Via Overhead Wire, we learn of the "eight criteria for the perfect commuter rail line." A Houston blogger wrote the posting and mentions Los Angeles in his tips for smart railways. What do we learn? "The ideal commuter rail line serves long trips." And "the ideal commuter rail line has stations you can walk (or bike) to" and "connects to local transit."
But this Houston cowboy calls us out as money-spenders, claiming that LA’s Metrolink, for example, cost $1.9 billion for 388 miles and carries 39,500 trips a day, while Houston's 7.5 mile light rail line cost 1/6th less and carries 40,000 trips.
· 8 habits of highly successful commuter rail lines [Intermodality]