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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 August 2012 - 09:53 AM

Some of you have wondered why we have not yet visited a particular city. I would like to break down each major city or metropolitan area in the USA and Canada and explain what this group has or has not yet accomplished, and my estimates for when we might visit these places -- and why it's sometimes worth waiting a few years. I will go through the areas alphabetically:
 

Albuquerque



RailRunner commuter rail was completed during Chief RailFest 2012. No plans to return.
 

Atlanta



MARTA heavy rail was aced during Southeast RailFest 2011.

Atlanta Streetcar opened in late 2014, so we may revisit in the future.
 

Austin and San Antonio



Capital MetroRail Red Line in Austin was ridden by our group at LTRF event in July, 2018.

 

Baltimore, Washington, and Northern Virginia

 

Entire Baltimore Metro and Light Rail systems completed.

MARC Penn and Camden Lines completed, but Brunswick & Frederick Lines are difficult to achieve without overnight weekday stays.

VRE Manassas Line completed during Washington RailFest 2005. Fredericksburg Line was ridden in its entirety during Atlantic Coast RailFest 2013. On November 16, 2015, Fredericksburg Line was extended to Spotsylvania, so that becomes an unridden portion. However it may be difficult to achieve.

WMATA Metro heavy rail currently completed during Washington RailFest 2005. Phase I of the Metro Silver Line opened in the summer of 2014, and we rode it during our Washington Area RailFest in early 2015. DC Streetcar H Street/Benning Road line opened on February 27, 2016; we rode it as part of our Virginia RailFest 2017 event in January 2017.   Phase 2 of Metro Silver Line will start on November 15, 2022.
 

Boston and other New England areas

 

MBTA subways and trolley lines complete during Boston "T" Party events in 2002, 2007, and 2008.   Green Line extension to Somerville opened 3/21/22, while extension to Medford started service 12/12/22.    Rode both segments on Boston RailFest in April 2023.

MBTA commuter rail all completed as of January 2013.   Fitchburg to Wachusett extension opened in 2016; we rode this on our Boston RailFest in April of 2023.

Amtrak Downeaster extension to Brunswick opened November 2012. While initial schedules were not railfan friendly for a trip up to Brunswick and back, they are now. So we soon will return and ride the Downeaster in full on a planned March 2023 visit.   We did this on our Boston RailFest in April 2023.
 

Buffalo



NFTA light rail completed during Toronto RailFest 2004. No plans to return.
 

Calgary



Need to visit this city to ride its expanding light rail system, but made difficult by lack of intercity rail service.
 

Charlotte



CATS LYNX Blue Line light rail was ridden during Atlantic Coast RailFest 2013. Future visits will be required to do extension of Blue Line, as well as the CityLYNX Gold Line that opened in July of 2015, and other light rail and commuter lines that have been proposed.   Northern extension of LYNX Blue Line opened 3/16/18.   CityLYNX Gold Line Phase II went into service Summer 2021.
 

Chicago



CTA heavy rail lines were completed during Windy City RailFest 2003, Eagle RailFest 2005, and Chief RailFest 2012.

Metra commuter line still pending is UP-Northwest branch to McHenry, which requires riding very early on a weekday morning. The others were achieved over the years over many visits. Group did Harvard UP-NW mainline at MTRF 2017.

Kenosha, WI Streetcar was completed during Chief RailFest 2012.

South Shore Line was completed during Windy City RailFest 2003.

O'Hare Airport people mover was covered on Midwest RailFest 2015 event.


Edited by KevinKorell, 19 June 2023 - 03:09 PM.
Updated Boston post BRF April 2023.


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Posted 03 August 2012 - 12:29 PM

Cincinnati



Modern streetcar opened September 7, 2016. May rate a visit in future, although it may be difficult if the Amtrak Cardinal remains thrice-weekly.
 

Cleveland



Completed GCRTA heavy & light rail system at Cleveland Fest 2001. Might be willing to return in future as group was very small and we have many new faces.
 

