I really like the way this system is engineered, it's super fast and efficient for something that runs at grade, especially when you compare it to the at grade portions of the LA Metro, which choke along at a snail's pace. This is what proper LRT should be.
It stops way too often and at too many lights. And with the additions being constructed making it into a system as opposed to it's current one line I foresee it getting slower at transfer stops and such. Much more needs to be done in phx to achieve corridors of more efficient public transit. There should be more bus dedicated lanes so they have priority at stop lights at the very minimum.
@@geodavras I’ve been stuck using Phoenix public transit for nearly four months, and it’s amazing how slow and inefficient it is. Especially when contrasted with how good our freeway and major street system is for those who drive. There’s absolutely no coordination between transferring routes, and it’s a normal occurrence to get to a transfer point just in time to watch your other bus drive off and have to wait 30-40 minutes for the next one. Funny you mention dedicated bus lanes. Years ago at many major intersections Phoenix added right turn lanes signed as “right turn only except buses” with bus pull out stops directly across the intersection from them. The idea was for the bus to not get stuck behind through traffic at red lights and be able to pull directly into the bus stop across the street as soon as the light changed. Now the bus drivers have been directed not to use them so they’re stuck in traffic in the next lane over while cars turning right pass in them.
@@CityLifeinAmerica That’s good to know. I haven’t been to Chandler in over six months, back when I was driving and looking for karaoke gigs in the area. With public transit being what it is here, that’s like a world away from me now.
You should head to Avondale civic center and ride on one of the 2007 New Flyer D40LFRS (its the same buses that run express routes for the west valley)
The area it services is very limited, and it doesn’t run between 11pm & 5:30am. Most of the people riding it are homeless junkies. If you move here, I highly suggest you buy a car.
@@jmheavymetal The new system they’re installing in all the trains will announce buses as well. We are getting Clever Devices (same as buses) to replace the existing GeoFocus rail passenger information system.
1:40 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: CENTER AND MAIN ST. CITY CENTER AND MESA ARTS CENTER. EXIT TO LEFT.” 3:33 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: COUNTRY CLUB AND MAIN ST. CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. EXIT TO LEFT.” 6:14 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: ALMA SCHOOL AND MAIN ST. EXIT TO LEFT.” 9:04 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: SYCAMORE AND MAIN ST. EXIT TO LEFT. 12:36 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: PRICE FWY AND APACHE BLVD. EXIT TO LEFT.” 49:53 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: 3RD ST AND WASHINGTON. BALL PARK, ARENA, AND CONVENTION CENTER. EXIT TO RIGHT.”
It’s not because of the “children who drive the trains.” The train operators are professionals who have gone through an extensive, months-long training course and series of tests to become qualified to operate a several-dozen-ton train with hundreds of passengers inside. But who else on the road hasn’t had to go through such an intense training course to operate a vehicle? Regular old drivers, who often intersect with the train’s path when making left turns or driving across a perpendicular street. Drivers have a habit of testing the limits and trying to beat light rail trains at intersections, which forces train operators to blow their horns and ring their bells quite a bit to warn stupid drivers to get out of their way. It’s not the train operator’s fault - it’s the dumb drivers’ faults.
@@OliversElevators OOOoo, sounds impressive. The fact is, I live next to a station and you don't. Given everything you've said, what is the safety reason or training protocol for exchanging horns and chimes as the trains pass each other while nowhere near an intersection? Just to name one example.
@@brozbro they do that sometimes to greet each other as they pass. It’s not illegal and for the train operators, it’s a nice way to greet their fellow operators after spending most of the day alone in the cab. If you’re so annoyed by it, why did you choose to live near the line? At least it’s not freight trains with ridiculously-loud horns going by several times a day. Plenty of people have to deal with that.
@@OliversElevators I moved here because I've lived in three other cities where the operators were adults, not children "greeting" each other. You should ask them why they took a job where they would obviously work alone. Bus drivers don't "greet" each other, cab drivers don't either or cops or firemen.
This crap costs 140 Million dollars (Per mile) of our money to build, do you know how many busses that would buy? And don't kid yourself, its not green, where do you think all that electricity comes from.
@@ian-hm6cx - never said they were greener, but they aren't that bad (running on natural gas instead of diesel) this proposed new extension will cost 1/2 BILLION dollars and never operate at a profit. It doesn't make good fiscal sense. They cant fill the potholes around here but we are going to spend that kind of money on an electric bus that cant go anywhere but on a track - not good!
