Below, via a speedy E-mail from S-DOT's Ethan Melone, are the rules for the recently funded First Hill Streetcar project, issued on October 5th.
Note especially the requirement for double-tracking:
The Project will be double-tracked, although termini or exclusive-lane segments may feature a short segment of single track if this will not impede service objectives.
Wikipedia:
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Will the double-tracking requirement make the plans for a loop route impossible? A single-track system obviously just has one set of rails and the trains shuttle back and forth. If the two sets of tracks are on separate streets, does that count as a double-track system? The wikipedia article mentions some "non-parallel" double-track systems, but those were constrained by geography. My thanks to Jim Erickson of First Hill for pointing out this issue.
Updates:
Andrew: is the double-tracking requirement compatible with the desires of some neighborhoods to have a loop route?
Ethan Melone: Yes, this just means we won't have a single track arrangement, like the Waterfront Streetcar.
Jim Erickson: Another factor in this discussion is the water pipeline under the northbound lanes of 12th Avenue. See FHIA's July notes: http://www.firsthill.org/meetinghighlights.html The Cedar River water pipeline runs under the northbound lanes of 12th Avenue, thus precluding any streetcar construction over those lanes. Any streetcar routing on 12th would have to go in the southbound lanes, or have a dedicated lane in the middle of the street.
Exhibit A: Minimum Scope of Work for First Hill Streetcar Connector Project
The purpose of the First Hill Streetcar Connector Project (the Project) is to replace the connection to the regional Link light rail system lost when the First Hill light rail station was deleted from the regional system. The streetcar connector will directly connect First Hill employment centers to the regional Link light rail system at the International District/Chinatown Station at 5th Avenue S and the Capitol Hill Station at Broadway between E. Denny Way and John Street. If operations begin prior to July 1, 2016, the Project may feature an interim terminus in the vicinity of Pike and Pine streets.
The Project fleet (inclusive of at least one spare vehicle) and facilities will accommodate the service plan:
-
Service Plan
1. Service Plan: Span of Service
Monday-Saturday 5AM to 1AM
2. Service Plan: Peak/Off Peak Headways
Peak Periods: Trains Arrive Every 10 Minutes
Off Peak: Trains Arrive Every 15 Minutes
3. Service Plan: Peak Service Periods
Peak Periods: 6AM-9AM M-F, 4PM-7PM M-F
The service plan may be adjusted with the written concurrence of Sound Transit.
The Project will provide local and inter-neighborhood transit service using modern low-floor light rail vehicles, similar to the streetcar vehicles operating in Portland, Seattle and Tacoma. The streetcars operate in single trainsets. The streetcars will generally operate in a mixed flow of traffic on urban arterial streets, typically with transit signal priority at intersections, and occasionally operating in restricted (transit-only) lanes or exclusive right-of-way. The Project will be double-tracked, although termini or exclusive-lane segments may feature a short segment of single track if this will not impede service objectives.
The Project will meet or exceed all accessibility requirements and includes a variety of passenger amenities on board, at passenger platforms and on the internet, including transit shelters, real-time arrival information, automated passenger information, and wayside and on-board ticketing. Use of the ORCA regional smart card will be accommodated either on-board, wayside, or with both of these methods of fare payment.
Passenger platforms will typically be spaced at distances of 1,250 to 2,000 feet and will be sited to best balance proximity of service to major activity areas with speed and reliability objectives.
The Project will include all construction, right-of-way and equipment necessary to meet the service objectives, including but not limited to:
- paved track and special track;
- traction power system and overhead contact system;
- train control system and train signaling;
- passenger platforms and amenities including miscellaneous electrical service to amenities;
- a light maintenance and vehicle storage facility and vehicle maintenance equipment;
- roadway and drainage modifications;
- traffic signal modifications;
- street lighting modifications;
- utility relocation, protection and bridging necessitated by the Project;
- relocation of overhead trolley bus wires where necessary;
- mitigation measures; and
- an Art Program.
The Art Program will be administered by the City and is budgeted at $750,000 in 2011 dollars to represent approximately 1% of estimated construction expenditure.
The Project will be designed to allow for connections to other segments of the City's planned streetcar network and may include extensions beyond the minimum scope of work.
Recommend
Thanks for your concern, Jim Erickson. The question troubled me, too, until someone explained to me what a single-track streetcar was. Ethan Melone has also clarified in the updated post that a First Hill/Capitol Hill Streetcar that follows a loop route is still a double-track streetcar.