Posted on 10/23/2014 6:06:57 AM PDT by thackney
Observers have long known that only a few options were available for the route of the privately funded high-speed train line between Houston and Dallas. Now a firmer picture of where the trains might run is emerging.
(Photo courtesy of JR Central) (Photo courtesy of JR Central) As part of the federally required process to evaluate the line, the Federal Railroad Administration and Texas Department of Transportation released maps of the nine routes they are considering and the two chosen for deeper evaluation.
The lines that didn’t make the final cut seem to be a bit longer, or else have more zigs and zags along the way. Keep in mind, however, that this is very preliminary and part of an environmental process that will take months, potentially a couple years, to wind up.
All follow rights of way of railroads, TxDOT or utilities, which is pretty standard for rail development. Those are the agencies or companies that own long, thin swaths of real estate that are relatively clear. Backers of the train, who are paying for the analysis, would acquire the property.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...
> I have my doubts, but at least this one is private funded, they claim at least.
Nope. I have good inside contacts at the top who tell me they will use the rainy day fund which came from the taxpayers.
At least it is down I-45N or to the west. Commuters are going to be pleased with construction work on I-45 yet again...They can call it the eBozo monorail to hell and back!
The Dallas-Houston link for me is about the limit of “I would rather drive” for me. Although in the last 10 years of airline hassles, that distance has been growing in my mind.
They claim they wouldn’t have TSA. Not sure that is true.
Agenda 21 Ping
MegaRegions
http://www.america2050.org/megaregions.html
High Speed Rail
http://www.america2050.org/high-speed-rail.html
Twitter
https://twitter.com/America2050
Also check out
North America 2050
http://na2050.org/
Ten years from now, when Terrafugia .. ahem ...get's off the ground ...
I’d bet all I have that that route goes through some real estate of some “connected” folk who stand to make huge bank for selling or leasing the land to the bullet train.
They are being sneaky about this issue. They have Propsition 1 on the table and are basically asking to use the rainy day fund, claiming they have a shortage of money to maintain our roadways when in truth they want to use it on the new railway system. We know what this will actually result in - they will commence working on the railway system, end up having a shortfall with higher than antiipated costs after using all the rainy day funds then come back to the citizens and say they need to increase taxes. In the meantime the politicians pushing this will get their payoffs from the usual suspects in this fiasco and the standard contractual brother-in-law arrangements will be made, pockets will be stuffed, and fraud will be rampant as they bill for services they didn’t do, supplies they didn’t buy, payroll for people who didn’t really work, etc...
Been investigating this type of crap for 20 years. Trust me it will go down this way...
And how many decades has that been said...
There is a LOT of folks I see on my daily commute I don't want flying over my home.
Need more coffee
To meet their claim, the entire trip is going to need to average, 160 mph. I think they are going to need some 200 mph time to average out the slower congested areas with more turns.
You can say that again........
Pipeline or no pipeline, $1.00/gal gas is not gonna happen.
America 2050 is connected to center for America Progress
(Podesta)
http://www.centerforamericanprogress.org/projects/progress-2050/view/
In the right column:
Progress 2050 is a project of the Center for American Progress that develops new ideas for an increasingly diverse America. The United States will become a nation with no clear racial or ethnic majority by the year 2050. This expected transition provides the progressive movement with an exciting opportunity to help America live up to its ideals of equality and justice for all.
Common core
http://www.americanprogress.org/tag/common-core/view/
Thanks for asking, today it's 63 degrees with 75% humidity....
but cannot argue with you about the beaches
Whoa, every hit a cow or deer at 160 mph?
/8^)
Exactly. In the morning, rob a Houston convenience store; sell crack on a Dallas street corner in the afternoon.
While I am anti-Blight Rail, a PRIVATELY FINANCED high speed rail project doesn’t bother me provided farmers are not bullied off their lands or out of their homes by eminent domain (in other words, fair compensation is given for any land used) and the terminal points do not disturb traffic any more than regular rail would.
My main problem, besides logistics, is that Houston and the Dallas Metroplex are both very auto-dependent cities. How far can you get in either without needing a car? So, I am not sure the train would be a money-maker unless it can somehow become more efficient at getting business travelers between the two points at less cost and time than catching a flight on Southwest between Hobby and Love Field.
Yeah, we got lucky this week. Houston does get some pleasant weather in the fall and winter. Kinda hard to make up for our summers though.
BTW head down the coast to Matagorta, or further south for nice beaches. Just have to get away from the east Texas mud flows that we call rivers.
They should have it go from San Antonio to Dallas with a connector in Austin. Do that first. Then add a Houston to Dallas and a Houston to SA link.
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