Catching the Wave, Which is Coming with 'The Tide'

It looks like Norfolk is going to be the next light rail project to get funding by the new starts program. They've fought really hard to get this project and after fighting with the FTA they are finally getting their day. The project is going to cost $33 million per mile which is rather low for recent light rail projects but it seems to operate more like a streetcar and has taken significant steps to keep costs low including not building an extensive signaling system and building on a former freight rail right of way. They are also using the S70 Avanto LRVs from Siemens, the same ones that Houston, Charlotte and San Diego have.

Below is some information from the local paper, the Virginian Pilot:

As long as no objections are raised by Congress before the end of the month, light-rail plans and financing packages will be finalized at a ceremony planned for that date.

Construction would begin in mid- to late November, and the trains would begin carrying passengers in early 2010.

The 7.4-mile line would run from the Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown and along a rail corridor parallel to Interstate 264 to Newtown Road at the Virginia Beach city line. It would have 11 stations and carry up to 12,000 passengers a day. A revised bus network would feed into the rail line.

Here are more new starts stats on the line. Also, Hampton Roads Transit has a page devoted to the line with a nifty video. They've already named the line as well. 'The Tide'