6th Annual
California Passenger Rail Summit
Wed. and Thu., April 18 and 19, 2018
Los Angeles Metro Board Room, 3rd Floor,
One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012
and Los Angeles Union Station Historic Ticket Office
View from LA Metro 3rd Floor Cafeteria's outdoor seating area - LA Union station is directly above Patrick Henry Dome Photo Credit: Carl@TrainWeb.com
LA Union Station near sunset.
Keynote Speakers:
Richard Anderson, Chief Executive
Officer, Amtrak Chad Edison, Deputy Director-Rail,
California State Transportation Agency Darrell Johnson, Chief Executive
Officer, Orange County Transportation Agency Jim Hartnett, Chief Executive
Officer, Caltrain Paul Jablonski, Chief Executive
Officer, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director,
Southern California Association of Governments Jennifer Bergener, Managing
Director, LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency David Kutrosky, Managing Director,
Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Agency Stephanie Wiggins, Executive
Officer, LA Metro
Report and Photography with assistance scooter considerations by Carl Morrison,
Comments and Corrections
welcomed at: Carl@TrainWeb.com
All
photos
available for re-publication. Please keep the copyright on the
photo and mention TrainWeb.com in the text next to the photo.
To
request a high resolution photo, click the photo in this report once
and copy the photo's number (such as: _MG_4708.JPG).
E-mail those
numbers toCarl@TrainWeb.com. Click
any photo
for a copy with a black background; Any downsized photo will be
larger.
Conference
Purpose: To meet with
leaders in the rail industry for discussions regarding the
modernization and integration of passenger rail service in California.
This modernization and integration effort is being held by the
California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and the Federal
Railroad Administration, working with transportation agencies
throughout the state, to create an environment of investment in
passenger rail infrastructure that has been unparalleled in recent
years and will continue to grow.
Speakers
will discuss funding, development, and strategic approaches to
the growth of passenger rail in the state. Joining us at this event
will be state and federal representatives, passenger rail agencies, and
other leaders working together to shape the future of passenger rail.
PROGRAM AGENDA
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 08:00 AM : Registration and Breakfast
Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Room,
Third Floor, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90012.
Coffee & Pastries. Registration Tables open until 4pm. 09:00 AM - 04:00 PM : Equipment Displays
Los Angeles Union Station Track 15.
Go down
into the passenger tunnel that leads to Los Angeles Union Station.
Go up the
very first set of stairs or ramp to the Track 14 platform.
Once up on the platform, walk to the end and around to Track 15.
(There are no stairs or ramps directly up to Track 15).
Locomotive: Siemens Charger (Capitol Corridor), Progress Rail Tier 4
(Metrolink)
Passenger Cars: Metrolink, Amtrak, Patrick Henry Private Railcars
Knowing
the schedule was pretty tight for getting to see the equipment
displays, I arrived early for some morning photos and returned later
when the cars were open for conference visitors.
Progress Rail Tier 4 (Metrolink No. 911)
Siemens Charger (Capitol Corridor)
Interior from No. 2106 at the 2017 CPRS in Sacramento
Those who had registered for the Regional
Connector Transit Project (10:00 - 12:00) were issued TAP cards to take
the Metro to the project headquarters at 1st and Alameda Station.
The headquarters for the project is behind the green fencing at 1st and Alameda.
The tour was led by the same person who led it 2 years ago at the CPRS here in LA, Mat Antonelli.
In the hallway to the meeting room was this photo of "Angeli" who did all the tunneling for the project.
It had been announced to wear appropriate shoes for a construction site, or they would be provided as above.
Additionally, we were provided with goggles, hard hats, safety vests, and gloves.
Mat Antonelli gave an excellent slide presentation about the project.
All properly dressed we were off to the project site.
Mat Antonelli skillfully led the tour with safety first in mind.
Our first look down into the new station pit. Steel pipes are
part of the station structure, the top beam is the bridge for traffic
on Alameda and 1st Streets.
Eastern side of the station pit. Horizontal bars are anchors angled down into the sides of the cut.
The two 18 ft. diameter tunnels under Little Tokoyo.
About 4 stories below street level, you realize the depth of the
tunnels at this point. Tunnels are over 100 ft. deep under Bunker
Hill and the Music Center.
Here you can see how the anchors angle down into the soil outside the walls.
With men entering the 18 ft. diameter tunnel, you have a size indicator.
