100-535: Valley Metro Rail (styled as METRO ) is a 29.8-mile (48 km) light rail system serving the cities of Phoenix , Tempe , and Mesa in Arizona , USA. The network, which is part of the Valley Metro public transit system, began operations on December 27, 2008. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 10,797,600, or about 32,600 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. In the years since it opened in 2008,
200-476: A proof-of-payment system to allow for simplified boarding and platform access. Passes or a reloadable Copper Card can be purchased from ticket vending machines at the entrance to all stations, or purchased in the Valley Metro App, but must be validated or scanned before boarding the train. Passes can also be purchased on board buses, or in select retailers. Fare inspections are conducted throughout
300-885: A " center reservation ", similar to the Red Line of the METRORail light rail system in Houston and the surface sections of the MBTA subway 's Green Line in Boston . Some parts of the line, such as the bridge over Tempe Town Lake , have no contact with other traffic. Full rail service (serving all stops between Metro Parkway and Gilbert Road/Main Street) begins Monday through Friday at approximately 4:30 a.m., while Saturday and Sunday service begins at approximately 4:50 a.m. Full rail service ends at approximately 11 p.m. daily. Since
400-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
500-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
600-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
700-500: A combination of 43rd and 51st avenues, before entering the shared downtown terminus area. In February 2016, a community working group recommend a route for this project, this route travels along Camelback Road until 43rd Avenue, at which point light rail would travel north along 43rd Avenue until Glendale Avenue, from there it would continue west until it reaches 56th Avenue, where the route is likely to shift approximately 500 feet (150 m) north to Glenn Drive, where it will continue to
800-501: A combination of Proposition 400 sales tax revenues, federal air quality, and New Starts grants. It is estimated to have added 5,000 daily riders. In 2016, the system was extended north from the previous western terminus at Montebello/19th Avenue along the median of 19th Avenue to a new terminus and park and ride at 19th Avenue/Dunlap in Phoenix. The extension features 3.2 miles of track, three additional stations, and before opening
900-1142: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
1000-508: A complete light rail trip takes about 110 minutes from end to end, full rail service does not run earlier or later than those times. Instead, in the early morning and late night hours, limited rail service operates service from Priest Drive/Washington to Gilbert Road/Main Street and from 50th Street/Washington to Metro Parkway. This limited service extends the line's operating hours to as early as 3:30 a.m. and as late as 1 a.m. Throughout
1100-410: A decade. Outreach to the residents and business owners of South Phoenix became strained when the extension called for the reduction of lanes from four to two along Central Avenue . In February 2019, opponents were able to gather enough signatures to require the city to hold a referendum on future light rail expansion. The referendum to stop light rail expansion, known as Proposition 105, failed to pass in
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#17327648218141200-409: A hydraulic leveling system to remove potential vertical gap, to ease loading. Up to three vehicles may operate together in a single train set but are typically in sets of two. The vehicles have a maximum speed of 58 mph (93 km/h). The LF-LRVs are also equipped with energy absorbent bumpers to reduce the effects of road vehicle collision, measures warranted due to the light rail mostly running in
1300-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
1400-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
1500-543: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
1600-642: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
1700-552: A new station to the existing alignment at 50th Street and Washington, the first and only infill station added in the Valley Metro Rail system. The project aimed to enable better connectivity with nearby businesses, and recent commercial and residential development projects in the area. The project, funded entirely by the city of Phoenix, began construction in June 2017. Although all Valley Metro stations are ADA accessible ,
1800-563: A possible extension to Mesa to connect with the Chicago Cubs ’ new spring training facility, as well as Tempe Marketplace . Service began on May 20, 2022. Upon completion of Northwest Phase I, the focus shifted to Phase II of the project. This extension continues west on Dunlap Avenue before turning to head north along 25th Avenue. From there, the system heads west on Mountain View Road, before crossing Interstate 17 and terminating on
1900-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
2000-548: A special election on August 27, 2019. Construction on the South Central extension began in October 2019, and it is expected to be operational by 2025. As of 2024, the Valley Metro Rail system consists of one single line serving all 41 stations on 29.8 miles (48.0 km) of tracks within the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. The light rail line starts in Phoenix on the east side of the former Metrocenter shopping mall at
2100-534: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
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#17327648218142200-481: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
2300-470: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
2400-575: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
2500-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
