Ok, first things first. 4 new lines as requested. Circleville, Marysville, Pickerington and London.
I should point out that I've put up the lines I did to get people's reaction. I'd not expect that they all get built. As you call can see the two Delaware lines are redundant.
Not all stations would be built. I tried to put in stations where they would make sense, and I'd imagine that there would be fewer close in stations on a commuter rail than what I've actually placed.
I'd also like to add that I'm trying to keep this as a commuter style rail using *existing* rails. Therefore I'm not going to have it stop every 10 blocks like light rail. Nor would I be able to run this to dublin, and the line that runs through downtown Hilliard stops right at cemetary road[1].
Twixlen wrote >>
Also - I know these lines (at least the ones out west) are really used. Was this the case with Nashville? I lived there for a while, and honestly don't remember there being trains - not like here (again, at least west side, since we have the huge switching yard that I drive over all the time).
I just looked for lines that weren't going to be converted to rail2trail and looked open. I know that not all lines would be available at all times, but I'd imagine that some access could be worked out. I'm not sure.. Mostly this is to get the idea out and see what people think about it.
Walker wrote >>
My additions/subtractions:
- A southern leg to hit Rickenbacker (major job center) and down to Circleville (pop:13k+). I think Circleville has a very underrated little Downtown area with some cool shops and restaurants and things. Plus it would be great to get to the Pumpkin Fest without sitting in traffic and parking. ;)
Added.
Walker wrote >>
- A southeast leg to hit Brice & Pickerington (pop:17k+). That area is growing like crazy.
Added, but this might better be served with a light rail line. If they start planning for it now they might get it in the next 15-20 years.
Walker wrote >>
- I'd probably cut off those two northern legs at Delaware. At least to start. Service to Marion (50 miles away) may be better served by the 3C anyway if it can be configured to run during peak use hours. Do many people commute that far for work in Columbus anyway?
This was done more for my own curiosity. I wanted to see if either line went anywhere interesting. I can't imagine either line going past Delaware.
Walker wrote >>
- A northwest leg to run through Hilliard out to Marysville (pop: 17k+). Another rapidly growing area. Might even be worthwhile to run a few miles past out to the Honda Plant (10th largest employer in region with 6300+ workers) for connection to jobs out there.
- A west leg to run through the west side neighborhoods, West Jeff, and out to London.
Added.
Walker wrote >>
- I would alter the east leg to bypass Port Columbus, and instead set up a different "shuttle" line that ran directly from Port Columbus to the main Downtown terminal. I see most of these routes primarily serving as suburban commuter lines with irregular service times built around rush hour use, and I think the airport could use something with a more regular service and longer hours.
Oh I agree. I just stuck it on there as a "this sort of makes sense" station. You can probably see from the map that you would still need a shuttle to get to the airport. I'd prefer a dedicated shuttle from downtown, really.
Walker wrote >> I'd probably prefer to see these lines prioritized in terms of timeline based on population densities served with some sort of special priorities place on airport (CMH & Rickenbacker) service.
Well, if the airport gets a shuttle, then you wouldn't need special priority. As far as population serviced, I haven't looked too far into it, but I agree that the inital line should serve as may people as possible.
Rockmastermike wrote >>
There was already an awesome thread about this with MAPS and stuff. Mostly at the end we were using existing rail lines.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/fantasy-columbus-metro-map
Check it out, some of the maps are cool
Yeah, I remember that thread. I kinda wanted this to be a more focused "what can we do first with limited funding?" thread, but there are some good ideas there as well.
1 - On the other hand, if anyone has an idea about running a light rail on these tracks I'm all ears. Personally I'd love to see light rail to Hilliard. I'd be lunch and dinner at Starliner and DiCarlos every Sunday during the summer.
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