Dallas and Fort Worth and Denton



DART LRT Blue and Red lines completed at the time at Eagle RailFest 2005. Since then, Green Line has opened, and Orange Line was completed as of August 2014. Blue Line has also been extended from downtown Garland to downtown Rowlett. A new addition on its southern end extended it from Ledbetter to University of North Texas in August 2016.  We completed all DART lines at MTRF 2017.

DCTA A-Train commuter rail has opened since our 2005 visit, and it is accessible by the DART Green Line. Group rode this in its entirety at MTRF 2017.

TEXRail commuter rail went into service 1/10/19 between the two Fort Worth downtown stations and DFW International Airport.  Extension is planned to the southwest from there.  We can return and ride this whenever we are able to.

 

DART is working on a rail line between DFW International Airport and Plano, connecting at the former with TEXRail and DART Orange Line. While its working name was the Cotton Belt Line, DART has now designated it as the Silver Line. It is expected to be in service by the end of 2022.

McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (M-Line) streetcar in Dallas was completed at Eagle RailFest 2005. An extension on its downtown end opened in May 2015. And the modern Dallas Streetcar is now open between Union Station and Bishop Arts District.  We rode the entire line in July 2017 for MTRF.

Triinity Railway Express commuter rail was completed at Eagle RailFest 2005.

 

Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System was ridden by our group at MTRF 2017.

 

 

Denver

 

Regional Transit District (RTD) has an extensive light rail system. We rode everything that existed at the time during our Rockies RailFest (RRF) event in July of 2014, and returned in September of 2019 to ride more. Several extensions are still planned, such as the L Line to 39th & Blake hooking up with the A Line, and an extension of the Southwest (C & D) Lines to Highlands Ranch. We can return someday to ride these when completed.

RTD's University of Colorado A Airport commuter rail line opened on 4/22/16. The first phase of the B commuter rail line to Westminster opened on 7/25/16, and the G commuter rail line to Wheat Ridge was delayed but finally went into service 4/26/19. We rode all three of them on our Denver RailFest (DRF ) in September, 2019.  The N Line to Thornton started in 2020, so that will make a return visit worthwhile.

Denver Trolley has limited hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in the summer. We got to ride it during our RRF 2014 event.
 

Edmonton



Edmonton Transit System light rail awaits, but city is hard to get to with only thrice-weekly VIA Rail service.

 

 

 

El Paso

 

El Paso Streetcar went into service 11/9/18.  We should visit this city to ride it.

 

El Paso is served by the thrice-weekly combined Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle.

 

Houston



MTA of Harris County's north-south Red Line is complete as of late 2013. The Purple Line and part of the Green Line opened on May 23, 2015. The rest of the Green Line opened January 9, 2017. Blue and Gold Lines are too far in future, and would most likely not be done until a subsequent second visit. Commuter rail being discussed but not on the horizon yet.  We aced the existing system on our Louisiana-Texas RailFest 2018 visit in July 2018.

Houston has thrice-weekly Amtrak service on the Sunset Limited.  
 

Jacksonville



Jacksonville Transportation Authority Skyway people mover runs weekdays only on 2 downtown routes. Was worked into Atlantic Coast RailFest 2013.
 

Kansas City



Modern streetcar went into service May 6, 2016.   Group rode it during Missouri-Texas RailFest 2017 event in July 2017.   Extensions to the north and south are planned, with the southerly one now under construction.
 

Little Rock



Rock Region Metro Streetcar runs on 2 routes in a system very similar to Tampa's. Little Rock would rate a 24-hour stopover on the Texas Eagle on the way to or from one of the Texas events.

Little Rock's Amtrak station is not served by these streetcars, so taxi, shared ride, or hotel shuttle would be required between there and downtown.
 

