El Paso's Stealth Streetcar Project

Any coverage on the numerous streetcar projects in U.S. cities in regent years reads like a never-ending saga. There's usually politically turmoil, funding challenges, construction delays and philosophical debates about dedicated lanes (see RAIL #37 - ed). Some generate national exposure from both transit advocates and critics.

Counter to the typical drama of American modern streetcar systems is the story unfolding in El Paso, Texas, which is quietly rebuilding a portion of its historic network on a 4.8-mile system that will be of greater mileage than those in already open in Tucson (3.9), Seattle's First Hill (2.5), Atlanta (2.7), Washington, D.C. (2.2), Kansas City (2.2) and Cincinnati (3.6), and those forthcoming in Detroit (3.3) and Milwaukee (2.5). The network will feature two loops through El Paso's downtown and uptown districts, sharing rails for a stretch on Franklin Avenue.

Rather than purchasing new, modern streetcars that more resemble light-rail vehicles, the city – in partnership with the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority and $97 million in total investment from the Texas Department of Transportation – is restoring six President's Conference Committee (PCC) cars that ran in El Paso until 1977. The vehicles will feature paint schemes donned by the cars during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. PCCs still run in active transit service in routes in Boston, Mass., Philadelphia, Pa., Kenosha, Wisc., and San Francisco, Calif. 

Construction of streetcar infrastructure began this past January – managed by Paso del Norte Trackworks, a partnership of Granite Construction and RailWorks Track Systems – and service is expected to begin in late 2018. Brookville Equipment Corp., is handling the restoration of the vintage streetcars, which were – admittedly – in pretty rough shape after sitting exposed to the desert air for decades. 

“This is a project to encourage infill development, to encourage preservation of our historic neighborhoods,” said Peter Svarzbein, who represents District One on the El Paso City Council and initially proposed the concept in a grad school paper at the University of Texas - El Paso (UTEP). “This is a powerful gesture from our city to not just throw away, but to reclaim that history and show it off.”

Fares for the service will match Sun Metro bus routes and 1,480 daily riders are estimated to ride the streetcars. Future extensions are possible to reach the Medical Center of the Americas as well as across the Mexican border to Juarez, which once was connected to El Paso by streetcar. Such an extension would represent the only international rail transit service in North America. 

Commentary: WMATA is in Aerodynamic Stall; They Need to Nose Down

Over the past year or longer, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority's (WMATA) Metrorail network has existed in a state of crisis, with maintenance failures causing accidents, derailments and a state of service best described as a nosedive. Confidence in the agency from elected officials and the general public is at an all-time low, ridership is plummeting and every problem seems to compound upon itself. 

In the midst of this, WMATA is faced with a severe budget crisis that is likely to force additional service cuts and fare increases to close the gap unless area elected officials devote additional funds or propose a long-term, dedicated source of investment for the system. 

When transit providers are roiled by severe ridership declines and budget shortfalls, they tend to act like an inexperienced pilot facing aerodynamic stall (or, the inability of an aircraft to maintain lift needed to keep it aloft). The required action when experiencing stall is to reduce the angle of attack (or point the nose of the plane towards the ground) and increase power to gain airspeed. Once sufficient airspeed is obtained, then the nose can be pointed upward again and climb out of the controlled dive.

image: Ascent Ground Schools

Of course, this seems counter-intuitive to the basic laws of physics and gravity: if my aircraft is having trouble flying, why would I want to hasten its path towards a possible crash? Unfortunately, this knee-jerk reaction has produced deadly consequences throughout the history of aviation, including the tragic crash of Colgan Air flight #3407 outside of Buffalo, N.Y. in 2009.

​​

WMATA is currently experiencing the equivalent of stall and it's proposed reaction – hiking fares and slashing service at a time when the system is chasing away riders with its poor level of performance – is akin to pulling the plane's nose up during stall. It's perhaps logical – we need to close our budget gap, so we must add revenue and cut costs – in the same way that not directing a plane towards the ground when it can't fly is logical. 

Instead, the agency should point its nose down and gain speed by at least maintaining current fares and levels of service. Charging customers more for an inferior product flies in the face of good decision-making. Even better would be to reduce fares to re-attract jaded riders. Perhaps enough riders will return to build additional revenue. WMATA has hardly been forthcoming about any economic analysis that suggests raising fares will produce enough revenue to offset losses in declining ridership numbers.

Mass transit - like WMATA's Metrorail network – is intended to be a volume business: many customers paying lower prices. Instead, these proposed solutions function like an elite product: fewer customers paying higher prices, a recipe for the transit equivalent of stall. Let's hope they pull up on the stick in time. 

