How many people at TrainBoard.com have commuter rail access in their city/town? What types of equipment does it use? Do you use it? ---- Here in the Vancouver area we have two rail commuter lines with a third coming. The first, started in the 1986, for EXPO86. It is called "SkyTrain" and it has two lines. Both stretch to an area of the city known as New Westmenister from Vancouver, and then the "Expo Line" stretches to an area known as Surrey. The new Millenium line opened this Monday (Jan. 5th the line opened for ppl. to take a look) and has gotten great reviews from almost every one! this line, after leaving from Vancouver, loops back to Vancouver on a different root. To learn more about Sky Train you can visit: http://www.translink.bc.ca/Schedules_and_Fares/SkyTrain/ http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/vancouver/ (old) We also have something known as West Coast Express. It is your run of the mill standrad commuter train with one F59PHI and between 4 and 9 Bombardier Bi-Level Commuter cars. This has been on of the most succesful rapid transit projects in the history of this province. To learn more about West Coast Express, visit: www.westcoastexpress.com The third service is yet to have details announced, but should be like the new OC Transpo system in Ottawa, ON, Canada. It will use some form of light rail equipmeny and it will connect two of the major outer cities in the Vancouver Regional District. There is currently no web site that I am aware of that has any interesting details about the new service projected to open in 2005 or 2006. I use none of the services on a regular basis, but when in downtown Vancouver it is very likelly I could find my self on the Sky Train to get around. Sometimes as a cheap railfanning trip, twice a year I will take the West Coast Express. Dane
Chicago... METRA is the commuter rail operator for the Northeast Illinois transit district RTA. METRA owns or operates through contracted service about a dozen major routes with several "branch" routings. They are the BNSF (contract carrier)line to Aurora Il(the RR I work for). The UP North, Northwest and West lines(contract carrier). The North Central Service(former Soo line). Milwaukee District North and Milwaukee District West(former Milwaukee Rd.) Heritage Corridor(Former GM & O). SouthWest Service(NS contract carrier)(former Wabash rte) Rock Island Lines(former CRI & P) METRA Electric(former IC Suburban) and partially(With the NICTD)the South Shore Line(America's last true interurban electric railway). Check back issues of "TRAINS" magazine. They have done pieces on METRA and also the BNSF commuter operation. As I have mentioned in other venues, the BNSF line has 4 of the top 10 busiest stations on the METRA system, including the busiest(Naperville) We move a LOT of people.
I live in Georgetown Ontario and we have a terminal for the GO train service to Toronto. Four trains to Toronto in the AM and four returning in the late afternoon. GO serves metro Toronto and surrounding areas. In Toronto it connects with the TTC bus and subway system
Charlie, I grew up on the BN line in La Grange EMD fame, I remember the BN Queen E's 9900-9908, 9910-9925 runing the route, and love those units. Now I live in Bellingham and the only service we have is Amtrack. once to Vancouver BC and twice to Seattle, daily. I don't take it all that much, first time two weeks ago. I always loved METRA, they ran a great sysyem rode all but 5 of the lines.
There are two near me (an hour is near for me, heheh) Ottawa's O-Train (just opened in 2001) and Montreal's AMT, which runs 5 routes as of 2001
I live 3 blocks from the BNSF triple-track Charlie mentioned. What a site the parade of commuter trains coming out of Chicago is. Amazing! Too bad the e-units are gone. KEN
Ken I agree, Kind of neat to see some one from my old town up on here. The E's were the best locos for passenger trains, Fast reliable and Sleek....Gotta love yesteryear
Currently I live about a half mile from the Portland MAXtrain which is a lightrail system. I used to live in River Forest Illinois Right on Metra's former Galena and chicago Union come Chicago & NorthWestern, Now UP Triple Track West line. River forest was the original Last Stop on the G&CU There is also the Local Legend of How River Forest Used to have two stations while our larger Neighboring community of Oak Park had none. One night, MAgically, one of River Forest's Disappeared and reappeared inside Oak Park.
I live on Long Island, home of LIRR. Which runs about a half mile from my home. I go down to the station with my son and watch the trains all the time. We get lucky some times and get to see an New York & Atlantic freight come through. The LIRR runs new DE-30AC locomotives with new bi-level cars. The NY&A uses GP38s and MP15s.
I too, like Bobcat and Johnny live in the home of the oldest class one railroad......the one forgotten by model manufacturers (most of them) ........The LIRR and NYCTA! Russ <img src=http://www.trainboard.com/sigbreak.gif> Russ
From where I am in Connecticut, I am about 12 miles from the nearest commuter rail connection, Danbury. Metro North terminates the Danbury branch there.