2600-563: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
2700-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
2800-502: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
2900-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
3000-559: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
3100-484: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
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3200-542: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
3300-758: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
3400-874: The Metro Parkway station . The rail line runs east on an elevated viaduct, crossing over Interstate 17. After the crossing, the line's alignment parallels Mountain View Road before turning south on 25th Street. The line runs south on 25th Street, crossing the Arizona Canal and passing by the Rose Mofford Sports Complex. It continues until it reaches Dunlap Avenue where it swerves east on Dunlap, before turning south again on 19th Avenue for 4 miles (6.4 km). After three stops, it turns eastward again on Camelback Road for 2.5 miles (4.0 km), then turns south onto Central Avenue where it continues into Downtown Phoenix . At Roosevelt Street,
3500-637: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
3600-874: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
3700-942: The PHX Sky Train at 44th Street/Washington , and then turns southeast towards Tempe. After Center Parkway/Washington station , the line leaves the median of Washington Street and runs south on a bridge that crosses Tempe Town Lake , parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad . It then turns east along Mill Avenue and connects to the Tempe Streetcar at Mill Avenue/3rd St before proceeding via its own right-of-way near Arizona State University . Going southward, it joins Apache Boulevard headed eastward, which becomes Main Street in Mesa. The light rail line ends at an intersection with Gilbert Road at Gilbert Road/Main Street station. Trains mostly operate on city streets in
3800-703: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
3900-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
4000-624: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
4100-523: The 1990s failed over similar reasons. Valley Metro was created by the Transit 2000 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), also called the Transit 2000 plan , which involved a half-cent sales tax, and was approved by Phoenix voters in 2000. Transit 2000 aimed at improving the local bus service (considered unacceptably inadequate compared to other major US cities) and adding new bus rapid transit routes. It used
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4200-495: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
4300-751: The I-10 Extension on 79th Avenue and Thomas Road and the Phoenix BRT on 35th Avenue and Indian School Road. On May 30, 2024, Phoenix City Council approved the project. As of 2019, an extension was planned to occur to Arizona State University 's West campus in 2044. Extensions of light rail in Tempe, Mesa, and Chandler were also being studied. A previous study into a Northeast light rail corridor has been suspended indefinitely, with Phoenix City Council directing funds towards street maintenance instead. Informational notes Citations Other transit in
4400-602: The Proposition 104 sales tax increase in 2015. In October 2017, the project had entered the environmental assessment (EA) phase. The construction contract was awarded to Kiewit -McCarthy in July 2020 and was scheduled to break ground that Fall. Service began on January 27, 2024. Like the Northwest Extension, the funding from Proposition 104 moved the timeline of the light rail extension to South Phoenix up by
4500-662: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
4600-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
4700-666: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
4800-590: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
4900-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
5000-730: The United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
5100-580: The United States: Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in
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#17327648218145200-739: The West Valley and ease congestion on Interstate 10. The line will transfer over I-10 from the median to the shoulder to accommodate Loop 202 , which will connect with I-10 around 51st Avenue. In fall 2021, the Phoenix City Council approved extending the project corridor to the Desert Sky Transit Center, adjacent to the Desert Sky Mall . In May 2024, the project entered the preliminary engineering (PE) phase. Starting in 2013, Valley Metro along with
5300-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
5400-866: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
5500-606: The center of streets. In 2017, Valley Metro contracted Brookville Equipment Corporation and Siemens Mobility for six and eleven light rail vehicles, respectively, with the Brookville fleet planned to be used for Tempe Streetcar service. The first Siemens car arrived in March 2020 and the first Brookville car for Tempe in March 2021. Valley Metro Rail shares its fare system with the Valley Metro Bus system but uses
5600-502: The cities of Glendale and Phoenix approved a project to study the potential extension of light rail, bus rapid transit or streetcar to Glendale . Initially, three different route options were proposed, all heading west from the current light rail system and featuring a shared terminus in the Downtown Glendale area. Options included travel directly across Glendale Avenue, as well as routes that travel along Camelback Road and
5700-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
