SEPTA Unveils new Simens Locomotives

[Wells5]

The other posters should be aware that there is a Pennsylvania company that makes electric locomotives: Wabtec of Wilmerding. They just bought GE Transportation Systems headquartered in Erie.


Pennsylvania once had at least 6 major manufacturers of railroad passenger cars, subway cars, commuter rail cars and integrated train sets: J.G. Brill and The Budd Company (Philly), American Car & Foundry (Berwick), Pressed Steel Car Company (Pittsburgh), Pullman Standard (Butler), GE (Erie) and others.


The bulk of the transportation subsidies go to SEPTA. Most all towns in the hinterlands do not have intercity bus service yet pay the highest combined gasoline tax in the lower 48. Why doesn't the state subsidize intercity bus services for those rural areas? Many residents of SEPA buy their gasoline in Delaware and New Jersey (which recently upped their gas tax) thus avoiding paying PA gas taxes.


At the very least SEPTA should have favored a PA manufacturer for their new equipment purchases. But in the spirit of cosmopolitanism and globalism, they thumbed their collective noses at the rest of the state.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by Wells5

The other posters should be aware that there is a Pennsylvania company that makes electric locomotives: Wabtec of Wilmerding. They just bought GE Transportation Systems headquartered in Erie.


Pennsylvania once had at least 6 major manufacturers of railroad passenger cars, subway cars, commuter rail cars and integrated train sets: J.G. Brill and The Budd Company (Philly), American Car & Foundry (Berwick), Pressed Steel Car Company (Pittsburgh), Pullman Standard (Butler), GE (Erie) and others.


The bulk of the transportation subsidies go to SEPTA. Most all towns in the hinterlands do not have intercity bus service yet pay the highest combined gasoline tax in the lower 48. Why doesn't the state subsidize intercity bus services for those rural areas? Many residents of SEPA buy their gasoline in Delaware and New Jersey (which recently upped their gas tax) thus avoiding paying PA gas taxes.


At the very least SEPTA should have favored a PA manufacturer for their new equipment purchases. But in the spirit of cosmopolitanism and globalism, they thumbed their collective noses at the rest of the state.

Is that really an accurate statement? I understand the upset, as I'd rather have our trains made by Americans here, but I can't imagine it's due to some sort of economic or lifestyle-based philosophy. I've read in the past that cost is a huge driver.

Also, you mentioned "transportation subsidies" and I think you meant "transit subsidies". Subsidies for other modes are quite large statewide.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Wells5

The other posters should be aware that there is a Pennsylvania company that makes electric locomotives: Wabtec of Wilmerding. They just bought GE Transportation Systems headquartered in Erie.


Pennsylvania once had at least 6 major manufacturers of railroad passenger cars, subway cars, commuter rail cars and integrated train sets: J.G. Brill and The Budd Company (Philly), American Car & Foundry (Berwick), Pressed Steel Car Company (Pittsburgh), Pullman Standard (Butler), GE (Erie) and others.


The bulk of the transportation subsidies go to SEPTA. Most all towns in the hinterlands do not have intercity bus service yet pay the highest combined gasoline tax in the lower 48. Why doesn't the state subsidize intercity bus services for those rural areas? Many residents of SEPA buy their gasoline in Delaware and New Jersey (which recently upped their gas tax) thus avoiding paying PA gas taxes.


At the very least SEPTA should have favored a PA manufacturer for their new equipment purchases. But in the spirit of cosmopolitanism and globalism, they thumbed their collective noses at the rest of the state.

Stop spouting paranoid nonsense. Nobody from SEPTA said “Let’s buy our new stock from another country and not from PA because we’re too sophisticated/cultured/etc.” Do you actually think that’s how the decision process went?

I would love it had the PA manufacturer been chosen. Did they prepare a bid? If so, was it competitive?

I’m curious: where are the computers used in your county’s offices made? Unisys once manufactured computers in Blue Bell, outside Philadelphia. Perhaps if more folks from rural PA bought Unisys computers they would still be manufacturing them in PA. (Do you see how ridiculous that sounds)?

You’ve made the comment before about people from SEPA buying gas in NJ or DE. Do you have any statistics (or reliable estimates) to back up this claim? Many people from those states work in SEPA and buy their gas here. Many drivers from other states vacation in SEPA, or send their kids to college here, or whatever else. Sometimes these people buy gas here. How many out-of-staters are buying gas in Forest or Butler or Clarion or Clinton County I wonder?

Do the rural counties want bus service? Would your boneheaded politicians support it? Don’t blame SEPTA or SEPA for the rural counties’ lack of infrastructure. I would think that more public transit in more parts of this state would be good for SEPTA, because it would show residents in other parts of this state that public transportation is not only not a bad thing, but it’s actually useful and helps the people and the communities in which it’s located be stronger.

Ed Rendell once said that if taxes generated in SEPA could stay in SEPA he’d never need to ask for another cent. So should we start allocating all state tax receipts back to the county in which they were generated?

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

Stop spouting paranoid nonsense. Nobody from SEPTA said “Let’s buy our new stock from another country and not from PA because we’re too sophisticated/cultured/etc.” Do you actually think that’s how the decision process went?

I would love it had the PA manufacturer been chosen. Did they prepare a bid? If so, was it competitive?

I’m curious: where are the computers used in your county’s offices made? Unisys once manufactured computers in Blue Bell, outside Philadelphia. Perhaps if more folks from rural PA bought Unisys computers they would still be manufacturing them in PA. (Do you see how ridiculous that sounds)?

You’ve made the comment before about people from SEPA buying gas in NJ or DE. Do you have any statistics (or reliable estimates) to back up this claim? Many people from those states work in SEPA and buy their gas here. Many drivers from other states vacation in SEPA, or send their kids to college here, or whatever else. Sometimes these people buy gas here. How many out-of-staters are buying gas in Forest or Butler or Clarion or Clinton County I wonder?

Do the rural counties want bus service? Would your boneheaded politicians support it? Don’t blame SEPTA or SEPA for the rural counties’ lack of infrastructure. I would think that more public transit in more parts of this state would be good for SEPTA, because it would show residents in other parts of this state that public transportation is not only not a bad thing, but it’s actually useful and helps the people and the communities in which it’s located be stronger.

Ed Rendell once said that if taxes generated in SEPA could stay in SEPA he’d never need to ask for another cent. So should we start allocating all state tax receipts back to the county in which they were generated?

My dad says the same thing, lol. SEPA could sufficiently support itself, while the rest of the state would go down the toilet, yet that concept is so hard for people in other parts of the state to understand.

I think Montgomery County generates the most tax revenue and relieves among the least.
1 to .84-.89 ratio I believe