Video: Rain didn’t stop 2011 Tournament of Roses Queen Evanne Elizabeth Friedmann, Princess Tenaya Miyoko Senzaki and Princess Michelle Kaye Washington from an official and enthusiastic endorsement of the Metro Gold Line. The royal entourage joined with Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Director Michael Antonovich, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, members of the Los Angeles Kimono Club, transit officials and civic leaders in the Little Tokyo community on Wednesday to encourage taking public transit to the New Year’s festivities in Pasadena. And, while you’re at it, take the Gold Line to Little Tokyo for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in April.

More info here: Reminder: Metro Rail and Orange Line run all night tonight; extra service added on Gold Line for Tournament of Roses

Details + Schedule for Overnight 24-Hour Rail Service for New Year’s Eve

So noted, but worth repeating: after the jump

• Metro Rail is safest, most convenient, affordable and most recommended choice for traveling to New Year’s festivities
• No wind-related incidents impact Metro Rail service during Thursday’s high wind advisory. Mild forecast promises clear sailing to Tournament of Roses Parade as well as all New Year’s celebrations and Rosebowl Game.

With high gasoline prices, congestion and local parking problems associated with recent rains, riding Metro to parade events remains one of the easiest ways to travel for local and out-of-town visitors alike.

Metro will provide 24-hour service on Metro Rail and the Metro Orange Line Dec. 31 in order to accommodate patrons throughout L.A. County who want to attend the Pasadena New Year’s festivities.

(Note: The Long Beach Transit Mall will be closed from 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 through 3 a.m. on Jan 1 due to a special event. As a result, Blue Line will operate modified service during this time.)

Metro also will be providing  free rides Dec. 31 on all Metro bus and rail lines from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 1.  After 2 a.m., regular fares go into effect.

In addition to the overnight service, Metro will run additional trains and more frequent service on the Metro Gold Line to accommodate the large numbers of anticipated riders beginning at 5 a.m. and continuing through 9 p.m., with trains running as frequently as every seven to eight minutes to and from Pasadena.

The 122nd Rose Parade will begin Saturday, Jan. 1. at 8 a.m.  Parade goers can access any of four Pasadena train stations close to the Parade route on Colorado Boulevard.  Memorial Park and Del Mar stations are about two blocks from the Parade route; the Lake and Allen stations are approximately four blocks from the Parade route.

Parking is available at several Metro Gold Line Stations, including Sierra Madre Villa, Del Mar, Fillmore, Mission, Heritage Square/Arroyo, Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park, Union Station, Indiana and Atlantic.   Additional parking is available at stations servicing other countywide rail lines as well. Visit metro.net for a list of additional park & ride lots on the Metro System.

Rose Bowl officials are highly recommending that those attending the 97th Rose Bowl Game®  Presented by VIZIO following the parade utilize the Metro Rail System or carpool, as availability of parking is extremely limited in several nearby parking areas due to excessive rains and flooding. Football fans using Metro Rail should travel to the Metro Gold Line Station at Memorial Park. Upon arrival at the station, they should then walk three blocks west on Holly Street to the Parsons Corporation complex to catch the free Rose Bowl Game shuttle bus, with service starting at 10 a.m.

Metro is also teaming up with the Tournament of Roses to provide easy access to view the Rose Parade floats after the parade.  Take the Metro Gold Line to the Sierra Madre Villa Station in East Pasadena.  Then board a shuttle bus from the Bus Plaza on the first level of the parking structure that provides direct service to Victory Park, where the floats will be displayed Jan. 1-2.

Repairs to the damaged catenary wires and a section of track along the Metro Blue Line that restricted trains to every 20 minutes since Monday afternoon were completed in the early morning hours. The section of track and overhead power supply at the Gage Ave. crossing underwent a series of tests before service was allowed to return, reports Bruce Shelburne, a rail operations director.

What was happening: Damage to the overhead catenary wires and a section of track Monday afternoon stalled a Blue Line train at the Gage Avenue crossing between the Florence and Washington stations.  Hampered by weather conditions, the train was towed late Monday evening and repairs got underway. Trains were using a single track between the Washington and Florence stations, causing 20-minute delays in the normal weekday schedule.

What was happening: A lightning strike in downtown Los Angeles a little after 2 p.m. briefly knocked out power in the Red Line Rail facility and caused a power loss from Maravilla to Mariachi stations on the Gold Line Eastside Extension. Subway service was not affected.

