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<br />June 12, 2006 <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy and Eugene City Council <br />Lane Transit District Board of Directors <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />Mark Pangborn, L TO General Manager <br /> <br />RE: <br /> <br />Franklin EmX Tour <br /> <br />The Council and the Board are invited on a tour of the construction of the Franklin EmX <br />corridor. The tour will include stops at a station to view the boarding platform and discuss <br />station operation and, time permitting, a stop along the guideway. We will discuss the <br />operation of the block signaling system and other key operational features. <br /> <br />Project Status <br /> <br />The Franklin EmX project is nearing the end of a two-year construction phase, with <br />"substantial completion" of construction scheduled for August 15, 2006. At that point, all <br />running ways, station platforms, and signal systems should be completed. Some <br />additional elements, such as the station graphics, passenger information, and artwork, will <br />be added in the fall. Service is scheduled to begin December 17, 2006. <br /> <br />The production of the EmX vehicles is scheduled to start on July 3, 2006, with delivery of <br />the six vehicles between late August and mid September. A prototype EmX vehicle <br />currently is undergoing federally required testing in Altoona, Pennsylvania. <br /> <br />Implementation Plan <br /> <br />Testing of the Franklin EmX corridor will begin as soon as the construction reaches <br />substantial completion. Testing will be conducted with regular transit coaches until the <br />EmX vehicles are delivered and accepted. Elements to be tested include the signaling <br />system, transitway geometrics, and station access. The testing also will allow us to <br />determine EmX travel times more precisely. The testing will extend from August through <br />October. <br /> <br />Training for the operators who will be driving the EmX service will occur in November. <br />The training will familiarize operators with the new vehicle and operational issues such as <br />the signaling system, running ways, and station access. <br /> <br />Baseline data for the existing service will be collected in October 2006. The data will <br />include ridership by stop, rider origins and destinations, rider characteristics (frequency of <br />use, whether a car was available for the trip, demographics, etc.), vehicle travel time, and <br />vehicle dwell time at stops. Similar data will be collected once the EmX service is in <br />