Seattle Monorail Project inches forward
The Seattle Monorail Project has announced that it has received a refined proposal from the Cascadia Monorail consortium, which includes Hitachi as the vendor for the trains. The proposal was accompanied by a $25 million performance bond. The proposal is being reviewed to verify that it conforms to all contract requirements. A final contract is expected within 60 to 90 days. During that period, the terms of the contract that are being negotiated are to remain confidential. Following approval of the contract, there will be a period for public review. Also, the city council must review and validate the financial plan for the system.
The Seattle Monorail Project has provided the following computer generated image of a Hitachi Standard Type monorail train crossing Seattle Center:
The Seattle Monorail Project's website also features the following interior shots of similar trains in service in Naha, Okinawa, Japan:
The Seattle Monorail Project is required to build the full 14-mile system that was approved by the voters. This task is complicated by the fact that revenue from the motor vehicle excise tax that was approved to fund the project has been well below expectations due to a fundamental miscalculation of the value of the motor vehicle tax base during the initial planning stage. The following is the route for the new monorail including its controversial path through Seattle Center:
The following is an abbreviated timeline for the system:
November 1997: Voters approve the creation of a monorail authority with a budget to study a proposed 40-mile city-wide monorail system.
November 2000: Voters approve a budget to develop a specific plan for the financing and construction of monorail line.
November 2002: Voters approve a 1.4% motor vehicle excise tax to pay for the construction of the 14-mile Green Line Monorail from West Seattle to Ballard.
August 2004: Cascadia Monorail is the sole consortium to meet the requirements for submitting a proposal.
November 2004: A ballot measure to recall the monorail is soundly defeated at the polls by vote of 63% to 37%.
??? 2009: A partial opening of the monorail was originally scheduled for 2007 with an opening fo the full system in late 2009. This was later changed to a full opening of the system in early 2009. There has been no recent conformation that a 2009 opening date is still viable. Construction was originally expected to begin in late 2004 but is now unlikely to start before late 2005.
The Seattle Monorail Project has been tasked to also develop plans for future expansion of the monorail system. At this time, the most favored option for expanding the system is an extension at the northern end known as the Pink Corridor. The second most favored option is an east-west line from Ballard to the University District known as the Purple Corridor. The final option that is still under consideration is a line from downtown to the University District. This final option would be politically problematic because it would compete with both a proposed South Lake Union Streetcar and a proposed northern extension of the Central Link light rail system:
In the meantime, another consortium that had hoped to bid on the monorail but was unable to meet the bonding and liability requirements has offered to submit a proposal should the negotiations with Cascadia Monorail not conclude with a contract. The Team Monorail consortium includes Bombardier as the train vendor. The Team Monorail Bombardier trains would be lighter and would have a smaller profile than the Cascadia Monorail Hitatchi trains; however, some of the interior space would be consumed by large wheel wells that project above the floor level:
Also in the meantime, the Seattle Center/1962 World's Fair Monorail is back in service between Seattle Center and the Westlake Mall following a fire onboard one of the trains during the Summer of 2004. The World's Fair trains and their guideway are not expected to be compatible with the trains chosen for the new monorail. The existing guideway will be removed and at least one of the trains will be retired to a museum:
Also in the meantime, construction is underway on Sound Transit's Central Link light rail line from downtown to the airport, which is to be equipped with light rail vehicles from Kinkisharyo:
More information can be found at the Seattle Monorail Project's website:
http://www.elevated.org/
Also, see the Cascadia Monorail and Team Monorail websites:
http://www.cascadiamonorail.com/
http://www.teammonorail.com/
Also, see the Sound Transit and South Lake Union Streetcar websites:
http://www.soundtransit.org/
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/transportation/slustreetcar.htm
Also, see the website for the existing Seattle Center/1962 World's Fair Monorail:
http://www.seattlemonorail.com/index.htm
Finally, see the Kinkisharyo webpage for the light rail vehicles being produced for Seattle:
http://www.kinkisharyo.com/st_seattle.html
The Seattle Monorail Project has announced that it has received a refined proposal from the Cascadia Monorail consortium, which includes Hitachi as the vendor for the trains. The proposal was accompanied by a $25 million performance bond. The proposal is being reviewed to verify that it conforms to all contract requirements. A final contract is expected within 60 to 90 days. During that period, the terms of the contract that are being negotiated are to remain confidential. Following approval of the contract, there will be a period for public review. Also, the city council must review and validate the financial plan for the system.
