Suburbia needs to change...

[flynavyj]

I'd also be willing to agree with that. Right now there's a ton of metro traffic for sporting events, and i'm sure folks in west county would love to be able to leave their vehicles in relatively safe chesterfield vs. north hanley and still be able to ride to and from the game.

Personally, i like that daniel boone line....I did an overlay on Google Earth and that would put a line within 2 miles of my house...aka, close enough to ride my bike to and from the line, then ride to and from work....would be an awesome way to leave my car in the garage a little more often...and better yet, i can get work to pay for the train trip ...BUILD IT NOW!!!

[OzarkChickenLover]

flynavyj said:

"In all honesty, you'd probably have more rail options had the airplane not been invented...specifically the jet. With the size and expanse of the country, cheap air travel has really made the rail system somewhat obsolete around this country, and it's pretty sad to see."

Ten years ago I would have agreed with this. However, with the economy being where it is right now, I personally know over 50 people who can't afford to fly. Now like I said, I lived in Europe for several years. They often have a high speed train and a slow train with several stops in the smaller towns. We have enough railway access - the tracks that run through Wright City over by where we live has maybe 4 or 5 trains a day going through at most - that there is time and room for both high speed trains and the trains that stop in the small towns.

America is in a heck of a hurry, and sometimes that can be detrimental. There's nothing wrong with getting on a train and chugging along, watching the scenery, on your way to visit a friend 100 miles away. This is why we have so much road rage and rudeness in the shops, on the street, in the business place - we've become an isolated people in a busy country. We've forgotten how to get along. We have tunnel vision and it's focused on us, and screw everyone else.

I dunno...maybe I was born outside my time era. Why do we have to be in such a rush all the time? Manners have gone the way of the dinosaur. Even in the grocery stores people don't say, "Excuse me," when they go in front of you any more; people look at you strangely if you hold the door open for them; you see cars weaving in and out of traffic on I70 going 75-80 mph and not using blinkers;

.....and if I go in one more public restroom and hear someone on the phone while I'm trying to do my business, I'm going to make sure I do it loudly enough that whoever they're talking to can hear me. There's nowhere safe from the cell phone, and even in line at the gas station, fast food place, grocery store, or in a hospital waiting room people are on the phone....I swear some of them wouldn't know what to do if you took the Bluetooth out of their ears. I went in a restaurant lately and there was a couple there, both on their earbuds, and their kids are running around messing with other customers, yelling and throwing food, and Mom and Dad just sit there, talking to a client or who knows who...I don't belong in this generation. I like to go out to a restaurant and have a nice, relaxing meal. McDonald's is one thing. Even Applebee's or Joe's Crab Shack is almost expected, but when you are paying good money for a meal, it's irritating as all get out to have to put up with families whose children have no sense of respect for anyone else.

Oy, I'm off on a tirade now. I raised my kids to use their manners in public. You don't go bother other people in a restaurant or store and you don't have fits and throw yourself on the floor if you don't get what you want...how about leaving the little darlings with a babysitter if they don't know how to behave? For some of us, eating out is a treat, something we do once or twice a year, and we'd like to enjoy it.

Yikes. This probably isn't going to get any positive comments.

Trisha

[flynavyj]

Now that my friend...is a rant :P.

But it's duly noted. On the topic of transportation, my basic thoughts were that the aircraft became the viable and cheap means of transportation (especially here int he US) which is why much of the high-speed rail infrastructure hasn't been built. Someone had mentioned the restriction of US rail speed on shared track, being limited to something around ~110 mph. I also can remember hearing something about the rails around Missouri being owned by the freight operators which causing major problems for the Amtrak passenger rail service (hence the delays and freight preference along the rails). While i totally understand that flying isn't as "cheap and affordable" as it has been at different times in the past, it's still not uncommon to find a one way to Florida for under $100. And as long as the prices are that cheap, folks are going to have a hard time paying even that cheap $100 for a one day rail trip, vs a 2 hr flight...If you can make the high-speed rail cheap enough to compete with airfare, you might see it take off...no pun intended.

[aragx6]

I think HSR can best compete against the car not the airplane. Memphis, Kansas City, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, Milwaukee, Indianapolis -- major population centers within a 4-7 hour drive of St. Louis. A flight to one of the coasts is always going to be an easier sell than a long train-ride (America is big!) but there could be plenty of demand for a relatively inexpensive, safe option that's faster than driving.

[flynavyj]

Totally agree with you Arag. Unfortunately, the vast majority of my friends are pilots, and we like speed. lol. As a result, 100mph while faster than a car, it's typically only 20 mph faster than most folks are driving on the interstate, and once you combine stopping at small towns, showing up early for your train, getting a lift from union station to wherever you're staying it's typically wouldn't be much faster than driving...

With two quotes from ricky bobby...

"I wanna go fast" - Ricky Bobby

and

"America is all about speed, hot, nasty, bad *ss speed!" - Eleanor Roosevelt

Either way i think we need to get speeds significantly faster than a hundo, and if we're going to achieve that we'll be needing an infrastructure that has some dedicated rail. Luckily, being in St. Louis and a potential "hub" city location, we could probably combine efforts with other states pushing lines towards Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City to help cut down on costs, but i still wouldn't expect the price point to be better than the automobile...but if you can make it fast enough,and still cheaper than the airplane we might be on to something.

[aragx6]

I know that even when they complete the, what I call, half-ass high-speed rail line to Chicago it should be faster than driving. I believe I read it should reduce travel times from the current 5 1/2 to 4.

I've heard the argument, and of course it's true, that Amtrak is going to have to compete with Southwest's fun fares -- sometimes those get mad cheap for that short flight still. But while flying into Midway isn't the worst thing in the world, if you're coming in for the weekend with no plans to rent a car, getting dropped off at Union Station in the loop is a heck of a lot more convenient!