S. and Top 50 Canada s Passenger Rail Projects for 2003
Rail Projects Total $58 Billion intop 50 As the costs of war skyrocket, so do the costs of rail projects. Despite the waning economy, total project costs in METRO s 9 th annual North American rail projects survey jumped 9% to a total of $58 billion. Although a sizeable percentage increase, numbers still haven t escalated as high as 2001, when costs increased 11%. In its fiscal year 2004 budget, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requested $1.5 billion for New Starts projects, $3 million more than 2003. This budget reflects a proposed expansion of the program to make new non-fixed guideway transportation corridor projects eligible for funding and encourage more cost-effective transit options. Transportation agencies appear to have more ambitious plans in this year s listing, with higher priced MTA New York City continues its reign in the top spot, with $9 billion in project costs, in METRO s 9 TH annual rail study. By Janna Starcic, Associate Editor proposals edging out smaller ones. Fourteen properties listed billion dollar amounts for projects in 2003. The cutoff price for the bottom of our listing, $45 million for No. 50 Virginia Railway Express, is an increase of $8 million from last year. NYCT stays ahead Going back up the list to the No. 1 spot no real surprise here is MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) keeping its slot warm for the third year in a row with $9 billion total costs. Although it is down $863 million, New York still holds a $4 billion edge over Chicago Transit Authority, which holds the runner-up slot. NYCT is also the leader in the railcar list, with a whopping 6,348 vehicles, more than 40% of the overall total in the Top 50. 36 METRO MAGAZINE JUNE JULY 2003
Ridership numbers for the combined fleets are virtually unchanged from 2002, with more than 3 billion passengers transported annually. As you might expect with such a large railcar fleet, NYCT leads in ridership as well, transporting 1.4 billion passengers. Ridership numbers for the combined fleets is unchanged from 2002, with more than 3 billion passengers annually. Railcar fleet mix numbers in this year s list remained fairly stable, with heavy railcars continuing to dominate by increasing 9% to a total of 13,779. Light rail cars stayed put at 7%, with 1,535 vehicles. Although some rankings aren t budging, some are moving up, or out, most notably in the Top 10. The highest climber in the survey is the Santa Clara Valley (Calif.) Transportation Authority, moving up 12 places to No. 3, with $5 billion in its project purse. A major portion $3.8 billion is earmarked for a 16-mile Bay Area Rapid Transit extension to the Silicon Valley. Another $775 million is set aside for 12 miles of light rail extensions under construction. Another agency to move up in the rankings by enlarging its project purse is Triangle Transit Authority in N.C., with a total of $813 million. Two operations Orange County (Calif.) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority lost their Top 10 rankings to higher-priced projects in 2003. Amtrak, remaining fairly quiet this year with no shutdown threats, received $900 million in this year s proposed budget, and was put on a leash so to speak. The DOT was given oversight authority of Amtrak s spending, marking a new era of accountability for the passenger rail service. To curtail its monetary drain, critics want Amtrak to cut its long-distance routes, of which it has already trimmed two. The passenger rail service, with project costs of $559 million, continues with a mid-list ranking of No. 28, a two-position drop from 2002. Monorail for high rollers Making its return to the Top 50 is Las Vegas Regional Transportation Commission at No. 36 for its monorail project. The monorail will link seven stations over 3.9 miles of elevated dual-monorail guideway. The project uses two existing stations and revamps the existing less-than-one-mile guideway of the MGM Grand and Bally s hotels former monorail line. Other projects on the rise include North County (Oceanside, Calif.) Transit District s (NCTD) Oceanside- Escondido rail corridor project, which received a full-funding grant agreement for $351 million. The rail corridor proposal involves converting an existing 22-mile freight rail corridor into a diesel multiple unit transit system running east from the coastal city of Oceanside to Escondido. Railcar Fleet Mix Other 1% Light 7% 5% 20% Heavy 67% Top 10 Largest Rail Fleets MTA New York City Transit 6,348 Amtrak 2,188 Chicago Transit Authority 1,218 Massachusetts Bay 1,054 New Jersey Transit 1,037 MTA Long Island Railroad 976 MTA Metro-North Railroad 944 Metra Rail 910 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 892 Southeastern Pennsylvania 869 MTA New York City garners another No. 1 spot in our ranking of largest fleets, with a 41% share of the 15,567 total vehicles. Amtrak plays second fiddle again this year with 2,188 railcars. In 2003, rail properties operated 13,779 heavy railcars, 4,041 commuter cars, 1,535 LRVs, 1,124 locomotives and 171 vehicles in the other category. The alignment, which includes a 1.7-mile loop of new right-of-way service to the California State University-San Marcos campus, will also feature 15 stations, four of which are existing transit centers. NCTD estimates 19,000 daily riders by 2020. The operation only moves up one spot from 2002 to the No. 33 position, despite its $453 million showing. If you know of, or are part of, a rail agency that has plans for the future, but we missed for this year s survey, please let us know so we can include you next year. 38 METRO MAGAZINE JUNE JULY 2003
