Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Chicago high speed rail (Marion, Green: car rental, rental, credit)

[cincydave8]

I for one wish we had better city to city rail serivce. If we had to good service to Chicago that was quicker than Megabus, I'd take it. No reason to have a car when visiting Chicago.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by cincydave8

I for one wish we had better city to city rail serivce. If we had to good service to Chicago that was quicker than Megabus, I'd take it. No reason to have a car when visiting Chicago.

There is every reason to have a car when visiting Chicago. It is one of the most sprawling spread out cities in the country and only a tiny fraction of Chicago is served by any type of public transportation. I assume you have been to Chicago to visit the Shed or the Loop or the Zoo. Great if you are a day tripping tourist. But, if you want to go see your cousins in Schaumburg or a customer in Deerfield Heights, you are spending the day trying to get there. I can drive to Chicago on a good day in 4:15 minutes and consume all of $54 in gas. You want the 800,000 pound iron dinosaur to drop me at Union Station after a grueling 8 hour trip (remember to stop in Indy) and then task me to find a route to Schaumburg? Forget it. The cab fare from Union Station will cost me more than my entire trip from Cincinnati in the car.

[cincydave8]

No reason to have a car when visiting for me.*

Megabus drops you off at a train station, take it to the loop and then up to Logan Square where my friends live. Mega Bus takes a little longer then a car but is much cheaper and if they upgrade train service and it's quicker than Megabus then no debate for me.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by cincydave8

No reason to have a car when visiting for me.*

Megabus drops you off at a train station, take it to the loop and then up to Logan Square where my friends live. Mega Bus takes a little longer then a car but is much cheaper and if they upgrade train service and it's quicker than Megabus then no debate for me.

I love Mega Bus. Hope they are infinitely successful. And, for a direct trip, it can't be beat. And, any where a light (haha!) rail can go, a MegaBus can go. 60 years ago buses displaced trains and have been improving ever since. Urban planners are the bus's enemy. They are taught to love rails because it is a politically popular mode since it involves billions in government owned infrastructure and hoards of public employees. Is this America? I'm not sure any more. but, if a need arises for a mode of transportation that is economical, someone will be there to fill it. Today it is Megabus. tomorrow, who knows. But, once the government gets its hands on it, it is going to end up as someone's boondoggle.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

I love Mega Bus. Hope they are infinitely successful. And, for a direct trip, it can't be beat. And, any where a light (haha!) rail can go, a MegaBus can go. 60 years ago buses displaced trains and have been improving ever since. Urban planners are the bus's enemy. They are taught to love rails because it is a politically popular mode since it involves billions in government owned infrastructure and hoards of public employees. Is this America? I'm not sure any more. but, if a need arises for a mode of transportation that is economical, someone will be there to fill it. Today it is Megabus. tomorrow, who knows. But, once the government gets its hands on it, it is going to end up as someone's boondoggle.

I visited one place during my working years where I found a train to be practical, and that was Japan. I made many trips to Japan. First of all the streets are narrow and woefully inadequate. Second of all there is no place to park. Third the Japanese government does not have to beg people to be public employees, they stand in line for a job.

I totally agree any trip to Chicago other than a short excursion trip needs a car. I made many a business trip to Chicago to visit actual or potential customers. They were manufacturers and not in the most glamorous parts of town. Without a car I would have been lost, even with a car got lost quite frequently. The number of people who fly to Chicago as a final destination is extremely small. They are either going there for a short business trip out in Hoboken or just passing through for somewhere else.

BTW, I went far more often to places like Rockford, IL, Fon du Lac, WI, Manitowoc WI, Gary IN, South Bend IN, and others than I ever went to Chicago itself or even the immediate Metro area.I mention them since I know they were extremely active in manufacturing, no more.. So what are these cities to do with the proposals for high speed rail, insure they have a spur? Several have been struggling for years and can barely afford to keep their water (which will become one of the most expensive resources in the US) plants going.

This high speed rail reminds me of some animated version of a future world. Like mot things today, no plan on how to finance and sustain it. Perhaps we should drop back to when this country became great and require businesses to finance their own, what a Novel Idea!

[Kevin1813]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

They are taught to love rails because it is a politically popular mode since it involves billions in government owned infrastructure and hoards of public employees. Is this America? I'm not sure any more. but, if a need arises for a mode of transportation that is economical, someone will be there to fill it..

You mean the America that was built on private railroads?

Granted many were given their right a ways for free (massive subsidy), and overbearing federal and state regulations forced them out of business.

I too love Mega Bus, but if we're truely going for a "free market", we should toll all roads and highways and/or raise the gas tax to a level that can actually pay for the construction AND maintenance of our road system. Mega Bus works very well, but only due to Government subsidies for the road system.

[kjbrill]

Everyone seems to complain about the subsidies our transportation system receives. I don't complain much since I rarely travel out of the town I live in, and it has good roads. But quit complaining, the road system supports how many people with jobs, is open to the entire public, and a far more pleasant method to travel than some cramped up train car running on a schedule no one can figure out.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Kevin1813

You mean the America that was built on private railroads?

Granted many were given their right a ways for free (massive subsidy), and overbearing federal and state regulations forced them out of business.

I too love Mega Bus, but if we're truely going for a "free market", we should toll all roads and highways and/or raise the gas tax to a level that can actually pay for the construction AND maintenance of our road system. Mega Bus works very well, but only due to Government subsidies for the road system.

Oh, I don't mind the railroad right of way land grants. The robber barons of the era should have gotten something for their political support for politicians who subsidized them. Just like the green energy billionaires of today.

But, the tracks are a thing of the past. When people were constrained to do the same thing every day in the same way. We are free of that today and it is exemplified no where better than the use of the private automobile. Let's not turn back the clock unless we are going to live in a Tokyo type futuristic society of 20,000 people per square mile and working in plants with 10,000 employees in a single location.

[WILWRadio]

AMTRAK is going to discontinue the service from Indy to Chicago very soon. Lack of ridership.

[Kevin1813]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Everyone seems to complain about the subsidies our transportation system receives. I don't complain much since I rarely travel out of the town I live in, and it has good roads. But quit complaining, the road system supports how many people with jobs, is open to the entire public, and a far more pleasant method to travel than some cramped up train car running on a schedule no one can figure out.

I'm all for subsidizing roads and airports. But I'm also for supporting rail where it would work better than driving or flying. I guess my point is that our driving commutes wouldn't be pleasant at all if we decided to maintain our road system the way the country has maintained it's rail system the past half century.

I'm not sure what your experience is taking a train, but I have literally never been on a train that had less leg and headroom than a car or SUV. And if someone can't understand how a timetable works, I'd have to wonder if that person were illiterate.

It's also slightly ironic that you bring up that the road system is open to the entire public, as it is illegal for those of advanced age or under 16 to use it.