Existing track, huh? Must be an old, possibly abandoned right-of-way. This 2006 map shows no tracks running between the two cities.
Posted on 02/26/2010 8:24:06 AM PST by Willie Green
A proposed passenger rail link between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that has been opposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal would provide positive economic and social benefits to justify the public subsidy needed for its operations, according to an independent evaluation commissioned by the Southern High-Speed Rail Commission and the Louisiana transportation department.
The study is the most focused analysis to date of the project and provides new details about the proposal and its impact. Using six station stops on an existing track from downtown Baton Rouge to the Union Passenger Terminal near the Superdome, the service potentially could begin in 2013 with eight trains daily hauling about 1,300 passengers, with a doubling in ridership within about 10 years.
The report appears as business and regional planning groups in both cities are attempting to breathe new life into the initiative following the governor's refusal last year to apply for federal stimulus dollars set aside by Congress for passenger rail construction projects.
"One dollar invested in the project generates $1.40 in benefits," study authors Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. and HDR Engineering concluded. "The upside potential for value creation largely offsets the downside potential of this project. There is a 78 percent probability of achieving a positive return on investment."
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Yeah, that's a really neutral look at the matter /sarcasm.
Willie, Willie, Willie - you REALLY think your rail pimping is gonna win any converts here?
I’m sure the system will have many benefits - for those who do not have to pay for those benefits.
Will the ridership of the system pay for the full costs? If yes, then why aren’t private companies jumping in? If no, then the benefits do not outweigh the costs.
Willie to FR: “Choo-choo-choose me!”
“...and it’s got a picture of a train.”
I do not live in LA but my guess is driving the interstate from NO to Baton Rogue is a lot easier than dealing with driving from say NYC to DC.
High speed rail is a bridge to the 19th century.
Oh that's independent all right. No agenda there of course. Just another bit of whitewash to comver grabbing the taxpayers' hard earned money. If it's so great, let private industry develop it. That way those "positive economic and social benefits" could accrue to the stockholders. Fat chance of that happening. Anyone dumb enough to voluntarily invest in this has already sent their bank account information to DOCTOR NGUTO'S WIDOW WHO HAS $24,000,000 SHE NEEDS HELP IN GETTING OUT OF SOMALIA.
It won’t ever get built anyway. Its stimulus for attorneys.
IOW the only hard money benefit goes to localities in the form of increased property tax revenue where the other benefits are soft; a net hemorrhage of cash from the state to the municipalities. Passengers get a 71% discount ... I'd make it part of the law that all tickets must indicate the full price plus discount and be accounted for that way in all public reports.
“At the beginning, operating expenses including train car leases would run about $14 million per year, of which ticket revenue would cover only about 29 percent. Up to $11 million in some form of supplemental revenue would be needed annually for the train service to break even. As trains and more service are added, the report says, the yearly operational costs would rise to $22 million by 2023, requiring a subsidy of up to $14 million.”
Looks like Bobby Jindal has done his homework here. What starts out as a $23 per ride subsidy needed to BREAK EVEN with operating costs will surely rise. Look at the history of any light rail line in this regard.
In minneapolis, what was approved as a $450 million build, half paid for by the feds, turned into nearly a $1 Billion venture (more state “investment”) before transporting its first passenger. The promised development along the line has not happened. It disrupted traffic. It killed people. And, of course, it requires a $10 million per year subsidy to meet operating costs. And that doesn’t include any future repairs that will be necessary as things wear out and break down.
In Portland, they had to offer severe tax breaks to accomplish the housing and commercial developments that were sure to spring up along the line.
Follow the money. Who owns the land over which the tracks will be laid?
I need to know the answer to one question before I make a decision about passenger rail:
How much money will the rail line LOSE each time someone rides it?
Don’t say it will make money. EVERY passenger rail system loses money on each passnger. So, how much will it lose per passnger?
The I need to know where the money to offset this loss will come from?
“I’d make it part of the law that all tickets must indicate the full price plus discount and be accounted for that way in all public reports.”
And those purchasing tickets would have to declare that discount on their income taxes, just as you would if you get a discount from a creditor.
lol
more money down the toilet.
Why build a rail system to a city that is below sea level?
Existing track, huh? Must be an old, possibly abandoned right-of-way. This 2006 map shows no tracks running between the two cities.
IOW the only hard money benefit goes to localities in the form of increased property tax revenue where the other benefits are soft; a net hemorrhage of cash from the state to the municipalities
No, the increased economic growth expands the tax base and generates more tax revenue than what is used to subsidize the stimulus.
Yep. Just like asking the barber if you eed a haircut.
Also what construction company wil get the fat cost plus contracts, and who will be appointed to the plum sinecures in the upper echelons of the administration of this boondoggle. Like the GA lottery, the biggist beneficiaries are the administrators and executives who run the thing.
Answer: None.
The taxpayers will pay the other 71%.
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