High-Speed Solutions: The idea of passenger rail travel to major Texas cities picks up speed.

Fort Worth Weekly ^ | March 5, 2008 | Dan McGraw

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[sam_paine]

But what if it took 45 minutes to travel from the Metroplex to Austin by train

If the train runs every hour on the hour, then that's pretty convenient.

If it's twice daily then maybe it's more of a pita than driving.

[Arkansas Toothpick]

I’m a railfan so I’m biased but I see this as being a great idea. As we urbanize, these high-speed intercity trains make a lot of sense. It will be expensive to build, no dobut, but I think it will pay off in the long run, especially if we build nuclear powerplants and use the juice to run these trains.

[montag813]

Make it all nuclear poweree and it’s a great plan.

[Arkansas Toothpick]

Let me tell you, it’s a HUGE pita to drive that I-35 corridor. I absolutely HATE it..its a constant stop and go and heaven forbid there be a wreck to slow you down!!

[Resolute Conservative]

It is a waste of time. You still need a car to get around Austin. Public transportation is not as efficient for the wide open layout in western cities.

I will always take my car with me. For one reason I see this money pit being a gun free zone and I always carry.

[B-Chan]

Yes, yes, yes.

I hereby revoke my support for the TTC (which was based upon its rail component) and give it instead to the Texas Triangle project.

[Spktyr]

Even every few hours wouldn’t be so bad. If it was an Auto-Train type affair, where you drive your vehicle into special automobile-carrying cars, that would be just about perfect. And it would probably make a lot of money while saving Texans the long boring drive between Dallas and Austin.

[Spktyr]

Check out the EuroStar and AutoTrain. They let you take your vehicle (and contents) with you!

[maine-iac7]

with 200-mph trains is, you might say, developing wheels.

No. what I might say is = "developing track-tion"

[B-Chan]

Hell, I’d settle for a morning and afternoon express...

[Panzerlied]

“I’m a railfan so I’m biased but I see this as being a great idea.”

Me too, but it won’t happen here in Michigan until the almost religious adulation of the auto industry by the MSM has ended.

I hope folks have more sense in Texas.

[kingattax]

illegal-undocumented-people-only-coming-here-for-a-better-life-and-to-do-jobs-americans-wont-do certainly need faster transport through the texas corridor.

finally someone is thinking here.

[Between the Lines]

Eckels, Fickes, and other board members traveled to Spain last fall, where they met with representatives of two private companies for preliminary discussions of the T-bone project.

What is the deal with Texas transportation and Spanish companies?

[girlscout]

Eckels, Fickes, and other board members traveled to Spain last fall, where they met with representatives of two private companies for preliminary discussions of the T-bone project.

Must have been the very same meeting Rick Perry was at and the very same people who want to put in the TTC.

In the good old days Texas had a passenger rail line. I wonder why they stopped that ...

[girlscout]

I believe it’s the same people ... just a different name.

[al_c]

Driving down to Austin lately has become a real trip. I-

Lately?! I haven't traveled I35 in a decade. I will go miles out of my way to avoid it.

[cicero2k]

Nice idea but if Europe is any guide it sucks.

Visiting France last year we had the opportunity to go to from Paris to Strasburg. Since they just opened a super high speed train we thought it would be a great trip until we saw the price. 120e per person per segment or 480e for the two of us!

So we rented a car. Plus we got to make a side trip to the Verdun battlefields and other small villages not reachable by train.

Conclusion: if it’s cheap enough the train will work, but it will never be cheap if you are loading your own car with you, it will reduce carrying capacity.

So Texas needs more pavement.

C2K