Hearings planned on potential Atlanta-Charlotte rail line (vs, safe)

[AnsleyPark]

I have serious doubts that someone in Alpharetta will drive downtown to the multi-modal station, park and board a train to Charlotte. They can drive in 4 hours a lot more conveniently and still have their car to get around the city. I travel to Charlotte for business quite frequently. I would not take a train. I think most folks wouldn't take a train. Does it sound cool? Sure. Is it practical? Nopers.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

I have serious doubts that someone in Alpharetta will drive downtown to the multi-modal station, park and board a train to Charlotte. They can drive in 4 hours a lot more conveniently and still have their car to get around the city. I travel to Charlotte for business quite frequently. I would not take a train. I think most folks wouldn't take a train. Does it sound cool? Sure. Is it practical? Nopers.

How would that trip work logistically?

Traveling from NYC to DC is pretty easy. You can catch the train or take a cab to Penn Station.

Penn Station, New York, NY - Google Maps

And then hop a cab to Downtown from Union Station. You could also take Metro.

Union Station, Washington, DC - Google Maps

Peachtree Station is completely isolated.

Amtrak Station-ATL, Peachtree Street Northwest, Atlanta, GA - Google Maps

And Charlotte's station is even more isolated.

Amtrak Station-CLT, North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC - Google Maps

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

the reason that is so is because the train service is so crappy between charlotte and atlanta. why don't you instead look at the number of people who fly between charlotte and atlanta, and who would be willing to take the high speed rail because it would be cheaper and faster than flying? that would be a lot of people. believe it or not businesspeople frequently fly between atlanta and charlotte all the time. and now imagine all the people who would rather take the train that have to drive for 4-5 hours. between those two, you've got a considerable amount of people that would rather take the train.

Originally Posted by fltonc12

Almost 1.8 million people fly from Atlanta-Charlotte/Charlotte-Atlanta each year. I'm sure a lot would be willing to ride a train.

I know I already said it, but Delta is not going to tolerate that much competition in their home base. It will likely always be cheaper to fly than take the train b/t those two destinations. I believe now up in the NE it is cheaper to fly the shuttle v train.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

I have serious doubts that someone in Alpharetta will drive downtown to the multi-modal station, park and board a train to Charlotte. They can drive in 4 hours a lot more conveniently and still have their car to get around the city. I travel to Charlotte for business quite frequently. I would not take a train. I think most folks wouldn't take a train. Does it sound cool? Sure. Is it practical? Nopers.

Good point. That is one of the reasons rail works in the NE. You don't have to have a car once you get to your destination.

Come into Atlanta or Charlotte, guess what, you will likely need a car. If I'm on business I'm trying to get things done. I can't wait for a bus or taxi, I have a schedule. This is the one of the biggest reasons why business people will not be using HSR in the SE in mass. This point cannot be ignored.

[tikigod311]

PDF of potential station locations.
http://www.dot.ga.gov/travelingingeo...tationMaps.pdf

They are showing putting a station for the airport in Hapeville, not connected in any way to a terminal! That would be so stupid. They need to put it on the tracks behind the MARTA yard and add a station to the rental car train right above it. I drive by this every day and it is the perfect location.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Come into Atlanta or Charlotte, guess what, you will likely need a car. If I'm on business I'm trying to get things done. I can't wait for a bus or taxi, I have a schedule. This is the one of the biggest reasons why business people will not be using HSR in the SE in mass. This point cannot be ignored.

It is true. It should not be ignored. However, plenty of people still fly within the SE for business. Most of these distances are ideal distance for rail connections. As someone who travels for business, often just within the SE I find that many prefer to fly (I actually drive more often than others to cash out on the mileage payout since my car is a beater and gets good MPG).

Point is, even if you are not going to personally use it often, it is something we should be considering in the coming decades (Even if LA county has more people than 42 of the 50 states). And that means planning now, and starting a gauge exactly how much demand there is for it today and in the future.

Remember the current airport at ATL didn't even exist until 33 years ago, and planning started in 1967. The HSR lines will need that sort of time scale to be built out.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

PDF of potential station locations.
http://www.dot.ga.gov/travelingingeo...tationMaps.pdf

They are showing putting a station for the airport in Hapeville, not connected in any way to a terminal! That would be so stupid. They need to put it on the tracks behind the MARTA yard and add a station to the rental car train right above it. I drive by this every day and it is the perfect location.

Good find.

I agree it should be connected to the terminal. It is not terribly far away from the international terminal, so they should connect that or even better build the station on the other side where the railroad tracks already run under the "ATL Sky Train".

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by jsvh

It is true. It should not be ignored. However, plenty of people still fly within the SE for business. Most of these distances are ideal distance for rail connections. As someone who travels for business, often just within the SE I find that many prefer to fly (I actually drive more often than others to cash out on the mileage payout since my car is a beater and gets good MPG).

But the airports are already there. You don't need to spend billions on additional infrastructure to get from Atlanta to Charlotte. What would be the point of that? Sure, it would be another mode of transit, but so would helicopters. Why not build hundreds of heliports so people can take a chopper from Atlanta to Charlotte? It would probably be more economical.

Originally Posted by jsvh

Remember the current airport at ATL didn't even exist until 33 years ago, and planning started in 1967. The HSR lines will need that sort of time scale to be built out.

There's a big difference between building an airport and building HSR. The success of Atlanta's airport is largely owed to the fact that Delta and AirTran are based there. That ensures that passenger volume will be high. There's no such guarantee for HSR.

[jsvh]

I am sure our individual gut feelings and the random bits of trivia we have been able to Google for this thread is great and all but at what point should we begin to professionally estimate the costs and demands for a given high-speed rail line then? I really fail to see the problem with planning for the future. Do you think this means they are breaking ground on this line tomorrow?

[cqholt]

And Charlotte's station is even more isolated.

Amtrak Station-CLT, North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC - Google Maps

Looks like some country-bumpkin town's train station.