[socalifmike]

What a waste of money, most likely will be a lot of almost empty trains and then they ask for more dollars... it sounds like a sales tax hike to me. wake up people in calif. and now nevada.

[Zod]

A lot of people drive here from So Cal and a lot of those are afraid to fly. I've ridden on a high speed train overseas. It was very comfortable and actually enjoyable. The aisles were wide, tons of legroom, large windows (there wouldn't be much to see in the desert, but still), a smooth ride. Harry Reid's choice for a slower train to Victorville would be a waste though, like the decision not to extend the monorail to either downtown or the airport (BRILLIANT!). It has to be mag lev.

[jfkIII]

It would require too much federal dough...to benefit basically only two cities...LV and LA. Reid will have to have some blackmail info on The President to get this through...because we already know what Obama thinks of Las Vegas.

[Eyes]

I personally love riding trains ... and always look there first as a travel option.

Trains make so much sense as an investment
Not everyone belongs behind the wheel and even great drivers could use a break.
If train travel is supported .. less people may be on the road .. the roads may need less maintenance.
Fewer accidents alone could be a good reason .. not to mention less pollution.

[Tiger Beer]

Trains are great...ideally it would go to somewhere desireable in L.A., like the BEACH! Of course, with one stop like in a Victorville.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

High speed rail works in Japan and those European countries because of the spacing and density of their urban centers. It also works in the Easter Corridor of the USA, Boston-NYC-Washington. Amtrak has a train that hits about 250kph for brief stretches on that route. That's slower than the 300-350kph hit by European and Asian trains, but it's at least something.

I have my doubts about how well it would work when the urban centers are as far apart as they would be for the ones proposed out west.

I want to see better than what we have in the USA. I get jealous and angry when I see other places that have all of that stuff and over here in the USA, we aren't doing it. All of the stuff in Europe and Japan(high-speed rail, Eurail, other kinds of rail) would help me very much.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by Zod

Harry Reid's choice for a slower train to Victorville would be a waste though, like the decision not to extend the monorail to either downtown or the airport (BRILLIANT!).

As more and more cities install light rail in their cities, with connections to the Airport, the time will come when tourists will come to expect that as a benefit to traveling to any city. Just like expecting a microwave, hair dryer or refrigerator in their hotel rooms.

Pressure from tourists will get light rail or the monorail extension, eventually to the Airport. When enough tourists arrive here, leave the terminal, and there's no train waiting for them, they'll stand there with bewildered looks on their faces, wondering: Where's the train?

Enough shame and embarrassment will get it built, despite the cries and howls of the voters. And a monorail extension to Fremont.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I want to see better than what we have in the USA. I get jealous and angry when I see other places that have all of that stuff and over here in the USA, we aren't doing it. All of the stuff in Europe and Japan(high-speed rail, Eurail, other kinds of rail) would help me very much.

I share that same feeling. I lived in Asia for years - and South America and Europe...and it really bothers me that the mass majority of even poverty stricken countries have significantly better public transportation than my home country of the U.S.

It bothers me more that most Americans claim to be this great country, but it is lacking in so many of the basics that are found everywhere else in the world.

The list of shortcomings get over so longer, and the fact that there seems to be this movement of Americans who prefer that we became more lacking in more and more things bothers me as well.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

I share that same feeling. I lived in Asia for years - and South America and Europe...and it really bothers me that the mass majority of even poverty stricken countries have significantly better public transportation than my home country of the U.S.

Yeah, well, I bet you never pull up to an intersection in any of those countries and see a Hummer H2, Escalade ESV, and an F450 Crew Cab dually, all at the same time, something I see all the time in Las Vegas. That's the choice we made, right?

I've ridden the BTS (elevated train) and MRT (subway) in Bangkok. Ticketing is done with RFID cards for no-contact ticket (and on MRT, token) reading. Makes most systems in the USA seem primitive. We probably have much better safety records though.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

Yeah, well, I bet you never pull up to an intersection in any of those countries and see a Hummer H2, Escalade ESV, and an F450 Crew Cab dually, all at the same time, something I see all the time in Las Vegas.

I've seen tons of hummers, etc. abroad. Most countries have a large disparity of wealthy and poor...so the hummers and everything are pretty much everywhere in the world.