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Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line


dubone

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2 hours ago, DEnd said:

Or you know it really is a very complex project.  Custom construction is complex, doing it inexpensively takes time, to do it well costs money.  The axiom in construction is there are three goals: do something well, do something inexpensively, and do something relatively quickly; If managed well you can meet two of those goals.  

Are you saying that CATS is doing any of these well?  It certainly isn't being done quickly or inexpensively. 

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12 hours ago, DEnd said:

Or you know it really is a very complex project.  Custom construction is complex, doing it inexpensively takes time, to do it well costs money.  The axiom in construction is there are three goals: do something well, do something inexpensively, and do something relatively quickly; If managed well you can meet two of those goals.  

Yes, that argument could have been used on the initial Blue Line construction (and it was - to death), but my observation is that CATS has learned nothing, changed little, and still keeps using excuses.

Specifically on a contractor being able to stall the project - and that the way the contract is written, they are within their "right" to do so.

On 8/15/2017 at 8:19 PM, kermit said:

Balfour Beaty is only slowly responding to contract deficiencies  and apparently the recourse terms in the contract are insufficient to force an appropriate recovery

Balfour Beaty are being pricks and trying to get more money out of CATS. (as a private citizen the only course of action is to publicly shame Balfour Beaty for their asinine behavior)

But, can we please have someone at CATS look into the fact that they wrote/read/negotiated and then SIGNED a contract that basically could jeopardize the federal funding that CATS was relying on.

Edited by Scribe
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^ Yea, CATS was looking pretty serious about its weekend maintenance blitz. They were retensioning cat wires near Carson this morning, trimming trees between Bland and Rensaliear, and re-pouring curb cuts on the rail trail at New Bern, Remount and Poindexter. Sadly this was originally scheduled to be the first weekend with the BLE so I guess crews had a bit of extra time on their hands.

I guess I am glad they are pulling up the Atherton Mill switch, but I'll sorta miss the option for the overlay trolly service -- I thought it had fantasy-world potential for adding some frequencies in the intown core. Realistically three car platforms kill the trolly option due to boarding height differences.

Has anyone heard any discussion of what will happen to the replica trollys once the Gold Line platforms get rebuilt? Their reliability certainly sucks but I would be sad to see a fire sale.

Edited by kermit
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On 8/19/2017 at 3:27 PM, kermit said:

Has anyone heard any discussion of what will happen to the replica trollys once the Gold Line platforms get rebuilt? Their reliability certainly sucks but I would be sad to see a fire sale.

Have not heard anything official, but almost certain 2 of them will be kept for special events in the city. I could see it being offered as an incentive for movie shoots, etc.

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12 minutes ago, archiham04 said:

I doubt it, but I am totally speculating here...  If they run a line out there they will likely run cars that are pushed by a little diesel engine at low speed.  A fully outfitted car with electric/light rail line capabilities would probably not be well suited for this.

I can confirm that thats what they'll do.

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On 8/21/2017 at 10:51 AM, QClifer said:

Are they the cars that will run out to Savona Mill if its ever completed?  Through wesley heights and out to the Blue blaze brewery. Thought I remember hearing something like that, might be wrong

There are two _old_ streetcars sitting in a fenced parking lot across from the mill that are supposedly to be refurbished to run on the line. Unfortunately there has been no visible work completed on the cars in more than a year and they are still exposed to the weather. 

EDIT: Actually the important characteristic of the streetcars waiting for refurbishment at Savona mill is not their age, but their condition. They are in awful shape (based on my peering through the fence).

Edited by kermit
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The UNCC website says:

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Light rail privileges are tied to your 49er ID Card, so that means you don’t have to have a ticket to board. Just tap your card at a reader installed on the cars when you enter and exit. You can do the same on a bus, just tap your card on the contactless card reader on the fare box.

So I am guessing contactless readers will be installed near the train doors? A lot of other cities do this as well-San Francisco's MUNI system comes to mind.

Having users "tap in" and "tap out" also gives CATS the ability to start using zone/distance fares, if they decided to do so.

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4 hours ago, LKN704 said:

So I am guessing contactless readers will be installed near the train doors? A lot of other cities do this as well-San Francisco's MUNI system comes to mind.

Having users "tap in" and "tap out" also gives CATS the ability to start using zone/distance fares, if they decided to do so.

Definitely a good sign, and about time too!

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Rail construction equipment this morning at Craighead. Its presence suggests (but I can't be certain) that they will start to relocate the mainline tracks over to the new rail bridge over 36th (the new tracks are already there, all that remains is for NS to tie them in to the existing main).

this is the last thing to do before reopening 36th street and I believe delays on this have been a significant holdup for the BLE.

IMG_0030.JPG

Edited by kermit
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A few notes from the MTC meeting last week:

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Testing on the BLE is going well. Staff has begun running test trains on the alignment out to UNC Charlotte.  We are currently in the third phase of a six-phase testing process. There is still more to be done but it has been a big boost in the area to finally see trains operating on the alignment. Individuals are stopping along North Tryon Street to take pictures. Plus, testing took place on Parents’ weekend at UNC Charlotte and we understand that a big topic of conversation was concerning the new train system. We are confident that the project will meet the Full Funding Grant Agreement date of March 2018 and it is still coming in under budget.

 

The report says they piloted the mobile payment app during the PGA championship and they are working on bcycle integration within the app.

http://charlottenc.gov/cats/about/boards/MTC Agenda Package/MTC-Agenda-Package-170823.pdf#search=FTA agenda

 

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Tap in / Tap out distance fares will help make it more reasonable for very short in town rides.   The pricing is appropriate for twice a day commuters but I know I often opt for B-cycle over Lynx for 2 mile rides.   Especially with the streetcar replacing a free line and not being very fast, 4.40 round trip fare for lunch or an errand will not compete well with other options.

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per the latest quarterly report to the FTA the BLE revenue service date has slipped to February 15, 2018. (see pdf page 26). This was extended from the late December RSD given in the previous report.

http://charlottenc.gov/cats/about/boards/FTA Quarterly/FTA-Quarterly-Agenda-170907.pdf

 

Edited by kermit
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From that report:  

Quote

 2. Notice to Balfour Beatty Rail surety on the Blue Line Extension

That's a really big deal. Basically the surety is a bond that Balfour was required to carry that guaranteed to CATS that the work would be completed. CATS would only need to contact the surety if there was concern that Balfour was not meeting their contractual obligations. Should things really go downhill, the surety would basically pay another contractor to finish the work on CATS's behalf. 

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2 hours ago, tozmervo said:

From that report:  

That's a really big deal. Basically the surety is a bond that Balfour was required to carry that guaranteed to CATS that the work would be completed. CATS would only need to contact the surety if there was concern that Balfour was not meeting their contractual obligations. Should things really go downhill, the surety would basically pay another contractor to finish the work on CATS's behalf. 

Thanks for the translation! I am glad CATS has this to fall back on, but it sure does seem like it would cause a _huge_ delay if they gotta use it.

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