Ban those Thomas the Tank Engine videos and that silly liberal obsession with trains will go away.
Posted on 03/12/2011 9:25:08 AM PST by Hojczyk
The Tampa-to-Orlando route had obvious drawbacks: It would have linked two cities that are virtually unnavigable without cars, and that are so close that the new train would have been little faster than driving. But the Obama administration chose it anyway because it was seen as the line that could be built first. Florida had already done much of the planning, gotten many of the necessary permits and owned most of the land that would be needed.
The Department of Transportation did not have that many options. Only two states, Florida and California, were deemed far enough along in their planning to receive money for building actual bullet trains — trains that can travel more than 150 miles an hour, on tracks of their own that are not shared with other trains.
In the end, though, the state’s new governor decided not to build it at all, worried that those very drawbacks would ultimately make it a boondoggle.
Florida’s route had some glaring imperfections, though.
Tampa and Orlando are only 84 miles apart, generally considered too close for high-speed rail to make sense. The train trip, with many stops along the way, would have shaved only around a half-hour off the drive. Since there are no commercial flights between the two cities, the new line would not have lured away fliers or freed up landing slots at the busy airports. And neither Tampa nor Orlando has many public transportation options. So the question arose: Could riders be persuaded to leave their cars behind and buy tickets to places where they would still probably need cars?
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Has sense been in the room since the Obama administration commenced?
No one would ride it...maybe a few tourist but not anyone who owns a car..it is 84 miles..
Not to mention the bogus consultant’s reports that inflated the projected number of riders, minimized forecasted operating costs and ticket prices, and generally pumped the project for the local pro-rail politicians.
Ban those Thomas the Tank Engine videos and that silly liberal obsession with trains will go away.
Willie Green probably threw his bong against the wall when this rail project was canceled...
Funny, I made all of these points to Willie Green’s posts two years ago. Once again, it takes the NYT a little longer to figure out the truth.
Look at the good news, at least this time they did figure it out. That makes them slightly above the Mendoza Line . . .
This post requires no comment other then the current occupant of the White House, Barack Hussein Obama has two glaring faults, no brains and knowledge of what he speaks or advocates!!! Obama, the worst “empty suit” of the human race!!!
What is hilarious is how so many of Obama’s high speed rail projects include the state capitols. So if no one else rides them at least state employed drones will....once in a while
That was the second thing that bothered me about the HSR, transportation at the destination. The first was that it was not going to cover Florida, which would’ve made more sense. Then we hear about the actual “high-speed”, which is more than likely already achieved by many, if not most, of the highway users. It would be a criminal use of taxpayers’ money to build such a thing.
I used to travel on business from Seattle to Portland - 180 miles. I could fly..it took 3 hours if you count parking, waiting, etc. Or I could drive - also 3 hours.
Gee. This is the kind of question that could keep the geniuses at the New York Times busy for fifteen or twenty years.
The fact that the premise of using High Speed Rail for a 90 mile trip with multiple stops is so illogical, and yet they still insist on pushing the project tells you everything you need to know about Federal Government funded boondoggles.
Wow. NY Times finally gets something correct. Direct non stop busses would be better.
In Houston, the first choo-choo train they built connects the Astrodome to the Enron-dome. Maybe two dozen people a day actually use it. A train from downtown to Katy would have alleviated all kinds of traffic congestion, but that would have benefited Whitey, and we can't have that.
And the answer from the jug eared communist in the White House and his comrades in DC and Tallahassee is
"who cares as long as we get to spend other peoples money for no good reason in exchange for votes!"
“High-Speed Rail” is a false premise in the first place.
Follow the money, as usual.
It is really “slow-speed rail” to serve certain special interests. Serving “passengers” is the very LAST thing on that agenda.
All you will ever need to know about it can be found here:
Here’s a Short Video with the ‘Real Story Behind the High Speed Rail Push’!
VIDEO: http://www.ronaldreaganclubs.com/New%20Rail.html
Facts, figures do not lie....this would have been a disaster for Florida taxpayers and their grandchildren! The video also explains the real reason and who will profit from the Rail.
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