As cities become increasingly aware of their environmental impact, one is discovering non-traditional, innovative solutions to help combat waste, reduce emissions, and conserve energy.

An Eco-Friendly Transit System: Metro’s “Green” Operations

Along more than 175 miles of track, stopping at 293 stations on 13 separate lines, Madrid’s Metro system is the preferred travel option for one in four people in the city.  Metro’s first trains began operating in 1919 – almost 30 years after Chicago began operating the el. The city has been expanding and connecting complementary buses and light rail systems to its core heavy rail service ever since.   An expansive transit network in a city of approximately 3 million people (almost the same size as the city of Chicago), Madrid’s Metro reduces much of the city’s traffic congestion by giving people a quick alternative to driving. Aside from providing convenient, cost-effective, and reliable access to jobs, housing, and other needs, Metro benefits the city’s environment.

 About 95 percent of Madrid’s Metro runs underground, enabling above-ground opportunities for transit-oriented development, green space, and other pedestrian-friendly amenities. The trains contribute a scant 0.7 percent of Madrid’s total carbon dioxide emissions, compared with the 39 percent generated from automobiles. If Metro’s 2.5 million daily passengers instead used their own cars, the atmosphere would receive an extra 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide every day.

Metro officials also have implemented several environmentally-friendly policies that go above and beyond the standard benefits of a comprehensive public transit system. When escalators are not in use, they are programmed to slow down, using less energy. Lighting in stations is of the latest technology - guaranteeing longer life and less energy drain.  Computerized systems control the speed of travel making it possible to take advantage of the energy generated upon braking.  Even the washing machines that keep Madrid’s trains clean recycle more than 80 percent of the water used, saving almost 3 million gallons of water every year.

Across Chicagoland, mass transit’s aging infrastructure is in dire need of repair.  As metropolitan Chicago’s transit agencies work to modernize the entire system, the region can learn from Madrid’s “green” practices to ensure long-term, environmentally-friendly investments that also can help save money.

Metro de Madrid - Photo Courtesy of Oscar Garcia

For additional information 

• Madrid Metro – Urban Rail 
• Pioneer in Environmental Commitment - Metro de Madrid
• Madrid Metro Ecologic Cleaning System – TreeHugger

Local News

 
Amtrak has stimulus funds heading to Chicago – Chicago Tribune “Long-awaited upgrades to passenger rail stations and train repair facilities totaling $80 million will be invested in Amtrak's Illinois operations, railroad officials said Wednesday.”

Metra service: Why Metra is riding slow train to future – Chicago Tribune “Despite ridership that has soared to a record 85 million, Metra still operates, some argue, as if it's stuck in the past.”

Kane County stimulus wish list will go mostly unfulfilled – Daily Herald “With an initial wish list totaling $232 million, it's safe to say Kane County would be disappointed in its slice of the federal stimulus money for transportation even if it received all $8.68 million tabbed for Kane and Kendall counties.”

Could suburbs get more in transportation cash? – Daily Herald “The state Senate's two leaders are open to changes in the way the government divides transportation funding, which now sends the lion's share to downstate Illinois.”
CTA's first federal-stimulus project: Dearborn subway – Chi-Town Daily News “For the first of its federal-stimulus projects, the agency last week approved a contract to renew 36,000 feet of track in the Blue Line Dearborn subway.”

Promoters: 2016 Olympics Could Bring Better Roads, Transit – WBBM 780 “Chicago 2016 Vice President Doug Arnot and transit officials said selection in October would move Chicago to the "front of the line" for funding of many planned projects.”

Traffic cameras could help wipe out city's projected deficit  -- Chicago Sun Times “Chicago could rake in ‘at least $200 million’ a year — and wipe out the entire projected deficit for 2009 — by using its vast network of redlight and surveillance cameras to hunt down uninsured motorists, aldermen were told today.”

2016 Olympics transportation: Metra looks to beef up system by borrowing locomotives, cars – Chicago Tribune “Following the lead of cities that have hosted the Olympics, Metra hopes to borrow the extra locomotives and cars it will need to handle demand if Chicago wins the 2016 games, officials said Friday.”

World News

Billions for high-speed rail; anyone aboard? – Chicago Tribune “Roughly six proposed routes with federal approval for high-speed rail stand a good chance of getting some of the $8 billion award, according to U.S. Transportation Department officials.”

LaHood wants all funding options on the table except fuel tax – Wired “LaHood is promoting other options, which include congestion pricing, tolling and public-private partnerships along with increases to various user fees and the possibility of a new tax on vehicle miles traveled, or VMT.”

Japan: Blurring the line between bullets and trains – Los Angeles Times “It's not enough that trains run on time in Japan -- they've got to break land records. In 2025, the country plans to be traveling by rail at 310 mph.”

Hey, Private Sector, Wanna Buy a Bridge? – Wired “More than half of the states are considering public-private partnerships to get things done, following an example set by European countries that have turned over airports, highways, waterworks and other critical infrastructure to the corporate sector.”

Stimulus Ideals Conflict on the Texas Prairie  – New York Times “But to ensure that the stimulus money is spent quickly, the law leaves decisions of how to spend some $27.5 billion in transportation money up to the states — and quite a few are using their shares to build new and wider roads that will spur development away from their most populous centers.”

Budget Woes Hit Mass Transit as Tax Revenue Falls – Wall Street Journal  “Just as mass-transit ridership has reached a historic high, tax revenues that fund rail and bus service have dropped, leaving transit agencies nationwide with huge budget deficits and the prospect of boosting fares.”

'Congestion pricing' unclogs roads, clears the air – San Francisco Chronicle “Bay Area residents, and especially San Franciscans, said they were willing to try the program if it would bring more funding for transit, reduce rush-hour traffic and cut air and global warming pollution.”

Breaking the Gridlock on Paying for Roads – Washington Post “The number of miles Americans drive has essentially doubled since 1980 (cars up 97 percent; trucks, 106 percent), but the number of highway lane miles has grown only 4.4 percent. Result: twice as much traffic per road.” 

Resources

· Using Pricing to Reduce Traffic Congestion – Congressional Budget Office

· High Speed Passenger Rail: Report to Congressional Requesters United States Government Accountability Office

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Contact Information

For comments, suggestions or submissions, please contact Emily Tapia Lopez, Associate, at etapia@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6047.