California Leg. OKs funding for high-speed rail line

[R.C. Christian]

I can't wait to see the first bullet train fly off the tracks at 400 MPH and tumble for a mile.

Actually, I don't want to see that, but this shit is stupid.

If you want to be a Jap or a cheese eater then go there.

 

[percysunshine]

I am curious. Does any part of the planned route go over the San Andreas fault? Earthquakes probably don't go well with tight tolerance rail lines and a 400 mph train.

 

[R.C. Christian]

If they go fast enough they can jump anything. They might as well put a rebel flag on top and put Luke Duke at the wheel!

 

[Vikrant]

300km/hour speed is enough. It will make travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco a breeze. Heck, I would even support linking Portland and Seattle.

 

[percysunshine]

300km/hour speed is enough. It will make travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco a breeze. Heck, I would even support linking Portland and Seattle.

Sounds great to me. I'll call the Federal Reserve and have them print another trillion dollar bill. After all, like those EBT Snap cards in Louisiana, there is no credit limit. There is no end to the free shit we can buy.

 

[westwall]

I am curious. Does any part of the planned route go over the San Andreas fault? Earthquakes probably don't go well with tight tolerance rail lines and a 400 mph train.

No, the route parallels the vast majority of the fault lines, however, almost the entirety of the Central Valley is quaternary alluvium......which has its own issues with earthquakes...

Earthquake-induced ground failures such as liquefaction have historically brought loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. Observations of the effects of historical large-magnitude earthquakes show that the distribution of liquefaction phenomena is not random. Liquefaction is restricted to areas underlain by loose, cohesionless sands and silts that are saturated with water. These areas can be delineated on the basis of thorough geologic, geomorphic, and hydrologic mapping and map analysis (Tinsley and Holzer, 1990; Youd and Perkins, 1987). Once potential liquefaction zones are delineated, appropriate public and private agencies can prepare for and mitigate seismic hazard in these zones.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1981/0353/report.pdf

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1998/of98-460/na_geo.pdf

Late Quaternary sedimentation and liquefaction hazard in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California

 

[Vikrant]

We need a 300km/hour HSR that will start at Los Angeles. The first stop would be San Francisco. The second would be Portland and the last stop would be Seattle. I am telling you this will rake cash.

 

[thereisnospoon]

These fucking imbeciles. they have saddled us with a money giant suck, that will make the Big Dig look like 2 toddlers in a sandbox, initial segment my ass, once it starts, its on.... they will whine that they cannot stop and 'waste all the money we have spent already', we have seen this shit before.

Just wait, as surely as night follows day...... ridership will be flat, subsidies will follow, then theres the inevitable unionized labor to run this boondoggle, everyone will, IF it is done in 2033....2033 hello, stand around arguing over the money drain, wondering why California has its very own Amtrak charity....

The ballot that we ( not me ) approved 3 years ago had a price tag of $34 Billion , that is now estimated at wait for it..............$98 Billion ( the article below has the wrong cost btw). I'm beside myself.


California OKs funding for high-speed rail line

By JUDY LIN
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California lawmakers approved billions of dollars Friday in construction financing for the initial segment of the nation's first dedicated high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The move marked a major political victory for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the Obama administration. Both have promoted bullet trains as job generators and clean transportation alternatives.

more at-
News from The Associated Press

Where on God's green Earth will they eve get that amount of money. And we all know the actual cost would probably double after all the bribes, kickbacks and palm greasing. Not to mention the labor union demands and corruption....
Makes me thrilled to know I do not nor will I ever live in CA....

 

[thereisnospoon]

"It's unfortunate that the majority would rather spend billions of dollars that we don't have for a train to nowhere than keep schools open and harmless from budget cuts," Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach, said in a statement."


I'm disgusted.
What part of broke don't they get?

People that vote for things like this do so because they have no skin in the game. To them, it's free. So why not choose to benefit themselves with other people's money.
I am proponent public referendums when used to decide local issues. But for an entire state, not a good idea.
This is a perfect example.

 

[Political Junky]

We need a 300km/hour HSR that will start at Los Angeles. The first stop would be San Francisco. The second would be Portland and the last stop would be Seattle. I am telling you this will rake cash.

Sounds great. Lots of beautiful scenery along the way, too.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Maybe we could finally put the nuclear rockets on a train?

 

[Vikrant]

We need a 300km/hour HSR that will start at Los Angeles. The first stop would be San Francisco. The second would be Portland and the last stop would be Seattle. I am telling you this will rake cash.

Sounds great. Lots of beautiful scenery along the way, too.

I was going to say the same but I did not want to irritate people. The train ride between Seattle and Portland is just wow.

 

[mamooth]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

 

[percysunshine]

We need a 300km/hour HSR that will start at Los Angeles. The first stop would be San Francisco. The second would be Portland and the last stop would be Seattle. I am telling you this will rake cash.

Well, for the politically connected people who get the contracts to build it anyway. If we want to be more like Japan, we can be more like Japan.

 

[percysunshine]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

They are doing such a fine job at building web sites, train tracks along an active mega fault should be child's play.

 

[westwall]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

Never said they were incapable admiral, just not efficient, or affordable, or smart. Why go back to a 19th century transportation system that failed so miserably that 99% of all the rail companies in the world went out of business?

 

[thereisnospoon]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

It is not the rail lines themselves. The issue is how HSR would be funded.
The best way is through user fees. In other words, let those who ride the train pay for it.
If one wants the luxury of a train that can carry them from LAX to SFO in 90 mins, the ticket price should reflect that passage and the TOTAL cost per passenger mile.
Air Fares on Concorde were consistently high because the passengers paid for the convenience of saving 2.5 hours travel time across the Atlantic.
If rail travel were more convenient and faster, I'd use AMTRAK as much as I needed.
Unfortunately, I could drive myself to point A and back faster than it would take to ride a train one way to my destination. And it costs me less money in gas than the AMTRAK fare.
In fact if i used AMTRAK to get to upstate NY from where I live, i would not get there on the same day I left my home.
And you wonder why people have an aversion to rail travel?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

We have been building train tracks since the 19th century, I would like to see us using something new and put all the money we waste on ancient technology into something else.

 

[Political Junky]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

We have been building train tracks since the 19th century, I would like to see us using something new and put all the money we waste on ancient technology into something else.

There's a big difference in trains since the 19th century

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[ScienceRocks]

Interesting how so many conservatives think the USA is incapable of building train tracks. Their train-hatred is just kind of loony.

They hate everything America does outside of the Millitary.
-Science
-Tech
-R@d
-Space
-Noaa
-Nws
-NIH
-NFS
-infrastructure
-and of course bridges and trains.