The Ballad of Northfield, Minnesota: Promise and Pitfalls of Passenger Rail Plans

Minnesota’s Twin Cities – as much as any other region in North America – currently represents the unlimited potential of passenger rail in reinvigorating communities. New light-rail lines are stretching out in all directions, Northstar commuter trains speed to Big Lake and eventually St. Cloud in its namesake direction and the twin hubs of Minneapolis’ Target Field and St. Paul’s Union Depot contrast brilliantly with modern and historic flair. Streetcar routes are under discussion, as is restored intercity service to the state’s other large cities in Duluth and Rochester. Securing enough investment is always a challenge, but those concerns are almost always mirrored by exciting questions like when will the trains start running?

Just 45 miles to the south, Northfield, Minn., is the type of place just beyond the limits of passenger rail’s potential. Eagerly anticipating robust links to the Twin Cities – and beyond – Northfield has the sort of conditions that are natural qualifiers for passenger rail service along with the kind of challenges that leaves such connections just out of reach. For now.

The Promise of Rail in Small Town America

With a population of just over 20,000, Northfield has been defined by two sources of activity since its founding in 1855: agriculture and education. Its motto speaks to those realities: “Cows, Colleges and Contentment.” The area’s field growers produce staples such as wheat, corn and soybeans with numerous dairy and hog farms, while the liberal arts Carleton and St. Olaf colleges enroll more than 5,000 students each year. At the height of passenger and agricultural rail traffic before the 1950s, three rail lines funneled trains into the city from the Twin Cities to the north and Red Wing to the east, while just as many fanned out from Faribault, 13 miles to the south, making the region a historic Midwestern rail pipeline.

Today, that legacy has engendered in Northfield a small urban community that stands to enjoy a flourishing future with assets increasingly desired by younger and older Americans alike: distinctive historic housing stock on streets lined with mature trees; a unique, accessible town center with small shops and restaurants; and stable employment centers like education and health care to create and maintain well-paying jobs. Places like Northfield offer more leisurely residential living for workers seeing a contrast to the bustle of large urban cores like the Twin Cities, attract smaller companies seeking lower operating costs, lure college students seeking that college town vibe and invite city dwellers to journey out on a weekend or evening for a community festival or a well-regarded restaurant or craft brewery. But all those attributes depend on an comfortable and reliable way to get there.

Council Member Suzie Nakasian represents Northfield’s east side neighborhoods in the First Ward on the city’s council and is the body’s champion for restoring passenger rail service to the area. In addition to her role on the Council, she heads up the Central Minnesota Passenger Rail Initiative (CMPRI), a grassroots effort to build support for a series of routes throughout the state’s central and southern regions. For Nakasian, the intersection between mobility and community development is what makes passenger rail so attractive for place like Northfield.

“Northfield has the perfect combination of assets and opportunities to make rail service successful: proximity to a major urban area, affordable housing, strong academic institutions and a vibrant commercial district,” says Nakasian, during a visit to RAIL Magazine’s editorial offices in Washington, D.C.  “We have strong needs to both move people to the Twin Cities – to commute to work, reach the airport, attend sports and entertainment events, and more – and bring people here, for our colleges, places to raise a family or come down for a festival or shopping for things like antiques and art. Our travel demand is bi-directional.”

"Restoring passenger rail on the corridor serving Northfield and other communities would give people another option of travel in the southern metro and southern Minnesota, whereas today the only options are car and limited bus service," says Erik Ecklund, who administers the Support the Dan Patch Rail Line effort (read our full discussion with Ecklund – ed). "More people want to live close to transit, and communities with good transit options will thrive." 

The Beginnings of an Intercity Rail Corridor

Beyond Northfield’s need and ability to produce passenger traffic to the Twin Cities is a larger desire to offer intercity passenger rail service on north – south corridors in the nation’s heartland. Amtrak’s current long-distance routes linking Chicago and the west coast are oriented for east-west service. In fact, the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Mississippi is the only north-south Amtrak long-distance route train west of the Mississippi River. The CMPRI advocates the introduction of new service from the Twin Cities south through Northfield and Faribault into Iowa and Missouri to serve Albert Lea, Mason City, Des Moines and, ultimately, Kansas City. When combined with northward extension of Amtrak’s existing Heartland Flyer north from Oklahoma City via Tulsa to Kansas City, Northfield could host rail service connecting the Twin Cities to Texas’ Metroplex.

