TRAINS: David Lassen
Wednesday morning rail news:
Metrolink to make schedule changes Nov. 16
Six of Metrolink’s seven lines will see schedule adjustments on Nov. 16, with a total of nine trains on the LA-area commuter rail system dropped because of low ridership. Three trains will be added; other changes include creation of two express trains and some time adjustments. The most changes come on the Ventura County Line, where two trains will be added, three will be dropped, and three will have schedule adjustments, and the Antelope Valley Line, where all eight round trips have time changes. Other changes include suspension of two Orange County Line trains, suspension of one train and restoration of another on the Inland Empire-Orange County Line, suspension of two trains and a schedule change for another on the Riverside Line, and suspension of one train and creation of two expresses on the San Bernardino Line. Only the 91/Perris Valley Line has no changes. Full details are available here.
Some San Francisco light rail lines will resume service in early 2021, but full resumption will be slow
San Francisco Muni’s light rail system, essentially shut down since March, is expected to return some lines to operation early next year, with other lines returning gradually. But the San Francisco Examiner reports a full rehab of the system could take five to eight years, with additional shutdowns during that period. Julie Kirschbaum, director of transit for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, told the agency’s board that Muni has been using the shutdown to address major infrastructure work, including track replacement and communications upgrades, but work including repairs to overhead wires must be completed before the system can resume operation. An attempt to restart the system in August lasted just three days before failure of overhead wire hardware led to another shutdown [see “Digest: MBTA chooses builder …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 25, 2020].
Injuries reported as ‘Sunset Limited’ hits dump truck
Three people, including at least one passenger, were taken to the hospital after Amtrak’s eastbound Sunset Limited hit a dump truck in Duson, La., on Tuesday evening. KATC-TV reports 27 passengers and eight crew members were on board the train when the train hit the truck at a grade crossing at Cameron Street and Hollier Road in Sadou, an unincorporated area near Lafayette, La., about 5:40 p.m. KLFY-TV reports the driver of the truck was in serious condition and the train was partially derailed.
