Good post..
But, but . . . building high-speed rail will result in jobs!
You are going to upset the pro-train people (ok, person) on this forum.
I’ve always thought of high speed rails as tax payer money black holes.
ROFL
They’ve wanted to start a commuter service between Ann Arbor and Detroit for a while now. Even on existing track they can’t fund a demonstration of the service. The best they can promise is a cost of around $70 per rider for what is a 35 to 40 minute drive in traffic. On existing rail it will be anything but high speed and a person can drive the distance faster and do so without needing a shuttle from the train station.
I myself seldom go more than 30 miles from home and prefer to drive when I do.
Especially when you're talking retro-fit. The real estate costs are brutal.
Don’t worry. We just need massive gas tax increases to cover the cost of unprofitable rail lines! :)
Very interesting.
Bump
They are starting construction on a high speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. The group building the train stated the ticket prices will be $30/ seat one way.
The train will stop at Disney and not go into Orlando proper.
A round trip ticket from Tampa to Disney will cost $240 and take just as long as driving.
Willie Green, Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi are all saddened by this factual post.
Here’s the problem in the USA: we already have a form of low-cost high-speed transportation—it’s called Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. Since Southwest and JetBlue fly to airports closer to destinations (for example, Southwest uses Midway Airport in Chicago and Love Field in Dallas, both much closer to city centers), the so-called advantage of high-speed rail of downtown to downtown is quite low.
The only time I would take a train would be as a novelty as driving in the long run is always cheaper.
It would be cheaper to have China come over here and build it.
Can’t you just imagine a train like this running to Hamtramck or Kalamazoo from Detroit!
It makes your heart sing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H9gA_Mu2tM
Very cool post. Thanks for taking the time.
One other point: obtaining right-of-way for rail (or anything else) is problematic and expensive in the US.
Not such a problem in China, I presume. ;-)
You left out one factor in the high speed rail equation.
Property.
that land is owned by someone. the rail company will need to buy it from lots and lots of people. and guess what? Politicians LOVE to make money off of real estate.
When it starts to look like a public funded rail system is going to go through, all the dirty ratfinks in government will go around buying up the land and then sell it to the rail project for 4times what it’s worth.
AND THAT IS WHY these stupid projects get funded even when they don’t make any sense.
High speed rail, the boondoggle that just keeps on taking.