Los Angeles area



Metrolink commuter rail: All lines were completed at the time of our Southern California RailFest 2009, except for the 91 Line movement in the Fullerton area (which we did cover aboard the Southwest Chief) and the segment of the Ventura County Line beyond Moorpark to East Ventura (the latter is only possible in peak directions, so one must stay overnight in the area, but it is along the Coast Starlight/Pacific Surfliner route).  The 91 Line, now known as 91-Perris Valley Line, was extended to Perris South as of 6/6/16, however its initial schedule is not conducive to an out and back trip we would be able to do on a RailFest.  Perhaps if its schedule is expanded it may be possible in the future.   The San Bernardino Line was extended 1 mile to a new station in downtown San Bernardino, leaving us some unridden trackage there. Redlands Arrow opened 10/24/22 San Bernardino to Redlands.  All of this will rate a re-visit once it's all done.

Los Angeles County MTA light rail lines were completed at the time of our Southern California RailFest 2009. However since that visit, the Gold Line was extended beyond Union Station to East Los Angeles, and the Expo Line was opened over its first phase to Culver City.  First phase of Gold Line Foothill Extension to Azusa opened March 5, 2016, though further extensions to Montclair and Ontario are planned. Final phase of Metro Expo Line opened on May 20, 2016.  Crenshaw Line 1st segment opened October 7, 2022.  We rode the entire Gold Line, including the East L.A. and Foothill extensions, as well as the entire Expo Line, during Pacific Coast RailFest 2016.  Now with letter designations and routes restructured following the Regional Connector debut 6/16/23, we will need to return to the L.A. area to ride through the Regional Connector (A) (E) and the Crenshaw (K) Line. 

Angels Flight funicular was closed during our 2009 visit, it began functioning again in 2010, but it closed again in September of 2013 due to electrical problems. It reopened again in August 2017 and should be awaiting our next visit.

San Pedro Red Car was completed during our 2009 event, however it has been closed down.
 

Memphis



Memphis Area Transit Authority trolleys were covered during our Southeast RailFest 2011 event. The Madison Avenue Line innermost segment was closed due to a building demolition while we were there. That same line will be converted to light rail and extended to the Memphis Airport in the future, so once that opens we would return and ride the whole line. Entire system was shutdown in 2014 & remains closed following 2 trolleys catching fire. Then Main Street line reopened in 2018.
 

Miami area



Miami Dade Transit Metromover people mover was completed in its entirety during Florida RailFest 2008. Only difference is that some of the station names have changed.

Miami Dade Transit Metrorail heavy rail was completed in its entirety at the time of Florida RailFest 2008. It is now known as the Green Line. A new branch known as the first phase of the Orange Line opened to Miami Central station in Summer of 2012. This small segment probably does not rate a return visit, but someday the Orange Line may be extended further to the north and southwest.

MIA Mover people mover runs between Miami Airport and Miami Central Station. The latter is now served by Metrorail Orange Line and TriRail, and will eventually have Amtrak as well.

TriRail system was completed between Mangonia Park and Miami Airport at Florida RailFest 2008.

 

Brightline currently runs between Miami and West Palm Beach, and on 9/1/23 it will be extended to Orlando.


Edited by KevinKorell, 19 June 2023 - 03:14 PM.
Updated for Los Angeles and Miami (Brightline)


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 August 2012 - 12:53 PM

Milwaukee

 

Milwaukee's Streetcar, called The HOP, went into service 11/2/18 on its M Line. A downtown-Lakefront loop called the L Line is under construction.

 

Visiting here by Amtrak would be an easy 90-minute run from Chicago on Hiawatha Service, as part of another Fest trip.

 

 

 

 

Minneapolis and St. Paul

 

Northstar commuter rail runs between Minneapolis and Big Lake. There is talk of extending it to St. Cloud, and of building other commuter rail lines in the Twin Cities area to connect with it.

Metro Transit Blue Line light rail exists between downtown Minneapolis, MSP Airport, and Mall of America in Bloomington. Green Line light rail line opened in August of 2014 between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Amtrak station relocation to St. Paul Union Depot was completed in mid-2014.

On Midwest RailFest 2015, we covered the entire light rail system and rode Northstar in its entirety.  We arrived and left the area via St. Paul Union Depot.     Both LRT lines are supposed to be extended, with the Green Line going southwest and the Blue Line going north.   A return someday is possible.
 

