Posted on 05/19/2010 7:34:23 PM PDT by Willie Green
A high-speed passenger rail line would loop through Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Savannah, Macon, and back to Atlanta under a new plan conceived at the state Department of Transportation. A DOT board committee on Wednesday recommended asking for planning money for that route and others, from a $115 million pot of federal high-speed rail planning funds.
DOT would ask $4.5 million in planning funds for that “capital-coastal” loop; $7 million for the Atlanta-Charlotte line; $3 million for the Atlanta-Macon line; and $2 million to update the state rail plan.
The state would have to pay 20 percent toward the studies’ costs, “Which we all know is a challenge,” said Dana Lemon, who chairs the board’s intermodal committee and helped think up the idea for the train loop.
The full board will vote on the recommendation on Thursday.
Georgia has not been a big winner in federal rail grants recently. Florida and North Carolina won huge federal stimulus grants to start building high speed rail, where Georgia won just $750,000.
(one, two, three)
Here we go loop de loop
Here we go loop de li
Here we go loop de loop
On a saturday night
"Winning" money from Papa Fed.
Boondoggle. If it was a worthy project, private enterprise would build it. Instead, the vultures are lining up to “get theirs” before America’s carcass is devoured.
I live in Savannah. NO WAY am I going to take a train to Atlanta. When I get to Atlanta, how am I going to get around? Ride Marta, their intercity train system? Heck no. Done it a few times. If you don’t know where you’re going, you could end up a bad area really quick. Plus, Marta has limited stops.
Same with Savannah. You take a train here. How are you going to get around the city. Only public transportation is a city bus system that is a joke.
Don’t waste tax money on this boondoogle!!!
Buying votes, Chicago Style.
Willie, do you really want to generate interest in trains?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2516147/posts
I live in Atlanta. I was not aware that so many people travel between our two cities that a rail line could be justified. I16 is usually quite sparse.
We go to Savannah on many of our family vacations. You have a beautiful city!
Always A Marine wrote:
Boondoggle. If it was a worthy project, private enterprise would build it. Instead, the vultures are lining up to “get theirs” before America’s carcass is devoured.
I agree. Socialism is anti-Christian. Evil.
How long will it take to run from Atlanta to Savannah?
Can it, including all stops and other overhead, beat 4.75 hours from 30041 to dowtown Savannah? And do so by enough to put up with limited baggage, security hassles (i.e.: No CCW), and other negatives?
You are right. Once you get to Macon and pick up I-16, traffic thins out immediately.
Be careful in Savannah. Crime is terrible here. They try to keep it quiet for the tourists but locals know the truth.
Our church just had to spend thousands on an alarm system plus the monthly monitoring fee. We were being broken into about once every 3 months. That money could have been used to actually help some of the city’s poor. Instead we now give it to ADT.
People in the South are more tied to their cars. Who is going to take a train FROM Atlanta to Savannah or Macon and not have a car when you get there? Most places in the South aren’t made to get around without a car...even the biggest cities like Atlanta.
I guess there is the person here or there that would ride, get picked up for a meeting, stay 2 hours and go back...but not enough to build this thing.
Maybe for games or events in Atlanta, if the train stopped right at the Georgia Dome or Phillips Arena they might ride it once in awhile.
Just say NO!
We just went through budget cuts (of which we will have to go through more because in my book we did not cut enough) and here we are looking at blowing more money...
No let the privet sector invest in this. Oh they will not because there is not enough business to support it you say. Well then its a no go, Or make changes to bring the business back to the state then see if someone is ready to invest, you know like the rail roads of yesteryear...
For most people riding a train now is quaint and like the roller coaster OK for 2-3 times in a yr. and that’s enough. If built this train will run empty most of the time.
Normally I would agree with you but our laws almost prevent private infrastructure work in cities this large. Even if a project like this would be profitable it still wouldn’t get done because of the massive issues related to buying properties, zoning, right of way issues, and environmental and various other regulatory studies. Even though they’re more efficient, projects like this (even if they could be done) would cost more then the government price tag because they could simply change the regulatory laws and use eminent domain (this is a transportation issue).
Now while I don’t know the details of this particular issue, I think ideas LIKE this are a vast improvement over plans to use high speed rail or maglev. Its generally local and compared to some other estimates I’ve seen, much much cheaper.
I moved from Hilton Head to Atlanta, 17 yrs. ago. If they started this ridiculous project tomorrow it would take generations to complete!! By the time they finished the whole thing would be obsolete!
They have yet to complete the construction in Augusta on I 20 around Bobby Jones Expressway!!!
They have been working on it for at least 17 freaking years, the same spot!!!!
That isn't finished YET?!!
Good grief!
It is worse now than it has ever been!!
Just think of how stupid it is to have these same people administer health care.
Yes, but it's the choice between losing tens of millions or billions.
NOWHERE in the USA is there a system like this that doesn't slurp up millions in taxpayer subsidies.
ALL of them are money losers. Some like our Toy Train here in Houston, are flat dangerous. Since it opened a couple years ago, the Toy Train has had over 100 wrecks.
The nearly empty Metro busses are bad enough. We could buy a new Mercedes every three years for EVERY bus rider for the subsidy paid to a bloated public transit employee union.
I wouldn't want to pay for a new Rolls-Royce for every train rider, and that's what it'll be. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
Yes, just as private industry built all the canals, harbors, turnpikes, airports, and freeways in this country.
Now point to yourself and say "Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr".
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