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Old 04-10-2014, 09:18 AM
 
254 posts, read 398,430 times
Reputation: 397

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Restrain View Post
Lets be right up front. The cost of ROWs, existing line upgrades, etc is OMG expensive. You can get to Houston by Southwest Airlines in less than an hour. We don't need it. It was killed by a coalition of ranchers, farmers, etc when they started looking at the costs, impact, etc.

This is a DOA proposal.
I'm afraid this is simply wrong. Yes ROW is expensive but no more so than for a highway, and people often neglect to consider the cost of infrastructure necessary to support air travel. And I've never in my life been able to fly from DFW to Houston in an hour... after you park, you've got to get to the terminal, check in, go through security, wait to board, board and find your seat (the plane waiting until all have been seated) and only then does the flight begin (of course you have to do pretty much all of this in reverse as soon as you land).

And for the record, it wasn't the farmers and ranchers who killed the Texas Triangle and other previous efforts to build HSR in Texas. It was Southwest Airlines and (while in-state routes were still important to it) Continental Airlines. At that time (especially for Southwest), the cities that were (and are) being talked about as destinations for a statewide high speed rail network served as the backbone of their market. Today, even Southwest (particularly with the end of the Wright Amendment), is focusing more and more on national and international routes, while the short routes in Texas are becoming less and less profitable (especially due to the increase in the price of jet fuel). Because of the changes in that industry, there is far less of a concerted effort (through lobbying and misleading PR) to oppose high speed rail in Texas.
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Old 04-10-2014, 09:56 AM
 
Location: Rocky Mountain Xplorer
954 posts, read 1,541,979 times
Reputation: 690
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't the south side of Dallas the "wrong side of the tracks" and no growth side all rolled into, making it even more important to extend the north point of origin for the proposed line atleast into downtown Dallas ?
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Old 04-10-2014, 07:31 PM
 
4,775 posts, read 8,794,345 times
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Fort Worthians shouldn't have to fight Dallas traffic just to get on a bullet train to Houston.
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Old 04-10-2014, 08:21 PM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,698,490 times
Reputation: 2882
CBDs are preferable. Also if the the high speed trains can connect to existing/future commuter rail stations in Austin, Dallas, and Houston that would make it even more useful.

If these high speed trains are anything like the TGV in Europe they will be roomier, quieter and less bumpy than air travel. Plus you can get up and out of your seat, visit the snack car, and use your electronic devices any time you want.
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Old 04-10-2014, 08:25 PM
 
Location: Holly Neighborhood, Austin, Texas
3,982 posts, read 6,698,490 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdogg817 View Post
Fort Worthians shouldn't have to fight Dallas traffic just to get on a bullet train to Houston.
Fort Worth HSR could be a phase 2 project.
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Old 04-11-2014, 05:37 AM
 
170 posts, read 296,907 times
Reputation: 102
what happened to the proposed "texas t-bone"? that routing made the most sense to me.
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Old 04-11-2014, 09:08 AM
 
2,206 posts, read 4,722,691 times
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The economics just are not there.
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Old 04-11-2014, 09:18 AM
 
254 posts, read 398,430 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TX75007 View Post
The economics just are not there.
I think that is in fact a direct quote from remarks by the CEO of Southwest Airlines earlier this week. The economics can certainly be there and comparisons all depend on what you choose to include or ignore. The economics of airlines and highways don't always look particularly great when you begin to take a deep enough look at them.
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Old 04-11-2014, 11:46 AM
 
5,251 posts, read 6,338,377 times
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Quote:
Southwest CEO (some dip not Herb Keller) : "Dallas to Houston is still our No. 1 city pair. It generates the most revenue of all our city pairs and it’s important to us. I would submit that you already have high speed transportation between Dallas and Houston and we intend to keep it."
I wish SWA (because what other airline would?) had fought as hard to minimalize the TSA bs & pre-flight wah wah checks as they are against a HSR option. Flight is magical, and we used to have a highspeed transportation but they allowed the feds, safety nannies and bureaucrats to wreck it for no consumer gains.
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Old 04-11-2014, 01:18 PM
 
254 posts, read 398,430 times
Reputation: 397
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOverdog View Post
I wish SWA (because what other airline would?) had fought as hard to minimalize the TSA bs & pre-flight wah wah checks as they are against a HSR option. Flight is magical, and we used to have a highspeed transportation but they allowed the feds, safety nannies and bureaucrats to wreck it for no consumer gains.
Those Feds and safety nannies also pour $millions into getting and keeping those planes in the air. There is not a single transpiration option in the country beyond walking or maybe horseback that is not subsidized in some way.
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