Myriad options of active and abandoned rail corridors (see above map) exist throughout the Midwest to achieve a Twin Cities – Texas passenger route, as well as new regional service within Minnesota. Several different paths are possible between Northfield and Minneapolis or Saint Paul, while other lines could bring new routes from the Twin Cities to Marshall and Rapid City or Mankato and Sioux City. Additionally, Canadian Pacific’s lightly-used Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern line offers an east-west option across Minnesota’s southern tier, potentially linking Amtrak’s Empire Builder at Winona with Rochester, Owatonna, Mankato and points west.

In 2015, the Minnesota Department of Transportation identified the Central Minnesota Rail Corridor – the north-south route heading south from the Twin Cities through Northfield, Faribault, Owatonna and Albert Lea – as it’s top-ranked passenger rail option because of strong support for service among elected leaders along the line. While Nakasian takes pride in the route’s backing among her counterparts in neighboring communities, she believes a rising tide lifts all boats for passenger rail options in central and southern Minnesota.

“We feel strongly about the Central Minnesota Rail Corridor as a practical option that could quickly produce numerous benefits to the communities it would serve,” says Nakasian, who also notes the city recently relocated its historic 1888 Union Pacific depot (see rendering at right) to a more optimal spot for passenger trains to stop in town. “We see it as the first step in building momentum for a true regional rail network to connect central Minnesota’s vibrant cities and towns.”

Pitfalls to Progress: A Racing Horse, Two State Senators and Limited Funding

Dan Patch: the horse that named a railroad

Perhaps the most natural route for trains from Northfield to travel en route to the Twin Cities is the so-called Dan Patch line. In 1907, Minnesota entrepreneur Marion Willis Savage founded the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, an interurban line stretching south and west from Minneapolis through St. Louis Park, Edina and Bloomington and then tacking to the southeast to reach Lakeville and Northfield. It became known as the Dan Patch Line as Savage used it to promote his famous harness racing horse of the same name, whom he stabled in the community that ultimately was called Savage in his honor. The line was ultimately acquired by the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway in 1918 after Savage and his beloved horse died within days of each other. That railroad ultimately became part of the Soo Line in 1982, which, in turn, was then acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway a decade later.

Dan Patch line courtesy of
Support the Dan Patch Line

Today, the line’s right-of-way is intact and although its track in various states of use and repair, it still serves as a prime potential corridor for passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and Northfield, passing through several well-populated suburban communities west and south of Minneapolis. Some state and local officials took note of the opportunity offered by the route as planning for the region’s first commuter rail line – the Northstar – intensified in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At that time, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) identified the corridor as the most likely to succeed after the Northstar line from the Twin Cities towards St. Cloud.

Dan Patch line courtesy of 
Support the Dan Patch Line

But not long after the project appeared on long-term planning documents, it disappeared from all official state plans through the work of state senators William Belanger and Roy Terwilliger, representing the Minneapolis suburbs of Bloomington and Edina, respectively. Their 2002 legislation ­– Chapter 393, Sec. 85. Dan Patch Commuter Rail Line; Prohibitions – specifically banned any formal study, planning or funding of commuter rail on the Dan Patch corridor by MnDOT. The law effectively silenced any significant discussion of passenger rail service on the corridor for more than a decade.

While Belanger and Terwilliger’s ban may be seen as opposition from anti-transit hardliners, it moreso reflected the sentiments of the communities they represented at the time. In 2002, Metro Transit had yet to open the region’s first high-capacity transit line – today’s Blue Line light rail from downtown Minneapolis to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. The project was under discussion for more than 15 years and many were skeptical about the entire concept. Accordingly, Bloomington and Edina were in no hurry to install another new rail mode – commuter rail – on a corridor that cuts through the hearts of residential neighborhoods and commercial districts.

"Elected officials who are unsure or opposed to the Dan Patch Corridor should keep an open mind and remember that many people support this and times have changed dramatically since the legislative ban on this project in 2002," says Erik Ecklund. "Most of us have realized that we can't keep depending on the automobile for all of our travels and we need options. We also can't keep widening our roads to try to relieve congestion. The Dan Patch Corridor wouldn't just be a benefit to Minneapolis and the southern suburbs, but also southern Minnesota."

High-capacity transit projects in the Twin Cities

Beyond the state prohibition on activity related to the Dan Patch line, the bigger obstacle to momentum along the corridor has been the lack of investment opportunities to support the region’s long list of transit capital priorities. From the time of the 2002 legislation, popular support for new rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects in the area has grown steadily as the Blue Line opened in 2004, followed by the Northstar to Big Lake in 2010, Red Line BRT in 2013, and theGreen Line light rail connecting the Twin Cities in 2014. Currently, the region’s most-desired projects – extensions of both the Blue and Green lines – are struggling to receive investment from the state, despite having already secured billions from local and federal sources. Simply put, the Dan Patch corridor’s biggest challenge today isn’t from outdated legislation – which many leaders along the corridor, like Nakasian, feel could be easily removed by state senators currently representing the area, with Belanger and Terwilliger having left the body. Instead, the route is too far down the list to have a realistic shot at required investment, at least under the current framework for distributing transit funding.