5800-623: The day, trains run every 15 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, and every 20 minutes on Sundays. All trains run every 20 minutes from 8 p.m. until the end of service. As of 2020, Valley Metro Rail operates a fleet of 50 Kinki Sharyo Low Floor Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs), which were built exclusive to VMR. Each vehicle has a seated capacity of 66. Due to the desert climate of the Phoenix area the units were designed with more insulation and solar reflective windows as well as larger air conditioner units. The vehicles are accessible with space for four wheelchairs and four bicycles, per vehicle with addition to
5900-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
6000-755: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
6100-482: The downtown terminus. Light rail was selected as the preferred type of transit for the route, as opposed to bus rapid transit or streetcar. On October 17, 2017, Glendale City Council directed staff against moving forward on a route into downtown Glendale, effectively killing the plans for the Glendale portion of the extension. At the beginning of 2019, Phoenix City Council voted to delay the remaining Phoenix portion of
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#17327648218146200-478: The east side of the Metrocenter shopping mall. The extension includes three new stations, one in the vicinity of 25th Avenue and Dunlap, another adjacent to the Rose Mofford Sports Complex, and a relocated transit center (Thelda Williams Transit Center) on the east side of Metrocenter Mall. The extension was originally planned to open in 2026, but it was accelerated to 2024 after the Phoenix City Council passed
6300-575: The implementation of light rail. The Phoenix Street Railway provided streetcar service from 1887 to 1948. Historic vehicles may be seen at the Phoenix Trolley Museum , with Car #116 celebrating her 80th birthday on December 25, 2008, just days before the opening of modern rail service. In 1989, the ValTrans elevated rail proposal was turned down by voters in a referendum due to cost and feasibility concerns. Subsequent initiatives during
6400-458: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
6500-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
6600-462: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
6700-489: The light rail ridership far exceeding original projections. The light rail has also led to rapid urban development in downtown Phoenix and Tempe, generating additional revenue through taxes. Valley Metro had its busiest month in April 2017, with a total passenger count of 1,514,456 and an average weekday ridership of 52,910. On the weekend of March 31, 2017, through April 2, 2017, the light rail system saw 275,615 passengers board
6800-409: The line splits into one-way segments: eastbound service runs on First Avenue south before turning east on Jefferson Street; likewise, westbound one-way service starts at 26th Street on Washington Street before turning north on Central Avenue. Both tracks rejoin east of 24th Street on Washington Street. Continuing east on Washington, the rail line passes Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport , which is connected by
6900-543: The median of Main Street and has one intermediate stop at Stapley Drive . The design-build contract for this project was awarded to Sundt/Stacy and Witbeck, with Jacobs Engineering providing design services for the project. Service to the new stations started on May 18, 2019. Tempe Streetcar consists of 14 stations, running from Dorsey Lane west on Apache Boulevard, then north on Mill Avenue. From there, it loops around Downtown Tempe along Mill and Ash avenues. The route continues along Rio Salado Parkway to Marina Heights, with
7000-539: The median of Main Street at Alma School Road , Country Club Drive , Center Street , and Mesa Drive, bringing rail service directly to Downtown Mesa. In March 2012, Valley Metro selected a design-build joint venture between Kiewit Corporation and Mass. Electric to construct the extension. Construction began in July 2012 and passenger service started on August 22, 2015. Mesa held a summit in early 2012 to have urban developers give their ideas on how to revitalize downtown. The extension cost $ 200 million, paid for from
7100-434: The new light rail line began in March 2005. The expected construction cost for the line was $ 1.4 billion, or $ 70 million per mile. The line's initial twenty-mile (32 km) segment consisted of 28 stations running between Phoenix and Mesa. In March 2008, cracks in the system's rails were discovered. The cause of the cracks was determined to be improper use of plasma cutting torches by contractors. The affected track
7200-407: The new station had more accessible features including wider platforms and gentle entrance slopes. The station opened on April 25, 2019. An extension further eastward, 1.9 miles (3.1 km) past the terminus at Mesa Drive/Main Street to Gilbert Road/Main Street , began construction in October 2016, and began operating on May 18, 2019. The line, budgeted at approximately $ 184 million, travels in
7300-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
7400-468: The project entered the environmental assessment (EA) phase. The I-10 West Extension would run from 15th Avenue west to Interstate 17 before turning north to the interchange of Interstate 10 and I-17 (" The Stack "). Then the line will turn west and continue down I-10 in the median past 43rd Avenue. It will then go over the westbound lanes of I-10 to continue alongside the highway to Desert Sky Mall , adding 10 miles (16 km) and 8 stations to connect
7500-585: The project indefinitely. Starting in 2022, Valley Metro opened talks again about the West Phoenix Extension. The West Phoenix Extension will run from 91st Avenue and Thomas Road to 75th Avenue and Thomas then turn north to Indian School Road and connect to the Indian School Road and Central Avenue station. As of 2023 the project is in the locally preferred alternative adoption process. The West Phoenix Extension will also connect with
