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Metro Rail
Locale Buffalo, New York
Transit type Rapid transit
Began operation 1984
System length 6. Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) 4 miles (10. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States 3 km)
No. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand of lines 1
No. of stations 15
Daily ridership 19,100 (avg. weekday, FY 2007)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Operator(s) Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA)

Buffalo Metro Rail is the public transit rail system in Buffalo, New York, USA; it is operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, or NFTA. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. The system consists of a single, 6. 4-mile (10. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States 3 km) long line that runs for most of the length of Main Street, from HSBC Arena downtown to the south campus of the University at Buffalo in the northeast of the city. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as University at Buffalo (UB is a Coeducational public research University, which

Contents

Light rail or metro?

The question of whether Buffalo's Metro Rail is a light rail system or a heavy-rail metro system is not an easy one to answer. For specific light rail systems many of which use the words "light rail" as part of their name see List of light-rail transit systems. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway The Metro Rail uses small, 1-4 car trains powered from an overhead power line, similar to many light rail systems. On the other hand, for 5. 4 miles (8. 7 km), the trains travel underground, totally separate from all other rail and automobile traffic, with high platforms in stations. The southern 1. 2 miles (1. 9 km) of the line is on an at-grade pedestrian mall in downtown Buffalo; while there are no cars traveling on the trains' right-of-way, the trains do interact with auto traffic at cross streets and obey stoplights. A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted – through an Easement or other mechanism – for Transportation purposes such as for a Rail line or

Fleet

Buffalo Metro Rail train entering Allen-Medical Campus station.
Buffalo Metro Rail train entering Allen-Medical Campus station. Allen-Medical Campus, formerly Allen-Hospital, is a station at the north end of Buffalo New York 's downtown area

The NFTA operated 27 LRV cars (Number 101 to 127) for the Metro Rail system. They were built by Tokyu Car Corporation of Japan. is a manufacturer of heavy rail cars in Japan. The company is based in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama Japan, and a member of Tokyu Group: Tokyu Corporation For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

Twelve St. Louis Car Company PCC streetcars from Cleveland, Ohio's Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (obtained second hand in 1953) were bought in 1980s to serve the Tonawanda turn-out, a Metro Rail route to Tonawanda and North Tonawanda. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (officially the GCRTA, but historically and locally referred to as the RTA) is the public transit Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Only used for trial runs, the plan route was scrapped and cars sold to a museum in Brooklyn Historical Railway Association. These cars were scrapped in 2003 when the BHRA folded. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Fleet details:

Current

Proposed

Practical information

Map of Metro Rail system
Map of Metro Rail system

Metro Rail runs seven days a week, weekdays from approximately 6 a. m. to 1 a. m. , Saturdays from 7:30 a. m. to 1 a. m. , Sundays from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m (although bus service is available until 1 a. m. in the same area). Trains run as often as once every seven minutes at rush hour, and no less often than once every twenty minutes. A one-way ticket is $1. 50. You can also buy an All-Day pass for $3. 50, which lets you ride the entire rail and bus system for the entire day. In order to purchase an all day pass, you need to purchase the tickets from a RED Metro Rail ticket vending machine. Monthly passes are also available.

Travel is based more or less on the honor system; tickets are checked by NFTA personnel on trains and, somewhat more frequently, upon exit from stations. Travel on the above-ground portion of the system is free, though ticket machines are available at above-ground stations for those passengers continuing on to the paid area. The trip takes 22 minutes from end to end.

Metro Rail and Metro Bus schedules are can be viewed at www. nfta. com/metro.

Points of interest / Current Stations

History and future

Metro Rail in leaving Lafayette Square station at the Main Court Building across from Lafayette Square in the Free Fare Zone
Metro Rail in leaving Lafayette Square station at the Main Court Building across from Lafayette Square in the Free Fare Zone

Construction

When the Metro Rail began construction in 1978, it was intended to be the first line for an extensive system that would spread throughout the city and suburbs. Special Events, formerly Arena, is the terminus and southernmost station in the Buffalo Metro Rail system Erie Canal Harbor, formerly Auditorium, is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located on Main Street just north of Hanover and Scott Streets next to the Buffalo Seneca is a Buffalo Metro Rail station located on the Buffalo Place right-of-way corridor in downtown Buffalo New York. Church is a Buffalo Metro Rail station that serves downtown Buffalo New York, near Church and Pearl Streets Lafayette Square is a Buffalo Metro Rail station near City Hall and is near the center of the 's Central Business District at Lafayette Square. Fountain Plaza, formerly Huron, is a Buffalo Metro Rail station in downtown Buffalo New York. Theater is a Buffalo Metro Rail station that serves the entertainment and theater districts of downtown Buffalo New York. ‎ Shea's Performing Arts Center is a theater for touring Broadway musicals and special events in Buffalo, New York. Allen-Medical Campus, formerly Allen-Hospital, is a station at the north end of Buffalo New York 's downtown area The Anchor Bar is a restaurant located at 1047 Main at North St Buffalo wings, chicken wings, hot wings or wings are Chicken wing sections (called Wings or "flats" and drummettes The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is a 100 acre (400000 m² medical campus in downtown Buffalo New York, dedicated to developing clinical research and academic excellence Summer-Best is a Buffalo Metro Rail station serving the junction of Summer and Best Streets at Main Street Utica Station is located in an area of Buffalo New York undergoing redevelopment Delavan/Canisius College (formerly Delavan-College station is a Metro Rail station in Buffalo New York. Canisius College (kəˈniːʃəs is a private Catholic College in the Delaware Park district of north-central Buffalo New York. Humboldt-Hospital Station is located at the western end of Kensington Avenue and Main Street in the City of Buffalo New York. Canisius College (kəˈniːʃəs is a private Catholic College in the Delaware Park district of north-central Buffalo New York. Medaille College is a private coeducational four-year college located in central Buffalo, New York. Delaware Park is located in Buffalo, New York, USA. It was designed as part of a coordinated system of Parks Parkways and Traffic Amherst Street Station is a Metro Rail underground station located at the north end of Buffalo New York. Founded in 1875 the Buffalo Zoo located in Buffalo New York is the third oldest zoo in the United States. Delaware Park is located in Buffalo, New York, USA. It was designed as part of a coordinated system of Parks Parkways and Traffic LaSalle Station is located near the north end of the Metro Rail light rail line in Buffalo New York. Previously known as "South Campus Station" University Station is the last and most northerly station on the Buffalo Metro Rail line State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as University at Buffalo (UB is a Coeducational public research University, which Lafayette Square is a Buffalo Metro Rail station near City Hall and is near the center of the 's Central Business District at Lafayette Square. The Main Court Building is an Office building in located on the corner of Main Street and Court Street across the Buffalo Metro Rail from Lafayette Square Lafayette Square (formerly Court House Park or Courthouse Square) The square formerly hosted the original Erie County Courthouse the original Erie County Jail and However, during the construction of the line and afterwards, Buffalo's population significantly declined. As a result, the new line's ridership was much lower than originally anticipated. The cost of the urban section was so high that no funding was available to extend the lines into the suburbs, including the Amherst campus of the University at Buffalo. Amherst is a Town in Erie County, New York, US, directly northeast of the City of Buffalo. Efforts to obtain funding for feeder lines have met with little success.

