photos by Luis Inzunza/Metro
It was one small step for the Expo Line this morning when a mock-up of a train vehicle was pushed down the tracks in the USC area to check for clearance issues. Obviously the mock-up doesn’t look like an actual train — the idea is to make sure the tracks and trains are properly aligned with the station platforms.
Within the next few weeks, actual train vehicles are scheduled to be towed along the tracks, followed by trains running under their own power. We’ll let you know when we have the exact dates for these tests to occur.
Construction on the first phase of the line between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City is nearing completion and a partial opening of Expo is tentatively planned for later in the year.
Categories: Projects
I am also wondering when they will put the rain guard up, also how long will it take to graffiti and scratch and vandaile all the metro station.
@Drew: Boston, well Cambridge to be precise, Alewife extension, 1969-design “Silverbird” Pullman-Standards versus the early 1960’s “Bluebird” Pullman-Standards (as seen in the film “Good Will Hunting”) at the present Harvard Square Station.
Fortunately the clearance issue had to do with trackside telephones (probebly not even used there anymore) so it was easily remedied.
[…] Tested at USC (The Source, Friends 4 […]
well, the Green Line has used both Nippon Sharyo and Siemens cars. and the Gold Line has used both Siemens and Breda cars. so one would hope that Nippon and Breda cars would fit into the stations.
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this event is the sort of transit geek nerdy thing which only nerdy transit geeks like me would appreciate, but it is good to know that we are making progress!
All the LRV’s are already built to same specs…. The siemens ran on the same tracks with with Nippon sharyo cars on the green line. then, the siemens ran on the same tracks as the breda’s on the gold line. So, they are all inter compatible specs wise.
Oh, and there will be a glass plate of some kind placed under the canopy of the station for rain protection.
Somehow this is exciting!
However looking at the photos of the station, I keep thinking about how very little shelter the canopy looks like it is going to provide from sun and rain.
Where and when was the mix up back east that you mention? Just curious. Thx.
I sure hope that template/mock-up mimics the clearances of all three manufacturers’ Light Rail cars (Nippon-Shayro, Siemens and AnsaldoBreda), or LA Metro might be in store for a nasty surprise on opening day!
(Don’t laugh, it really happened on a rail transit system in the Eastern USA after they opened an extension. They had measured for their “newer” cars and when the first “older” cars came through…wham!)