Updates to the First Edition
The information in the first edition book was up-to-date as of December 2017. This page has updates since then as of early 2021. These have been reflected in the second edition.
2: Los Angeles
Multiple LA Metro rail line are under construction:
Crenshaw Line (Scheduled to open 2020)
Purple Line Extension section 1 (opening 2023), section 2 (opening 2025), and section 3 (opening 2027)
Regional Connecter (opening 2022)
The Gold Line Foothills Extension as far as Pomona (opening 2025)
All of these are shown in the book except Purple Line sections 2 and 3 and the Gold Line extension are shown in the book. The latter would literally run off the page.
The OC streetcar started construction in 2018 and is scheduled to open in 2022. The 4.15 mile route, in city streets n through the center of Downtown Santa Ana and the Orange County civic center and continuing on a former streetcar right of way to Garden Grove. Unlike many streetcars the route is simple and direct, and it will be in integral part of the local transit network, connecting the Santa Ana Metrolink and Amtrak Station at one end and to a new transit center which will provide connections to Orange County’s busiest bus route at the other. Streetcars will run every 10 to 15 minutes.
In October 2019, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority— currently a transit funding agency but not an operator — started construction on a new 9 mile commuter rail line from the existing Downtown San Bernardino Metrolink station to Downtown Redland and the University of Redlands. DMUs will run every 30 minuets ta peak and 60 minutes off-peak, 5 am to 10 pm. The line will also be used on one daily Metrolink round trip.
4: WASHINGTON
BWI airport has an Amtrak Northeast Corridor station; the yellow dot was left off on the map.
5: San Francisco
eBART (p. 90) opened in May 2018. Ridership is over 7,000 on an average weekday. At 700 boardings/mile, this makes it a high performer along commuter rail lines.
SMART opened 2,2 miles to Larkspur in December of 2019. A 3 mile northwards extension to Windsor has been under construction since 2018 and will start service in 2021 or 2022.
BART’s 10.2 mile, 2 station extension to Berryessa opened in June 2020.
East Bay BRT missed its opening date of 2019 but is nearly complete as of April 2020.
MUNI’s Central Subway light rail and Van Ness BRT are scheduled to open in 2021.
6: Boston
The Silver Line BRT extension to Chelsea (p.98, right) opened in April 2018. It has a 1.2 mile dedicated guideway extending north from the airport, improving transit to a sense neighborhood previously served only by local buses and commuter rail.
On page 23, a map of Quincy Adams station shows how a locked gate limited access to the station. That gate is now open.
MBTA plans start full construction in fall of 2020 on South Coast Rail Phase, with 6 new stations on 2 lines to Fall Rover and Bedford.
7: DALLAS
The TexRail commuter rail line opened on January 10, 2019. Current schedules are hourly from roughly 4 am to midnight, 7 days a week, with service every 30 min at rush hour.
DART broke ground in September 2019 on the Silver Line (formerly know as the Cotton Belt), a circumferential DMU commuter rial lien from Plano to DFW airport, connecting to three DART light rail lines. Like most of the region’s rail system, it follows existing rail lines. With service every 30 minutes at peak, and 60- minutes off-peak, and low density land uses along most of the line, DART projects only about 6,000 riders a day on a 26 mile line when it opens in 2022.
8: PHILADELPHIA
The SEPTA regional rail system is 280 miles, not 323 miles as shown, which means the ridership per mile is 408 instead of 354. As shown, it is a high performer among commuter rail systems; on the chart on page 16 it ranks just above San Diego’s Sprinter.
SEPTA has started construction in a 3.5 mile, 1 station commuter rail extension from Elwyn to Wawa.
9: MIAMI
TriRail is competing a new 9 mile connection on existing rail corridors that will link the current corridor to the Brightline Downtown Miami station. This will give TriRail two Miami termini — there airport and Downtown — with service split between the two.
10: HOUSTON
Construction on the Uptown BRT wins largely complete and it will likely open in 2020, depending on COVID recovery.
13: SEATTLE
The Center City Connector between the First Hill and South Lake Union streetcar lines (p.138) was under construction in late 2017, but Mayor Jenny Durkan, elected in 2017, put it on hold. As of early 2020, it appeared that the project would be built, with construction resuming in 2022. However, it (and many other City of Seattle projects) has now been passed due to budget uncertainties around COVID-19.
The Tacoma Link streetcar is being extended 2.4 miles with 6 stations. Construction is underway and opening is scheduled for 2022.
Construction is underway on multiple Link light rail extensions:
East Link (shown in the book, opens 2023)
Redmond Link, a further extension fo East Link (not shown, started construction 2019, complete 2024)
Northgate Link (shown in the book, opens 2021)
Lynwood Link, a further extension of Northgate Link (not shown, started construction 2019, complete 2024)
Federal Way Link, a southwards extension (not shown, started construction 2020, complete 2024)
14: PHOENIX
The eastwards 1.9 mile Gilbert Road extension, shown under construction in the book, opened in 2019. In the same year, Metro Rail also added an infill station at 50th Street.
The South Central Extension, 5.5 miles with 9 stations, started construction in 2019 and is expected to open in 2020.
The Northwest Phase II extension, 1.6 miles with 2 stations, is scheduled to start construction in 2020 and open in 2024.
