how much would this have helped today? (high speed train in TX)

[fleabert]

Texas

In May 1991, the Texas High Speed Rail Authority awarded a franchise to the Texas TGV Consortium to privately build and finance a 590-mile high speed rail system between Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. This system planned to use the French TGV technology with trains operating at 200 mph. Travel times on the new trains would range from 1 hour, 30 minutes from Dallas to Houston and 58 minutes from San Antonio to Houston. This project was to be entirely privately financed, constructed and operated, because state law prevented any use of state taxpayer money. The Legislature had received pressure from regional airlines who opposed state funding for the high speed rail because of the possible competition for travelers.

This project was estimated to cost more than $5 billion and certain financial benchmarks were established by the High Speed Rail Authority to ensure that progress was being made to secure financing. The first benchmark was December 31, 1992, when a $170 million commitment, of which $30 million must be cash investments, was required of the company. The Consortium failed to meet this deadline and despite a one year extension was able to raise only $40 million. By early 1994 the project died due to a lack of adequate financing. In 1995, the Legislature abolished the High Speed Rail Authority.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/transportation/transer2.htm#TX

[Carolab]

1. Not to mention the idiots didn't turn all the lanes into northbound.

Traffic jams and people running out of gas while the other side of the freeway is practically deserted.

What idiots.

[merwin]

6. Their thought on that was getting emergency vehicles through.

I do agree that they should leave most, if not all of the other side of the road clear for the necessary rescue and emergency vehicles

[Carolab]

8. NOW? While people are trying to get OUT?

Sorry, can't agree.

[fleabert]

9. the stupid part of that logic is that the hway system in TX has a

frontage road running alongside just about every singe freaking inch of highway, emergency vehicles could have easily used that, and the exodus could have used the entire highway.

[fleabert]

7. no doubt.

My aunt, a total bushbot, was STILL bitching about Nagin today... I went off about the highway system in TX and Rick Perry. She had no response.

[mshasta]

2. oh my gosh !!!

wtF!!x( :grr:

[fleabert]

10. yup. I also remember some talk in austin two years ago about trying to

bring the issue to the table again, but as a taxpayer expense. it didn't fly.

[Erika]

3. Bush has to help those good old oil men

and private vehicles with low mpg serves their interests best.

[fleabert]

5. don't forget the airlines! nt

[cosmicdot]

12. wonder if Southwest Airlines lobbied to kill the program?

When I lived in AZ, it would've been nice to have had a rapid train to places like San Diego.

More neglect of our infrastructure and needs for the 21st century.


Telephone Call: W? This is Herbert D. Kelleher, Chairman of the Board, Southwest Airlines. Same to you. Look we need to keep things in the air, partner. We're not Old Europe, you see. No problem? Sure, you can call me Kell.

[EFerrari]

4. This really cuts to the chase.

No measure that cuts back fuel consumption will fly on the Gulf. How many people have to die or lose everything before this is clear?

:nuke:

[fleabert]

11. yep. Sucks.

perhaps if gas hits 5 bucks a gallon, they will start to wise up. You would think the lessons of the oil bust in Texas would have stuck.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Trains carry the most people for the least amount of fuel of any means

of transportation.

Japan's Shinkansen "bullet train" between Tokyo and Osaka runs 12 times per hour, carrying hundreds of people on each run. A very conservative emphasis of the passenger load would be 300, so that's 3600 people per hour, 16 hours a day. That's over 55,000 people a day. In three days, you could evacuate 165,000 people, not an insignficant number, and perhaps enough to alleviate the traffic flow.

I once translated a history of the Shinkansen, and it said that in order to carry that many people from Tokyo to Osaka by air would require more planes than all the airlines in Japan own. Transporting that many people by road would require several parallel tollways in a country that really doesn't have room for them and suffers from incredible traffic jams on ordinary days.

[fleabert]

14. I know I would have voted for it, and paid for it, if given the chance...

[NuttyFluffers]

15. those trains kick ass. loved riding them.

do you have a link or library book to find your translation work? PM me? :7

i'd love to read more about the shinkansen.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. Unfortunately, it was for a booklet that is given out as a gift

by JR (Japan Rail). I don't know if it's for sale anywhere.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Texax cartoonist Ben Sargent on Commuter Rail