High speed rail for the texas triangle?

[Alphalogica]

HSR in Texas is perfectly feasible. Southwest Airlines is the culprit. A lot of rail's lack of success in Texas is mostly political. H3ll, light rail in Houston barely made it and that's a much smaller project.

[oslin3]

I would love for that to happen, i think all of the residents would to but, theres no will power coming from the people. Sure we all want it, but we aren't showing it. It takes more than will power to make a change, it takes action. Even if it were plausible huge firms wouldn't allow it because it would bypass their company's operations. When i moved to houston from California i thought this place was a mess, I mean whats houston going to do in five to ten years with the traffic on the I-10, no more room to grow. Theres plenty of opportunities for improvements but for some reason, the gov. just doen't see them. Mass transit, renewable energy, sure it would be great but it just seems like it's not getting through to these thick skulled politicians.

[blkgiraffe]

Before this gets underway; we need reliable and sufficient public transit in our cities.

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by blkgiraffe

Before this gets underway; we need reliable and sufficient public transit in our cities.

Most days that I work downtown (Dallas) I take the DART Electric Rail in.

Hate to say this, as more and more folks figure this out, it is likely to get more and more crowded . . . but . . . the truth is . . . .

It is great. Cheap, fast, clean, zips right by the entire backed up (traffic) length of North Central Expressway, and drops me off closer to work than parking.

But at any rate -- both sides support the other. If you could jump on High Speed Rail from downtown Dallas, we would use that, too.

But to ever get this through, something has to take a hit (Southwest Airlines, that is). So they will screw Texas to keep making a buck. Meanwhile Dallas has dumped more money into Love Field.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Philip T

Most days that I work downtown (Dallas) I take the DART Electric Rail in.

Hate to say this, as more and more folks figure this out, it is likely to get more and more crowded . . . but . . . the truth is . . . .

It is great. Cheap, fast, clean, zips right by the entire backed up (traffic) length of North Central Expressway, and drops me off closer to work than parking.

But at any rate -- both sides support the other. If you could jump on High Speed Rail from downtown Dallas, we would use that, too.

But to ever get this through, something has to take a hit (Southwest Airlines, that is). So they will screw Texas to keep making a buck. Meanwhile Dallas has dumped more money into Love Field.

Yes, Dallas is doing good and Houston is advancing as well, but I'm talking other cities as well. People are going to ride into these cities with no type of decent public transit to get them around.

[TX75007]

How much will it cost? Right now DART is around $70 million per mile without any land acquisition costs nor does it have to build much in the way of bedding or the extensive bridging. So, it would probably run into the $100 million per mile. That is around 30 billion just for the rail. Given the time to construct, and the time the capital would be tied up, the yearly cost of capital for DFW to Houston alone with be into the billions.

If we have 50,000 riders per day and 2 billion in interest and principal a year, the cost of capital alone on the fare would be $109. Add in operational costs, and that will go up to $159 or higher. And you would still have to get to the train station.

I can drive to Houston for $20 in gas or hop on a flight for $70. And the capital costs are built into those costs for the infrastructure I am using.

It is just not feasible at this time. Maybe in 30-50 years.

[Philip T]

Any basis for the make-believe $100 million swag?


I have seen plenty of swags in this field but that is probably the swagiest.


$100 million a mile works out to . . . about $1500 an inch -- or so.

What do you propose to build it from -- Silver and Gold?

[Tommytruth]

Never. The oil companies won't allow it. Too bad Texans don't realize the reason that they are forced to drive on freeways that turn into parking lots at rush hour instead of being able to use mass transit in their cities is that the oil companies want it that way. And what the oil companies want in
Texas, they get.

[Dopo]

China keeps on thinking about the future (government investment in infrastructure)
and the US keeps on thinking about the past (our 20th century highway is great)



A look at Chinas high-speed rail investments | ThinkProgress - Feb. 2011

President Dwight D. Eisenhower put a down payment on the U.S. economy in 1956 by signing the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act. This wise investment in a modern, transformative transportation infrastructure””in the form of 41,000 miles of interstate highways””enabled the rapid movement of people and goods across the nation and was vital to our astounding economic progress for the next 50 years.

Today, it is China that is leading the world in a key next-generation transportation technology: high-speed rail. China has already built 4,000 miles of rail featuring trains with average speeds of 120 miles per hour or greater, and the country plans to build an additional 10,000 miles of high-speed rail connecting all of China’s major cities by 2020.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by Tommytruth

Never. The oil companies won't allow it. Too bad Texans don't realize the reason that they are forced to drive on freeways that turn into parking lots at rush hour instead of being able to use mass transit in their cities is that the oil companies want it that way. And what the oil companies want in
Texas, they get.

Yep. Just pave your way out of problems. That must change.