7600-547: The project to begin. The design-build contract was awarded to a joint venture of Sundt and Stacy and Witbeck , for the 3.2-mile (5.1 km) extension. Construction began in January 2013, with a celebration to mark the laying of the first track section being held in July 2014. Construction work continued until December 2015, when it was announced that testing along the new stretch would begin. The extension opened on March 19, 2016. The 50th Street infill station project added
7700-556: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
7800-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
7900-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
8000-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
8100-472: The route placing and color designations from the 1989 ValTrans plan. The plan also called for a new light rail line to be built throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area , resuming rail transit service that was absent since the 1940s. Additional funding for the new rail line was secured in 2004 when residents approved Proposition 400, extending the half-cent countywide sales tax. Construction on
8200-618: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
8300-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
8400-488: The system at random to ensure compliance. As of 2015, the system has a fare-compliance rate of 94%. The South Central Extension will run from Downtown Phoenix, south along Central Avenue to Baseline Road, adding 4.9 miles (7.9 km) and seven stations, while connecting with two park and ride locations. Additionally, this project will form a light rail hub in Downtown Phoenix, between Central and First avenues to
8500-483: The system has undergone six expansions (including the infill station at 50th Street/Washington and the Tempe Streetcar ), with at least three more scheduled. Furthermore, extensions are underway into West Phoenix at Desert Sky Mall and to South Phoenix at Baseline Road , all of which were expanded as a direct result of obtaining funding under the Proposition 104 sales tax increase. Numerous plans preceded
8600-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
8700-543: The terminus at Metro Parkway. Construction began in 2019, with completion expected in 2025. The Capitol Extension will run from Central Station and 1st Avenue/Jefferson in Downtown Phoenix west to 15th Avenue, adding 0.8 miles (1.3 km) and two stations. As of 2024 environmental assessment work is underway. In March 2024, Valley Metro selected Jacobs Engineering for principal civil design and PGH Wong Engineering for principal system design. In May 2024,
8800-562: The train due to several large events including Final Four Fan Fest, March Madness Music Festival, Arizona Diamondbacks home opener, Phoenix Pride Festival, Phoenix Suns game, and Tempe Festival of the Arts. That Sunday, April 2, 2017, they saw 80,210 passengers board the train due to those large events. The Central Mesa Extension extended rail service 3.1 miles (5.0 km) from the line's original eastern terminus at Sycamore/Main Street to Mesa Drive/Main Street . It added four new stations in
8900-503: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
9000-460: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
9100-491: The west and east, and Washington and Jefferson streets to the north and south. Also included are new tracks for turn-around / staging purposes at both Third Avenue and Fifth Street for enhanced flexibility during peak service. Trains along the segment are planned to operate as a new line, originating at Baseline Road and running to the Downtown Hub before interlining with the existing light rail system and continuing north to
9200-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
9300-543: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
9400-677: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
9500-404: Was predicted to serve 5,000 riders per day in its first full year of operation. As an original part of the Transit 2000 plan, this extension was originally scheduled to open by 2012. However, due to lower-than-expected sales tax revenues and uncertainty regarding the availability of federal funds to support the project, the opening date was delayed. Initially, it was pushed back to 2014, and then it
9600-443: Was produced by Arizona's Entertainment Solutions, Inc. and was attended by thousands of local residents who waited as long as an hour or more to ride the vehicles. The stations have been designed to complement their immediate surroundings. Station platform areas are approximately 16 feet (4.9 m) wide by 300 feet (91 m) long. As of early 2014, income has exceeded Metro's stated goal with 44.6% farebox recovery, partially due to
9700-478: Was repaired by May for $ 600,000 with still no word on which parties will be held financially responsible. The last of the concrete and rail for the system was installed in the end of April, with the CEO declaring the system to be on time and on budget. The line celebrated its grand opening on December 27, 2008, with official ribbon-cutting ceremonies and community celebrations throughout Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. The event
9800-512: Was rescheduled again by 9 years, to the fiscal year 2023, by the Phoenix City Council in June 2009. In July 2012, a vote was held to reschedule this extension to open in 2016. Under this plan, the city of Phoenix advanced $ 60 million of local funds to Valley Metro Rail, who would then fund the remaining cost of the project (approximately $ 267 million) with both Transit 2000 and Proposition 400 funds, thereby allowing work on
9900-632: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
10000-527: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
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