“We realize the region has a long wish list of transit projects it hopes to implement,” says Nakasian. “We feel we have a good case based on costs and benefits, but pragmatically, there’s a number of communities that are waiting for their turn ahead of us.”

Playing the Long Game, But Hoping for More Immediate Results

Although returning regional or long-distance passenger rail service to Northfield via the Dan Patch line or another route is waiting for the right alignment of political support and investment opportunities, Nakasian and other leaders waiting for the trains to roll again point to how much has changed in recent years for mobility options, both within the Twin Cities metropolitan region and society at large. At the dawn of the millennium, new high-capacity transit routes in Minneapolis and St. Paul were herculean tasks. Now, they can’t come soon enough. At the same time, only the most prescient futurists could have predicted real-time travel options powered by an app on a cell phone. The point, according to Nakasian, is that things change quickly these days, and change favors the prepared.

“We’re ready to move quickly when and if we sense an opportunity to make this happen,” says Nakasian. “We’re doing that by working together with leaders in our neighboring communities and our state and federal representatives to remove any doubt that we’re supportive of the kind of difference passenger rail can make to places like Northfield.”

The Most Interesting North American Rail Networks: #6 – Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Providers: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA/Metro); Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink);  Port of Los Angeles; Amtrak
Modes: heavy rail metro; light rail; commuter rail; streetcar; intercity rail
Unique routes: 19 (7 Metrolink commuter rail; 5 Amtrak intercity rail; 4 Metro light rail; 2 Metro heavy rail metro; 1 Port of Los Angeles streetcar)
Distinctive stations: Los Angeles Union Station; Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC); San Bernardino's Santa Fe Depot 

Equipment: Metrolink trainsets; Metro light-rail vehicles; Metro heavy rail metro vehicles; Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trainsets; Amtrak Superliner trainsets; Amtrak Horizon trainsets

So, after raving about passenger rail in Dallas-Ft. Worth, you're now telling me that the place more associated with the car culture than any other is not only more interesting from a passenger rail perspective than the Texas Metroplex but also the rail haven of Chicago? That's right.

In the last post, I attributed Chicago's relatively low ranking (see posts below) to the general uniformity of its L and Metra systems. Large and well-used, certainly, but not a lot of variety. Conversely, while the passenger rail options in the Los Angeles basin aren't as utilized as Chicago's historic networks, they offer rail observers a greater number of nuances, from vehicles and stations to range of modes and operational quirks. The pace of the region's passenger rail growth over the past three decades warrants its inclusion on this list.

Of course, L.A. wasn't always dominated by cars and highways. It's famed Pacific Electric Red Car streetcar and interurban network was considered by many to be the finest in the world until its demise in the 1930s and 40s, and numerous, premier transcontinental trains made Southern California their western terminus. Intercity rail service also extensive throughout California. You know what happened from there: passenger rail in all forms became unprofitable and scaled back as California pioneered the freeway concept and air travel became more accessible. When Amtrak was created in 1971, only a handful of long-distance and intercity trains remained. Not a single local rail transit route survived. 

A full half-century went by as the region's population grew along with staggering congestion on roads and highways and smog conditions that ultimately led California to create some of the world's more stringent auto emissions standards. While plans for differing forms of rail transit in Southern California emerged even before the Pacific Electric's demise, it wasn't until the formation of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission in 1976 that full-fledged proposals for a modern passenger rail network began to take root. Corresponding funding didn't materialize until 1985, when construction started on the first two lines that form the heart of today's MTA rail system: the Red Line heavy rail metro subway from Union Station to Westlake/MacArthur Park and the Blue Line light rail from downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach. The former would be the only subway operation on the West Coast outside of the San Francisco Bay Area (which you may hear about later in the Top 10) while the latter would utilize a formerly four-tracked Pacific Electric right-of-way, one of that network's main lines in its heyday. The Blue Line arrived first, with it's initial segment opening on July 14, 1990 from Long Beach to the fringes of downtown Los Angeles, with its loop through downtown Long Beach opening that September and its tunnel to Metro Center following in February 1991. With its subway tunneling delayed on several occasions by underground pockets of natural gas and extensive earthquake-proof infrastructure, the Red Line subway opened in 1993. 

