Phoenix Metro Light Rail Observations

Phoenix Metro Light Rail is definitely a shiny new toy. It glides smoothly along the tracks making short work of the stops from Mesa to Phoenix. Anyone susceptible to motion sickness may want to deal with it before boarding. Starts and stops are also smooth and fast. When it's standing room only, these stops and starts may make you quick friends with those around you if you aren't prepared.

The seats are contoured, hard and narrow. I couldn't see riding for a long trip if this were a regional train to Tucson. The seats in the front of the car face the rear and the seats at the rear face forward, There are aisle-facing seats in the middle, with a few facing forward. Hand bars over the seats are high and there are no hand straps, like on the Metro buses. Maybe they're on order.

There is a map of all of the stops in the middle of the car, but it is hard to read from any distance. There is also an electronic scrolling message board overhead that announces many common sense messages. At a designated distance from every stop, the message clears and the arriving station is announced. There is also a pre-recorded audio announcement that mimics the electronic message. Be aware that if you are traveling west, the message for the Roosevelt/Central station is not announced as of Friday, January 2nd. The Van Buren/Central announcement is mistakenly announced twice.

One last tip for riders: the train will not automatically open doors when the train is fairly empty. There is a yellow disk on the door with flashing LED lights. Just give it a tap and the door will open. This is true if you are entering or exiting the train. The doors do open automatically when there a lot of passengers.

Take advantage of it as often as you can. Use the park & rides along the way. They are well-lit and patrolled by officers. I plan to use it to get to work and to classes at ASU.