Rail news Americas’: Line One of Panama’s Metro, NYC Long Island Railway, San Francisco Central Subway

Line One of Panama’s Metro subway to be put into operation in 2014

According to official information, the works in the Line One have a progress of 85 percent, and it will be ready on the first months of 2014.

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Video: METRO Panama

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Video: Construction of New Metro (Subway) System – Panama City

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Panama City, Panama

Line The Largest Most Expensive Transportation Project in US History

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New York City’s new subway line for the Long Island Railway to Grand Central Station

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The East Side Access project will connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Main and Port Washington lines in Queens to a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The new connection will increase the LIRR’s capacity into Manhattan, and dramatically shorten travel time for Long Island and eastern Queens commuters traveling to the east side of Manhattan.

Project News
The East Side Access Project has excavating tunnels approximately 120 feet beneath Manhattan streets. Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were used, one manufactured by SELI and one manufactured by Robbins. The two TBM’s in Manhattan made 8 successful tunnel drives starting and ending at various points along the alignment. At the end of November 2009 all of the upper tunnel drives were completed and in 2011, all the Manhattan tunnels were successfully mined.

Excavation to create the caverns with in Grand Central Terminal are currently underway.

The East Side Access Project is also excavating 4 new tunnels in Queens. Two slurry TBMs that can tunnel through soil have been purchased by the contractor. Components of the soft ground TBMs used for the Queens Bored Tunnels and Structures contract has been transported to the construction site in Queens, New York and assembled. Tunneling began in May 2011 with launch of the first machine. The launch of the second machine is expected to begin in July 2011.

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San Francisco Central Subway

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The Central Subway Project will construct a modern, efficient light-rail line that will improve public transportation in San Francisco. This new 1.7-mile extension of Muni’s T Third Line will provide direct connections to major retail, sporting and cultural venues while efficiently transporting people to jobs, educational opportunities and other amenities throughout the city. With stops in South of Market (SoMa), Yerba Buena, Union Square and Chinatown, the Central Subway will vastly improve transit options for the residents of one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the country, provide a rapid transit link to a burgeoning technology and digital-media hub, and improve access to a premier commercial district and tourist attraction.

The Central Subway Project is the second phase of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Third Street Light Rail Transit Project. Phase 1 of the project constructed a 5.1-mile light-rail line along the densely populated 3rd Street corridor. The first segment of the T Third Line opened to customers in April 2007, restoring light-rail service to a high transit-ridership area of San Francisco for the first time in 50 years.

Phase 2, the Central Subway Project, will extend the T Third Line from the 4^th Street Caltrain Station to Chinatown, providing a direct, rapid transit link from the Bayshore and Mission Bay areas to SoMa, Union Square and downtown. Four new stations will be built along the 1.7-mile Central Subway Project alignment:

• 4th and Brannan Station at 4^th and Brannan streets (street level)
• Yerba Buena/Moscone Station at 4^th and Folsom streets (subway)
• Union Square/Market Street Station on Stockton Street at Union Square (subway)
• Chinatown Station at Stockton and Washington streets (subway)

The Central Subway Project will contribute greatly to San Francisco’s economic competitiveness and help secure the city’s status as a regional, national and global hub. It will provide a clean, pollution-free transit alternative that will reduce the environmental impact of transportation in our city, save natural resources, reduce traffic congestion and improve transportation options for an underserved area of San Francisco.