Thursday, September 10, 2009
Network Expansion
New Orleans is looking to build three new lines while Portland has approved a reference plan for a streetcar network. The catch, New Orleans is looking for TIGER money, which is about as scarce as, well, Tigers in the United States. All of these proposals hinge on money. What's new?
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The question remains: is New Orleans going to use heritage rolling stock (which is basically a bus on rails) or is it going to use more modern low floor rolling stock (which makes streetcars worth it)?
New Orleans actually has built their own streetcars so its unlikely that they will have low floor vehicles anytime soon.
There are going to be all sorts of really cool TIGER applications. Just wait.
There are NOLA streetcar lines that were saved from being scrapped by being given heritage status ... for those, they may need to use heritage stock, or at the very least upgrading stock is more than just a simple cost/benefit calculus. Not ideal, but better than allowing the lines to be pulled out at the time.
However, note that they are able to branch an existing heritage line and make a useful extension, they could well mix heritage and modern streetcars. While the heritage line would still be stuck with the heritage design cars, there is the side benefit of there being no confusion at all as to which branch you were heading for when you caught a streetcar back up the Y.
And don't forget Seattle's streetcar network plans! Four new lines, with two others briefly studied.
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