The two lines set off a flurry of MTA expansion projects that hasn't abated since. The Green Line light rail launched in 1995 between Norwalk and Redondo Beach – intersecting with the Blue Line at Willowbrook but never coming close to downtown Los Angeles, traveling in the median of the Century Freeway (Highway 105) most of its length. Although a short connecting track links the two routes near Willowbrook, the lines are essentially operated independently, with the Green Line featuring entirely grade-separated right-of-way and utilizing mostly different vehicles, while the Blue Line functions like many light-rail lines elsewhere – sharing roadways with automobiles and stopping often in the heart of the urban cores of L.A. and Long Beach. The Blue Line is one of the most heavily-used single light-rail lines in North America, with more than 87,000 average daily riders.

The Red Line was continually expanded through the late 1990s and early 2000s, as the Purple Line joined it in 1996 to operate a new spur subway line to Wilshire/Western and Red Line expansions ultimately reaching North Hollywood in 2000. The Gold Line light-rail connected Union Station with Pasadena in 2003 via a former Southern Pacific corridor and was extended to L.A.'s Eastside in 2009. Another light-rail route – the Expo Line – followed another abandoned Pacific Electric line from the Blue Line's Metro Center terminus past the University of Southern California (USC) to Culver City in 2012. The Expo Line is currently under final testing to extend to the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, with service expected to begin in early 2016. A similar expansion of the Gold Line from East Pasadena through the so-called Foothills Cities of Monrovia, Azusa, Glendora, Pomona, Clairmont and Montclair is also under construction, with the first phase to Azusa also expected to open in 2016. Another trio of projects are also currently being constructed: the long-awaited Purple Line extension westwards towards Westwood opening in phases beginning in 2023; the north-south Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line connecting the Expo and Green Lines via Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) due in 2019, with a possible northerly extension to reach the expanded Purple Line; and downtown Los Angeles Regional Connector project to connect the Blue, Expo and Gold Lines to allow through-routing of trains from Montclair to Long Beach (which will be one hella long ride) and Eastside to Santa Monica, adding two new downtown L.A. stations in the process. Completion of the new light-rail subway route is expected in 2020. All currently under-construction routes are supported by investment from the ambitious Measure R ballot initiative approved by voters in 2008. A number of additional projects are proposed or planned throughout the region, although a new round of investment would need to be approved by voters. 

Around the same time the MTA's heavy rail metro and light-rail network was assuming some of the routes of the Pacific Electric legacy, another entity was at work preparing Southern California for a commuter rail system utilizing active and abandoned railroad lines extending far beyond downtown Los Angeles. Five counties established the Southern California Regional Rail Authority in 1991 to purchase 175 miles of rail lines from the Southern Pacific and access to Union Station from Union Pacific. Service began on three routes in 1992, ultimately growing to today's seven-route, 388-mile network serving 55 stations and carrying more than 40,000 daily riders. Lines owned by the rail authority see very frequent weekday service as well as more limited off-peak, reverse-commute and weekend options, while those operating on freight-owned routes provide less-frequent operations. Like the MTA's network, additional extensions and routes are possible, with a 24-mile expansion of the 91 Line to Perris currently under construction with service expected this December. In Oceanside, Metrolink connects with the North County Transportation District's Coaster commuter rail and Sprinter regional rail lines to San Diego and Escondido, respectively (see more on San Diego in the Runners Up post below).    

The crown jewel of the Los Angeles region's passenger rail infrastructure is the signature 1939 Union Station. While not the bustling palace of celestial wonder that is New York's Grand Central Terminal or the stout and monumental Washington Union Station, Los Angeles Union Station is decidedly California, with its mission-style exterior and art deco interior. It's padded leather chairs are the perfect spot to sit and let the world go by while its outside courts and gardens allow peaceful escapes from the hustle and bustle of travel. Serving as the central connection point between the MTA's Red, Purple and Gold lines, six of Metrolink's seven lines and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle, a railfan can be mesmerized for hours with all the variety of routes and destinations. 

Speaking of the Pacific Surfliner, it's the nation's second-busiest intercity passenger rail route (after the Northeast Corridor). It offers eleven daily roundtrips between L.A. and San Diego with a handful of additional trains heading south to Los Angeles from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Truly befitting of its name, the views along the Southern California beaches is some of the most picturesque on any regularly-scheduled intercity passenger rail line. 

