I was surprised to see the story today about the 11 breaks in the Light Rail Line. The blog on the az central site had more than a few comments about the story, most of which are (of course) pretty critical of the entire system. Mayor Gordon "guarantees" that we will have "the safest system in the nation."

Some things that came to my mind were.. Are line breaks common in other cities with light rail? Would a 6" to 7" break in a line be enough to cause a huge safety problem? If/when this type of thing happens once the system is operational, how long would it take to fix?
Just last week I mentioned how impressed I was with the entire system. The test track we rode on was exceptionally smooth and felt very safe. I firmly believe they will figure this out but I'll sure try to find some more information and get some answers..