@@markh4763 Of course you are correct, Mark. In Pittsburgh we have a couple Light Rail lines but they were built using rights-of-way that existed from 19th Century trolley and train lines. They move through their own tunnels and across their own bridges, staying out of the way of cars and trucks.
@@joestewart8914 - Not here, they run the thing right down the middle of existing streets. Its also putting businesses out of business both during construction and after. If I'm driving down the street next to the light rail and I see a business that I need to stop at on the other side of the road, I will bypass that business and stop at one some where else. I just don't see the advantage over a bus, the tracks and wires are ugly, they cant alter their route if needed, and its way too expensive.
@@markh4763 Maintenance will be a nightmare, guaranteed. The tracks will wear down at a different rate than the surrounding pavement so you will see it torn up twice as often and at tremendous cost. For three weeks in August 2019 our transit agency spent $1.8 million repaving a section of Light Rail that is shared with buses and therefore the tracks are installed in a paved surface. And the section repaved is only 450 FEET long, less than a tenth of a mile, for $1.8 million.
This makes me want to look out the other side of the window so desperately
It’s Arizona. Just more cacti LOL!
@@CityLifeinAmerica not true for the light rail route though :)
Shame he never turned the camera so you could see all the homeless and junkies on the train.
Good views of Arizona.
I really like the way this system is engineered, it's super fast and efficient for something that runs at grade, especially when you compare it to the at grade portions of the LA Metro, which choke along at a snail's pace. This is what proper LRT should be.
Funny calling a train that stops almost every half mile and never exceeds 35 mph “super fast”
It stops way too often and at too many lights. And with the additions being constructed making it into a system as opposed to it's current one line I foresee it getting slower at transfer stops and such. Much more needs to be done in phx to achieve corridors of more efficient public transit. There should be more bus dedicated lanes so they have priority at stop lights at the very minimum.
@@geodavras I’ve been stuck using Phoenix public transit for nearly four months, and it’s amazing how slow and inefficient it is. Especially when contrasted with how good our freeway and major street system is for those who drive. There’s absolutely no coordination between transferring routes, and it’s a normal occurrence to get to a transfer point just in time to watch your other bus drive off and have to wait 30-40 minutes for the next one.
Funny you mention dedicated bus lanes. Years ago at many major intersections Phoenix added right turn lanes signed as “right turn only except buses” with bus pull out stops directly across the intersection from them. The idea was for the bus to not get stuck behind through traffic at red lights and be able to pull directly into the bus stop across the street as soon as the light changed. Now the bus drivers have been directed not to use them so they’re stuck in traffic in the next lane over while cars turning right pass in them.
@@danieldaniels7571 Thankfully they’re still being used in Chandler.
@@CityLifeinAmerica That’s good to know. I haven’t been to Chandler in over six months, back when I was driving and looking for karaoke gigs in the area. With public transit being what it is here, that’s like a world away from me now.
Lived in Arizona 2010-2015 (went to ASU).
The amount of nostalgia is too much! Loved it so much!!!
Door Closing Chimes
2:33 4:28 7:03 10:15 13:23 15:33 17:03 18:36 23:35 28:36 31:21 33:46 39:04 41:08 44:38 47:57 50:47 53:23 55:09
Same chime as Seattle’s Link light rail! Possibly because both systems use Kinkisharyo LRVs and opened within a year of each other?
Cool Video, I road the light rail while visiting PHOENIX July 2019, about 4 weeks ago.
Man I remember seeing the people fighting on this train and the other guy knocked someone out and dragged him out of the train
You came back! That’s awesome! I hope you enjoyed the ride! Now you just got to wait when it open to Gilbert and the new station opens up.
I always wanted to go back but convenience was an issue. But I took advantage of everything this time around unlike my first time in 2012.
Are there really plans to extend it to Gilbert and Chandler in the near future?? That would be awesome if it did!
1:01:09 didn't want to be filmed lmao
No one thought of suspending the camera above the driver. Beautiful panorama missing!
Best way to do that is if the driver has a GoPro
Very nice ride
You should head to Avondale civic center and ride on one of the 2007 New Flyer D40LFRS (its the same buses that run express routes for the west valley)
I am thinking about moving to Arizona USA, I love to kno more about this LightRail (Tram) System my friends ?
The area it services is very limited, and it doesn’t run between 11pm & 5:30am. Most of the people riding it are homeless junkies. If you move here, I highly suggest you buy a car.
@@danieldaniels7571 - Is That A Fact My Friend.,But About The Waymo's Driverless Car In Phoenix, Arizona ?
Approaching Station: Central Station Main. Exit to left
Not called METRO anymore. Rather Valley Metro Rail. This way it’s blended in with Valley Metro Bus, Valley Metro RAPID, etc.