In stark contrast to Union Station's historic charm is the glassy, modern Anaheim Regional Intermodal Transportation Center (ARTIC), the largest new passenger rail terminal opened in North America since Amtrak's Albany-Rensselaer station in 2002. The sweeping facility opened last December to serve Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink trains and was also designed to accommodate California's future high-speed rail network as well as a potential streetcar to Disneyland and other Anaheim attractions. Meanwhile, preliminary engineering for a downtown Los Angeles Streetcar is also moving forward supported by a local funding mechanism approved by voters in 2012. In the meantime, streetcar fans and history buffs can ride the San Pedro Waterfront Red Car, a 1.5-mile former Pacific Electric line operating replica Red Car-style vehicles Fridays through Sundays. 

A number of fine passenger terminals also dot the Metrolink network, with San Bernardino's grand 1918 Santa Fe Depot perhaps the most exceptional.    

The Most Interesting North American Rail Networks Series

#7: Chicagoland

#8: Dallas-Ft. Worth#9: Portland, Ore.

#10: Baltimore-Washington

Runners Up

The Most Interesting North American Rail Networks: #7 – Chicagoland

Chicagoland

Providers: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA); Regional Transportation Authority (RTA/Metra); Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD); City of Kenosha; Amtrak
Modes: heavy rail metro; commuter rail; streetcar; intercity rail
Unique routes: 40 (16 Amtrak; 14 Metra; 8 CTA; 1 NICTD; 1 City of Kenosha) 
Distinctive stations: Chicago Union Station; Olgilvie Transportation Center; LaSalle Street Station; Millennium Station (see more on all four here); Joliet Union Station

Equipment: CTA L vehicles; Metra trainsets; NICTD South Shore Line trainsets; City of Kenosha PCC streetcars; Amtrak Amfleet trainsets; Amtrak Superliner trainsets; Amtrak Horizon trainsets

Chicago is the first city of American railroading in terms of rail traffic, both historically and currently. Although the nation's first rail lines started on the East Coast, Chicago – and its access to the Great Lakes, the Midwest and the American frontier – was their ultimate objective. At the same time, the railroads shaped Chicago in a way unlike any other American city: long-distance trains brought residents from back east and its commuter and elevated trains helped them move around town once they arrived. 

Today, Metra's commuter rail network is the nation's largest in terms of route miles, the CTA's iconic L train is the third-busiest in the U.S. after New York and Washington (with ridership skyrocketing due to recently-rehabilitated lines) and Amtrak operates more distinct intercity and long-distance routes from Union Station than any other place in the country. So why does it come in with 7th place in my rankings? Uniformity.

In terms of moving massive numbers of people reliably and efficiently, uniformity certainly isn't a bad thing. Systems are cheaper to build and operate when they use the same kinds of vehicles and stations to reduce compartmentalization of operators, mechanics, dispatchers and more. But from a rail observer's perspective, once you've experienced one kind of vehicle or station, there's a law of diminishing returns. The essential uniformity of the Washington Metrorail network bumped that region to #10 and it's likely you'll hear something similar about the New York City Subway in the next couple days. Both the CTA L network and Metra's commuter rail system are tremendous assets, but their equipment is essentially standardized and non-terminal stations are largely uniform.

Nonetheless, there are still many interesting quirks for rail fans to enjoy. Chicago's L is as reflective of the city's identity as the Subway is in New York, streetcars are in New Orleans and cable cars in San Francisco. The Loop through downtown – largely from which the El name is derived – is something every urbanist and transit advocate should experience at least once. It's wood-and-steel structures present a somewhat rickety ambiance to first-time observers, but the century-old infrastructure's persistence to this day suggests its anything but shoddy engineering. It's Red and Blue subway lines through the Loop offer a nice contrast to the activity above and the system's routes into the city's neighborhoods are well-woven into the fabric of their communities. And like most of the nation's historic rail networks, it does a phenomenal job in serving all ranges of demographics. 

The four-track North Side Main Line (also known as the Howard Branch) is the system's busiest and is thrilling for any train watcher. Between the Brown, Purple and Red lines, it alone carries more than 120,000 daily riders, or more than all the ridership of Dallas' rail transit options put together. At one time, the interurban trains of the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (aka the North Shore Line) once shared the Howard Branch with L trains to reach the Loop from Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Waukegan and Mundelein. Today, a hint of that legacy remains with the CTA's Yellow Line – perhaps the best named transit train left today, the Skokie Swift – which travels on the North Shore's former Skokie Valley route to reach its namesake city. Until 2005, Skokie Swift trains were powered via overhead catenary, the only heavy rail application besides Cleveland's Red Line to use overhead power. Third rail power was added that year to allow interoperability with the rest of the L fleet.

