Obama supports high speed rail to Philly from Pittsburgh (Philadelphia: inspections, wage)

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by Chichappens

TAKE A PLANE.....Faster and cheaper

Right now, yes. But only for a number of reasons none of which is guaranteed to be stable in the long term. In any event, the time to start planning for alternatives is not when they are forced upon you.

Many parts of the country and many businesses were totally unprepared for $4/gallon gas prices and had no alternatives when that price was reached. We're still no better of than we were last summer.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by JoeLeaphorn

Don't worry, though. The state only asked for funds to study the possibility of HSR from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg. That shows you that the state was never serious about it in the first place.

Under the terms of the program this is the only sort of funding the state could request for Harrisburg to Pittsburgh: the other sorts of funding depended on a level of prior documentation that didn't exist for this route.

But this is only the first of many rounds of funding, and the key for now is to get the necessary documentation done for subsequent rounds.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by JoeLeaphorn

You mean like we did for nearly all paved roads in the US? Or how we subsidize flights in an out of small, regional airports? Or how we spend billions, annually, on the air traffic control system even though studies show us that less than half the US population will ever fly in their lifetimes?

I agree that Pittsburgh to Philly will only be viable if it is comparable in terms of times, with driving. Since Harrisburg to Philly is, the trick is to make Pittsburgh to Harrisburg competitive.

Don't worry, though. The state only asked for funds to study the possibility of HSR from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg. That shows you that the state was never serious about it in the first place.

Yep. Time to find out which Pork product has not become spoiled. Granted, some subsidies such as local mass transit are essential to every day living for a large number of people who'd otherwise not be able to get to work or out to shop.

[BMSF]

I am going to drive to Philly in a few weeks. It will take about 7 hrs, but, it's a nice drive and I have a 2006 Hyundai Accent that gets me 30 MPG /highway. I am just hoping the gas prices stay tame.

[WILWRadio]

I'll be trekking from KC to your area and then to Connecticut and back to KC over Labor Day weekend. Thankfully gas prices are not through the roof at the moment. Last year at Thanksgiving when I took the same trip, I was able to shave over $100 off on my gas cost from the previous year. This year won't be quite that good but I should still save about $50 on this trip from the one in 2007.

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Under the terms of the program this is the only sort of funding the state could request for Harrisburg to Pittsburgh: the other sorts of funding depended on a level of prior documentation that didn't exist for this route.

As I have noted, before, that was my point all along. The state had the Harrisburg to Philly corridor approved for designation in 1992. Harrisburg to Pittsburgh wasn't designated until 2000 more than eight years later.

So where has been the planning since? It has been more than nine years since Harrisburg to Pittsburgh was added. What was Rendell doing beside listening to himself talk?

[Hopes]

Meanwhile China is dumping tons of debt free money into infrastructure improvements to boost their economy. We merely talk about high speed rail for two decades.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by JoeLeaphorn

So where has been the planning since? It has been more than nine years since Harrisburg to Pittsburgh was added. What was Rendell doing beside listening to himself talk?

I don't have much good to say about the attention the state government has been paying to this issue, but to be fair, it should be noted there was almost no chance of significant federal funding for projects like this in the prior federal administration.

[JoeLeaphorn]

[quote=juliegt;8423241]

Originally Posted by user_id

The train service that exists is slow and expensive. Fine if you're going for the trip itself - to enjoy the scenery and the travel experience. At present, flying or driving are the most convenient. If there was fast, convenient high speed rail that was competitively priced, I'd use it.

Expensive? Compared to what?

Pittsburgh to Philadelphia is $47 by train and $131 by air.

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I don't have much good to say about the attention the state government has been paying to this issue, but to be fair, it should be noted there was almost no chance of significant federal funding for projects like this in the prior federal administration.

The Keystone Corridor saw significant upgrades and improvements during the two terms of the Bush Administration. Granted, that Administration was not exactly rail-friendly. But neither was our governor particularly friendly to Pennsylvania rail interests to the West.