Posted on 10/04/2009 12:57:37 PM PDT by Willie Green
Metro, the city of Galveston and a third group are all pushing commuter service concepts
A political turf war has broken out to determine who will bring commuter rail to the Houston area.
While actual trains are years in the future, the lobbying and jockeying have begun behind the scenes, spurred by stimulus money and the promise of future federal money for high-speed passenger trains.
If this thing gets built it's going to involve a lot of funding, said Christof Spieler, a transportation analyst on the board of the Citizens' Transportation Coalition. Every agency wants to be in charge of that pot of money.
Three agencies are actively promoting commuter rail schemes: the city of Galveston, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the newly formed Gulf Coast Freight Rail District. The latter is a partnership among Houston, Harris County and Fort Bend County; Waller and Galveston counties plan to join soon.
Political insiders say it's urgent that all the jurisdictions come together and soon or risk jeopardizing Houston's position in the national competition for federal dollars.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Build 'em ALL!!!
The more the merrier!!!
They STILL haven't got it up and running. It's just too funny to watch.
These things are always a “good idea” until after they are built and the morons find out that nobody rides them.
It's been a joke from the beginning. The obvious cost overruns in the millions, the computer glitches they can't seem to fix, the head of the project is quitting, the price of a ticket has doubled what they said it would be, and the real kicker....
Passenger rail service in Texas will become an economical reality once Rick Perry and the Texas Oil Mafia get the boot.
Trains are for freight.
People use cars or busses.
Just the way it is.
Spend the moneys on more roads or widening existing roads.
Far more benefit to more people that way.
There goes all the tax dollars collected for highway upkeep.
Wonderful. I hope folks enjoy all the toll roads that will double and triple tax drivers.
Instead of spending billions/trillions on high speed rail, use that money instead to invent and refine individual flying machines that one can park in their garage. I think the future of transportation will be in the air, not on the ground. We need to surpass the one-dimensional ground and soar to the multi-dimensional skies. With our advanced computer knowledge, it’s only a matter of time before we will all be given an altitude to fly at depending on our starting point and destination. I hope this happens before I depart this wonderful earth!
The Feds will cover part of the money for building. Houstonians will pay to subsidize operating costs for the rest of eternity.
Only millions in the overrun? Hey, I want those wizards to take over the trains their installing here in Seattle. We were about $2 billion OVER on a 14 mile, 10 stop line! Millions in overruns would save us a bundle - count yourself lucky!
And THAT is the name of the game: $$$$$
These light rail/commuter projects are all massive boondoggles designed to put money in the hands of goobermint agencies and politically connected contractors.
They NEVER accomplish their stated goals, and it ALWAYS bites taxpayers in the azz.
Light rail is GREAT (for the drug dealers)! Gets em from one side of town to the other very conveniently!
Then I though, “Wait a minute. Let me look up revenues.” The MTA, comprised of the subways, buses, Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Rail Road, is operating at a $1.2 billion deficit in 2009.
Well that's that. No snarky comment. Besides, I only take the LIRR to visit family when it's too cold for my motorcycle.
- count yourself lucky!
You can't fool me!
Seattle already has a nice light rail system.
The only reason you want us Houstonians to remain stuck in beltway traffic congestion is so you can hog all the mass transit money for yourself and keep expanding your system.
Obama’s for starting trade wars and federally funded trains. You might as well stop pretending to be a conservative and embrace the guy.
The only good thing ever accomplished my marxist partisans was when they hung Mussolini by the heels with piano wire.
I admit, I'm a bit disappointed that Obama doesn't give the Global Oil Fascists the same treatment.
There's a commuter rail system in Austin? Where does it go?
There's a commuter rail system in Austin? Where does it go?
Do you own a car?
Generally everywhere you could care less about. First law of mass transit. In Austin, that probably means you can use the rail system to get to either where you can A: wait 30-45 minutes for a table in a restaurant where they serve foie gras for 1/4 of the amount your last paycheck or B: commune with winos and junkies while feeding pidgeons or C: go to a bus stop that leads to another bus stop that leads to another...you get the idea. But to find some decent barbeque and peach cobbler, you need a car.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.