45. From A to B: New two line system
The South Central Extension/Downtown Hub, Valley Metro Rail's largest expansion to- date, opens this June. On this episode, hosts Juliana and Ricky explore the impact of this new two-line system with three experts from Valley Metro's Operations and Service Planning teams.
Transcript
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your daily commute?
Ricky:Or how transportation impacts the community you call home?
00:06 Juliana
Maybe you want to explore outside your community and don't know where to start.
00:10 Ricky
Well, you're in luck because this is where you hop on.
Juliana:I'm Julianna Vazquez-Keating.
Ricky:And I'm Ricky Tejada.
Juliana:We work for Valley Metro and together we'll discover all the ways that public transit enhances lives across the cities we serve.
Ricky:And we might even make some new friends along the way.
Juliana:Welcome to Storylines. Welcome back to Storylines. Today we're previewing the opening of one of our most anticipated light rail expansion projects.
Ricky:The South Central Extension/Downtown Hub, which we now know is going to open on June 7th, 2025.
Juliana:And planning for this project began over a decade ago, and now we're almost ready to open to the public.
Ricky:As this is our largest expansion yet our system is going through some changes. We bought on three people heavily involved in the project to help riders better understand what's to come.
Chris Ramirez: Morgan:My name is Morgan Temperly. I'm a senior planner and scheduler.
Christopher:Hi, my name is Christopher MacKechnie, Manager of Transit Scheduling.
Juliana:All right. Happy to have you all here with us today. So we're talking about something really important. Big changes are coming to Valley Metro Rail with the opening of the South Central Extension and Downtown Hub. Including opening our first two line rail system. Can you briefly explain what the new two line system entails and how it differs from a single line operation?
Chris Ramirez:So really exciting changes on the horizon. our two line rail system will consist of the A line which is going to be our east west line going from Gilbert and Maine to the downtown hub and the B line, which will be our north south line going from Metro Parkway down to our new extension of Central and Baseline. How this differs from the current single line operation will be currently you have a one seat ride if you're going from anywhere from our East Valley up to the northwest side of Phoenix. What this will enable us to do is operate two lines more frequently, but it will require a transfer at the Downtown Hub, which really is gonna be one of the main focal points of the new lines within the system themself.
Ricky:For our schedulers, how did this differ from building a schedule for just the mainline system? System as how we currently have it now, how much more work has gone into building this two line system schedule?
Morgan:Well, I think we really wanted to focus on the connection times downtown to give riders a smooth transition from a one seat ride that they're usually taking.
Christopher:Yeah, you just have to take into account things like, for example, where the two lines cross at the downtown hub, we wanna make sure we separate the times as best we can so that they don't get into congestion, right? Because they can't both cross at the same time. So if one's crossing, the other one has to wait.
Ricky:Thanks, Chris. What changes should riders expect when the two line system officially launches this June?
Chris Ramirez:So when the two line system officially launches this June, we're gonna have an extensive outreach effort to the customers that are really gonna highlight the transfer times that our Schedules team mentioned earlier. So we really want to look at transferring from the A line to the B line and highlighting how seamless this really can be, especially due to the closer connection times that we're set. Also, another aspect is riders who are transferring, we really want to emphasize that they will need to tap each time they get off and get on a train. I know with the copper card coming online, it's been a really exciting development for the region and our riders to really embrace with fare capping. But we really do wanna push that usage for the Valley Metro app and the copper cards themselves so they can take full advantage of the fare capping that's available.
Juliana:So Chris, we've had some concerns already from riders that say, okay, I have to transfer. Will I have enough time to transfer? How long do we think those transfer times will be? Are we talking like a couple minutes? They'll be able to catch the train? I guess people are just worried they're gonna miss the train because they have to transfer.
Chris Ramirez:So part of the beauty of going to the two line system, is we're able to go back to a 12 minute headway on each line. So even if, say in, for example, a train is delayed, that next train is only going to be within 12 minutes behind it. So with the connection times, they are built to allow for time to walk between the stations. But even that backup method, it will help to facilitate those transfers and allow them to reduce the waiting time that's involved.
Juliana:Riders will love waiting less. We know that for sure.
Chris Ramirez:Definitely.
Juliana:So, Chris, what's different about this two line system compared to other multi-line systems you've worked on? We know you've come from other transit systems.
Chris Ramirez:I really do wanna say the systems I've worked at previously have typically been legacy systems. They've been in existence for 100 plus years. They have many lines and many layers to them. So customers are very familiar with the concept of transferring or having to ride multiple lines to complete. A trip from point A to point B. What we have here is this is something that's really exciting and brand new for this region. We're a growing system. You know, we're getting to our kind of, as we say, the teenage years coming through and we're really, we're growing up, we are evolving, we're innovating, and I think what's been really exciting to see is just the passion and dedication from the teams that have really worked on this. Every department within the agency it seems like, has a hand in this in one form or another, and that's just really exciting to see how much people really want to dive in and not only make this successful, but really do the best at what they can do and do it really well.