The Seattle Monorail Project has provided the following computer generated image of a Hitachi Standard Type monorail train crossing Seattle Center:
The Seattle Monorail Project's website also features the following interior shots of similar trains in service in Naha, Okinawa, Japan:
The Seattle Monorail Project is required to build the full 14-mile system that was approved by the voters. This task is complicated by the fact that revenue from the motor vehicle excise tax that was approved to fund the project has been well below expectations due to a fundamental miscalculation of the value of the motor vehicle tax base during the initial planning stage. The following is the route for the new monorail including its controversial path through Seattle Center:
The following is an abbreviated timeline for the system:
November 1997: Voters approve the creation of a monorail authority with a budget to study a proposed 40-mile city-wide monorail system.
November 2000: Voters approve a budget to develop a specific plan for the financing and construction of monorail line.
November 2002: Voters approve a 1.4% motor vehicle excise tax to pay for the construction of the 14-mile Green Line Monorail from West Seattle to Ballard.
August 2004: Cascadia Monorail is the sole consortium to meet the requirements for submitting a proposal.
November 2004: A ballot measure to recall the monorail is soundly defeated at the polls by vote of 63% to 37%.
??? 2009: A partial opening of the monorail was originally scheduled for 2007 with an opening fo the full system in late 2009. This was later changed to a full opening of the system in early 2009. There has been no recent conformation that a 2009 opening date is still viable. Construction was originally expected to begin in late 2004 but is now unlikely to start before late 2005.
The Seattle Monorail Project has been tasked to also develop plans for future expansion of the monorail system. At this time, the most favored option for expanding the system is an extension at the northern end known as the Pink Corridor. The second most favored option is an east-west line from Ballard to the University District known as the Purple Corridor. The final option that is still under consideration is a line from downtown to the University District. This final option would be politically problematic because it would compete with both a proposed South Lake Union Streetcar and a proposed northern extension of the Central Link light rail system:
In the meantime, another consortium that had hoped to bid on the monorail but was unable to meet the bonding and liability requirements has offered to submit a proposal should the negotiations with Cascadia Monorail not conclude with a contract. The Team Monorail consortium includes Bombardier as the train vendor. The Team Monorail Bombardier trains would be lighter and would have a smaller profile than the Cascadia Monorail Hitatchi trains; however, some of the interior space would be consumed by large wheel wells that project above the floor level:
Also in the meantime, the Seattle Center/1962 World's Fair Monorail is back in service between Seattle Center and the Westlake Mall following a fire onboard one of the trains during the Summer of 2004. The World's Fair trains and their guideway are not expected to be compatible with the trains chosen for the new monorail. The existing guideway will be removed and at least one of the trains will be retired to a museum:
Also in the meantime, construction is underway on Sound Transit's Central Link light rail line from downtown to the airport, which is to be equipped with light rail vehicles from Kinkisharyo:
More information can be found at the Seattle Monorail Project's website:
http://www.elevated.org/
Also, see the Cascadia Monorail and Team Monorail websites:
http://www.cascadiamonorail.com/
http://www.teammonorail.com/
Also, see the Sound Transit and South Lake Union Streetcar websites:
http://www.soundtransit.org/
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/transportation/slustreetcar.htm
Also, see the website for the existing Seattle Center/1962 World's Fair Monorail:
http://www.seattlemonorail.com/index.htm
Finally, see the Kinkisharyo webpage for the light rail vehicles being produced for Seattle:
http://www.kinkisharyo.com/st_seattle.html