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Pasadena Blog, Under the Dome, has found that there is an alternative plan/idea to expand the Gold Line out to Claremont. Instead of light rail, as we know the Gold Line today, the extension would be Metrolink. From reporter Dan Abendschein: "An alternative plan, said Snoble, would be to build the Gold Line as far as Azusa/Glendora, then build a heavy rail Metrolink line from there to Claremont to link the Gold Line to existing Metrolink lines. That would be more cost-effective, said Snoble, because light rail is more expensive to power with an electric system than a fuel-based one."
One Plan Suggest to Replace Gold Line Ext. with Metrolink
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Any ideas why the 110 off/on ramps will be shut down for 1 year starting tomorrow from the hours of
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More 'cost-effective' in the short term perhaps.
50 years out, we'll be wishing we built heavy, electric rail. (ie: subways, red lines, elevated trains)
Light rail, metrolink, busways etc are such short-term thinking.
What is with Snoble and the MTA anyway? It seams whenever they have a decision they make they make the wrong one. Electric is much less expensive to operate than diesel (which keeps us dependent on Arab oil) and not that much more expensive to build. This half thought out idea would require passengers to transfer and wait between trains. A LRT operation lends itself to frequent service and high capacity which this route will generate. MetroLink as good as it is will be expensive to operate any more than hourly service.
If the Gold line is built efficiently with out all of the MTA Gold Plating it can be built for well under 50 million and closer to 30 million dollars a mile. Let the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority build the line and keep it away from the MTA. The LRT cars are have been paid for and are already being built and will be here well before any construction will start on the Gold Line Foothill extension.
With all of this in place, why would the MTA even seriously consider let alone recommend MetroLink service over LRT service in this dense corridor?