Ricky:Now also Chris MacKechnie also comes to Valley Metro from another transit agency. So from a scheduling perspective. Chris, Chris MacKechnie what's the difference about this two line systems compared to the other multi-line systems that you've worked in prior?
Christopher:It's been difficult to try to get the right running time, the, time it takes for the trains to go between the stations. So, we don't really have a lot to go on. So we just have to try to estimate the best we can by using existing data for how it's gonna travel down South Central. Yeah I come from Southern California, so used to riding the, LA Metro rail lines. This is gonna be pretty similar to them, I think it's gonna be a better connection, than other places. It's literally right around the next block. So I look forward to it. I know it's gonna take some getting used to for people that currently don't have to transfer, but we've opened up a large, new area for them to explore.
Juliana:So Morgan, do you also come from another transit agency?
Morgan:I actually grew up here and I remember taking the light rail when it first opened when I was 13, 14 years old. I guess that'll tell you how old I am now. So yeah, it's just exciting to see how it's evolved from, you know, the original rail line to now we get a whole new one.
Ricky:Can you walk us through how riders will navigate transfers between the two lines?
Christopher:It's gonna be if you're on the A line, which is the east, west line, and you just remember it's the A line because it goes down to Apache Boulevard. That's how I remember it. So it's gonna end at the downtown hub, so you'll have to get off, and then when you get off, If you want to go north to Central Avenue and you're gonna turn left, if you want to go south down to First Avenue, and you actually can see the station you want to go to right after you get off. So you never have to worry about getting lost. If you've been to the New York subway, you know, there's like, oh, there's like tunnels and walkways, you know where you're going, but here it'd be very easy to see. So it's very reassuring to anyone. And. The North South line the B line similarly, you're gonna get off, say you're going north, but you can get off at Central. You can only go east, so it's easier. You're gonna turn right and you're gonna go east. You are not gonna go west now for a couple years anyway, and then you can go west.
Ricky:This is true. legacy systems back east are definitely, there's multiple floors, there's multiple levels, lot of stairs to be able to make transfers. It is easy to be able to see the next transfer point as soon as you get off the actual train.
Juliana:I mean, it's just around Cityscape, so you're basically walking around Cityscape. That's it.
Ricky:Let's stop for lunch and then transfer.
Juliana:Yeah. There you go. So, I know we covered this a little bit already, but will there be any changes to schedules, frequency of service, or operating hours when we introduce this new two line?
Morgan:Yeah, as Chris had mentioned earlier, you know, we're gonna have improved, frequency, like back to pre-covid levels where we had that solid 12 minute service during the weekdays, and then 15 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday. The span throughout the day is about the same as it currently is, and we have kept those early morning trips starting at Main and Sycamore and Veteran's Way and College and the early morning trip up at 19th and Dunlap.
Christopher:The Streetcar is also having a service improvement. Right now it's every 20 minutes, seven days a week. It's gonna be every 15 minutes Monday through Saturday. So that's something that we've kind of maybe is not as exciting as the South Central extension unless you visit Tempe live in Tempe, and then you'll be super excited about it.
Ricky:So how should riders prepare for these changes? What should we expect from them?
Chris Ramirez:So in preparing for these changes, what we're trying to do is a lot of community outreach. So what we would advise is really attend one of the community outreach events. If you see an ambassador out there, go ahead and ask your questions. Our Customer Experience Coordinators out on the rail lines are great experts at what's going to be, not only the current rail line, but what's to come with the future. So going ahead and asking those questions is really gonna be critical as part of that. But, another item we do wanna highlight for riders is, it may look really daunting. Adding five miles of service at a time is something much larger than we've historically ever done. Eight new stations, new park-and-ride. The downtown hub in itself. It may look daunting, but really if you go ahead, talk through it, practice ahead of time, ask those questions, it can really be simplified and even when we do past opening date, there's going to be tons of assistance out there. So that's one of the main messages we would like to deliver, not only for our customers outside the agency, but also within the agency. If you have questions, feel free to reach out. There're going to be internal communication events that will be continuing and there also will be great resources inside. So if we all work together and really are stewards of the agency and this new service, it's gonna be a breeze for our riders come day one.
Morgan:All the schedules will be up on the website and you can go through on the trip planner and plan your trip ahead of time. Just play around with it, see what the connections look like. Get your schedules ready.
Ricky:Trick question, will I be able to do it on the Valley Metro app also?
Morgan:Yes.
Juliana:So download the Valley Metro app that's another tip. And get a copper card.
11:03
Ricky: That’s a shameless plug.
Juliana:Yep.
Ricky:All right, so what are the key benefits of the two line system to the region and our riders? are the benefits that the community will receive?