The U.S. and Canada s Top 50 Passenger Rail Projects for 2003 Rail Riders Upon Project Completion Total Railcars Cost of Projects Light Railcars Heavy Railcars Rail Riders Now Other Railcars Rank Agency City State Railcars Rank 02 1 MTA New York City Transit New York NY 9,394 6,348 6,348 0 0 0 0 1,400 1,393 1 2 Chicago Transit Authority Chicago IL 5,193 1,218 1,190 0 0 0 28 152 152 4 3 Santa Clara Valley San Jose CA 5,000 80 0 80 0 0 0 0 15 4 MTA Long Island Rail Road Jamaica NY 4,045 976 0 0 930 46 0 83.9 6 5 Tren Urbano San Juan PR 3,164 74 74 0 0 0 0 0 29 7 6 Sound Transit Seattle WA 2,874 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 2.3 5 7 New Jersey Transit Newark NJ 2,850 1,037 844 45 0 148 0 70.5 9 8 Massachusetts Bay Boston MA 2,500 1,054 408 189 377 80 143.4 3 9 Southeastern Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA 1,400 869 345 167 349 8 0 131 7 10 San Francisco Municipal Railway San Francisco CA 1,326 188 0 148 0 0 40 55.5 88 12 11 Metro-North Railroad New York NY 1,300 944 0 0 897 47 0 71.4 11 12 Valley Metro Rail Phoenix AZ 1,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.026 13 12 Orange County Orange CA 1,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21.8 10 14 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Los Angeles CA 1,000 223 104 119 0 0 0 62.6 100 15 15 Regional Transportation District Denver CO 879 49 0 49 0 0 0 10.4 16.1 19 16 Port Authority of Jersey City NJ 864 336 336 0 0 0 0 51.9 67 New York/New Jersey 17 Triangle Transit Authority Raleigh/Durham NC 813 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 40 METRO MAGAZINE JUNE JULY 2003
Rail Riders Upon Project Completion Total Railcars Cost of Projects Light Railcars Heavy Railcars Rail Riders Now Other Railcars Rank Agency City State Railcars Rank 02 18 Connecticut Department Newington CT 807 283 0 0 262 21 0 32 36 21 of Transportation 19 Port Authority of Pittsburgh PA 780 55 0 55 0 0 0 7.5 22 Allegheny County 20 Southwest Ohio Regional Cincinnati OH 730 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.5 20 Transit Authority 21 Capital Metro Austin TX 700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 22 Metro Transit Minneapolis MN 675 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 23 Tri-County Pompano Beach FL 633 36 0 0 26 10 0 2.6 2.7 30 Rail Authority 24 Metro St. Louis MO 625.3 65 0 65 0 0 0 14.6 27 (formerly Bi-State Development Agency) 25 Transit Authority of River City Louisville KY 625 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.5 24 26 Sacramento Regional Sacramento CA 614 36 0 36 0 0 0 8.5 15 31 Transit District 27 Maryland Transit Administration Baltimore MD 580 320 100 53 122 36 9 21 42 28 Amtrak Washington DC 559 2,188 1,752 0 0 436 0 23.5 25 29 Metra Rail Chicago IL 558 910 0 0 780 130 0 80.9 26 30 Caltrain San Carlos CA 550 134 110 0 0 24 0 9.9 20 31 Washington Metropolitan Area Washington DC 522 892 892 0 0 0 0 228 2 Transit Authority 32 San Diego Metropolitan San Diego CA 460 123 0 123 0 0 0 24.8 26.1 Transit Development Board 33 North County Transit District Oceanside CA 453 29 22 0 0 7 0 1.3 1.5 34 34 Charlotte Area Transit System Charlotte NC 371 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.4 35 JUNE JULY 2003 METRO MAGAZINE 41
The U.S. and Canada s Top 50 Passenger Rail Projects for 2003 Rail Riders Upon Project Completion Total Railcars Cost of Projects Light Railcars Heavy Railcars Rail Riders Now Other Railcars Rank Agency City State Railcars Rank 02 35 Tri-County Metropolitan Portland OR 350 80 0 78 0 0 2 25.4 36.7 29 Transportation District 36 Regional Transportation Las Vegas NV 346 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 Commission of Southern Nevada 37 Societe de Transport de Montreal Montreal PQ 345 759 759 0 0 0 0 219 225 40 38 Metropolitan Transit Authority Houston TX 324 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14.6 36 of Harris County 39 Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Atlanta GA 274 316 316 0 0 0 0 32.7 40 Regional Transit Authority New Orleans LA 271 42 0 42 0 0 0 4.6 6.5 39 41 Southern California Regional Los Angeles CA 180 181 0 0 144 37 0 8.5 10 Rail Authority 42 Calgary Transit Calgary AB 163 102 0 102 0 0 0 30.4 35.6 43 Northern Indiana Chesterton IN 100 69 0 0 68 1 0 3.6 4 42 Transportation District 44 Utah Transit Authority Salt Lake City UT 89 40 0 40 0 0 0 9.5 10 45 45 Miami-Dade Transit Miami FL 88 165 136 29 0 0 0 18.6 19.8 46 46 Bay Area Rapid Oakland CA 77 95 0 0 0 17 78 1.3 1.9 42 Transit District 47 Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas TX 75 126 0 95 13 4 14 15.8 33 48 Memphis Area Transit Authority Memphis TN 74 16 0 16 0 0 0 0.95 4 47 49 Alaska Railroad Co. Anchorage AK 71 96 43 0 0 53 0 0.48 37 50 Virginia Railway Express Alexandria VA 45 92 0 0 73 19 0 3 3.5 49 42 METRO MAGAZINE JUNE JULY 2003