Posted on 05/30/2010 4:31:35 PM PDT by Clintons Are White Trash
Edited on 05/30/2010 4:40:35 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Exactly, Kevin. Unlike roads, there aren't multiple lanes and detour routes. Moreover, the US lacks track capacity for the volume it carries, volume has tripled over the last 25 years while amount of track has declined. Most estimates place use at 150 to 200% of capacity while demand is increasing. One wreck creates a cascading backlog very quickly on the railroad network. http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2008/RAND_TR603.pdf
Oh no Bush did it!
Tar Ball President? I like that!
“PASSENGER trains have had their place......”
NOT true that they’ve become useless - at least not in metro areas where many rely on them to get in and out of the city for work and for play... Chicago is one such place.
The gridlock during rush hour on the expressways in and out of Chicago are INSANE — a normal 30-45min. trip is extended to THREE HOURS if you’re trying to get out to the suburbs at any time past 2:30 pm for example... And no, I’m not kidding about the THREE HOURS — and that’s WITHOUT any accidents!
MILLIONS of people commute in and out of Chicago EVERY DAY on trains, and it’s has NOT lost its place. However, in the case of Chicago the rail lines have been operating for over a century, and the towns sprung up along those rail lines. In fact, the expressways often parallel the tracks in many places, and closer in the El travel down the middle of the expressways. It’s part of the very fabric of society in these places. I honestly can’t EVER see Chicago getting rid of passenger trains, or the El (subway/elevated lines).
I remember one time (must have been the early- to mid-80s) that the train engineers went on strike and the Metra line was down for at least a week... The traffic during the rail strike was UNBELIEVABLE! Even with folks arranging car pools in their neighborhoods like ours did - they still had to leave HOURS early for work, and arrived home MUCH later than normal...
In Chicago - at least the line my Dad rode in - there are trains coming through every 10 minutes heading to Chicago during the morning rush from 6-8am (express lines, and “regular”). AND, the trains are PACKED. It’s the same at night from about 5pm-7pm (IIRC).
There’s no way in the world you could get rid of the trains in Chicago without causing HUGE problems with motor vehicle traffic there.
You should check out the post I put up this morning! I guarantee you’ll be laughing out loud, if not literally rolling on the floor crying!!! ;)
Possible Obama FR Screen Names [HUMOR - Add your ideas here!]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2524070/posts
commuter trains could have a place in the rail mosaic.
if people become to dissatified they will change their lifestyle by; moving closer to job, moving job closer to home,carpooling, dedicated lanes, constructing more lanes for hiways etc...............
Well the Government is going to do it.. If there was a demand for rail travel, well private industry will do it.. I rather fly than take a train..
There was one in Trenton, North Dakota a couple of years ago. BNSF tracks.
Yep, I would imagine it’s still better than 6 hours of exhaust and stop and go though!
I know there are a ton moving out of the city — I remember when they tore down Poplar Creek to make way for Sears (it’s been 13 years since I’ve lived in the NW Suburbs, and I know in that time things have changed a lot). I still couldn’t picture Chicago without Metra though — and actually it took quite a while for me to stop calling it the Chicago & Northwestern line! I remember when they used to have the “Club Cars” on the trains, too! LOL
Oh by the way name me the last freight rail derailment..Saturday in North Dakota
This past Tuesday in Greensboro, NC.
Joliet, Illinois last Monday
I'm not sure, but this could be the same crappy BNSF route that Amtrak is forced to use from Chicago - St. Louis.
If Metra was so great, why do they keep begging for bailouts like the CTA?? Then all of the sudden they raise rates???
Like I said, I haven’t been there for years... over ten. So, I’m not aware of the current problems. I’m aware that the head of METRA forever recently committed suicide by his own dang trains, so obviously the problems are pretty widespread and serious. THAT’s why they keep asking for bailouts — the same as other companies who ask the government for part of its pot all the time — CORRUPTION & GREED, and shaking down the gov’t (ie the people) all the time.
Once you put government and industry in bed together you get problems. That was the mistake. It doesn’t mean that the rail lines (of various sorts) are not without purpose and cannot be beneficial if managed correctly. I don’t know if it CAN be managed correctly by a government bureaucracy though. That doesn’t make for good customer service, nor realistic fees for services, either...
If you could get Metra away from the goons in Chicago things would be better for all concerned, I’ve no doubt about that. At least they couldn’t use the revenue for their pay-to-play wheelin’ and dealin’ with the Daley Crew.
