Is the plan to build a bullet train a scam? (Dallas: purchasing, bankruptcy)

[Yellow pool of piddle]

This idea of building a bullet train has been hatched before happening about thirty years ago. The fellows pushing the idea now can live off it for as long as they can milk it. In the end, they won't lose anything as they can declare bankruptcy. In order to be legitimate, there should always be rapid movement on any plan. If that isn't the case, the people should consider it a scam.

While, on one hand, the dumbest con artists use the tactics of the ponzie scheme, on the other, the smartest hoodwinks organise along with government officials in the name of good in order to rip off the taxpayer. This is often referred to as corruption.

[RunninJT]

"It's more a Shelbyville idea....."

Seriously though a high speed train through Texas has way too many liberal hurdles to jump in order to ever be implemented. Austin, which is the most liberal city in Texas has one light rail and it has tried and failed multiple times to implement another. The first one took massive political wheeling and dealing to pull off. Even if it got past the tax raising initial planning the bullet train would need a dedicated track spanning hundreds of miles that would require millions if not billions of dollars of land purchasing and imminent domain on the few holdouts. A political nightmare in deep red Texas.

[Soonhun]

Dallas has the best light rail in Texas, not Austin, which suffers from a bit more NIMBYism than other major Texas cities. Also, the high speed train proposal is built off private funding, not taxes.

[lepoisson]

Trains in the United States don't work very well. They work well in Europe because countries are much smaller and cities are more compact.

[smuboy86]

The current high speed rail plans are from a private consortium not the state. Past efforts to build high speed rail were pretty much killed off by Southwest Airlines and to a smaller extent American and continental airlines.

[Trainwreck20]

Eminent domain is the issue right now for any rail line - this one, in particular, since it is not 'state sponsored' will have an almost impossible time getting the ROW.

[TheOverdog]

Eminent domain is the issue right now for any rail line - this one, in particular, since it is not 'state sponsored' will have an almost impossible time getting the ROW.

It (and any railway meant for use by the public) has the right of eminent domain - any impossibility will be associated with coming up with the fair market value cash and not with getting the land.

[funtraveler1]

Originally Posted by RunninJT

"It's more a Shelbyville idea....."

Seriously though a high speed train through Texas has way too many liberal hurdles to jump in order to ever be implemented. Austin, which is the most liberal city in Texas has one light rail and it has tried and failed multiple times to implement another. The first one took massive political wheeling and dealing to pull off. Even if it got past the tax raising initial planning the bullet train would need a dedicated track spanning hundreds of miles that would require millions if not billions of dollars of land purchasing and imminent domain on the few holdouts. A political nightmare in deep red Texas.

Facts. They're struggling to get light rail in this state, don't even think about bullet trains. The texas gov would never let that happen. And I agree with the person above me also, public transit in europe, asia, etc is light years ahead of any public transit in the States.

[TheOverdog]

The texas gov would never let that happen.

Did you know that the Texas government put out a plan for future, state funded rail lines that will criss-cross the state after this line (if it is built) proves its profitability? This one is supposed to be built around 2020, the state funded ones will have lines running by 2035.

[Yellow pool of piddle]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Did you know that the Texas government put out a plan for future, state funded rail lines that will criss-cross the state after this line (if it is built) proves its profitability? This one is supposed to be built around 2020, the state funded ones will have lines running by 2035.

These types of public supported private enterprise just seem like the best way to scam the people. Perhaps the ponzie schemers aren't the greatest scammers as they just don't give the matter a lot of thought. The product here, with it being the corporation, is an idea of a bullet train. Dragging ones feet in the process milks the idea. After the idea dies and is forgotten about, the corporation gets quietly dissolved in bankruptcy.

In order to avoid such public sponsored private enterprise, the people should expect nothing but fast results. I'm just trying to think like a crook here. Perhaps, if we all did, many of us wouldn't lose our hard earned life savings to such monsters.