Except for the announcements does not mention anything about buses
@@jmheavymetal The new system they’re installing in all the trains will announce buses as well. We are getting Clever Devices (same as buses) to replace the existing GeoFocus rail passenger information system.
1:40 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: CENTER AND MAIN ST. CITY CENTER AND MESA ARTS CENTER. EXIT TO LEFT.”
3:33 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: COUNTRY CLUB AND MAIN ST. CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. EXIT TO LEFT.”
6:14 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: ALMA SCHOOL AND MAIN ST. EXIT TO LEFT.”
9:04 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: SYCAMORE AND MAIN ST. EXIT TO LEFT.
12:36 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: PRICE FWY AND APACHE BLVD. EXIT TO LEFT.”
49:53 (vibraphone) “APPROACHING STATION: 3RD ST AND WASHINGTON. BALL PARK, ARENA, AND CONVENTION CENTER. EXIT TO RIGHT.”
Fun fact: driving from this point a to point b only takes about 30 minutes
14:51
1:41
Phoenix Arizona 244
Beware of Covid 19...
3:35
I 'm surprised there's no horns sounded. I wonder if there's horns on these trolleys?
This light rail system does have a horn.
@@crazeyjoe They probably use the horns mainly in emergencies I think. Otherwise mostly the gongs I've heard.
Here's a fact: if you live anywhere near the rail, you get to listen to non-stop horns from the children who drive the trains. Think before buying.
You also have homeless people near you 24/7. This train is like a rolling homeless shelter.
It’s not because of the “children who drive the trains.” The train operators are professionals who have gone through an extensive, months-long training course and series of tests to become qualified to operate a several-dozen-ton train with hundreds of passengers inside.
But who else on the road hasn’t had to go through such an intense training course to operate a vehicle? Regular old drivers, who often intersect with the train’s path when making left turns or driving across a perpendicular street. Drivers have a habit of testing the limits and trying to beat light rail trains at intersections, which forces train operators to blow their horns and ring their bells quite a bit to warn stupid drivers to get out of their way. It’s not the train operator’s fault - it’s the dumb drivers’ faults.
@@OliversElevators OOOoo, sounds impressive. The fact is, I live next to a station and you don't. Given everything you've said, what is the safety reason or training protocol for exchanging horns and chimes as the trains pass each other while nowhere near an intersection? Just to name one example.
@@brozbro they do that sometimes to greet each other as they pass. It’s not illegal and for the train operators, it’s a nice way to greet their fellow operators after spending most of the day alone in the cab. If you’re so annoyed by it, why did you choose to live near the line? At least it’s not freight trains with ridiculously-loud horns going by several times a day. Plenty of people have to deal with that.
@@OliversElevators I moved here because I've lived in three other cities where the operators were adults, not children "greeting" each other. You should ask them why they took a job where they would obviously work alone. Bus drivers don't "greet" each other, cab drivers don't either or cops or firemen.
This crap costs 140 Million dollars (Per mile) of our money to build, do you know how many busses that would buy? And don't kid yourself, its not green, where do you think all that electricity comes from.
do you know how much gas and emissions busses put out. it might not be “green” per say but it’s definitely greener than having thousands of busses
@@ian-hm6cx - never said they were greener, but they aren't that bad (running on natural gas instead of diesel) this proposed new extension will cost 1/2 BILLION dollars and never operate at a profit. It doesn't make good fiscal sense. They cant fill the potholes around here but we are going to spend that kind of money on an electric bus that cant go anywhere but on a track - not good!
@@markh4763 Of course you are correct, Mark. In Pittsburgh we have a couple Light Rail lines but they were built using rights-of-way that existed from 19th Century trolley and train lines. They move through their own tunnels and across their own bridges, staying out of the way of cars and trucks.
@@joestewart8914 - Not here, they run the thing right down the middle of existing streets. Its also putting businesses out of business both during construction and after. If I'm driving down the street next to the light rail and I see a business that I need to stop at on the other side of the road, I will bypass that business and stop at one some where else. I just don't see the advantage over a bus, the tracks and wires are ugly, they cant alter their route if needed, and its way too expensive.
@@markh4763 Maintenance will be a nightmare, guaranteed. The tracks will wear down at a different rate than the surrounding pavement so you will see it torn up twice as often and at tremendous cost. For three weeks in August 2019 our transit agency spent $1.8 million repaving a section of Light Rail that is shared with buses and therefore the tracks are installed in a paved surface. And the section repaved is only 450 FEET long, less than a tenth of a mile, for $1.8 million.