The Tempe Streetcar is now scheduled to open in 2021.
15: MINNEAPOLIS
Construction began in 2019 on the Southwest LRT, shown in the map on page 147 (but incorrectly called “southeast”) a 14.5 mile, 16 station light rail extension built in the wrong place. Service is scheduled to start in 2023.
The Orange Line BRT, largely freeway running in HOV lane with freeways stations, but also with some segments of busways outside the highway in suburban employment centers, is under construction and scheduled to open in 2021.
17: DENVER
The Denver light rail and commuter rail system - several segments of which were under construction when the book went to press — is close to complete with its current phase of construction:
Denver Southeast Rail Extension—2.3 miles, 3 stations - opened in May 2019
The G Line to Arvada — 11.2 miles, 5 stations — opened on April 26, 2019.
The N Line — 13 miles, 6 stations — is under construction.
When these lines are complete the commuter system will have 4 corridors radiating from Downtown with 22 stations, and the light rail system will have 4 radial corridors and one circumferential line with 55 stations. All these lines are shown in the book.
Future extensions are in planning but unfunded. When the N line opens an era of continuous rail construction that started with the FasTraks bond election in 2004 will come to an end. The remaining projects that were in the plan are currently unfunded.
18: San Diego
The South Bay Rapid project (above), due to open in 2019, includes a 5.25 mile BRT guideway with 5 stations. Most of the guideway is in the center of suburban streets, but there is a short off-street section with a bus-only bridge. These will be used by a new 26-mile “Rapid” route that runs from Downtown San Diego, down HOV lanes on Interstate 805, through suburban single family neighborhoods, into the middle of a mixed use “town center” area, and on to a new transit center at the Otay Mesa border crossing.
20: ORLANDO
The SunRail extension shown under construction in the book opened for passengers in July 2018. The system now has 16 stations on 49 miles of line. Average ridership at the end of 2019 was 6,300, or 128 per mile, a significant improvement over the original shorter route, making it typical performer among commuter rail systems rather than a low performer.
The book mistakenly shows the northernmost section of SunRail — the final station, at DeLand — as complete. While this was planned as part of “phase 2,” it was never actually built because of a lack of funding. The map at right is corrected.
22: St. Louis
The oft-delayed Loop Trolley, originally planned for 2014, opened November 16, 21018 (after a final one day delay) but with only part of the 1.9 mile route in operation since University City had not granted a permit for the portion of the route within its city limits. The full lien opened November 23, operating only four days a week, afternoon/evening only, such that it did not meet the book’s standard of “transit.” Original plans called for longer service hours. Even this minimal service stopped in December 2019 when the non-profit Loop Trolley Company ran out of money due to woe ridership, low fare income, and money lost with the opening delays. While there’s been discussion of finding new operating funds, there seems to be little political support, so the line may never reopen. If so, it will be the shortest lived rail transit system in the US since the 1920s.
23: Pittsburgh
The frequency map in the book incorrectly show the entire light rail system as frequent service; the Overbrook and Library lines only have trains every 30 minutes at midday. A corrected map is to the left.
24: CHARLOTTE
The Lynx extension to UNC Charlotte — shown as under construction in the book — opened in March 2018. The total system is now 18.9 miles, with 29,900 average weekday rider sin late 2019, or 1,580 riders per mile.
The CityLynx extension shown under construction in the book is now substantially complete.
26: SALT LAKE CITY
The Utah Valley Express BRT line opened on August 13, 2018. It runs through downtown Provo, around the Brigham Young University campus, and to Utah Valley University in Orem, connecting to FrontRunner commuter rail station at both ends. Half of the 11-mile route features dedicated lanes.
NEW: INDIANAPOLIS
Indianapolis opened the Red Line, a 13,5 mile rapid transit line with dedicated lanes on roughly half the route, on September 1, 2019.
30: MILWAUKEE
The Milwaukee Streetcar, now branded “The Hop,” started service on October 2, 2018. A shirt extension to the waterfront is under construction.
31: Austin
The map on page 203 has a production error on the author’s part — the streets are shifted relatively to the transit routes and river. Here is a corrected map:
32: NASHVILLE
Megan Berry (p.207) left office in scandal in 2017, and the referendum she had been championing was voted down by a 2-1 margin in May 2018.
35: HARTFORD
The Hartford Line commuter rail started service in June 2018.
37: Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Streetcar service began December 14, 2018.
38: MEMPHIS
The streetcar, suspended as the book went to press, partially reopened on April 30, 2018. Two lines remain suspended.
39: RICHMOND
Pulse BRT started running June 24, 2018.
41: ALBUQUEURQUE
The ART BRT line had already had a ceremonial opening in January 2018 when the inability of the electric buses ordered for the project to meet their contractually guaranteed range caused the city to cancel the contract and return the buses the the manufacturer. The procurement of new diesel buses delayed the actual start of service to November 30, 2019.
43: EL PASO
El Paso Streetcar service began November 9, 2018.
44: HONOLULU
Before COVID, the first 10 miles and 9 stations were scheduled to open in December 2020; that has slipped to 2021. Construction contracts are scheduled to awarded this year to complete the full route in 2025, but that may slip as well..