Posted on 02/18/2018 8:33:31 AM PST by Elderberry
William Shelton will not let go of the past, even if it is in the way of someone else's future.
He has spent more than five years rebuilding his family's ancestral home, board by board, and has no intention of leaving it or the 250-acre farm that has been in his family since 1851.
Two years ago, surveyors started showing up, wanting a clear idea of his property lines for Texas Central Railway, the company behind plans for a 200-mph "bullet train" connecting Houston to Dallas. The proposed route would go through Shelton's farm.
"I guarantee I will be restoring that house until that first train comes over that hill," Shelton said.
Down in Houston, Melanie Sowell dreams of being on that train and 90 minutes away from family rather than four hours.
Her Texas ties go back as far as Shelton's. The Latino side of her family crossed the Rio Grande when Mexico still controlled the land on the north side.
"I know what this land means to people. Believe me, I do," Sowell said. "I also know Texas isn't stuck in place."
The fight over Texas Central Railway - a.k.a. the Texas Bullet Train - rests on many of the contentious fault lines that shape the Lone Star State. City interests versus rural identity. Urban dwellers versus people who want their stars at night to shine big and bright.
Mostly, it is about land. Who controls it, what's the best use for it and how much of it can the two metro areas - Houston and Dallas - claim so their economic futures are secure.
"How do you achieve that balance?" Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle asked. He supports the project despite the strong opposition of many in his district.
(Excerpt) Read more at houstonchronicle.com ...
It’s stupid.
Take a train to rent a car so you don’t have a 4 hour drive.
Construct it along existing IH right-of way.
“The CA rail project was supposed to cost $33 billion and be operational by 2020. This was how it was sold to voters. So far, the cost is currently $68 billion and expected to climb over $100 billion, and the train is not expected to be operational until 2030. Over budget and behind schedule, that’s how projects should run—if you are a liberal democrat and have no concept of how projects should be run.”
This is just another example of how the government/construction business cabal operates. Low-ball the initial cost to get the idiot voters to pass the initial bond issue, then start raising the price to meet the already-know real cost.
A few years ago CalTrans floated bonds to build a second span over the Sacramento-San Joaquin River between Martinez and Benicia. Original cost was supposed to be $300 million in 2001. After delays* and a huge cost overrun of $1 billion, it opened in 2007.
* Due to the “need” for “quiet pile driving” so as not to disturb the migrating Salmon.
Texas do NOT need any sort of passenger train.
Is “Melanie” real or fictitious? By the time “Melanie” drives to the depot pays for parking. Gets there early. Buys a ticket. Gets raped by TSA - there will be a TSA line just like planes, right? Gets to Dallas. And her family drives through traffic to pick her up when could have saved everyone a headache by driving there in 3 hours.
“That $15billion isn’t considered wasted by the people receiving it.”
Well stated.
Que Savoy Brown and “Hellbound Train”
If Jerry could just sing like Savoy . . .
Can you be on your laptop while driving?
Other than about 90 minutes, you can’t be on your laptop regarding this train also.
With the new autonomous autos you can (if you trust them..., I won't).
Yeah....but he doesn’t
Ah, this is what the liberals like Moonbeam gov Brown don't mention about his high-speed train to no-where. Much easier and cheaper to drive in a car, because many trips by car have multiple passengers. And these trains will not be loaded to full capacity as are planes, they'll be lucky to get 30 percent loading of passengers. The costs of operating will be supported by taxpayer subsidy, not by the fare box. Same as most public transit, most of the cost is by taxpayer subsidy. Driving by car is always cheaper, and often more efficient in terms of time and getting you door-to-door of final destination. So-called high-speed rail is a losing proposition.
Not to mention the growing Plethora of unTexican toll roads.
I was born and spent most of my childhood in Tx. Moved away in the 70’s I can’t believe what’s happened down there.
Thanks Elderberry. A moment of silence for Willie Green. ;^)
#10 Take a plane and it costs $91 from San Francisco to Los Angeles. 1.5/hrs flight time and taxing in and out.
By train it will take 9/hrs+. There is no high speed as the train does not have a flat clear path but mountains and towns in the way and would cost estimated $90 which I bet will be much higher.
You are paying hundreds a year already in higher gas tax alone to pay for the boondoggle.
The Texas plan would be bigger and costlier as it is Texas.
Lots of differences:
1) No Interstates (during train’s ‘golden age’)
2) No Extra Cars to tie up for a week (typically 1 car per family, if that)
3) Cars weren’t very reliable, and were much more expensive to operate, in real dollars
4) Cities weren’t war zones
5) People* actually worked in cities, not 30 miles away
6) People* actually lived in cities, not 30 miles away
7) Uber costs money too. A 30 mile ride where I live is at least $40 - so add $160 for the four 30 mile rides if you use it on both ends, plus daily rides if you stay overnight.
8) Having waited 20 minutes (last month) for an Uber that was half a mile away looking like it was trying every exit in a maze, that system also has disadvantages too (luckily I didn’t miss my flight).
9) No TSA
10) No Southwest Airlines
11) Despite dozens, probably hundreds of new train lines in the US (most not intercity though) - every one has been a failure as far as paying for itself. This one doesn’t even pass a top-level smell test, when capital costs are included. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is the only train in the US paying for itself at this time.
*People defined as those who might actually use this system.
I’m not sure that ‘Golden Age’ was even all that ‘golden’. We still had the left setting up camp around the country, which is why they control so much now.
We don’t live in the same world as the past, Houston/Dallas is a short drive, it’s not even close for people living in North and Northwest Houston (where many if not most of the commuters would come from), they’re not about to backtrack into Houston when their drive to Dallas is closer to 3 hours.
And in Europe, now, they cannot even keep people in trains, they’re all using the budget airlines (WOW, Ryan, Norwegian), which are skyrocketing there.
Sad that people will have to get their property torn up. It would be great if the courts make these charlatans post bonds for 10 years that would pay for restoring their property after this train collapses - but don’t imagine that will happen (since no bond company is that stupid).
Poor guy deserves so much better than this - you know if he was a protected class of person that the story would be written in a much different manner.
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