Green Line

And the Winner Is

The winning video from the Pick the Winner of The Metro Transit Video Contest is Everywhere. Andrew Beckman of Brooklyn Park received the most votes cast by the public in the 2012 Metro Transit Video Contest.

Here it is:

Metro Transit New Flyer Xcelsior Advance Hybrid Bus 7291

Metro Transit New Flyer Xcelsior Advance Hybrid Bus 7291

Southwest Light Rail Transit line Comes up Short

Southwest Corriodor has come up short on the money needed to continue.

St. Paul gets $25 million grant for Saints ballpark

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -

The St. Paul Saints were the big winners of Thursday's capital grants announced by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. The city of St. Paul was awarded $25 million of the $27 million it requested for a new Saints ballpark.

Nearly 100 applications were submitted, but only 11 were awarded a piece of the $47.5 million bonding money pool. Gov. Dayton had the final say in which projects would receive the legislature-approved funding.

MINNESOTA BONDING MONEY BREAKDOWN

• $2 million is better than nothing for the Southwest Light Rail Transit line. The Metropolitan Council applied for $14 million.
• Duluth was awarded $8.5 million for downtown development.
• A wellness center in Wadena received $4.2 million.
• Rochester, St. Cloud and Mankato were all shut out of the grant sweepstakes, but Dayton said projects in those cities will be at the top of his bonding proposal for 2013.
• Major repairs and reconstruction of Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis also failed to receive any funding.

Getting ahead of anticipated criticism, Dayton said there was definitely no deal to set aside grant money for a Saints stadium in exchange for St. Paul lawmakers' votes on a new Vikings stadium.

Delivery of the Type II Siemens S70

Delivery of the Type II Siemens S70, LRV # 201, occurred on Sept 10, 2012. The Brandt towed it to the O&M early Tuesday morning, Sept 11, 2012. Below are pictures and video.



This is the first of 59 LRVs that was purchased by Metro Transit. 47 LRVs are for the new Green Line (Central Corridor) and 12 are for Blue Line (Hiawatha Line). I talked with a Siemens rep. He told me that the first two LRVs has to have 4000 miles of testing and the LRVs after only need 1000 miles of testing before going into service.

You maybe wondering what "Do Not Hump" means.
" It refers to a common method used to sort freight cars known as "humping," which involves the use of a man-made hill, or hump. A track heads up the hill and branches into numerous parallel tracks on its way down the other side. To make up new trains, a switch engine pushes a string of cars to the top of the hump, where the cars are uncoupled one at a time. Having determined the car's destination, a worker in a nearby tower pushes buttons or throws levers or whatever to get the track switches (you know, those things where one track divides into two) lined up properly. The car is then given a nudge, causing it to roll down the hump and onto the right track."

Brandt

Named after the company that built it. This On Track Equipment (OTE) can almost do anything

Burnsville Fire Muster - Fire Truck Parade

Burnsville Fire Muster - Fire Truck Parade on Sept. 8, 2012 in Burnsville, MN

Siemens S70 LRV Update

Delivery of the Type II Siemens S70 is expect the first week of September. Here is a link to presentation: Update of LRV/Central Corridor. There are lots of photos of the LRV.

Informational presentation to Transportation Committee Light Rail Vehicle Type 2 Procurement


UPDATE: The new Type II Siemens S70 has arrived .  Pictures and video will be post in a few days.

Free Rides On The New Hybrid

As part of the introduction of the New Flyer Xcelsior hybrid, free rides will be offered on bus 7291 September 10-16. 2012. This bus will be assigned to route 10 to take best advantage of the hybrid technology while giving it high visibility down Nicollet Mall. Free rides are only on bus 7291 during the promotional period, no other buses on route 10 will be free.           

Green Line Connected to the Blue Line

(credit: Metropolitan Council)

Central Corridor Joined To Hiawatha LRT Line

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) —Crews working on the Central Corridor light rail line that will connect downtown Minneapolis with downtown St. Paul reached a milestone on Wednesday.

The line was officially joined with the existing Hiawatha LRT line in Minneapolis.

“This weld is our own version of the golden spike for the transcontinental railroad as it connects the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis,” said Mark Fuhrmann, local program director for New Starts rail projects.

Service on the Central Corridor line is scheduled to begin in 2014.
Crews working on the Central Corridor light rail line that will connect downtown Minneapolis with downtown St. Paul reached a milestone on Wednesday.
The line was officially joined with the existing Hiawatha LRT line in Minneapolis.

“This weld is our own version of the golden spike for the transcontinental railroad as it connects the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis,” said Mark Fuhrmann, local program director for New Starts rail projects.

Service on the Central Corridor line is scheduled to begin in 2014.