A shuttle train is operating between Atlantic and Maravilla. A bus bridge is being assembled to ferry passengers between Maravilla, Indiana, Soto and Mariachi Plaza stations.  

Metro Bus Line 30 on First St. and Montebello Bus Line 40 on Third St. can be used as alternate service. The service north of Mariachi to Union Station and Sierra Madre Villa is not impacted.

For real-time service alerts, go to www.metro.net or follow twitter.com/metroLAalerts.

Damage to the overhead catenary wires and a section of track Monday afternoon stalled a Blue Line train at the Gage Avenue crossing between the Florence and Washington stations.  Trains are using a single track between the Washington and Florence stations, causing 20-minute delays in the normal weekday schedule.

Crews are continuing to work to complete the repairs, as weather conditions allow. Once all repairs are made, a series of tests will need to be completed before the section of track / overhead power supply will be allowed to return to service, reports Bruce Shelburne, a rail operations director.

Passengers are encouraged to use the Silver Line, Lines 450x and 460 and Green Line as alternate routing. Express zone charges for Harbor Transitway services are being waived until disruption is over. (See service advisory for current Blue Line schedule and alternate route details.)

The Overhead Power System failure was caused by a broken section insulator, but the support wire and the train contact wire did not break. The train came to a stop on the Slauson Station grade. Photo by Luis Inzunza

UPDATE: 9 p.m. Here’s a complete rundown of Blue Line’s modified schedule for tomorrow, Dec. 21, plus alternate travel options.

UPDATE 10 p.m. Repairs underway after the jump.

UPDATE: 5:30 p.m. – Report from Rail Operations Director Bruce Shelburne:

The Overhead Power System failure was caused by a broken section insulator. This caused the next passing train to take down the hanger support wires for approximately 2000 feet.

Good news. The support wire and the train contact wire did not break. At this time, only the hanger support wires, connecting the main support and train contact wires were damaged.

Bad news. The train came to a stop on the Slauson Station grade. The constant rain will require significant safety precautions to be in place before the train can be prepared to move.

Once the train is prepped for towing back to the Maintenance Yard, each car will have to be uncoupled and moved individually with a hi-rail truck, designed for the specific purpose of moving rail cars.

The primary problem with this operation is weight of the cars needing to be moved over wet rails on a grade. This action may need to be delayed until weather conditions improve, to provide for extra, wet weather safety measures to be in place.

Blue Line service will remain at trains every 20 minutes until further notice, until at least Wednesday. Peak periods will have two trains running back-to-back in the same direction, followed by two trains in the opposite direction.

Optional service via Green Line and Harbor Transitway buses, listed in the previous announcement should continue to be considered by all passengers.

Updates will continue to be made as necessary.

We apologize for the major inconvenience.

UPDATE 10 p.m. Repairs get underway

The disabled train was prepared for towing approximately 8 p.m.  Rail Fleet Maintenance personnel then coupled the hi-rail truck to the 3-car train and slowly backed it down the Slauson grade, maintaining control throughout the process.  The train and hi-rail vehicle made it to level ground without any significant complications.

The train has been moved to Florence and is awaiting a rescue train to tow it to the Blue Line Maintenance Facility in Long Beach. This action will be completed after service ends tonight so as not to create any more delays than are already being experienced.

Wayside Traction Power personnel now have to inspect, replace and repair 2000′ of various components to the overhead power supply.  This will include:

1) straightening of cantilever arms (they are attached perpendicular to the primary OCS poles between the tracks, sususpending the the support and contact lines over the trackway);

2) inspect and repair feeder cables as necessary (these take the power from main feed lines connected to the Traction Power Sub-Stations);

3) replace the failed section insulator;

4) replace and or repair the hanger wires between the support wire and the contact wire

Crews will be working all night and all day Tuesday to complete the task.  The work is definitely subject to weather conditions, as rain and wind will require slowing down the work to ensure personnel safety.

UPDATE: 9 p.m. Here’s a complete rundown of Blue Line’s modified schedule for tomorrow, Dec. 21, plus alternate travel options.

See previous post: Expect 25-minute delays on Blue Line; damage to overhead wires stalls train at Gage Ave. crossing

What was happening: North Hollywood Red Line station was closed for an hour during LASD investigation.

