California Leg. OKs funding for high-speed rail line

[ScienceRocks]

68 billion dollars...This thing has no chance of ever being paid for.

For that it better go 400 mph and there better be one every 20 minutes on that line.

 

[Political Junky]

68 billion dollars...This thing has no chance of ever being paid for.

Thank God Eisenhower didn't ask that question about the transcontinental highway system or else it might never have been built.

 

[Meister]

68 billion dollars...This thing has no chance of ever being paid for.

Thank God Eisenhower didn't ask that question about the transcontinental highway system or else it might never have been built.

Eh, not quite the same. The Interstates were set up for commercial trucking, this is not. The high speed rail won't be paying for itself just like AMTRAK isn't paying for itself. Maybe instead of using your interstate highway analogy, you should have used AMTRAK. There wouldn't have been any argument.

 

[Political Junky]

68 billion dollars...This thing has no chance of ever being paid for.

Thank God Eisenhower didn't ask that question about the transcontinental highway system or else it might never have been built.

Eh, not quite the same. The Interstates were set up for commercial trucking, this is not. The high speed rail won't be paying for itself just like AMTRAK isn't paying for itself. Maybe instead of using your interstate highway analogy, you should have used AMTRAK. There wouldn't have been any argument.

AMTRAK is a mess, of course it doesn't make money.

 

[Meister]

Thank God Eisenhower didn't ask that question about the transcontinental highway system or else it might never have been built.

Eh, not quite the same. The Interstates were set up for commercial trucking, this is not. The high speed rail won't be paying for itself just like AMTRAK isn't paying for itself. Maybe instead of using your interstate highway analogy, you should have used AMTRAK. There wouldn't have been any argument.

AMTRAK is a mess, of course it doesn't make money.

Thank you, you're right and the high speed rail won't either.

 

[Antares]

Bakersfield to Fresno...alrighty then THAT will get some use. (rolling eyes)

 

[Political Junky]

Eh, not quite the same. The Interstates were set up for commercial trucking, this is not. The high speed rail won't be paying for itself just like AMTRAK isn't paying for itself. Maybe instead of using your interstate highway analogy, you should have used AMTRAK. There wouldn't have been any argument.

AMTRAK is a mess, of course it doesn't make money.

Thank you, you're right and the high speed rail won't either.

It's not the same thing. Travel on high speed rail, then get back to us.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Make it go over 400 mph with trips from SF to LA in a hour. Then you may have something....

 

[Political Junky]

Make it go over 400 mph with trips from SF to LA in a hour. Then you may have something....

You can fly from SF to LA in an hour + travel to and from airports [hour on each end] + going through security.
High speed rail would get you there in about 2 hours. No contest.

 

[Misty]

Payback to the unions for funding the democrat party in California.

 

[Rozman]

Sounds like pie in the sky.
A road to nowhere.Except in this case a high speed rail
to nowhere.If government is involved I'm sure it will be done on time
and within budget.....

Yeah right.

 

[Rozman]

It's a make work feel good payback to the unions.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Sounds like pie in the sky.
A road to nowhere.Except in this case a high speed rail
to nowhere.If government is involved I'm sure it will be done on time
and within budget.....

Yeah right.

Not really as this country is dearly in need of infrastructure badly and that's how we make jobs. The bad news is with the fact that our way of doing things takes 20 years and goes over budget 20 times. This country is becoming a joke.

China can build cities faster then we can build a building.

 

[Political Junky]

China High-Speed Railway, Bullet Train with Photos

<excerpt>
China is a vast country, covering almost 10 million square km (about 3.9 million square mi), with the distance of 5,500 km (about 3,417 mi) in north-south direction and 5,200 km (about 3,231 mi) in east-west direction. On the standard rail network, it can take a long time to reach your destination. For instance from Beijing to Guangzhou, a distance of over 2,000 km (about 1,243 mi), it takes nearly 24 hours, however, the journey time is cut to just 8 hours by bullet train. China has so many worthy destinations, many of which are far apart from one to another, and in most cases, tourists have no choice but to take an airplane. So to solve the problem, China has developed the high-speed rail network to cover more of the country, making long-distance trips more convenient, time-saving and feasible.

