Scranton-Hoboken Railway

[blip]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Wow. Just wow. When so many cities and towns across the country are fighting to have rail built into their neck of the woods and the people in Northeast PA are against it, it just goes to show you the mentality up there. You people really need to stop living in the 1950s....seriously.

First, please note that the people on this board are not a representative sample of NEPA. Most in NEPA are living at least in the 1960s or '70s.

Second, it's not as simple as "rail = good". If you look at the proposal for more than a second, you'll see that it has some serious flaws. That doesn't mean they can't be addressed over time, but if they're not factored into expectations now, it could doom it.

It seems quite possible to me that the whole thing as currently conceived will be scrapped as "a failure" a couple years after opening, and then there won't be another chance to do rail to the region correctly for another 50 years.

[go phillies]

I am not against the rail, it might make sense if it was a high speed line, but a slow train that will actually take longer than taking a bus or driving a car is a waste of money. Also, it should connect to more places than just NY....maybe Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Binghamton, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, DC, etc. Maybe an Amtrak line would be better than having a NJ Transit train stop in Scranton.

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by go phillies

I am not against the rail, it maight make sense if it was a high speed line, but a slow train that will actually take longer than taking a bus or driving a car is a waste of money. Also, it should connect to more places than just NY....maybe Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Binghamton, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, DC, etc. Maybe an Amtrak line would be better than having a NJ Transit train stop in Scranton.

Well said. I agree that unless it is high speed rail, then it is a waste. After the first few rides, who will want to ride this train? It will take much longer then a bus or a car, and it is not even a direct ride to manhattan. You have to get off in Hoboken and board another bus to Manhattan. Why go through all of this when you can take a bus and watch a movie on the bus too boot? I'm sure it will be somewhat popular for a few months because it will be new, but once people realize that taking a bus or driving a car is much more convenient, and quicker, who is going to opt for the train? It's common sense! It's like paying a colossal amount of money to go back to the horse and buggy after we already have the automobile. If it was high speed rail, then I'd be all for it, but it's not. Let private industry invest in this. I don't want my taxes paying for this boondoggle!

[weluvpa]

If we were living in the 50's the train wouldn't be an issue because IT WOULD STILL BE THERE!

Mentality.....I worked and lived in NJ for probably half my life to this point and I like it here because its not NJ......Why would we want to open the door to the trash from NJ and NY anymore then we already have.

Also the train will haul more garbage to our landfills from NJ and NY then it will people to NY and NJ.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

If we were living in the 50's the train wouldn't be an issue because IT WOULD STILL BE THERE!

Mentality.....I worked and lived in NJ for probably half my life to this point and I like it here because its not NJ......Why would we want to open the door to the trash from NJ and NY anymore then we already have.

Also the train will haul more garbage to our landfills from NJ and NY then it will people to NY and NJ.

So its possible that Uncle Louie is one of the people pushing for this train...

[danwxman]

If you can show me one study...anything...that shows that a train line increases crime, please do.

Look at all the suburbs of Philly that have train lines...I don't see any crime (other then what is the norm)...I see redeveloped, walkable communities. The Keystone line hasn't increased crime in Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, Middletown etc. It hasn't turned those towns into crime-infested dumps.

And Harrisburg has a bustling and vibrant downtown that is growing, due in part to the train station there. Now, Harrisburg does have its crime-ridden neighborhoods, but they were that way before the high-speed train started running.

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by danwxman

And Harrisburg has a bustling and vibrant downtown that is growing, due in part to the train station there. Now, Harrisburg does have its crime-ridden neighborhoods, but they were that way before the high-speed train started running.

This isn't going to be a high-speed line, though. Which means that it won't be used by people who will live in NEPA and commute to higher-paying jobs in NYC/NJ, since it will actually be slower than driving or taking the bus. It will just be another way for the vermin criminals and welfare people that move here from NYC to get here.

I would support a high speed line, but this proposed train is a waste of money in my opinion.

Also, train or no train, Harrisburg has a bustling downtown due to being the state capitol.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by go phillies

This isn't going to be a high-speed line, though. Which means that it won't be used by people who will live in NEPA and commute to higher-paying jobs in NYC/NJ, since it will actually be slower than driving or taking the bus. It will just be another way for the vermin criminals and welfare people that move here from NYC to get here.

I would support a high speed line, but this proposed train is a waste of money in my opinion.

Also, train or no train, Harrisburg has a bustling downtown due to being the state capitol.

Your not going to build a high-speed train from scratch, at least not in this country. Establishing basic passenger service is the first step. I see it really being used for leisure and business travel more then anything else, in addition to college students going to and from school.

And Harrisburg's downtown was 90% boarded up, vacant with sex shops 30 years ago, when it was still the state capital.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Your not going to build a high-speed train from scratch, at least not in this country. Establishing basic passenger service is the first step. I see it really being used for leisure and business travel more then anything else, in addition to college students going to and from school.

And Harrisburg's downtown was 90% boarded up, vacant with sex shops 30 years ago, when it was still the state capital.

College students here in the scranton area have and use their own cars and I can't see them using a train to move to and from school. Thats not even remotely enough of a justification of this expenditure.

Actually they do build the high speed trains and tracks from scratch because they use special rails for the high speed trains and usually do not share the same track as a local or freight train.

Are the keystone corridor trains in and out of Harrisburg actually considered high speed? I don't think that they are more then an express train and not the high speed trains that run the Northeast corridor between DC, New York and Boston. The Northeast corridor tracks are special built and I think that it is the only true high speed train in the country isn't it?


Huge waste of money.........