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept. activities that began at 4 p.m. at North Hollywood Station have cancelled subway service to North Hollywood but service continues without delays on the rest of the Metro Red Line. Trains continue to Universal City and return from that station. Passengers exiting at Universal Station can catch Metro Bus Line 224 to North Hollywood. Orange Line buses are currently being extended to provide service between Universal City and North Hollywood, then to Warner Center.

We had the opportunity to interview Kevin Taylor, General Manager of the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) who will be speaking at the 11th Annual Rail Safety 2011 conference on the 23rd and 24th of March 2011 in Sydney.

1. The theme for RISSB’s Rail Safety 2011 is ‘Thinking outside the square’. How is this theme reflected in the 2011 conference program?
2. Although rail is one of the safest modes of transport, what do you see as the greatest challenges and priorities to improving the industry’s safety performance?
3. What role does technology play in reducing incidents?
4. In addition to the two-day conference program, Rail Safety 2011 includes a pre-conference workshop on SFAIRP and the ever-popular Rail Safety Dinner. In the mix of information and networking sessions available, what do you hope attendees will take away from the event?

For more information, go to http://www.railsafetyconference.com.au or contact +61 2 9080 4307.

This little guy had a hard time climbing back onto the platform

It is NEVER acceptable to play on railroad tracks

I won’t elaborate on why this is dangerous and illegal. But if you’re a parent, please think of your own children. Staying safe around railroad tracks is an important lesson for the whole family.

At Capital Metro we have a great community involvement team, and since long before MetroRail even started, our staffers have flooded schools up and down the rail line with rail safety materials. They’d be happy to schedule a  presentation for your school, neighborhood or organization. See our rail safety page for details.

And while on the subject of transit safety (see previous post), I wanted to point your attention to Metro’s transit safety page.

The page is new, nicely organized and there’s a small mountain of educational material targeted for children of all ages, as well as adults. Metro has already received requests for some of the materials from educators outside the region who have been perusing the web site — including a parent from Kansas whose local school is near railroad tracks.

The above video is one of many on Metro’s website. There are also a series of animations targeting kids. That’s a screen shot to the right showing one of them.

Also, as we’ve noted in the past, Metro offers free safety presentations to schools and other community groups. It’s a great resource and I hope you consider taking advantage of it whether rail is new to your neighborhood or has been there a while. More info is here.

“It’s not a record easy to receive and we’re very proud of it,” Steven Welch, system safety and compliance manager for HTSI, said. Such a record is hard-won and easy to lose, all it takes is one unsafe strike and it’s gone.

When every day presents the challenge of hitting a home run in safety, employees must be focused. It all comes down to communication. “Before we start any task we have a job briefing and everyone understands what has to be done,” Welch said. “Our goal for safety is one day at a time.”

HTSI’s 60 employees have worked 100,000+ man-hours without an accident and are proud of their achievement. This also means that have had a perfect record of batting a thousand on safety.

Herzog has a very good industry average for safety, and it’s a great thing to hear that their performance here is no exception.

Voice your  comments here or discuss them in our linkedin group – click here to take you there!

An African-American man believed to be in his 30s stepped in front of a southbound train and died at the scene. LASD and Pasadena Police are investigating.

All warning devices – bell, crossing arm gates, horn, flashing lights – were working properly, according to Metro officials. The coroner has not issued a statement.

Trains were single-tracking around the site of the incident until shortly before 8 a.m. when normal service resumed. This is the second fatality on the Metro Gold Line since it opened in the summer of 2003. The other fatality was ruled a suicide.

“Having two new offices in locations nearer to key customers makes good business sense. The efficiency savings we’ll make by cutting travelling time and reducing our carbon footprint are substantial, so everyone gains as a result. Many of our engineers and account managers spend hours travelling to visit customers. We’re looking at new ways that take staff well-being into account yet maintain the service excellence that we know our customers value.”

In Ashby de la Zouch, in Leicestershire, by moving into a brand new, low-energy building on the Ivanhoe Business Park, near to Derby and the rail industry hub, Hima-Sella establishes a convenient East Midlands base, close to all the main rail companies in the UK, easily accessible by road and an hour away from London by train.

The Ashby office is being fitted out this month with plans for staff in the transportation and automated engineering team to be in place by July. With two new office locations, technology such as video conferencing will be used to improve business efficiency and reduce the amount of time spent travelling.

The Hima-Sella office in Aberdeen is located at the Energy Industries Council (EIC) Carden Place premises at the heart of the energy capital of Europe, which hosts Offshore Europe and is home to many oil companies and energy-related contractors, suppliers, agencies, government bodies and research organisations.