Chris Ramirez:So with the community right now, it's a very long ride. It's 110 minutes from end to end. So what we're hoping to do is as part of condensing into a two line system, we're hoping to increase some of the service reliability. So a customer that is going from the East Valley to downtown, or say from, southern Phoenix to downtown. They don't need to worry about a train coming from another area or a long distance coming to pick them up. We do know that inevitably there are reasons that trains do get delayed, but we're really hoping that this will help to improve our service performance and service quality that we have to the customer. Another item is we have a lot of new destinations that are in South Phoenix. You know, the Audubon Center we have down there, a lot of community parks, shopping plazas businesses. It's going to open up a lot of new opportunity for customers to really explore more of the region as we're branching out to build a regional light rail network.
Juliana:So how will future expansions like the capital extension and I-10 West expansion be integrated into this two line framework?
Chris Ramirez:So new extensions like CapEx and the I-10 West are really helping to bring our rail network to more riders. We see huge growth in the West Valley in terms of people moving out there, but still needing to commute to downtown. I think for anyone who lives out in that region currently and has to drive I-10 every day, really experiences that firsthand. So by moving further out into the west, we're actually looking at using downtown as a focal point to bring people in. And from there, with the newly created downtown hub, you can be able to transfer anywhere north, south, east, west to really go in all directions branching out. At that point, honestly, I think two line system, we may even be talking three line system and beyond as we branch out. So it's really an exciting time and that will allow for a lot of different service types to be integrated in a lot more connectivity with our bus network and a lot of our community to really have enhanced service.
Ricky:Is there anything else you'd like to add that we have not covered?
Morgan:No I just think it's actually been a really fun yet trying process to work on, because it's new for myself scheduling this. And it's just new for everybody in the Valley to get used to how a whole two line system is going to impact their daily commute and how it's gonna operate in their lives. One thing I did wanna add is stay tuned for some better bus connections coming in the future once rail gets solidified, we'll try to improve those bus routes that connect and feed to and from the light rail.
Juliana:Ooh, you heard it here first bus improvements.
Christopher:It's not gonna be perfect the first day, June the 7th. I hope that all of our loyal customers out there will send in their comments about how we can make the system better. It's kind of new to everyone, so we wanna make it the pinnacle of railness at least in the mountain west region.
Chris Ramirez:So June 7th definitely is gonna be an exciting day. Not only for the agency, but definitely for the rail operations team. It's been an adventure as openings are, but we just want to, again, express our appreciation for just working with so many talented teams, inside the agency. You've heard a lot from us recently, but we're really excited to get this show on the road, get the trains moving to South Phoenix. There are gonna be a lot of opportunities and celebrations along the route as well. Definitely with three locations, family friendly, so bring everyone out. We really do wanna see everyone there, but it's, gonna be great to have the ability to use light rail to really explore, new areas within the region that we haven't been able to before using that mode. And it's only the start of what's yet to come. Again, with CapEx and I-10 West with all the new destinations that will be out there, improve frequencies, service expansions, and I think it's just another step in the road for Valley Metro of the great things to come.
Ricky:What we just learned from our guests. This is just a fraction of the work that has gone into making the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub a reality.
Juliana:And Ricky, I know you've been hard at work too, working late nights and weekends to make sure the system is safe and secure and ready to open in June. So how's testing been going?
Ricky:Testing has been going great, Juliana. It's such an honor and a privilege to be out there and working amongst our community members. Trying to open this expansion. It is a 24/7 effort. We recently started testing the trains that are full of water. This is to compensate for not having a train full of people, but the outlook of this test is to be sure to test that our substations are calibrated properly with the right voltage to be able to pull those trains in and out of that area without having any sort of power drop or power loss.
Juliana:And I think one of the best parts of this test is that we donate all that water after testing is complete right?
Ricky:That is correct, Juliana. All this water will be donated to the Phoenix Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.
Juliana:Just in time for the summer heat. And this is just one small aspect of all the testing that needs to be done ahead of opening. So lots of teamwork, lots of coordination, but we will be ready June 7th. But one more thing you should know about our upcoming system with the introduction of a two line system riders using a copper card or mobile fare are required to tap their card and scan their phone before every boarding, including when transferring between lines. One Ride passes will still be available and will be valid for one trip in the same direction of travel for up to two hours. I know this is a lot of information for riders, but we're here to help. Our Valley Metro team will be out on the system in the coming weeks and even after we open the extension to help educate riders and assist with transfers. If you're looking for more information about the new two line system, head to valleymetro.org/twoline
Ricky:That's it for this episode of Storylines. Remember to subscribe to us wherever you get your podcast, so you never miss an episode For Valley Metro, I'm Ricky.
Juliana:I'm Julianna.
Ricky:Thanks for riding with us.
Juliana:We'll meet you at the next stop. Storylines is produced by Alex Tsotsos. Peter Corkery is the executive producer. For Ricky Tejada, I'm Julianna Vasquez-Keating. Thanks for listening