Montreal



STM heavy rail Metro lines were covered in their entirety at the time of Montreal RailFest 2006. Since then, the Orange Line has been extended into the city of Laval, from Henri-Bourassa to Montmorency.

EXO (formerly AMT, RTM) commuter rail lines were not completed during our 2006 Fest. We only rode the Blainville Line, Deux Montagnes Line, and the Vaudreuil-Hudson Line as far as possible to Vaudreuil. Hudson service is only one rush hour trip, so it's not possible for us. Since our visit, the Blainville Line was extended beyond Blainville to St. Jerome, so it would rate a re-ride. There is a connection between the new De La Concorde station in Laval and the extended Metro Orange Line. There are also midday trips possible on the Delson-Candiac and Mont-Saint-Hilaire Lines.  A new line called Mascouche Line or Train De L'Est opened in late 2014, providing yet another commuter rail option.  The Deux Montagnes line has been decommissioned, in favor of converting the line to REM light rail.

 

REM light rail is currently under construction and its first segment should be open soon, with others soon to follow.
 

Nashville



Nashville MTA's WeGO Star (aka Music City Star) is mainly oriented to rush hour travel. With the cancellation of the late Friday night train in 2018, it is no longer possible to take an out-and-back trip all the way to Lebanon and return. And getting there is the challenge, since there is no Amtrak rail service. There are Amtrak Thruway connections from other cities that take a while to get there.
 

New Orleans



New Orleans RTA streetcars were ridden during our Southeast RailFest 2011. The Riverfront Streetcar had a large segment out of service the day we were there, so we had one segment to make up later. The Loyola Streetcar opened in early 2013, and it was extended and renamed Rampart-St. Claude Streetcar in October 2016.   In July 2018, we visited New Orleans again as part of Louisiana-Texas RailFest 2018, and rode the entire system.
 

New York City area, North Jersey, Connecticut



All MTA New York City Transit heavy rail subway lines have been covered by our group during many Fests since 2001. 7 line extension to Hudson Yards was ridden by our group at NYRF January 2016.  Second Avenue Subway Phase 1 was ridden at NYRF January 2018.

All PATH heavy rail lines have been ridden, although certain movements at junctions may not have been accomplished.

Shore Line East commuter rail was ridden between New Haven and Old Saybrook during Metro New York RailFest 2009. After weekend service was expanded to New London, we rode that service again for East Coast RailFest 2014.

MTA Metro North RR commuter rail has been covered in its entirety, all of the Grand Central services east of the Hudson River, and those run by NJ TRANSIT west of the Hudson River. There has been some interest in riding the Port Jervis line once more, as we have not done it together since 2003.

MTA Long Island RR commuter rail has entirely been covered by us.   However we will need to return to New York to ride East Side Access and use Grand Central Madison.

NJ TRANSIT commuter rail has been covered in various Fests since 2002. Meadowlands Rail Line will elude as as long as it runs on an event-only basis.   Although American Dream Mall has been open for a few years, there is still no regularly scheduled rail service to the Meadowlands complex.

NJ TRANSIT light rail lines were all ridden in their entirety.

AirTrain Newark and AirTrain JFK at the two airports were covered by our group.
 

Norfolk



Hampton Roads Transit TIDE light rail within Norfolk was a feature of Atlantic Coast RailFest 2013. 

On the same trip we also rode the new Amtrak train into Norfolk in one direction.

 

 

Oklahoma City

 

Oklahoma City Streetcar started running 12/14/18.  We should visit this city to experience it. 

 

Orlando

 

SunRail went into service May 1, 2014, so we will someday visit to ride those trains. Those who have been on Amtrak trains through Florida already have the trackage, but the commuter rail should provide a new thrill.... and it's easy to get to by Amtrak too.  

 

Brightline will be extended to the Orlando area as of 9/1/23, and beckons us to ride it in its entirety.
 

Ottawa



OC TRANSPO O-Train Trillium Line was ridden in its entirety when we were in Canada for Montreal RailFest 2006. An electric light rail version of O-Train called the Confederation Line was converted from busways and connects both with the Trillium Line and VIA Rail's station.  It opened for service in September 2019.

