The little engine that could

Whenever you do a post on light rail systems, you end up getting comments from light rail junkies who's obsession with choo choos rival my three year old nephew's obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine.

My post earlier today was no different.

Unfortunately, the truth will set you free Choo Choo freak. Let's talk about the Tampa rails system completed in 2002........

Proud officials here have coined a word - "transportainment" - to describe the vintage electric streetcars that for the past seven years have run along a route lined by restaurants, shops, nightspots, public arenas and tourist attractions.

On one recent weekday, however, scant evidence of either root word in that description could be found.

Around noon, a succession of largely empty streetcars rolled by at 20-minute intervals - five passengers on the first two, four on the next and a solitary rider aboard the one after that.

So much for the transportation. As for the entertainment, that seemed largely confined to drivers wearing classic conductor hats and occasionally tooting the horn.

Read the rest here

How about Seattle's light rail?

Here's a video showing their rail system. Pay attention to the details.




If you watched the whole video you would have noticed a few items.

1) Notice the cars whizzing by. Obviously, it's not faster than traditional transportation modes.
2) Notice the lack of development along the street. It's looks like a series of 1950's industrial parks.
3) Notice the lack of passengers at the stations. Isn't moving people the whole purpose of these things?

Look, I think it would be nice to have a little choo choo to ride around the city on, oh, say three times in my life. But is that a wise investment of hundreds of millions of dollars when we have a bridge ready to fall into the river if it isn't rebuilt in the next decade?

I don't think so.

But I still love it when the pro rail guys comment. It's like watching Rainman" all over again.