While the North Shore's interurbans disappeared in the early 1960s, its counterpart on the south side of Chicago – the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad – managed to maintain its passenger service between its namesake cities. The NICTD began subsidizing its passenger operations in 1977 and took control of the service in 1990. It's essentially the North America's last interuban (see into photo), although many of the recently-launched regional rail lines (see examples in the Portland and Dallas Top 10 posts below) operate much like an interuban. Also unique to Chicago is the South Shore's electrified route, along with that of the three branches of Metra's appropriately-named Electric Division. Until Denver's A Line to Denver International Airport opens next spring, the lines are the only electrified railroads (not including rail transit like light rail, streetcars and heavy rail metro) east of Harrisburg, Pa. 

Whether coming by intercity or commuter rail, Chicago has the most extensive grouping of passenger rail terminals on the continent. I wrote about the quartet of terminals in this post from 2010, as well as the distinctive 1912 Joliet Union Station about an hour and a half southwest of the Loop by train. It's served by Metra's Heritage Corridor and Rock Island District trains as well as Amtrak's Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle routes. Another interesting sport for train riders is Prairie Crossing in Libertyville, a location I spent some time discussing in this post, also from my 2010 visit. 

In this series, I include nearby cities as part of a region when one can take a regularly scheduled commuter or rail transit train between the two places, like Baltimore-Washington and Dallas-Ft. Worth-Denton in the previous posts below. Here, Metra provides service to Kenosha, Wisc., on its Union Pacific–North Line. Kenosha Transit has operated its Electric Streetcar Circulator since 2000 using a fleet of seven painstakingly refurbished PCC cars. The streetcars make a loop through downtown from the Metra station to the Lake Michigan waterfront, a two-mile roundtrip. More than 30 percent of Kenosha visitors use the streetcar route, along with local travelers. Last year, the Kenosha City Council voted to extend the operation running north and south to complement the existing east-west running service. Construction is expected to begin this fall.  

There's a host of proposals to expand both L and Metra routes throughout the region, as well as introducing light rail, streetcar and more intercity service along with high-speed rail lines. Beyond the Kenosha streetcar expansion, no other new projects are currently heading for construction anytime soon. 

The Most Interesting North American Rail Networks Series

#8: Dallas-Ft. Worth#9: Portland, Ore.

#10: Baltimore-Washington

Runners Up

The Most Interesting North American Rail Networks: #8 – Dallas / Ft. Worth Metroplex

Dallas-Fort Worth

Providers: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART); Fort Worth Metropolitan Transportation Authority (The T); McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA); City of Dallas; Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA); Dallas County Utility & Reclamation District (DCURD); Amtrak
Modes: light rail, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail, people mover, intercity rail 
Unique routes: 10, 1 Pending (4 DART Light Rail, 1 DART/The T TRE commuter rail, 1 MATA streetcar, 1 City of Dallas Streetcar, 1 DCTA A-Train regional rail, 1 DCURD Los Colinas people mover, 1 Amtrak; 1 The T TEX Rail pending) 
Distinctive stations: Dallas Union Station; Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center; Fort Worth Texas & Pacific (T&P) Station

Equipment: DART Light Rail vehicles; DART/The T TRE trainsets; DCTA DMU vehicles; MATA streetcars; City of Dallas Streetcars; DCURD Los Colinas APT vehicles; 

Dallas? Really? Surely, you jest! After snubbing Seattle-Tacoma, Montreal and San Diego, you're really going to tell me the sprawling Texas Metroplex is a more interesting place for train fans than those historic rail cities? Actually, yes.

Just perusing the number of different entities operating passenger rail networks in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex returns a staggering list of modes and routes, nearly all of which has materialized since the mid-1980s. That coupled with DART's sweeping Light Rail network – the largest in the nation – propelled the region to the Top 10 in my book.

While nearly all streetcar, interurban and intercity passenger rail service in North Texas had been scrubbed by the auto culture in the 1960s and 70s, it was the launch of a couple quirky, unconnected and very different rail operations in the late 80s that lit a faint spark for passenger rail once again. 

The Los Colinas Urban Center was developed in the early 1970s as a planned community intended to utilize it's location in Irving between Dallas and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to serve as a center of commercial and residential activity. Those planned an automated people mover network – similar to those in Miami, Jacksonville, Detroit and Morgantown – to circulate the area's residents and employees. The Los Colinas Area Personal Transit System (APT) was opened in 1989 serving four stations on a 1.4-mile, two-branch route. Although APT service was suspended in 1993 as activity in Los Colinas waned, it returned under the auspices of DCURD in 1996. 