 

  Philadelphia and South Jersey



SEPTA heavy rail and trolley lines have been covered by our group in their entirety.

SEPTA commuter rail lines have also been completed, with the exception of the recent extension beyond Elwyn to Wawa.

PATCO heavy rail has been completed.

In the future there may be an extension of NJ TRANSIT's RiverLINE from Camden to Glassboro.



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Posted 03 August 2012 - 07:02 PM

Phoenix



Valley Metro has a light rail line running basically east-west serving Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix. More extensions and branches are planned in all directions. 

 

Valley Metro Tempe Streetcar went into service May 20, 2022.

 

Amtrak's Sunset Limited stops 30 miles away in Maricopa with a Thruway bus connection to the downtown Tempe light rail station and it also will go to Phoenix International Airport, which is connected by a SkyTrain to the light rail system in Phoenix near 44th Street. Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops 145 miles away in Flagstaff, with some Thruway bus connections.
 

Pittsburgh



Port Authority (PAT) has three light rail lines. There are also two Inclines, one run by PAT and the other privately run but included in PAT's fare structure.   PAT changed its name to Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) in 2022.
 
We rode all light rail lines and the 2 inclines on Midwest RailFest 2015.   Since then, the only change is that the Library branch of the Blue Line was redesignated as the Silver Line.
 

Portland



TriMet's MAX Blue, Green, Yellow, & Red light rail lines were all ridden by our group at Pacific Northwest RailFest 2010. The next expansion Portland-Milwaukie, called the Orange Line, opened in September 2015 and we rode it when we visited for Pacific Coast RailFest in July 2016.

The MAX Yellow Line is also set to be extended northward into the state of Washington once controversy surrounding the Columbia River Connector (a bridge that would replace the current I-5 bridge as well as inclusion of light rail tracks) has passed.

TriMet's WES commuter rail is under our collective belts, and there will be no extensions of this route in the forseeable future.

Portland Streetcar's original North-South Loop was ridden on our previous visit in 2010. In September of 2012 a new branch loop opened to the east side of the Willamette River and it almost looped back to the existing line. The loop was completed when the new bridge opened for the MAX Orange Line extension in September 2015. We got to ride the entire loop in both directions in for Pacific Coast RailFest 2016.

 

We could return to Portland someday if and when more opens.
 

Sacramento



Since our group did Sacramento during the Northern California RailFest 2007, there was the recent addition of the Green Line. One mile of new track has been added by Sacramento RT, to an area that is still being developed. This alone probably does not make a revisit in the near future worthwhile. Hopefully the rest of the Green Line to the airport will become a reality soon. A longer extension opened on August 24, 2015; the Blue Line has been extended to Cosumnes River College.
 

St. Louis



When we were there for Eagle RailFest 2005, we rode the only Metrolink LRT line that existed then, Shiloh-Scott to the Airport. That is now known as the Red Line. There's another branch now between Forest Park and Shrewsbury, known as the Blue Line.   We rode the Blue Line at MTRF 2017, and re-rode the Red Line as well.

Delmar Loop Streetcar was originally scheduled to open in mid-2017; it was not yet in service for our July 2017 visit.  It finally began running in revenue service 11/16/18.  However it ceased service a little over a year later, only running sporadically for special events.
 

Salt Lake City



Utah Transit Authority (UTA) has a large network of TRAX light rail lines. Three lines exist. We rode all of these in their entirety during our Rockies RailFest in July of 2014.

UTA's FrontRunner commuter rail runs from Salt Lake City north to Ogden, and south to Provo. During Rockies RailFest 2014, we rode the entire line.  

A modern streetcar known as the S-Line opened in late 2013 in the Sugar House district of South Salt Lake. It is connected to the TRAX light rail lines at one end. We rode this line in its entirety on RRF 2014.

The only reason we might return to Salt Lake City would be extension of the S-Line, and any future FrontRunner extensions.