Hima-Sella remains 100% committed to its Stockport headquarters, being refurbished over the summer with a new reception area, enhanced office accommodation and improved catering facilities for the 100-strong staff.

Wright adds, “We’re strongly committed to taking Hima-Sella forward as planned this year and these two additional office locations will help us to capitalise on our growing reputation and credibility with key customers. Opening new offices closer to customers, combined with the enhancement of our existing Stockport site gives us the ability to accommodate future expansion.”

Of course, entering the railroad right-of-way is a big no-no whether you’re on foot or in your old pickup truck. More seriously, it’s extremely dangerous. As it turns out, trespassing wasn’t the only crime this truck driver committed, according to police. I’ll let Fox-7 tell you the rest of the story:

03_30_10 KTBC 5PM Truck in ROW

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The platform cameras are monitored 24-hours a day by security staff and rail dispatchers to observe any unusual or unsafe activity; they can send an officer out immediately if needed.  For example, rail dispatchers recently spotted this truck encroaching in the railroad right-of-way near the MLK station:

5-yard penalty for encroachment (and the real penalties and dangers are more severe)

We’ve seen worse, including people walking on the tracks and even setting up tripods on the tracks to take pictures (very dangerous and illegal).  With the cameras, we can also keep an eye on crowd sizes on station platforms as well as the ticket vending machines.

A couple of TV stations took a look at our camera system yesterday.  Here’s some of the coverage:

03_16_10 KVUE 5PM Rail Safety

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03_16_10 KXAN 6PM Rail Safety

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Construction delays for Metro Blue Line service in downtown Los Angeles are expected to continue through mid-morning on Monday. A bus bridge remains in effect to shuttle passengers between Grand and 7t St/ Metro Center stations. Passengers may experience significant travel delays of up to 40 minutes throughout this period and are advised to allow extra time to complete their trips.

Blue Line trains were not operating this weekend north of Washington Station to allow for Exposition Line construction on Flower St. and Washington Blvd. in downtown Los Angeles. The San Pedro, Grand, Pico and 7th St/Metro Center stations were closed during the construction.

Rail service from Washington Station to Long Beach Transit Mall and service on the Metro Red/Purple subway lines are not affected.

Alissa Schram, Doug Allen and Elaine Timbes preach rail safety to the news media

About once a month we invite the news media to come in and sit down with the boss, Doug Allen, for a casual conversation about all things Capital Metro. The popular topic du jour this time was—big surprise—MetroRail with an emphasis on rail safety.

Here’s a look at a couple of the TV stories that ran Tuesday evening:

02_23_10 KTBC Rail story 9pm

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02_23_10 KAKW Rail story 5pm

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This is what 600 students looks like... I took this on my phone before the presentation started at Webb.

Having lived and grown up immediately adjacent to our Red Line in East Austin near 5^th & Comal, I intimately understand that the only trains many of the kids have seen is the slower moving, loud freight trains that one can hear from as far away as a quarter mile, and many do not fully understand the dangers- as I didn’t growing up- of walking down the tracks or being in the rail right-of-way. 

I take these presentations to heart, and that is why it is critically important that during our interactive presentations we communicate the message that  MetroRail trains are quieter and moving faster than freight trains. Always obey the signs and signals at rail crossings!

As Central Texas prepares for its first passenger rail service line from Austin to Leander, Capital Metro has been proactive in reaching out to communities along the Red Line to educate and inform them on rail safety. Capital Metro is the first transit agency in the nation to establish an innovative rail safety curriculum.  We clearly understand that there are many places of work, worship, education, and play that are very near the tracks.

Capital Metro’s rail safety community outreach has been an ongoing campaign for two years, including school and workplace presentations, collaborations with both the Girl Scouts of Central Texas and the Boy Scouts of America Capitol Area Council, a locally-produced PSA that is heard on TV & radio, as well as on every AISD school bus, and the creation of a nationally-recognized rail safety Web site, stayoffthetracks.com. Capital Metro and a community-based volunteer coalition called GROW (Grassroots Rail Outreach Working group) have worked together to make rail safety a priority and coordinate with community groups, governmental entities and businesses to get involved in helping spread the rail safety message. Many of you may know my colleague Alissa Schram, our community rail safety liaison, who has been working with GROW since its inception.

Stay safe out there!