High Speed Rail To Nowhere (Another Useless Willie Green Thread Alert)

Michelle Malkin.com ^ | 12/26/2008 | Michelle Malkin

[goldstategop]

Its a joke. It costs $49 to fly from LA to SF. Or $25 by car at current gas prices. Color this high speed rail turkey the Mother Of All Boondoggles!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[tophat9000]

gee I forgot about that one... did that stupid prop pass?

[OldNavyVet]

Who in their right mind wants to go to Oakland?

[Tzimisce]

Yeah it’s too bad we’re getting stuck with it. :(

[goldstategop]

It did. The idea any one needs it is insanity. It'll be California's Taj Mahal. Who in their right mind would want to buy an overpriced high speed rail ticket from LA to SF (or vice versa) when you can fly or drive there cheaper?

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[rellimpank]

—look out for the LA to Vegas high-speed train, too—

[neodad]

it’ll cost you a mere $25 (with a few more bucks if you stop by In-N-Out!)

I know that In-N-Out! One of the busiest fast food resturaunts I've ever seen.

[Enchante]

What a TURKEY.... way overpriced compared to the airline competition, takes too long to ride, who would do it except a few people with a pathological fear of flying?

btw, is it going to be earthquake-proof or will taxpayers be out our $30-90 billions for a non-functioning mess, the moment there is one serious earthquake anywhere in Calif.???

[kanawa]

Ping

[goldstategop]

The problem there isn't enough corridor traffic to support the cost of a high speed rail line. Even densely populated California is not Europe or Japan.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Red_Devil 232]

LA to Vegas would make more sense. But you would be required to purchase a round trip ticket on the LA to Vegas leg of the trip. Once your money was gone Vegas thugs would round you up and make sure you were on the next Hi-Speed train out of town. /s

[goldstategop]

The private sector wouldn't build it. The only people stupid enough to believe its economically viable are politicians - the same folks who've demonstrated themselves incapable of managing California's budget. I wouldn't buy a used car from them - they make lousy salespersons.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[goldstategop]

Its still cheaper to fly to LV. Or drive there. If the train makes stops, that's wasted time. The only time it would make sense is if the train was non-stop. But the politicians want whistle stops, so it'll never happen.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Dick Bachert]

May I suggest the PERFECT right-of-way would be the

SAN ANDREAS FAULT!

The images of the the fault swallowing a train and tracks would serve as a perfect metaphor for the feds swallowing up more dough for yet another useless project.

Yeah, let’s all get behind this one — especially you folks in SF. I hear your EXPERTS at that sort of thing.

[mad_as_he$$]

"California’s plan to ask the federal government for billions of dollars to help build the nation’s first high-speed rail system."

Well Michelle the people at Amtrack that operate and work on the Acela might take issue with your statement.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

“It’ll take you about six-seven hours to drive from Oakland to Los Angeles on the I-5– and at current gas prices, it’ll cost you a mere $25....”

Actually, driving would cost over $100.00. The cost of gasoline is only a fraction of the total operating costs.

Using such a bogus comparison weakens the rest of the article. The cost of the airline ticket is all-inclusive (although it ignores the cost of getting to and from airports). The total operating cost for an automobile should have been used for comparison.

Please note, I'm not saying that the project isn't an expensive boondoggle (that will probably cost several billions more than the current estimates). I'm just saying that basing an argument on cherry-picked data only weakens your case.

[Williams]

NJ has a major rail station near nothing but highways with no parking lot. I think it’s appropriatyely named the Lautenberg station. No one uses it, no one can.

[Leisler]

OAKLAND TO WATTS!

Anyways the winners are....
Lawyers.....
Unions.....
Contractors.....
Finance.....

It might be stupid to us, but it's going to make a whole bunch of people rich and happy! And, their needs are more important than your needs. OK?

[patton]

Where are they going to get the money? CA bonds are almost junk, regardless of what they voted for.

[Enchante]

True — Japan has at least 4x the population of CA in a corridor like that.