JB's position on train from Chgo- Dubuque?

[aga412]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I think a train to the Quad Cities, Iowa City, Des Moines and Omaha would be great. Lots of demand in those cities to come into Chicago, especially Iowa City where half of university is from the Chicago area and the Quad Cities which are so close it's logical to come in for the day.

It's so stupid they ran the amtrak so far south of those cities into rural areas.

Also why can't Metra run into DeKalb?? It's so close and there are thousands of students there from the Chicago area and going into downtown on the weekends, etc. That line to Elburn continues straight into downtown DeKalb and then straight to the UNI campus.

Maple Park is jockeying for a station, so maybe after that happens DeKalb could be next.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I think a train to the Quad Cities, Iowa City, Des Moines and Omaha would be great. Lots of demand in those cities to come into Chicago, especially Iowa City where half of university is from the Chicago area and the Quad Cities which are so close it's logical to come in for the day.

It's so stupid they ran the amtrak so far south of those cities into rural areas.

Also why can't Metra run into DeKalb?? It's so close and there are thousands of students there from the Chicago area and going into downtown on the weekends, etc. That line to Elburn continues straight into downtown DeKalb and then straight to the UNI campus.

DeKalb County would have to join Metra, which would require that County to pay dues. Also the State Legislature would have to authorize it. Union Pacific might require a new track. But it may be worth exploring.

[jaandjqa]

[quote=aga412;53897082]A few things. Nobody likes PACE. A train from Chicago to Dubuque is absolutely not Metra's purview, it would be Amtrak's.[/QUOTE)

The train to Dubuque could be for commuters, tourists, and those wanting to leave IL forever. Maybe Dubuque will even grow. Maybe they could stop in Rockford, if anyone dared get out there. Dubuque is an 1830s town along MS River, and you can go up on bluffs. They have lots of interesting parks to explore, and I even stayed at that mid-1800s hotel they have.

In Iowa, you will go to jail for cannabis possession, even one seed while Il offers legalization, so don't loan anyone your jacket in IA. Then there's the lovely speed traps, $75 for 2-3 miles over limit, and speeding fines up to $1,000. They have so much freedom in Iowa! Enjoy the scenery thru tall corn sprayed with toxins. Yes, it doesn't get any better. Amtrak of course is too limited, assuming people still ride trains.

Dubuque is somewhat of a metro area, if anybody moves to Dubuque and doesn't like it, East Dubuque, IL is just over the bridge, very nice small city.

[jaandjqa]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

Why would anyone bring this back? Maybe Chicago to Rockford but Dubuque? No way that population can support it.

Do you want to get shot, maybe while you are even still on the train? Rockford is one of the major crime capitals in IL. Maybe they should just let it decline?

[jaandjqa]

Originally Posted by pvande55

I thought Chicago to Moline was higher priority. The station has been built. Regarding the blue line extension to Schaumburg: not happening, but bus on shoulder and even a station at Barrington Road was incorporated with the I-90 expansion. http://www.google.com/url?q=https://...huda3sNmlVFzPv

Yes, it should go to Quad Cities!

[MSchemist80]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVPZ7GpFUPc


Ellison tells Bartiromo that, by 2040, people will be traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles in electric autonomous cars and vans for about “$25 bucks.” High speed rail, he says, is “very strange,” “ludicrous” and “a crazy system.” He almost directly quotes Elon Musk, who not long ago said that platoons of his autonomous electric semi-trucks would make freight trains obsolete.

This is what Musk has said about public transportation:

“I think public transport is painful. It sucks. Why do you want to get on something with a lot of other people that doesn’t leave when you want it to leave, doesn’t start where you want it to start, and doesn’t end where you want it to end? And it doesn’t go all the time. It’s a pain in the ass. That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s, like, a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. And so that’s why people like individualized transport that goes where you want, when you want.”

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVPZ7GpFUPc


Ellison tells Bartiromo that, by 2040, people will be traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles in electric autonomous cars and vans for about “$25 bucks.” High speed rail, he says, is “very strange,” “ludicrous” and “a crazy system.” He almost directly quotes Elon Musk, who not long ago said that platoons of his autonomous electric semi-trucks would make freight trains obsolete.

This is what Musk has said about public transportation:

“I think public transport is painful. It sucks. Why do you want to get on something with a lot of other people that doesn’t leave when you want it to leave, doesn’t start where you want it to start, and doesn’t end where you want it to end? And it doesn’t go all the time. It’s a pain in the ass. That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s, like, a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. And so that’s why people like individualized transport that goes where you want, when you want.”

Then he should stay off. Some of us enjoy not having to fight traffic and all the crazy drivers.

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Then he should stay off. Some of us enjoy not having to fight traffic and all the crazy drivers.

I think his point is electric car sharing services are going to replace public transit. You are going to tell the program from where and to where you are going, the car will show up, calculate the most effective route, It will be much safer and less congested with roads filled with automated cars and you will get directly there.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

I think his point is electric car sharing services are going to replace public transit. You are going to tell the program from where and to where you are going, the car will show up, calculate the most effective route, It will be much safer and less congested with roads filled with automated cars and you will get directly there.

Sorry, I don't buy that. Take someone trying to get from the Lilac Village (Lombard) to the loop at rush hour. Every route is used to capacity or better. If there is an accident on Roosevelt, it might be better to take an alternate, slightly faster. Of course everyone will still be on it. I think out in LA they thought they could always add more pavement, but they realized public rail transit would have to be part of the solution.

[MSchemist80]

The point also is having the roads filled with autonomous driving vehicles is also more efficient. You have fewer accidents, fewer people cutting over at the last second to make that exit, autonomous cares are very predictable and conservative drivers, you can also synchronize the stoplights better. There also is no need to park them and have 2 lanes devoted to street parking as once you arrive the car just heads off to pickup the next assignment near by.

However his point wasn't about replacing the L, it was replacing any need for new expensive interurban trains like Chicago to Dubuque and such.