San Antonio: See Austin and San Antonio
 

San Diego and Oceanside



We completed the Metropolitan Transit System's San Diego Trolley routes that existed at the time, all 3 of them (Orange, Blue, & Green Lines), during our Southern California RailFest 2009. During the summer of 2012, the routes were reconfigured.  In late 2021, the Mid Coast Extension of the Blue Line finally opened, so that segment beckons us back.

North County Transt District's Sprinter light rail and Coaster commuter rail were also ridden in 2009 in their entirety.

San Diego also has the Silver Line, which is very much like San Francisco's "F-Market & Wharves" Line in that it is a collection of heritage streetcars. In San Diego, they run on the same tracks as the Trolley, circulating around the downtown loop.
 

San Francisco and Oakland and San Jose



During Northern California RailFest 2007, we rode the entire BART heavy rail system. BART is opening new segments incrementally, with the first beyond Fremont to Warm Springs having opened in on 3/25/17, and then on to Berryessa in 2020. Finally it will go to downtown San Jose and then Santa Clara. Any revisits to ride these will be scheduled to take in as much as possible.

BART also opened its people mover spur route to Oakland International Airport in 2014, so we have another element of the system to ride.

We also covered in 2007 the whole Muni streetcar and cable car system, as well as the heritage streetcar line that runs on Market Street and to Fisherman's Wharf. The agency is opening its Central Subway, which will reroute "T-Third" streetcars on January 7, 2023 on a line perpendicular to (and interchanging with) the existing Muni Metro along Market Street. The new line, while mostly underground, will rate a return to the city. An "E-Embarcadero" surface streetcar line also debuted in 2012, but it only runs on rare occasions.

CalTrain commuter rail was also ridden during our 2007 event, however we did not get to do the southernmost portion of the system between San Jose Diridon Station and Gilroy. It is a peak directional run, so the only way it's possible is by riding the combination of a VTA bus and light rail in the other direction.

Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) is another commuter rail line in the area, running between San Jose and Stockton. We "aced" this one too in 2007.

A third area commuter line, known as Sonoma-Marin Area Regional Transit (SMART) runs between a ferry terminal at Larkspur (with water connection to San Francisco) and Santa Rosa, with extension to Cloverdale in the future.  Next visit to the Bay Area we can hopefully take in this line.

 

At our 2007 event we also rode what was then the entirety of the AirTrain SFO at San Francisco International Airport.    The longer Blue Line, which went as far as the Rental Car Center, was extended in May of 2021 to the Long Term Parking lot.   Sounds like a return visit is in order.

 

Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has 3 light rail lines in the San Jose area. Plans to extend them are far in the future, and we already have completed what exists now.


Edited by KevinKorell, 06 November 2022 - 08:12 PM.
Update 11/6/22 with start for Muni Central Subway and Tempe Streetcar


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Posted 08 August 2012 - 12:59 PM

Seattle and Tacoma


During Pacific Northwest RailFest 2010 we rode Sound Transit's LINK light rail, a system that will be growing to the north, south, and east in increments.  An extension beyond Westlake to the University of Washington/Husky Stadium opened March 19, 2016, and we rode that during the Pacific Coast RailFest 2016 event.  A southern segment between SeaTac/Airport and Angle Lake opened later in 2016.  This, and further extensions north and south will call us back to Seattle in the future.  The extension to the north to Northgate opened in the Fall of 2021, and further extension to Lynnwood is expected within a few years.  Work is now underway on an extension to Federal Way, beyond Angle Lake.

There's also Sound Transit's Sounder commuter rail, which was extended south from Tacoma to Lakewood. The Lakewood extension is not possible for the group unless we double back by bus. We rode Seattle - Tacoma, but the current schedule prohibits same day Seattle - Everett travel. However the latter segment is covered by the Vancouver Cascades trains, and the Empire Builder, all of which we have ridden.
 
Seattle Streetcar's South Lake Union line was covered during our 2010 PNW Fest. On January 23, 2016 a second streetcar known as First Hill Line opened. We rode that too during Pacific Coast RailFest 2016.
 

