A bit of transit economics for the train haters on the list:
Buses work fine for light to moderate passenger loads. But a
bus is limited in size by the need to maneuver around corners and
such and the law. When you have buses running a couple minutes apart
like on the 16 line it's time to look at rail. Rail has half the
friction of buses and the trains and track have better than twice the
life. Provided you have the passenger loads to justify it, rail is
cheaper and greener than buses.
Commuter rail is the least expensive form of rail transit to
start up. Freight trackage can be used and the engines are similar to
freight engines. LRT like the Hiawatha line uses dedicated tracks
with electric powered cars. This is of course the most efficent and
greenest transit solution, but also the most capital intensive.
There are also some interesting hybrids out there like the
diesel powered AdTranz cars that were demonstrated here a couple
years ago.
from trackside in the Northside,
Dyna Sluyter
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