ALL JMHO — like I said - I haven’t lived there in 13 years... I’m just going by what I knew of when I lived there till my mid-20s, and also comparing it to trying to get ‘downtown’ to Denver (car or bus is the only option and the busses are a PAIN if you really need to get somewhere...). BUT, I was no fan of the proposed “light rail” when I was living there either... And I’m DEFINITELY not happy about our City Council where I live now deciding that our downtown area needed a TROLLEY for what is essentially perhaps a 10 block area!!! [PURE INSANITY!!!]
I don’t know if I could stand riding the train for a daily commute, but have many friends who still do. I do know I miss the trains for being able to ride my bike, or walk about a mile - hope on one (for relatively cheap at least back then), and meet my Dad downtown for lunch, or a rare shopping trip with a friend or two in High School.
Obviously, if you’re still there you probably have a better perspective on the current state of affairs than I.
*hop on one
Did I say anything about building special trains? OR using “government” money? No. I’m simply defending trains, generally. And you made it sound like passenger trains have more trouble derailing than freights.
Also it would cost me at least $7.00 per week to park at the local train station also at least over $100 bucks for a monthly pass. My company is now allowing us to tele-commute.. I expect more companies is going to allow that in the future...
Yes, for some there are parking fees - but for some of us, there are not. Never mind if you work in a city, you’ll invariably have parking fees.
When I commuted to DC, I started in MD on a real train - no parking fees, even in the biggest stations. If I went to the subway Metro, there’d be fees.
Likewise, I’ve not yet been to an Amtrak station where I had to pay to park. I’m sure fees exist - in cities, but not in small towns and other suburban areas.
That’s not a good reason to be against trains, generally.
How about the our “commuter” system had to be bailed out constantly..
Oh come on. That’s disingenuous.
While that may be true IN LOW-DENSITY AREAS, it ignores the fact that it hardly ever happens, certainly not to any noticeable degree.
I have never had a train traffic jam because of derailment. The worst trouble I ever experienced was in CT when a bridge expanded so much in the heat that the tracks misaligned and the train could not cross the bridge. (Eventually we were all bussed to the other side and another train picked us up.) Other than that, sometimes in winter our commuter train might be delayed because the switches were so frozen they couldn’t move them quickly (I commuted the horrid winter of ‘93-’94 - worst cold ever around here, complete with major ice), mostly coming into the station yard. (Of course, 1 of the big complaints for me is nanny-state paternalism - even when we’re close to the station, the ninnies won’t let us leave the train and walk to it.)
But that’s not a big delay, as a rule. Otherwise, with all the commuter train and Metro, and Amtrak service I’ve had in the NE and out to WI, I’ve never experienced so much as a blip in time.
I understand about the telecommuting. It’s a good thing, IMHO. I’ve heard it does wonders for morale, and for increasing attendance and productivity of workers.
It occurs to me though that roughly $150.00/mo. (that seems low - could have sworn I remember my father being really upset when his monthly ticket started costing around $80 and that was in the late 80s, IIRC). Anyway, it would still be cheaper than driving to and from the city 5 days/week and sitting in standstill traffic — gas alone nowadays would be ridiculous depending on where you were driving in from, and I know for a fact that parking downtown - unless your company had its own lot - is outrageous. Add to that the toll on the car itself (mileage, upkeep, etc...), oh, and the cost of the toll pass depending on the route you take in, and I still see the trains as the ‘way to go’ if you absolutely need to commute downtown — ESPECIALLY during the winter.
Again, all just my opinion. The other thing I know my Dad took the train all those years for is because the stress of driving to and from work with all the ‘idiot drivers’ out there would’ve probably given him a heart attack! So, there is the stress factor to consider as well... Especially if one doesn’t like going either 20mph, or 80 mph depending on the time of day! LOL
Like I said though — it’s a little different if it’s a city that already has a large rail system like Chicago has vs. a city trying to put one in after-the-fact. Especially when it would ALL be done on the taxpayers’ dime. And especially in the environment economically we are in today...
As for long distance train travel? Well, my daughters and I are looking into traveling by train to DC because otherwise it would be way too cost prohibitive... I’ve only taken a trip by rail (besides just downtown) from Chicago to Holland, MI back in HS (late 80s). I thought it was a lot nicer than driving the same distance personally, but I guess it all depends upon the person...
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