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I should have clarified.. that this may not be part of Obamas Highspeed Rail Plan... it seems like its being initiated by the Georgia DOT possibly in partnership with North Carolina DOT.. NCDOT already has a passenger rail service under contract with Amtrak that runs from Charlotte to NYC- Carolinian and from Charlotte to Raleigh only -Piedmont several times a day.. stopping at dozens of towns along the congested I-85 corridor.. I imagine this would be similiar with a train going from ATL to NYC and one maybe exclusively between GA and NC. I think SC would get on Board with it simply because the business interest in the Upstate may DEMAND that they do it. Additionally, they will likely be using existing tracks so the start up cost may be less than new highspeed tracks and since its just going through SC and not terminating.. most of the rolling stock and related equipment cost would be supplied by NC and GA.. SC would just have to put in a few $ since it would likely stop at existing Amtrak stations (depending on the route selected) with only maybe Anderson and Greer having to add one.. Stations should be cheap for those towns.. no more than a bus shelter with an automatic ticket machine and an asphalt platform and maybe a small surface lot for parking all of which can be leased by the City/Town from CSX or Norfolk Southern if they are using existing tracks.. They can build up from there depending on ridership...I think we should keep it simple..to avoid the politic...hell how much money did the state give Southwest or Boeing pr was it all tax breaks?.
Well it sounds like it is one and the same to me. The globalists want to divide up the country into 10 zones. http://www.rs.org/war3.htm Executive orders have already been signed. It is a done deal unless people wake up and protest. That area would be the southeastern zone. All the smart growth infrastructure changes are designed so that the states become dependent on the Federal government. Look at how elective offices are even planned on being phased out on the local and state level. Beware Metro, Regional Government
Well it sounds like it is one and the same to me. The globalists want to divide up the country into 10 zones. War3 Executive orders have already been signed. It is a done deal unless people wake up and protest. That area would be the southeastern zone. All the smart growth infrastructure changes are designed so that the states become dependent on the Federal government. Look at how elective offices are even planned on being phased out on the local and state level. Beware Metro, Regional Government
If this line comes through Greenville, it will only help. I am not into the political rants about public projects, I only see them as a benefit or not. And, this line wold be a tremendous help in attracting companies and talented individuals to the area.
If this line comes through Greenville, it will only help. I am not into the political rants about public projects, I only see them as a benefit or not. And, this line wold be a tremendous help in attracting companies and talented individuals to the area.
The thing is, you can't separate the two; they're indelibly interwoven. I lived in LA for 9 years and the people of California were promised this grand high speed rail project that would connect San Diego to SF and have a spur from LA to Vegas. We were told it would only cost $30 billion, but if we passed the bill, it would turn a profit in less than 20 years. Well, that was 10 years ago, it's over $500 billion, it's nowhere close to connecting any of the aforementioned cities and the terminus is a town called Tehachapi; never heard of it? Didn't think so.
The moral of the story is trains are nice, but not with taxpayer money.
The thing is, you can't separate the two; they're indelibly interwoven. I lived in LA for 9 years and the people of California were promised this grand high speed rail project that would connect San Diego to SF and have a spur from LA to Vegas. We were told it would only cost $30 billion, but if we passed the bill, it would turn a profit in less than 20 years. Well, that was 10 years ago, it's over $500 billion, it's nowhere close to connecting any of the aforementioned cities and the terminus is a town called Tehachapi; never heard of it? Didn't think so.
The moral of the story is trains are nice, but not with taxpayer money.
Well sophi, that nice. You are wrong but, that's not reality. Fact is that roads, the military, etc....are all over budget. The difference, and why I don't like political rants, is that neo cons don't like high speed rail and use silly arguments that could apply across the board as fact and reasons for not supporting rail. Your arguments are directly in line with that philosophy regardless of the logic. The fact is that as the I85 corridor grows, the current infrastructure assets are not capable of handling the increased load. We can pretend that the private sector should do it from a political point of view and watch as other areas pass us by while we hold to some silly political doctrine. Neo cons had your same arguments against the research triangle in Reigh and it is now a world class research park. We are different, you look at things in terms of how your politics work, I look at things based on how to make the region better so that we attract and retain high quality jobs. And, if we are able to do that, our kids won't keep moving to Charlotte and Atlanta. This project will help the area for the next 100 years, sorry that does not fit your political theory.
Geez, give the political rhetoric a break, everyone. Let's talk choo-choos.
Would high speed rail be good? Yes.
Would it be expensive to build and maintain? Heck yes.
Is the rest of the world doing it? Yes.
Would it replace personal autos? Heck no.
Would it replace air travel? No. But you would have competition for short "hops" like GSP to Charlotte.
Would it lessen our dependence on foreign oil? Dream on.
Would it spur growth? What doesn't?
Would construction kill trees and purple-lipped dingle fish? You betcha.
