KC Light Rail

Talk radio stalwart KMBZ reports that Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders has submitted an application to the Federal Transit Administration to fund a formal study of his rapid rail presentation. We'll try to get a copy of the application and post it here.

One of the details in Mike Sanders' rapid_rail_presentation is the proposal to use diesel multiple units (DMUs) — a passenger rail vehicle propelled by an onboard diesel engine. This is unique because most commuter rail operators run conventional locomotives pulling (or pushing) conventional passenger rail coaches. Regional examples of conventional commuter rail are Chicago's Metra, Dallas' TRE, Minneapolis' Northstar, and Nashville's Music City Star).

DMUs are easily confused with electrically-powered light rail vehicles and modern streetcars, and the difference is slight: other than the powertrain and the lack of overhead wires, DMUs that run on freight rail tracks must conform to strict crash regulations. This, unfortunately, makes them heavy. At the same time a DMU can be (arguably) cheaper to operate on routes with light demand.

To make matters even more confusing, one of the few places in America where DMUs operate — New Jersey Transit's River Line — is actually called a light rail line. We can't even tell you that the terms "commuter rail" and "light rail" are even 100% distinct, since systems bearing either label can perform similar goals — transporting commuters to and from the urban core — over similar distances. A good rule of thumb, however, is that light rail better serves urban environments with closer stops; commuter rail better serves suburbs with stops spaced further apart… regardless of the vehicle type or fuel source.

We had a chance to ride a DMU transit route on a recent trip to Portland. The TriMet's Westside Express Service has been in operation since 2009 and serves four suburbs. We'd like to be the one to tell you that this route was trouble-free to construct and operate, but that would be a lie.

Regardless, the day we rode WES it was glitch-free, on-time, full of passengers, and included in our $4.75 all-day transit pass (unusual for US commuter rail). The sensation was a mash-up of riding any other train with the subtle reminder that a large diesel engine was underfoot (and releasing particulate pollution, although not nearly as much as if all riders had chosen to drive congested I-5 instead). Bikes were onboard — you can't really avoid them in Portland, even if you tried — and the easy transfer from light rail, plush seats, and a friendly conductor made our brief trip a pleasant experience.

As for the Sanders proposal, the reliance on DMUs for all-day service on multiple lines would indeed make it unique in all of North America, perhaps the world. The company that built the WES vehicles has reincorporated in Ohio — with a Missouri-based partner, no less — and plans to resume production soon. Hopefully they will engineer improvements that make the vehicles more reliable for daily service.

Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders will be on KCUR's Up To Date this morning to discuss his commuter rail proposal and other county issues (charter review, elections, taxes, etc.). The show begins at 11 a.m. on 89.3 FM and is also available as a live stream. Here's a Rapid Rail Presentation of Sanders' PowerPoint slides, in case you want to bone up before calling in.

We'll bet you a KCATA monthly pass that Clay Chastain will call in, given that Sanders has refused to face-off in a duel debate over the merits of each plan.

Hat tip to the new KC transit blog, Transit Action Network!

Photographer Eric Bowers captured Clay Chastain during his petition drive at Union Station on Saturday, which was also National Train Day. Chastain gathered about 1,000 signatures, but announced today he'd be scaling back the proposal.

Earlier in the week, Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders made a competing pitch to the Kansas City City Council; the Council tentatively agreed to support the Sanders plan [PDF] and is considering a change in the petition process that would require a financial statement from the city auditor for each petition initiative submitted to voters.

Photo used with permission.

We'll be live-tweeting Mike Sanders' Regional Rail presentation at the Central Exchange today. Follow along at http://twitter.com/kclightrail, starting at 11:45 a.m. CST.

This is the item to break our months-long silence: Jackson County CEO Mike Sanders will present his Regional Rail Plan to the Central Exchange on Jan. 26. Members attend for free, non-members pay $30. And yes, men are very much welcome to attend.

We haven't heard a peep out of Sanders since he unveiled his plan to a surprised media way back in October. It was well over a month before any information even appeared on the Jackson County website (don't let that date stamp fool you). The description for next week's event still maintains that stimulus money is being sought to pay for construction, even though all stimulus deadlines related to transit have already passed and it's not a given that a new jobs bill will include transit funding (assuming such a bill even passes, considering the results of this week's special election in Massachusetts).