Tour of the Phoenix AZ Light Rail

COMBAT

Member
I found this and thought you all might like to see it.
Tour of the Phoenix AZ Light Rail Maintenance Of Equipment (MOE)

Tour of the Phoenix AZ Light Rail MOW
METRO light rail
LOTS MORE PICTURES ON THE PAGE!
DSC02835sm.JPG

:)
 
N

nachoman

boy i'll be glad when that road construction is done. it has been a PITA every day of my week!

kevin
 

Kanawha

Member
Don't hold your breathe. If they finish that by 2010 I'll be surprised. If it actually works I'll be more surprised. Phoenix is terrible when it comes to mass transit.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Just do what I do, if you can... stay away from downtown or anyplace on the route. So far we've been lucky and not had to go in that area for anything.
 
N

nachoman

Well, I have to go to Sunstate rentals on Washington for work every now and again - PITA, Drive down main in Mesa every other week, and it is a PITA, getting to DWR on central is nearly impossible...

But I am just venting. Mass transit in Phoenix is terrible. I'm glad they are trying to do something, though.

Kevin
 

COMBAT

Member
I dont think it will be used. People dont use the bus now. Why would they use a train that goes that slow.
 

Cannonball

More Trains Than Brains
The pics of them installing the trucks were pretty cool.
It was sort of like, "Hey look! Life sized N scale!" :D
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
I dont think it will be used. People dont use the bus now. Why would they use a train that goes that slow.
Two big reasons why not. #1, limited routes, Tempe/Mesa to downtown, North Phoenix to downtown. #2, as with buses, limited destinations. If I wanted to go downtown, and I don't, either one would be great, providing I lived near a stop. There are lots of "professionals" like lawyers and government people working downtown, can't you just see one of those high-priced lawyers leaving his Jag or Beemer in the park-n-ride un on North Central and hopping on the train, then walking five blocks to his office? Or perhaps our Governor will take the train to work every day... Get real:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

BTW, notice that they took the prototype on a "high-speed" run the other night. Got it up to 40 MPH down on Washington St.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
The sad thing is, he NOT joking. What a waste! :(
Now, I don't want to sound anti-train, or against progress, but.... we are getting this at the cost of what? Business after business along the planned route (in reality, the construction route) are folding up shop, they cannot weather the project. The latest to go is Jordan's restaurant. It's been up on N. Central for over 50 years. The best Mexican food place in town will close its doors in a few days thanks to light rail. I don't recall, but I think we're talking two billion dollars so that just a few folks can get down town without driving. This does not count the number of businesses that have gone under, the tax revenue lost and the number of people we now support that don't have jobs because of this.

I rode a bus once back around 1957 when I was going to school in Tempe. The nearest train stop to me right now is around 35 miles away, so it doesn't look like I'm gunna be riding the light rail anytime soon either. Ya know, I might just go down there and do it once, just to do it, but does that make sense to you, drive some 35 miles to get on a train that will go about four miles to downtown? I think if they're going to make the train self-supporting though, ticket prices should run about $100 for a short trip like that. Well, at 40 MPH, it won't be that short..:mrgreen:
 

Cannonball

More Trains Than Brains
Maybe they should just give up on the train idea and sell the whole mess to an amusement park as a kiddie ride. :D

edit... I noticed the big thing they have on their website is "We're on time and we're on budget"

They should change it to, "We're on time and we're on budget but the train will make you late for work."
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
One problem we have here in the Phoenix area is that we get some 300 new people move here every day. We are growing at such a rapid pace, but a lot of these newbies come from areas where things are a bit different. Nay, things are a lot different. I can remember when there were hitching posts outside the Circle K's and some of the bars, like the Pink Pony in downtown Scottsdale. Some people show up here thinking that this is like Boston or Philadelphia and it's not. We used to wear jeans to work and our best tie was a bolo. They brought their white shirts and suites with them, rather than trading them for western garb. We have never been suited for mass transportation and it has never been a success, yet when these newbies show up they right away think we need it and they vote for it not knowing that it just won't work. It was fine to have trolleys downtown in the 30's when Phoenix was just a few square miles, but today, the city runs from below South Mountain to around 40 miles to the north, with patches of desert in between. No one can cover that large an area unless they either have an unlimited budget or they started building on the base that was established early in the 20th century.

We may get 30 miles of track that will serve maybe 1% of the population, that it would be cheaper to furnish us all with a new car. But yes, we have those darn pesky, hot transients to be concerned about...
 

Cannonball

More Trains Than Brains
One problem we have here in the Phoenix area is that we get some 300 new people move here every day.
300 a DAY????
What the heck do you guys have that's dragging that many people out into the middle of the desert??

ezdays said:
a lot of these newbies come from areas where things are a bit different. Nay, things are a lot different.
I've heard that about Phoenix.
You'd have to be different to live in the middle of a desert anyway. :wink:
 
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