Amtrak, CA high-speed rail cancel joint train agreement
It’s another blow to California’s high-speed rail project. AP reported:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority said Friday that they canceled a joint agreement seeking companies to build high-speed trains for them, a proposal billed as a way to save money and lure advanced train manufacturing to the United States.
The agencies said their needs are too different and manufacturers are not yet ready to build trains that can run on both Amtrak’s 100-year-old rail lines and the high-speed corridors planned for California’s system.
It’s basic Econ. 101: The more you make of something, the lower the costs for each unit. That means the California project will cost more than it would have before Friday.
It’s also ironic because Amtrak is another inefficient government system that still receives subsidies, although those have been shifted mostly to the states from the federal government.
Two socialist systems being unable to work together is another indication that both should be canceled.
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Another difference: Amtrak’s 100-year-old rail lines are largely secure, i.e., grade-separated and well fenced. California’s High Speed Rail plans to run on Caltrain’s commuter train tracks about 50 miles between San Francisco and San Jose, tracks with dozens of grade crossings and suburban stations.
California’s HSR bond issue, 2008 Prop 1A, was for “Safe, Reliable” high speed passenger trains. The “Blended Rail” officials propose is NEITHER SAFE NOR RELIABLE.
Initial HSR to the Bay Area should end at San Jose, with seamless transfers there to Caltrain, Capitol Corridor, VTA, and SV BART. Later it should up-grade the UP/Amtrak East Bay Amtrak route to Oakland and on to Sacramento, with a transfer station at the BART overhead in Oakland. From that station San Francisco’s Embarcadero station is six minutes away, with trains every four minutes. Much better, safer, more reliable, and far less costly.
another waste of California taxpayers money
Trains are vital….autos and planes only a struggling part of the mobility future.
Wake up or one day you got outside and every street is clogged shut!