Lewis BarbaraIn Atlanta in 1984, two new north-south surface sections of the subway were opened for service with a total length of 14.5 km, bringing the total length of the two lines in the city to 30.2 km.
Further extension of the line in both directions is planned. The beginning of its operation on the whole projected length is scheduled for 1988.
The first subway line in Buffalo with the length of 10.3 km and 14 stations was also completed.
In the summer of 1984 the last (fourth) station of the new 12.7 km section of Chicago subway was put into service. The other stations have been operating since 1983.
The new section connected the city center with O’Hare International Airport. Reconstruction of the 3 km elevated roundabout line, built in 1897, is underway. In the near future construction of a 1.2 km long stretch between the Roosevelt and Sermak-Chinatown stations of two neighboring radii is to begin, which will enable a more even distribution of train traffic between them. The commissioning of this line is planned for 1987. A new subway line with eight stations is also planned, connecting the center with Midway Airport. The line will run on overpasses, the existing railroad embankment and a short underground section. Construction is scheduled to be completed by 1988.
In Detroit, a 4.8 km long circular elevated subway line is under construction for fully automated train service. Two light-rail suburban passenger lines are being designed: the Woodward line with startup in 1990 and the first phase of the Gresgio line with startup in 1991.
The lines would have a common transfer station downtown, as well as interchanges to the Circle Line. They will have rush-hour traffic intervals of 3 to 10 minutes.
Pittsburgh is in the process of converting the old streetcar line into a subway line and building a new section downtown with three underground stations. Totally 12 new stations are being built on the line, its total length will be 17 km.
In Portland the first subway line is being built, 25 km long with 25 stations, connecting the downtown with the eastern suburbs and running parallel to the main road and rail arteries in this direction. By 1990 the line is projected to carry 20 thousand people a day. Surveys for the route of the western radius of the 19.3 km long line began.
In San Diego in May 1984 began construction of the first line of the east radius, and in 1985 construction of the second line was to begin. The length of the line is 25.7 km with 12 stations. According to forecasts, in 1995 the line will transport about 26 thousand people daily. For perspective building of three more metro lines is planned.
In San Francisco a number of auxiliary facilities of the subway are under construction: a 2.4 km long single-track branch tunnel, intended for withdrawal of faulty trains, as well as a U-turn loop with reserve tracks.
Construction of the first underground line in Los Angeles with length of 29 km and 17 stations was started (in the future one more station is planned to be built on the line). The line is scheduled to begin service in 1990. This line is the first phase of the subway network, as envisioned by the master plan. The trains will be supplied with current through the third rail with direct current at 750 V. Train movement will be fully automated. Maximum speed will be 110 km/h, trip on the route will take 35 min. The interval during rush hours will be 3.5 min. According to forecasts already in the first year of operation the line will carry about 300 thousand people per working day.
Two new sections of the Red line with a total length of 22.4 km were put into service in Washington and the length of subway lines reached 97.3 km. Works continue on four sections with total length of 21 km, which will be completed by 1991. In addition, design of a number of sections with total length of 28.8 km is at the final stage. In Italy new subway cars were purchased, which are similar in appearance to the old ones, but have up to 40 improvements, which will significantly contribute to increasing the capacity of subway lines.