Comments on: 7 ways James Fallows is wrong about the CA bullet train

By: Robert S. Allen

Robert S. Allen — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 03:36:27 +0000

In reply to JD. Of course Stockton is not within the three-county BART district, and ACE runs a very credible commute service connecting Stockton with the Tri-Valley and the job-rich Silicon Valley.

By: JD

JD — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:09:09 +0000

In reply to Boo.

“loses more than a quarter billion dollars a year”

“revenues cover only around 30-35% of its costs”

Publicly-owned mass transit never covers its own costs — most government programs don’t. Is the US military ‘cost effective’? Should that be anywhere near the top of the list of criteria for how important it is? The real question of their effectiveness comes from whether the system is heavily utilized. If, for example, BART built and extension out to Stockton costing billions of dollars and nobody used it, *that* would be a valid criticism of building that line.

By: Robert S. Allen

Robert S. Allen — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:21:26 +0000

HSR and Caltrain would be extended to the mis-named Transbay Transit Center, located a long walk from the BART/Muni stations providing rail transit to San Francisco points and much of the Bay Area. It would better be called the San Francisco Bus Center.

By: J Gates

J Gates — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 03:25:43 +0000

Whatever happened to the next to I-5 route? The rapid abandonment of that plan which would have been faster, require far fewer grade crossings, perhaps would have even met the SF to LA 2hr and 40min requirement and is in good part already public land is still a great mystery of this project. Guess there wasn’t enough money is this deal for some. More money has to be spent buying right of way and grade crossings on the CA-99 route. Cui bono?

By: Chris Reed

Chris Reed — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 05:40:52 +0000

In reply to Innocent Interrogator.

Hi, innocent, L.A. Times had a great story in November 2012 about this angle:

http://www.burbankleader.com/the818now/tn-818-1106-bullettrain-planners-face-huge-engineering-challenge,0,4264111.story

By: Innocent Interrogator

Innocent Interrogator — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 04:44:22 +0000

One question I’ve never seen answered (but I confess to not looking very hard):

How will the HSR handle Tehachapi?

Right now, the Tehachapi Loop is an amazing engineering achievement. Trains even cross over themselves as they transit the loop–it’s a giant helix. The current owners of the right of way won’t even allow passenger trains through (except for the Coast Starlight, and only if it’s normal route is blocked). Amtrak passengers take buses to connect to LA. It’s also one of the busiest bits of rail on Earth.

Are they planning to somehow build a brand new route through the mountains? Tunnels? Even if they seized the existing right of way, how would freight get through? Widening the right of way might not even be possible without disruption to freight.

Has anyone budgeted this?

By: Russ Miller

Russ Miller — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 02:49:17 +0000

Ask yourself, when would I use the train? What advantage does it have over taking the plane? I see only one clear advantage in taking HSR from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and this advantage can only happen if they make it a “land ferry”, we can have our vehicle to get around without having to make that long, boring drive through the Central Valley. Make the train like the Chunnel Train, let us take our cars on it. I’d pay extra to do that! This would be a money maker from the start. Later on, after all the external infrastructure is built, we can take public transit but in the meantime let us have our cars.

By: Boo

Boo — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 19:08:41 +0000

In reply to Robert. Robert, You left out the reality that BART loses more than a quarter billion dollars a year and that the LA rail system's passenger revenues cover only around 30-35% of its costs. Apparently, your "reality" is one where this old joke isn't a joke: "We lose money with each ticket we sell, but we'll make it up on volume!"

By: André

André — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 08:00:12 +0000

Funny how objectioneers seem to think they can argue that people don’t love public transport and that air-travel is not public transport. The trouble with air-travel is that you have to share space with members of the public and while going through a two hour check-in you have to be with even more members of the hated public.
Of course the risk with train travel is that when TSA looses business the will attempt to impose the same control of train travelling public. Then all advantage will be lost.
Success of modern train travel depends on modern terminals which are well connected and have plenty facilities.

By: The Africanized Swarm of Ted Steele System

The Africanized Swarm of Ted Steele System — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 04:00:43 +0000

Yes it’s true– the worthless train is here little buddies. Even the corpulent republibaggers must serve their globalist masters…