Now people generally prefer to travel by high-speed trains, which should be attributed to its advantages:
1. Fast: The present speed is higher than 200km/h, lessening the journey duration. For example, from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance of over 1,200 km (about 746 mi), it takes around 15 hours by normal trains, but the bullet trains just need 5 hours.
2. Punctual: Less influence by weather, they usually arrive at their destinations on time. By contrast, a bus may be delayed because of traffic jams or bad road conditions. Flights may be cancelled because for the bad weather.
3. Comfortable and Convenient: Seating is very comfortable, and the facilities can better meet passengers&#8217; demands. Bullet trains are scheduled more frequently for many journeys so that passengers don&#8217;t need to wait too long.

High-speed trains also overcome the disadvantages of buses which face severe safety problems especially for those overnight ones. On the other hand, considering the airports which are usually located far from the city center and the long procedure for taking a flight, travel by the bullet train can be more time-saving and convenient, especially for a journey within 5 hours.
<more>

 

[RoadVirus]

Sounds like pie in the sky.
A road to nowhere.Except in this case a high speed rail
to nowhere.If government is involved I'm sure it will be done on time
and within budget.....

Yeah right.

Not really as this country is dearly in need of infrastructure badly and that's how we make jobs.

Then we should be spending it on fixing crumbling bridges and not on high speed bullet trains that we don't need.

 

[Meister]

China High-Speed Railway, Bullet Train with Photos

<excerpt>
China is a vast country, covering almost 10 million square km (about 3.9 million square mi), with the distance of 5,500 km (about 3,417 mi) in north-south direction and 5,200 km (about 3,231 mi) in east-west direction. On the standard rail network, it can take a long time to reach your destination. For instance from Beijing to Guangzhou, a distance of over 2,000 km (about 1,243 mi), it takes nearly 24 hours, however, the journey time is cut to just 8 hours by bullet train. China has so many worthy destinations, many of which are far apart from one to another, and in most cases, tourists have no choice but to take an airplane. So to solve the problem, China has developed the high-speed rail network to cover more of the country, making long-distance trips more convenient, time-saving and feasible.

Now people generally prefer to travel by high-speed trains, which should be attributed to its advantages:
1. Fast: The present speed is higher than 200km/h, lessening the journey duration. For example, from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance of over 1,200 km (about 746 mi), it takes around 15 hours by normal trains, but the bullet trains just need 5 hours.
2. Punctual: Less influence by weather, they usually arrive at their destinations on time. By contrast, a bus may be delayed because of traffic jams or bad road conditions. Flights may be cancelled because for the bad weather.
3. Comfortable and Convenient: Seating is very comfortable, and the facilities can better meet passengers’ demands. Bullet trains are scheduled more frequently for many journeys so that passengers don’t need to wait too long.

High-speed trains also overcome the disadvantages of buses which face severe safety problems especially for those overnight ones. On the other hand, considering the airports which are usually located far from the city center and the long procedure for taking a flight, travel by the bullet train can be more time-saving and convenient, especially for a journey within 5 hours.
<more>

Merced to Fresno.....let that sink in for a bit, ok?

 

[Political Junky]

China High-Speed Railway, Bullet Train with Photos

<excerpt>
China is a vast country, covering almost 10 million square km (about 3.9 million square mi), with the distance of 5,500 km (about 3,417 mi) in north-south direction and 5,200 km (about 3,231 mi) in east-west direction. On the standard rail network, it can take a long time to reach your destination. For instance from Beijing to Guangzhou, a distance of over 2,000 km (about 1,243 mi), it takes nearly 24 hours, however, the journey time is cut to just 8 hours by bullet train. China has so many worthy destinations, many of which are far apart from one to another, and in most cases, tourists have no choice but to take an airplane. So to solve the problem, China has developed the high-speed rail network to cover more of the country, making long-distance trips more convenient, time-saving and feasible.

Now people generally prefer to travel by high-speed trains, which should be attributed to its advantages:
1. Fast: The present speed is higher than 200km/h, lessening the journey duration. For example, from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance of over 1,200 km (about 746 mi), it takes around 15 hours by normal trains, but the bullet trains just need 5 hours.
2. Punctual: Less influence by weather, they usually arrive at their destinations on time. By contrast, a bus may be delayed because of traffic jams or bad road conditions. Flights may be cancelled because for the bad weather.
3. Comfortable and Convenient: Seating is very comfortable, and the facilities can better meet passengers’ demands. Bullet trains are scheduled more frequently for many journeys so that passengers don’t need to wait too long.