Tampa


The TECO Line Streetcar is basically a tourist line, although it does serve those local travelers who can use it. We covered the line in its entirety at the time during Florida RailFest 2008. Since then, the line was extended one stop beyond Dick Greco Plaza to Whiting Street.

Toronto

We did the entire subway system during Toronto RailFest 2004, as well as all but one streeetcar line. We returned briefly during our travels associated with Montreal RailFest 2006 to complete the remaining streetcar line.  We returned again in July of 2019.

 

The new Line 1 subway extension to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre opened on 12/17/17, and we accomplished that segment in 2019.   An Eglinton Crosstown Line 5  and a Finch West 6 are under construction, and new subway and streetcar lines extending the existing network are being built or proposed. 

 

On the commuter rail side, GO Transit has beefed up service on a few routes which may not run to the end of the line, but they do provide same-day turns out of Toronto.  We got some of those on our 2019 visit.
 
The Union Person Express commuter train between Toronto Union Station and Pearson International Airport opened in June 2015, and we rode that on our July 2019 visit as well as the airport's inter-terminal People Mover.
 

Tucson


SunLink streetcar service is now running in Tucson on a route between the University of Arizona and the Mercado. The Amtrak station is served along the route. However getting there and back could be problematic due to the thrice-weekly nature of the Sunset Limited.
 

Vancouver


Vancouver's SkyTrain system we rode in its then entirety during Pacific Northwest RailFest 2010. We covered the Expo and Millennium Lines, and both branches of the newer Canada Line. The system was expanded and reconfigured as of December 2, 2016 with the Millennium Line now traversing the new Evergreen Line, and a new branch of the Expo Line taking over the former older section of the Millennium Line.  Furthermore, the system may push further west beyond the VCC-Clark station.

The West Coast Express commuter rail continues to operate with the rush hour flow only, so a same day round trip is not possible. With the above Evergreen Line open, it now connects with one of the intermediate commuter rail stations, so a partial trip will be feasible.

Washington, DC: See Baltimore, Washington, and Northern Virginia

 

                                                                                             Waterloo Region

 

On 6/21/19, a new light rail line went into service between Waterloo and Kitchener.  It interfaces in Kitchener with the rail station served by both GO Transit and VIA Rail.  An extension to Cambridge is planned.



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Posted 12 October 2012 - 03:45 PM

I have edited a few pages of this thread to reflect the following: Boston/New England: Added the Wauchusett MBTA extension, which was forgotten. Also changed wording of Downeaster plans now that the timetable is known. Portland, OR: Changed wording now that the first phase of the Portland Streetcar loop has opened. San Diego: Added the route reconfiguration that happened earlier this year, and added the under construction Blue Line extension beyond Old Town. Seattle/Tacoma: Changed wording now that Sounder Lakewood extension has opened, and schedule known.


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Posted 18 November 2012 - 02:37 PM

Edited Boston/New England again, now that Brunswick extension of Downeaster is in service. Edited Salt Lake City, now that new FrontRunner schedule is known (and Pleasant View is not possible for Fest).


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Posted 31 March 2013 - 06:12 PM

Updated this for Boston above, acknowledging our visit in January 2013 that completed commuter rail with the Lowell and Wickford Junction trips. Also changed Downeaster extension to indicate only that we will do it once a same day round trip is possible with minimal dwell in Brunswick.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 22 June 2013 - 03:48 PM

The most recent edit acknowledges the openings of Salt Lake City's TRAX Green Line to the airport and FrontRunner South to Provo. Denver section reflects the opening in Spring of 2013 of the West (W) LRT line. Norfolk entry was changed to show that we plan to ride the newer route via Petersburg to Norfolk. Minneapolis/St. Paul updated to show the new color-coded lines. Finally, updated New Orleans to reflect opening this past winter of the Loyola Streetcar.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 30 July 2013 - 12:01 PM

New update late July 2013 reflects that we have now ridden the Skyway in Jacksonville, the TIDE in Norfolk, the LYNX in Charlotte, and the new direct Amtrak train to Norfolk.


Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ





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