Bergen Light Rail

Bergen Light Rail (Norwegian: Bybanen) is a light rail system in Bergen, Norway. The first stage of the project is a twenty-station stretch between the city center and Lagunen Storsenter, where the first 15 stations comprising a 9.8-kilometre (6.1 mi) stretch opened in 2010, and the second is a 3.6-kilometre (2.2 mi) stretch from Nesttun to Lagunen which opened in June 2013. Construction on a third stretch from Lagunen to Bergen Airport, Flesland is planned to open in 2016. Further plans for the project involve mooted extensions to Åsane and Storavatnet.

Plans for rail transit have existed since the 1970s, following the 1965 closing of the Bergen Tramway. A rapid transit design was first discarded, and in the 1990s a light rail line was proposed. The decision to start construction was made in 2005. The first stage was built by the municipality, with financing from the state and the toll road ring, based on the Bergen Program. Ownership, maintenance and further extensions and vehicles are the responsibility of Hordaland County Municipality through its wholly owned subsidiary Bybanen AS. Operation is governed by public service obligation contracts issued by the county public transport authority Skyss. From 2010 to 2017 the line and its 20Variotrams will be operated by Keolis Norge (formerly Fjord1 Partner).

Light rail

Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way.

There is no standard definition, but in the United States, where the terminology was devised in the 1970s (from the engineering term light railway), light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled to form a train.

A few light rail networks tend to have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail; some of these heavier rapid transit-like systems are referred to as light metros. Other light rail networks are tram-like in nature and partially operate on streets. Light rail systems are found throughout the world, on all inhabited continents. They have been especially popular in recent years due to their lower capital costs and increased reliability compared to heavy rail systems.

Definition

The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn, which stands for Stadtschnellbahn) was used to describe the concept, and many in the UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, bybane, means the same). However, the UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead.Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail

VTA Light Rail (reporting mark SCCT) is a light rail system serving San Jose, California and its suburbs in Silicon Valley. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA, and consists of 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of network comprising two main lines and a spur line on standard gauge tracks. Originally opened in 1987, the light rail system has gradually expanded since then, and currently has 62 light rail stations in operation on the three lines. VTA operates a fleet of 99 Kinki Sharyo Low Floor Light Rail Vehicles (LFLRV) to service its passengers. The system's average weekday daily ridership as of Q1 2015 is 34,200 passengers,; the greatest daily average recorded over a month was 37,536 in June 2008.

Current service

Lines

VTA operates 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of light rail route on 3 lines. There are 4 major corridors of light rail which the lines run on. The first and most important is the Guadalupe Corridor in South San Jose along CA-87 north to Tasman Station, which runs through Downtown San Jose and the business areas of central and North San Jose. It is serviced by two lines, making frequency along this corridor around 7.5 minutes. Other corridors include the Tasman East/Capitol Corridor in East San Jose, the Mountain View/Tasman West corridor in Northwest Silicon Valley, and the Winchester corridor, which services communities in Campbell and West San Jose. Frequency along these corridors are around 15–30 minutes.

Metro Light Rail (Arizona)

Metro Light Rail (styled corporately as METRO) is a 23-mile (37 km)light rail line operating in the U.S. state of Arizona. Part of the Valley Metro public transit system, it serves the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Construction began in March 2005; operation started December 27, 2008. The line had a weekday ridership of 43,827 in 2014, making it the 13th busiest light rail system in the country.

In the years since it opened in 2008, the system has undergone one expansion, with another two scheduled for the immediate future. Furthermore, extensions are planned in Tempe, Glendale, and into South Phoenix to Baseline Road, all of which were expanded as a direct result of obtaining funding under the Proposition 104 sales tax increase.

Overview

The expected construction cost for the initial 20 miles is $1.4 billion, or $70 million per mile. Metro estimates the train will cost the city $184 million to operate over the next five years with fares covering $44 million of the operation costs and tax subsidies covering the remaining costs.

Bergen (singer)

Bergen was one of the most successful Turkish singers and a pioneer in the Turkish arabesque genre. When she was 17, she quit her job at a Turkish post office so that she could pursue her dream of performing on stage. Her personal life was influential in her gloomy sound and led to her success. Her husband threw nitric acid on her face resulting in blindness in her right eye. Despite this, she continued singing and chose to cover the blind eye with her long hair. This event added more depth to her songs and resulted in her songs being sung with pain and sorrow. She has been called the "Woman of Pain."

She is most known for her song, "Acıların Kadını", the lead single from her 1986 album of the same name. She also starred in the movie, "Acıların Kadını" as well.

Bergen released eight albums and all of them reissued later.

Death and legacy

After her husband had came out of the jail, he shot Bergen six times when she was on the road for a tour to promote her last studio album "Yıllar Affetmez" on August 14, 1989. Bergen died at the age of 30, but her legacy and influence in the arabesque music scene is still relevant today. Her songs has been included arabesque or nostalgia concept albums, and covered by several artists such as Işın Karaca, Funda Arar, Muazzez Ersoy, and Emrah.

Bergen, Saxony

Bergen is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany.

References

Bergen, New Netherland

Bergen was a part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, in the area in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that would become contemporary Hudson and Bergen Counties. Though it only officially existed as an independent municipality from 1661, with the founding of a village at Bergen Square, Bergen began as a factorij at Communipaw circa 1615 and was first settled in 1630 as Pavonia. These early settlements were along the banks of the North River (Hudson River) across from New Amsterdam, under whose jurisdiction they fell.

Halve Maen

Explored to The Narrows by Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing on French expedition in 1524, the area was visited by Spanish and English seafarers during the next century. It was again visited in 1609 by the Englishman Henry Hudson, who had been commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to find a navigable passage to Asia. During this journey his ship, the Halve Maen (Half Moon), laid anchor at Sandy Hook, Harsimus Cove, and Weehawken Cove, and other places along the river which now bears his name. At the time of his exploration the shoreline was considerably different from today, consisting of huge tidal marshes and oyster beds Several other expeditions to the coast of North America were made between 1610 and 1614; surveys and charts from them were incorporated in a map made by Adriaen Block which named New Netherland for the first time.