High-speed trains also overcome the disadvantages of buses which face severe safety problems especially for those overnight ones. On the other hand, considering the airports which are usually located far from the city center and the long procedure for taking a flight, travel by the bullet train can be more time-saving and convenient, especially for a journey within 5 hours.
<more>

Merced to Fresno.....let that sink in for a bit, ok?

It's the beginning of a link from SF to LA.

 

[Meister]

China High-Speed Railway, Bullet Train with Photos

<excerpt>
China is a vast country, covering almost 10 million square km (about 3.9 million square mi), with the distance of 5,500 km (about 3,417 mi) in north-south direction and 5,200 km (about 3,231 mi) in east-west direction. On the standard rail network, it can take a long time to reach your destination. For instance from Beijing to Guangzhou, a distance of over 2,000 km (about 1,243 mi), it takes nearly 24 hours, however, the journey time is cut to just 8 hours by bullet train. China has so many worthy destinations, many of which are far apart from one to another, and in most cases, tourists have no choice but to take an airplane. So to solve the problem, China has developed the high-speed rail network to cover more of the country, making long-distance trips more convenient, time-saving and feasible.

Now people generally prefer to travel by high-speed trains, which should be attributed to its advantages:
1. Fast: The present speed is higher than 200km/h, lessening the journey duration. For example, from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance of over 1,200 km (about 746 mi), it takes around 15 hours by normal trains, but the bullet trains just need 5 hours.
2. Punctual: Less influence by weather, they usually arrive at their destinations on time. By contrast, a bus may be delayed because of traffic jams or bad road conditions. Flights may be cancelled because for the bad weather.
3. Comfortable and Convenient: Seating is very comfortable, and the facilities can better meet passengers&#8217; demands. Bullet trains are scheduled more frequently for many journeys so that passengers don&#8217;t need to wait too long.

High-speed trains also overcome the disadvantages of buses which face severe safety problems especially for those overnight ones. On the other hand, considering the airports which are usually located far from the city center and the long procedure for taking a flight, travel by the bullet train can be more time-saving and convenient, especially for a journey within 5 hours.
<more>

Merced to Fresno.....let that sink in for a bit, ok?

It's the beginning of a link from SF to LA.

And the price of the total package is?????????
Now, keep in mind that we both agreed that AMTRAK is a mess.
This will be no different, because flights to and from Frisco and LA are very reasonable and much faster than the high speed rail.
Another thing to consider is.....

While California Governor Jerry Brown rode a bullet train in China, the libertarian Reason Foundation released a report on Thursday saying the state's planned high-speed rail system will likely need between $124 million and $373 million a year in operating subsidies once its core line is completed.
California taxpayers to subsidize high-speed rail -report | Reuters

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has already dramatically downgraded its ridership estimates for 2035. In 2008, it promised voters 65.5 million to 117 million riders in 2035. Now it predicts 19.6 million to 31.8 million riders in 2035.
The Reason Foundation study finds, however, that even if the system managed to equal European train ridership levels it would hit just 7.6 million rides a year. Thus, ridership in 2035 is likely to be 65 percent to 77 percent lower than currently projected.
California High-Speed Rail Could Lose Hundreds of Millions Annually | Heartlander Magazine

"It's going to be very hard to hold costs down for such a big project," said state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee. "It's always disappointing when you hear that scarce resources are being expended that you didn't anticipate."
California High Speed Rail Costs Soar Again

Let all this sink in for a bit as to the bottom line and the taxes from the taxpayers.
It's not like Ca. is flush with money cubbyholed away.....no matter how Brown spins it.

 

[ScienceRocks]

This is kind of scary as we NO longer have a industrial base to support a major war against China. China can build cities faster then we can build a fucking building anymore. We won wwII because of this ability!

China, Japan, South Korea and most of Europe can build infrastructure with more efiency and far more timeliness. I'm sad to say the fact that this will probably take twice as long and end up costly 10 times as much is a sign of our decline.

How in the world can anyone not to discuss fixing this? This is the real issue at the heart of this.

 

[Meister]

This is kind of scary as we NO longer have a industrial base to support a major war against China. China can build cities faster then we can build a fucking building anymore. We won wwII because of this ability!

China, Japan, South Korea and most of Europe can build infrastructure with more efiency and far more timeliness. I'm sad to say the fact that this will probably take twice as long and end up costly 10 times as much is a sign of our decline.

How in the world can anyone not to discuss fixing this? This is the real issue at the heart of this.

If we had the politicians of today back in the late 1700's, today we would be crying to the UK asking for some revenue from our mother country.