Modesto snubbed by Valley/ Bay Super Rail Project? (San Diego, San Francisco: cost, safety)

[18Montclair]

State leaders courted Stanislaus County votes when pushing a high-speed rail bond a year ago. And a map showing a possible metamorphosis for Altamont Commuter Express trains shows potential spurs to either downtown Modesto or the Amtrak station east of town.
But the consortium gathering public input scheduled no town hall meetings east of Stockton.

"Is there a reason Modesto and Stanislaus County were excluded?" said Modesto Councilman Garrad Marsh in a letter to the Altamont Corridor Rail Project. Previous promises have been reduced to "only a 'possibility'," Marsh said.


Read more: http://www.modbee.com/news/story/931812.html#ixzz0Wrm4BFRB

Leaving out Stanislaus County at this point is actually going back on what they previously promised and is very shortsighted considering the projections of future growth in that area.

[FresnoFacts]

Siimliar to what is happening in Southern California with commuter rail. It is also being left out of applications for federal grants and the state is pushing HSR instead.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quietly spiked an effort last month to win $1.1 billion in federal high-speed rail stimulus funds for 29 projects to improve the safety, speed and capacity of heavily traveled commuter corridors through Southern California. Instead, he ordered state officials to seek money for only one project -- the proposed bullet train between San Francisco and San Diego."

Schwarzenegger quietly quashed effort to improve commuter rails -- latimes.com

[Winston Smith]

It's too bad the fixation with HSR. Conventional rail is so much more cost effective, and not exactly slow at 80 MPH! Sometimes I think the whole HSR is a strange "technocrat" fetish. Put the money into the existing rail networks and beef them up first. MHO.

[EscapeCalifornia]

So you're saying the government lied to the people to get something approved? Have fun paying for a half-built road to nowhere for the next 50 years.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

HSR is the ultimate boondoggle. We are not Japan nor are we Europe. Spend 2 minutes with a world population density map, any 7th grader could provide the analysis.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

HSR is the ultimate boondoggle. We are not Japan nor are we Europe. Spend 2 minutes with a world population density map, any 7th grader could provide the analysis.

Actually, California is regularly compared to both Japan and France in terms of economy. Population wise (35 mill), CA by itself could be any number of European countries. HSR for CA does in many ways make sense. However, I think that CA could do rail much more cost effectively by simply building up the existing, conventional rail networks. I use the Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink, San Joaquin and Capital Corridor trains often and find them just as clean, efficient and punctual as any I've been on in Europe.

But, conventional rail is not vogue. HSR is technologically exciting, new and shiny, thereby overshadowing the not so fashionable -- but far more cost effective -- conventional rail. But as I wrote earlier, HSR is in someways a "technocrat's" fetish. Forget HSR for the moment and give us more state-controlled Amtrak-type service