The downtown business district

The construction of the pedestrian mall along Main Street downtown coincided with the decentralization of the region's population and retail market. Like many other cities in the Northeast, suburban shopping malls were being developed in closer proximity to regional population growth and regional wealth. This shift in retail concentration and regional wealth resulted in downtown Buffalo losing many of its long time anchor department stores and smaller shops to suburban malls and strip plazas. It was these retailers that originally served as some of the major traffic generators for Metro Rail. Overall, the 1980s saw a decline in the area's economic health, reducing both the number of potential passengers and the tax base available to fund the system.

The city of Buffalo is planning to reintroduce cars onto Main Street in a shared trackbed/ roadway. Curb parking lanes will be provided for short-term visitors. The project is expected to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2011. [1]

Railcar rehabilitation

It was announced in May 2006 that all of the LRV railcars will be rehabilitated by AnsaldoBreda. This project will be completed at SuperSteel's manufacturing facilities located in Schenectady, NY. The rehabilitation is scheduled to be complete in 2010 and will feature many improvements. The improvements will include enhanced video monitoring of the railcar interiors, upgraded brakes, rebuilt HVAC systems, rebuilt door systems, a brand new white, blue and gray interior, upgraded propulsion, and repair to the body shells. In addition, the railcars will receive new monitoring systems, automated announcements, new door chimes, and interior/exterior LED signage to replace existing rollsigns. The first rehabilitated railcars are expected to be in service around Spring 2008.

Future prospects

There are currently no viable plans to expand the system. Still, the truncated system serves 23,000 passengers daily. Some downtown business groups occasionally call for the removal of the transit system so that they can return to normal vehicle traffic and curbside parking, hoping that this measure might recreate the prosperous days of the past. Without extended branches in the suburbs, the system serves primarily a declining city population and those suburbanites who take buses or cars to one of the outer stations.

One group, the Citizens for Regional Transit (CRTC), advocates the cause for expansion. As indicated in their statement, the CRTC seeks to educate the public, public officials, their authorities and agencies in the Buffalo-Niagara region about the benefits of a comprehensive transportation system including an expanded Metro Rail.

Two lines that are at the front of CRTC's agenda include the Airport Corridor, and a Tonawanda Corridor, proposed as following:

The Airport Corridor would begin in Downtown Buffalo, near the current Metro Rail's CHURCH station, and continue in an easterly direction in/out Division Sts. , diagonally in a northeastern direction near Jefferson toward the abandoned New York Central Terminal, cross Broadway, and then continue eastbound in its private ROW (Right of Way) to the Thruway Plaza, Walden Galleria and Buffalo Airport. Walden Galleria is an enclosed Shopping mall located in the Buffalo New York suburb of Cheektowaga.

The Tonawandas Corridor would operate from LaSalle Station northwesterly to the City of Tonawanda using the abandoned Erie Railroad tracks. The NFTA went as far as purchasing second-hand PCC trolleys (the first regularly schedule service in the area using PCC cars) from Cleveland, Ohio. The idea for using these cars was scrapped because the cars were too wide to operate down Main Street.

On Monday, December 4, 2006, in The Spectrum, a publication of the University at Buffalo (UB), it was announced that UB President John B. Simpson is planning to get a project underway that would connect UB's three campuses via a transportation system. State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as University at Buffalo (UB is a Coeducational public research University, which John B Simpson is the current president of the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York system The proposed systems included a subway, trolley or light rail.

Annual ridership

Year Ridership
1996 7,135,746
1997 6,918,812
1998 7,213,821
1999 6,335,643
2000 6,568,165
2001 6,355,955
2002 5,797,407
2003 5,857,687
2004 5,478,002
2005 5,373,321
2006 5,631,864

Source: [1]

See also

References

  1. ^ Return of Vehicular Traffic to Main Street. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This is a list of rapid transit systems around the world Such systems are commonly called metros subways elevated railways rapid rail or underground railways Buffalo Place Inc. . Retrieved on 2008-04-24. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to

External links

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