Would Jesus ride it? No, he's not from these parts.
Would the US Government be a good manager of the project? Of course not.
Would I ride it? It depends ON THE COST OF THE TICKET.
Is my opinion irrelevant? Of course it is.
In 1869, it cost $50 million to complete the Iowa to Pacific Rail link, thereby creating the transcontinental railroad. The Pacific section cost $77 million. Those are 1869 dollars. It seems like that project turned out pretty well in the long run. I don't hear anyone complaining about that cost these days, do you? :-)
I say bring it on. I always welcome new technology.
It depends upon the infrastructure in the affected cities. If there's decent mass transit, it will work. If there's no way to get around once you get there, what good is it? When I lived in CT, we took the train to NYC- everybody did. Once there, you had your choice of affordable mass transit that went everywhere. I don't know if Charlotte or Atlanta has that (I assume Atlanta does?).
Those were pretty much my thoughts when I first read the article. My main interest would be if the line had stops at the Charlotte and Atlanta airports. Outside of those destinations, I'd probably have to rent a car when I got there, and I-85 is relatively high speed transport from here to either place already.
Geez, give the political rhetoric a break, everyone. Let's talk choo-choos.
Would high speed rail be good? Yes.
Would it be expensive to build and maintain? Heck yes.
Is the rest of the world doing it? Yes.
Would it replace personal autos? Heck no.
Would it replace air travel? No. But you would have competition for short "hops" like GSP to Charlotte.
Would it lessen our dependence on foreign oil? Dream on.
Would it spur growth? What doesn't?
Would construction kill trees and purple-lipped dingle fish? You betcha.
Would Jesus ride it? No, he's not from these parts.
Would the US Government be a good manager of the project? Of course not.
Would I ride it? It depends ON THE COST OF THE TICKET.
Is my opinion irrelevant? Of course it is.
In 1869, it cost $50 million to complete the Iowa to Pacific Rail link, thereby creating the transcontinental railroad. The Pacific section cost $77 million. Those are 1869 dollars. It seems like that project turned out pretty well in the long run. I don't hear anyone complaining about that cost these days, do you? :-)
I say bring it on. I always welcome new technology.
Good post, I should have stayed out of the political BS.
Well sophi, that nice. You are wrong but, that's not reality. Fact is that roads, the military, etc....are all over budget. The difference, and why I don't like political rants, is that neo cons don't like high speed rail and use silly arguments that could apply across the board as fact and reasons for not supporting rail. Your arguments are directly in line with that philosophy regardless of the logic. The fact is that as the I85 corridor grows, the current infrastructure assets are not capable of handling the increased load. We can pretend that the private sector should do it from a political point of view and watch as other areas pass us by while we hold to some silly political doctrine. Neo cons had your same arguments against the research triangle in Reigh and it is now a world class research park. We are different, you look at things in terms of how your politics work, I look at things based on how to make the region better so that we attract and retain high quality jobs. And, if we are able to do that, our kids won't keep moving to Charlotte and Atlanta. This project will help the area for the next 100 years, sorry that does not fit your political theory.
About what?
Can you show me one high speed rail line in America funded by tax payer money that was on budget and turned a profit? I love high speed rail, but not with your money. If it's such a great idea, let the private sector fund it. The rest of your points are disjointed, muddled and all over the place; Neo Cons, Raleigh Research triangle, etc and not worth addressing.
Well it sounds like it is one and the same to me. The globalists want to divide up the country into 10 zones. War3 Executive orders have already been signed. It is a done deal unless people wake up and protest. That area would be the southeastern zone. All the smart growth infrastructure changes are designed so that the states become dependent on the Federal government. Look at how elective offices are even planned on being phased out on the local and state level. Beware Metro, Regional Government
South Carloina and most red states are already heavily depandant on Federal welfare , Smart Growth is blue print and isn't attached to the feds....
Can you show me one high speed rail line in America funded by tax payer money that was on budget and turned a profit? I love high speed rail, but not with your money. If it's such a great idea, let the private sector fund it. The rest of your points are disjointed, muddled and all over the place; Neo Cons, Raleigh Research triangle, etc and not worth addressing.
Amtrak's Northeastern division operates will a profit , however the network has been so neglected by congress it needs over 80 billion in upgrades and expansions will cost another 90 billion... However the projected revenue is expected to be 4.5-6 billion which is average for a system it size. Once all the upgrades are completed the network will not eat up almost all the profits...like it does today. Private sector won't touch HSR in the US due to the politics , they have tried in the past in Texas and Midwest and have been chased out along with the 1950s Railroad Regulations which make everything 3x European cost to build... Feds refuse to change those regulations....that's whats holding the private sector back along with any sizable mass building of public lines.. As for Projects that were recently completed in the Northeast ,a lot have come in on or under budget.
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