Railway Track & Structures - December 2008 - (Page 11)

Cleveland airport service marks 40th anniversary Saturday, Nov. 15, marked the 40th anniversary of the beginning of transit service to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport by the former Cleveland Transit System. That agency became the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in 1975. In 1968, the four-mile extension of RTA’s heavy-rail Red Line linked the airport to the downtown business district. It was the first rail-to-airport line in the Western Hemisphere. The feasibility of the project was first considered in 1960, according to Rapid Transit Extension to Cleveland Hopkins Airport: Engineering and Feasibility Study. After eight years and much planning, the idea was turned into a reality. In 1955, CTS built the Red Line as a 19-mile system, according to Cleveland, by Carol Poh Miller and Robert Anthony Wheeler. The airport extension, added 13 years later, opened with great celebration. Recent developments have made the airport service even more attractive. Customers can leave their plane, walk through the airport terminal, board a Rapid car, ride for 24 minutes, enter Tower City, and go to either their hotel room or Quicken Loans Arena – and never go outside. Chicago Transit Authority board approves 2009 budget The Chicago Transit Board approved a 2009 operating budget that maintains service levels and eliminates a total of 632 positions. Although the Board approved a fare increase effective January 1, 2009, it modified the budget so that the changes to pass prices will be less than the 20 percent increase originally proposed. Also approved as part of the budget was the CTA’s 2009-2013 Capital Improvement Program. It totals $3.0 billion, with $2.9 billion in projects to eliminate slow zones, renew assets, overhaul and replace the fleet and bring the system to a state of good repair. In addition, $40.0 million is programmed for the completion of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. The CIP includes a projection of $300 million each year during 2010-2013 from a successor to the Illinois FIRST program. The RTA has advised the CTA to anticipate that a state capital funding program will be in place by 2010. Funding identified in the CIP will only partially meet the CTA’s needs to bring its system into a state of good repair. An estimated $6.8 billion remains unfunded over the five-year period of this CIP. This is due to the continued aging of assets and the lack of a new state capital program. Although a proposed new state funding program is projected to begin in 2010, projects that may be funded with these capital dollars will remain a part of the CTA’s unfunded need until a state program is passed and funds are actually appropriated. In addition, to meet the needs of future growth in the region, the CTA will request $4.3 billion for expansion projects such as the Circle Line, and the Red, Orange and Yellow Line extensions. www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures December 2008 11 http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - December 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Hand-Held Tools Continue Big Role in Railroad Engineering AREMA C&S Moving Ahead Optimizing Winter Speed Restrictions RTA 2008 Conference Makes Splash in Savannah, Ga. Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - December 2008

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