Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[kermit]

6 minutes ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

I’ve always wondered how CATS estimates the Average Daily Ridership of the LightRail System since there are no turnstiles or fareboxes.  Whatever they report quarterly I feel would be less than actual Ridership.

There are infrared counters positioned above each door.

https://www.transitwiki.org/TransitWiki/index.php/Automated_passenger_counter

[Hushpuppy321]

17 minutes ago, kermit said:

There are infrared counters positioned above each door.

https://www.transitwiki.org/TransitWiki/index.php/Automated_passenger_counter

Hmm I see.  I’d bet the Ridership numbers are increasing then because trains are packed during morning/evening rush (I’ve only been on at peak times once) and nearly half or 2/3rds full when I usually ride during non-peak hours (10am - 2pm).

[JFerreira91]

Talking about loosing fares..

I was there in Charlotte for 2 weeks by the end of September and we took the Blue line to downtown charlotte. Can't remember which station we got in, but we couldn't figure out how to get the tickets for our journey. The machine did everything, but it didn't send the payment information to the card machine. There wasn't a single member of staff in the platform, so our conclusion was that the ticket machine was broken (The 2nd machine was off).

We tried until the train arrived. We had to take the train in fear of being caught and handed a penalty fee later in a different stop.

Coming from London, it's really weird if you can get away without paying the fares. And also, I'm used to staff in the stations in case any problem arises, people can always get an answer or guide.

[nakers2]

15 min delays north and southbound due to a mechanical issue, “sorry for the inconvenience”

[davidclt]

13 hours ago, nakers2 said:

15 min delays north and southbound due to a mechanical issue, “sorry for the inconvenience”

The train that was running southbound just before 7 p.m. (and running on at least a 25 minutes headway) was packed to the gills by 3rd St. The driver making announcements indicated there  was no more room on the train. The train following no more than three minutes behind was being taken out of service for the evening. I'm amazed trains being pulled out of service for the day don't carry passengers to the stop before the railyard before going out of service seems to be shortsighted but I'm not in charge of CATS.

[Madison Parkitect]

14 hours ago, nakers2 said:

15 min delays north and southbound due to a mechanical issue, “sorry for the inconvenience”

That's pretty much a daily occurrence at this point, I hear that message either in the morning or afternoon almost every day. 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Stonewall Station. We’ve gone vertical on the rail trail bridge. 

[Hushpuppy321]

2 hours ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Stonewall Station. We’ve gone vertical on the rail trail bridge. 

I didn't even realize that the City picked a Bridge yet from the choices they've released a few months ago 

[navigator319]

I didn't even realize that the City picked a Bridge yet from the choices they've released a few months ago 

This is not that gap section. This is the one connected to the convention center renovation and Westin with the picture frame design crossing stonewall.

[Nick2]

1 hour ago, navigator319 said:

 

 

This is not that gap section. This is the one connected to the convention center renovation and Westin with the picture frame design crossing stonewall.

 

 

This one?

[KJHburg]

^^^ Yes the convention center expansion and bridge over Stonewall no work has started on the 277 rail trail bridge yet. 

[kermit]

It looks like CATS has largely solved their shattered shelter glass issues. I haven’t seen any breakage on the BLE since before Thanksgiving.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

On 1/25/2020 at 8:05 PM, KJHburg said:

^^^ Yes the convention center expansion and bridge over Stonewall no work has started on the 277 rail trail bridge yet. 

I haven't seen or heard of any plans on how they plan to extend the trail through the convention center and connect it with the existing trail near Hilton.  That part seems like the trickiest aspect of this whole project. 

[KJHburg]

4 hours ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

I haven't seen or heard of any plans on how they plan to extend the trail through the convention center and connect it with the existing trail near Hilton.  That part seems like the trickiest aspect of this whole project. 

Not sure if there are any plans to go through the convention center unless someone knows something different.  I think connection over Stonewall is more for the convention center biggest hotel across the street the Westin and the new Stonewall Station (Whole foods, Home2Suites etc) 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

3 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Not sure if there are any plans to go through the convention center unless someone knows something different.  I think connection over Stonewall is more for the convention center biggest hotel across the street the Westin and the new Stonewall Station (Whole foods, Home2Suites etc) 

That makes sense. Kinda sucks the continuity and flow of the rail trail will require a major detour around this segment if the trail doesn’t continue thru CC but it will save a lot of money...but glad the convention center will have access to Stonewall station and surroundings a lot easier. With this new access point, they should rename the station to Stonewall/Convention Center and just remove the CC verbiage from the 3rd Street Station. 
 

*depends how the entrance is integrated from the rail trail bridge into CC. May not be main entrance-y enough to rename  station but stonewall station is basically our CC hotel stop. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[Madison Parkitect]

23 hours ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

I haven't seen or heard of any plans on how they plan to extend the trail through the convention center and connect it with the existing trail near Hilton.  That part seems like the trickiest aspect of this whole project. 

I think the plan is just to make the convention center "part of" the trail and you just walk through the cc to get from one trail section to the other.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Madison Parkitect said:

I think the plan is just to make the convention center "part of" the trail and you just walk through the cc to get from one trail section to the other.

There is a separate initiative to connect through the convention center. I think it requires fundraising though to make it happen. @Jayvee knows the story better though.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Guest

[Madison Parkitect]

1 minute ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

There is a separate initiative to connect through the convention center. I think it requires fundraising though to make it happen. @Jayvee knows the story better though.

"Through the convention center" as in through the interior of the building, using flooring changes, etc. or through the exterior space the the overall convention center occupies?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Madison Parkitect said:

"Through the convention center" as in through the interior of the building, using flooring changes, etc. or through the exterior space the the overall convention center occupies?

by using exterior space. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by Guest

[KJHburg]

The Charlotte Ledger actually asked Charlotte Center City Partners about this (the rail trail through the convention center)

""Q: The Convention Center is undergoing a big overhaul. What about the connectivity of the Rail Trail through the Convention Center? What’s going on with that? Will we see an uptown that is more connected?

One of our big commitments is we have to have a multimodal center city. When I think about the things we are excited about in the next decade, [one of them is] the big moves we are making in mobility.  Mobility is the giant moves, like the Silver Line, but it’s also the Uptown Connects project, which is protected bikeways.   It is also the Rail Trail connectivity, which begins with the connection via the pedestrian bridge and across Stonewall. I don’t know how soon it happens, but the idea is to take it all the way through the Convention Center. The interim model of that will be on the streets and using sidewalks around the Convention Center.

Q: But eventually the idea is to go through the Convention Center?

It is.""

full interview here and great read

https://charlotteledger.substack.com/p/full-interview-with-michael-smith

[kermit]

So I thought I would ride the Blue Line to lunch today, check the schedule and saw I would miss the train by 3 minutes, it was a 17 minute wait for the next one.

I drove instead. 

20 minute headway’s suck! 

We paid around $1.5 billion for the Blue Line, why can’t we operate it in a useful way?

[kermit]

1) I am very glad that John Lewis has finally acknowledged that there is a reliability problem

2) WTF took so long for him to make this admission?

[Desert Power]

45 minutes ago, kermit said:

1) I am very glad that John Lewis has finally acknowledged that there is a reliability problem

2) WTF took so long for him to make this admission?

 

I feel like they are going to decrease headways with this...

[southslider]

Two things I can assure you:

1) No more sales tax until Blue Line operates reliably

2) No Silver Line until Blue Line operates reliably 

 

 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Sounds like they just need additional cars.