Why doesn't Houston consider building the rail system underground? Subway? (Katy: universities, costs)

[diablo234]

Yeah but like I said earlier all those systems you mentioned earlier have recieved federal funding like most new transit systems. Houston unlike those other cities you mention had to pay for everything up front with 100% city funding just to get it's first light rail line. While a subway in Downtown Houston would be possible it would increase the cost of building the light rail line and it take longer for it to be put into operation. The Northeast also has the luxury of politicians with urban interests in mind who are willing to fund mass transit so expansion is made relatively easier, compared with Texas which is controlled by politicians with suburban & rural interests in mind.

By the way while the light rail might possibly never by big as say DC's Metro, San Francisco's BART, or even Dallas's DART, there are active plans for expansion plus construction of new light rail lines to the Southeast, and the North has started with more light rail planned to connect the Galleria and several residential neighborhoods. Not to mention planned commuter rail along I-45 to Galveston, Sugar Land, and along U.S. 290.

I know Texas isn't the most public transit friendly state compared with California, the Northeast, or Chicagoland but at least the state (well city goverments really) are investing in expanding their transit systems. Florida on the other hand has only Miami's Metrorail and Tri-Rail while Orlando and Tampa still don't have any rail transit at all so things can be allot worse.

[studiobtm]

Originally Posted by glorplaxy

i say turn the HOV lanes into high speed rail lines.

I agree with this. It makes little sense to me to have street level light rail downtown. Busses might not be cool but they are efficient. High speed rail from the park and rides into town would quickly move people into and out of the city and do the most to alleviate the traffic problem.

I'm not opposed to elevated rail or subway in town - as long as it can be reasonably self sustaining. By that I mean the fares AND benefits should equal or be close to the cost. That means reasonable (not fanatical) estimates regarding cost savings for road repair, freeways that didn't need to be constructed, enhanced productivity from shorter travel times etc. be added to the fares and balanced against the cost. Unfortunately that is hard to do as to many supporters of mass transit are foaming at the mouth zealots.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I hope you liked , see how fast and incident free our system is

Yea but it's New Jersey.... so yea....

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by dv1033

Yea but it's New Jersey.... so yea....

We have the worst of the Worst Drivers , mostly New Yorkers & PA ppl , but something about Light Rail and PED malls makes everybody drive normally.

[SteveArmy]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

The Tunnel was giving to us by a Freight company that deemed the line no longer profitable , so 70% of the Current system except Downtown Jersey City uses the old ROW. Phase 4, 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 & 9 will use the rest aswell as other abandoned lines. The Hudson-Bergen system current connects with 8 ferry terminals and 3 PATH stations. Aswell Hoboken Terminal.

I took some videos along the way.

hey thanks man. I lived in Edgewater for a year and seen them in action, but never got on the bus is super convenient going to NYC from that side of the river. oh i've always thought that thats the best view you can get of NYC, especially when the boats are passing thru

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by SteveArmy

hey thanks man. I lived in Edgewater for a year and seen them in action, but never got on the bus is super convenient going to NYC from that side of the river. oh i've always thought that thats the best view you can get of NYC, especially when the boats are passing thru

I hate to go off topic , but it doesn't make it to Edgewater , it goes into the Palisades tunnel in Weehawken / Union City. Proposed Phase 10 & 11 would bring it on a elevated structure through Edgewater. Which is need due to very bad traffic. Anyway I hope Houston's builds a nice system , your Mayor is Transit friendly

[writeonbro]

Houstonians favor rapid transit. That's not close to what we have.

The Metrorail train stops for red lights at just about every intersection.
The buses take forever and are constantly late.
Bus drivers will pass you right up, They are directed not to stop for passengers even if they are a few feet away from the bus stop.
Many areas don't have bus service on the weekend.
A trip to work and the library that once cost $2 now knocks a big hole in my transportation budget when the cost of the trip increased to $6.
These are not the trademarks of effective management.
Numerous self inflicted wounds have turned Houston's mass transit into a ailing, rabid massive-troubled system that Houstonians don't favor and can't fathom riding.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by writeonbro

Houstonians favor rapid transit. That's not close to what we have.

Really? Then why don't we have it? We certainly need it. How can we "favor" something we've never had?

LRT is not a bad choice for shorter hauls and can work at least inside the loop and maybe a few spots outside (e.g. Uptown) Anything truly rapid transit will have fewer stops. The red light thing can be solved easily - as it approaches an intersection, that intersection goes to a four-way red light until it passes, which doesn't take long. We're not talking about a 100-car freight train here.

[DRob4JC]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

I know the first inclination for most will be to 'Reply' to this post and say the reason is because the water table is too high, rain, or some variant of that. But I don't buy that. I've been to too many cities in this world, including Amsterdam, where the city is below sea level, it rains often, and water is a constant threat.

If the Dutch can figure it out, I would think we in the US/Houston can figure it out too. A lot of the push back on Metro Rail now is that it disrupts the neighborhood, trashes nice big oak trees, negatively affects traffic patterns, etc. I agree with all of that.

Putting the lines underground would mean a bee line straight to the destination, none of this turning, and stopping at intersections. Metro would not have to spend so much for private property, or upset people with eminent domain laws. I bet the visitors of other cities with real metro systems laughs at ours. Plus it would do away with all those accidents we have with our Thomas The Train ride that we currently have.

I know the original post was from almost two years ago - but a statement was made about the Amsterdam subway system. So I looked it up out of curiousity.

They are building it, but it is not complete. Like any other government project, it is more expensive than projected ($2.4 billion est. at start). It is about 6 miles in length. They have encountered soggy areas, and in 2008 had to shut down the project for awhile because of damage to existing buildings.

2007 - Soggy Amsterdam's test: digging a subway
2008 - Major setback for Amsterdam subway project (http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/09/11/major_setback_for_amsterdam_subway_project/ - broken link)
2010 - The Amsterdam Subway Dream

I don't want to change the thread's direction - I just wanted to share what I had researched.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by DRob4JC

I know the original post was from almost two years ago - but a statement was made about the Amsterdam subway system. So I looked it up out of curiousity.

They are building it, but it is not complete. Like any other government project, it is more expensive than projected ($2.4 billion est. at start). It is about 6 miles in length. They have encountered soggy areas, and in 2008 had to shut down the project for awhile because of damage to existing buildings.

2007 - Soggy Amsterdam's test: digging a subway
2008 - Major setback for Amsterdam subway project (http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/09/11/major_setback_for_amsterdam_subway_project/ - broken link)
2010 - The Amsterdam Subway Dream

I don't want to change the thread's direction - I just wanted to share what I had researched.

My dutch friend said different and he works for the Transport ministry. Of Course the ran into problems , even we did with our projects, but we found ways of getting around them. So there's no reason Houston can't build a subway system, other then there lazy down there (in the Transportation dept)