Independent of the developments in Los Colinas, the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) was formed in 1988 to return historic streetcars to its namesake street – and other thoroughfares – in Dallas' Uptown district. The line opened in 1989 using a mix of reclaimed Dallas streetcars and other examples from elsewhere. Although designed for shoppers, restaurant-goers and tourists, MATA operated the service as a viable transit option, with regular schedules and multiple stops, rather than a streetcar ride for the sake of it. 

Meanwhile, DART was created in 1983 to merge Dallas-area bus services into a regional network and prepare for an eventual rail transit system by approving a one percent sales tax levy to build investment. It followed San Diego's early lead by selecting light rail as its mode of choice and its initial two-branch system opened in 1996. Expansions took DART trains north from downtown Dallas to reach Plano and Garland in the early 200s, while the new Green and Orange lines extended it's reach northwest and southeast in 2009 and 2012, respectively. With the extension of the Orange Line to DFW almost a year ago now, DART became the largest light-rail network in the United States (and the largest in North America if Toronto's streetcars are counted as distinct from light rail). Nearly 100,000 riders utilize the system daily. That same extension connected DART with the Los Colinas APT network on the Orange Line's Los Colinas Urban Center station, while Dallas' light-rail and streetcar networks were linked with MATA's expansion to serve DART's Cityplace subway station on the Red and Blue lines in 2000 (the only subway station in the Southwest).

Not long after the Red and Blue lines debuted in 1996 came the arrival of Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter rail. At its outset, Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) operated between Dallas' 1916 Union Station and South Irving station. The service utilizes a former Rock Island Railroad that the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth purchased jointly in 1983, which was ultimately transferred to control of DART and The T. Standard locomotive-hauled commuter rail trainsets emerged in September 2000 as the route was expanded west to reach West Irving, CentrePoint (offering shuttle bus connections to DFW) and Richland Hills, followed by the full competition of the line to Fort Worth's modern Intermodal Transportation Center and towering, historic 1931 T&P Station in December 2001. Today, more than 7,300 daily riders enjoy the TRE's frequent, bi-directional service, which also includes decent off-peak and Saturday service. 

The most recent entry into the region's patchwork mix of rail options is the 1.6-mile Dallas Streetcar which opened for service this past April 13th. A modern counterpart to MATA's historic streetcar fleet, the line uses both conventional catenary wires for electric power along with battery power to cross the Houston Street Viaduct, the first such application of battery-powered streetcars in the western hemisphere. Although the single-tracked line means long headways for now, additional streetcars will boost frequencies on its route between Union Station (DART and TRE connections) to Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Construction is underway on an extension to the Bishop Arts District and plans for a connection through downtown Dallas to link with MATA's streetcars is in the works. DART also plans an additional route – Downtown Dallas 2 (D2) – through downtown to relieve Light Rail congestion on its main trunk line on Pacific Avenue, used by all four lines.

Further north is the A-Train regional rail line operated by DCTA between DART's Trinity Mills Orange Line station and downtown Denton. The 21-mile line opened in 2011 on a former freight rail line, initially leasing 10 Budd RDCs from the TRE and eventually acquiring a fleet of new GTW DMU vehicles from Stadler in Switzerland, similar to those used by Austin's Capital MetroRail. More than 2,000 daily passengers board at the A-Trains six stations.

The future is poised to bring even more exciting passenger rail developments throughout the Metroplex. The first to arrive will likely be The T's planned TEX Rail service from the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center to DFW utilizing the former Cotton Belt rail line, which – like the TRE's Rock Island corridor – was previously purchased by local governments. And following the A-Train's example, TEX Rail will operate DMUs from Stadler but has ordered the larger four-unit FLIRT models. Construction is expected to begin in 2016 with service projected to begin in 2018. An extension to neighborhoods and communities to the south and southwest of downtown Fort Worth is anticipated once TEX Rail's initial service is underway. 

DART also has plans for the portion of the Cotton Belt corridor within its jurisdiction, which would connect the Red Line in Plano and the Orange Line at DFW. Funding is not yet secured for this project, only one of a number of additional Light Rail expansions listed in its 2030 Plan. 

Although current intercity service is limited to Amtrak's daily Texas Eagle between Chicago and Los Angeles (calling at both Union Station and Forth Worth's Intermodal Transportation Center), more promising is Texas Central Railway's planned high-speed rail route between Dallas and Houston. The private company – backed by interests of the Central Japan Railway Company – would connect the two mega-regions with trips of less than 90 minutes. Its terminal stations would connect with the light-rail networks of DART and Houston Metro. Metroplex regional leaders are also studying a public extension of the route to DFW and Fort Worth. 

The Most Interesting North American Rail Networks Series

#9: Portland, Ore.

#10: Baltimore-Washington

Runners Up