A locomotive moves two flat cars into the tunnel.
We walked into the tunnerl about 3 to 4 blocks on the temporary
walkway. The pre-cast panels are the structure of the tunnel.
We walked in as far as a crossover between the two tunnels.
You can see the thickness of the panels behind Bob Manning, and equipment in the second tunnel on the right.
Matt took a photo of our group as we emerged and headed back to the Summit.
This image shows the size of the tunnel compared to our group.
Our climb out of the tunnel level to street level.
Matt had described the consistency of what they were boring through was
like silly putty. There were trucks continually taking this out
of the city.
Los
Angeles Union Station Tour (12:00 - 1:00) [Changed to 1:45 because
regional connector tour returned late]
Ken Pratt lead the Station Tour.
The Station tour began at the Information booth.
Kenneth Pratt lead the Station Tour from the former ticket office which was being set up for the evening's reception.
Much of the area has been restored including the removal of years and years of cigarette smoke from all surfaces.
The chandeliers were made of 5 colors of brass, but were flat black before refurbishing.
The 1939 ceiling looks like wooden beams, but is steal beams with plaster and painted.
We walked to the hallway from the station to the original Harvey House.
The through the south patio.
View of the clock tower from the south patio.
.
Entrance to the waiting room from the south patio.
Waiting area looking west toward the original Alameda entrance.
Waiting area from middle looking east towards the tunnel under the
tracks. This area used to have more homeless than the 200-some seats
and Ken explained how the area is now a pleasant place for passengers..
11:00 AM - 01:00 PM : Grab and Go Lunch
LA Metro Cafeteria Foyer, 3rd Floor
The "Grab and Go Lunch" provided an opportunity to go to the LA Metro
Cafeteria 3rd Floor outside eating area (left of the photo below) for
an overview of the Patrick Henry cars on display and a view of downtown
LA including Union Station.
Dodger Stadium on the hill at Chavez Ravine, and what looks like a
steam powered Metro, but you can see the catenary and the steam is from
a foundary beyone the tracks.
Union Station from Metro Bldg. 3rd Floor outdoor seating for the Cafe.
.
03:00 PM - 03:30 PM : Welcome
New to this year's CPRS are videos of each speaker with all of their PowerPoint slides.
Linda
Culp, San Diego Association of Governments, Conference Co-Chair
Bob
Manning, Southwest Rail Passenger Association, Conference Co-Chair
03:30 PM - 03:55 PM : California High-Speed Rail Update
Brian Kelly, California High-Speed Rail Authority
03:55 PM - 04:30 PM : CEO Roundtable
Jim Hartnett, Caltrain
Ray Wolfe, San Bernardino County Transportation Agency
Hasan Ikhrata, Southern California Association of Governments
Moderator
05:00 PM - 07:00 PM : Welcome Reception
Los
Angeles Union Station Historic Ticket Office, 800 N. Alameda St, Los
Angeles, CA.
A short
walk from LA Metro through the passenger tunnel to Los Angeles Union
Station
and the station's historic ticket counter area.
Welcome, Linda
Culp, San Diego Association of Governments, Conference Co-Chair
Keynote Address: Therese McMillan, Chief Planning Officer, LA Metro
Thursday, April 19, 2018 08:00 AM : Registration and Breakfast
Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Room,
Third Floor, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90012.
Coffee & Pastries. 09:00 AM - 04:00 PM : Equipment Displays
Los Angeles Union Station Track 15 09:15 AM : Welcome
02:45 PM - 04:00 PM : Building Essential Transit / Land Use Links at Stations
Don Berry, ESRI
Carrie Schindler, San Bernardino County Transportation Agency
Bill Ekern, City of San Jose
Meghan Murphy, Transbay Terminal
Richard Phelps, Southwest Rail Passenger Association - Moderator
04:00 PM - 04:45 PM : Transportation Financing
Neil Peterson, Transportation Solutions
David Kutrosky, Capitol Corridor
Don Sepulveda, Kleinfelder - Moderator
04:45 PM - 05:00 PM : Closing Remarks
Linda
Culp, San Diego Association of Governments, Conference Co-Chair
For people who use mobility
assistance, this year's report will include notes about traveling with
an assistance scooter on trains, Metro light-rail, Uber, LAUS
Station Tour, Regional Connector Tour, the Metro Board Room, and the
conference hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown.
.
