Posted on 06/05/2010 12:27:40 PM PDT by Willie Green
“Waste of money. From top to bottom, a complete waste of money.”
And yet Willie likes it!
they’d steal the rails for scrap
Willie, mail gets delivered faster with planes.. Why do you think that DHL, USPS, UPS and FedEx uses planes..
Willie, mail gets delivered faster with planes.. Why do you think that DHL, USPS, UPS and FedEx uses planes..
Air is OK for transcontinental mail delivery. But short hop flights are too inefficient and expensive. And the trucks are too slow for regional service. High speed rail would fill the regional niche between air and truck service, making mail delivery even more quick and efficient.
Willie old fashioned mail is going away, thanks to email and faxes.. People can get the packages faster via truck and to a processing center much faster via truck for the short hops.. No need to spend trillions to prop up old technology..
Willie old fashioned mail is going away, thanks to email and faxes..
But DHL, USPS, UPS and FedEx still need high-speed rail and maglev for faster/cheaper delivery of all those things we order online.
"During debate leading up to the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Congress used an estimate of $27 billion. This estimate was flawed in several ways. It was based on a report by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (BPR), which covered only the 37,700 miles designated in 1947. The BPR estimated that to build this mileage in 10 years to meet 1974 traffic needs would cost $23.2 billion, based on midyear 1954 prices. Second, President Eisenhower's Advisory Committee on a National Highway Program under General Lucius D. Clay (Rt.)—known as the "Clay Committee"—added only $4 billion for urban feeders and collectors, bringing the total to $27.2 billion. Considering that the BPR had assumed urban-rural costs for the mileage designated in 1947 would be split $12.5 billion-$10.7 billion, and that an additional 2,300 miles of urban routes had been designated in 1955, the Clay Committee's estimate was flawed.
Beyond the errors in the initial estimate, the 1956 Act added 1,000 miles to the Interstate System. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 added 1,500 miles, and subsequent legislation increased the mileage as well. In addition, design standards were stricter beginning in 1956, and compliance with essential environmental requirements enacted in the 1960s added to the cost of projects. As might be expected, inflation was a major factor as well.
Government cost figures rarely reflect the actual cost.
which covered only the 37,700 miles designated in 1947.
Wikipedia says that the Interstate Highway System has a total length of 46,876 miles as of 2006.
So that's quite a bit more than what they had planned.
Willie, they can do it fast now.. Sorry nice try...
Willie, they can do it fast now.. Sorry nice try...
So they'll be able to do it faster and cheaper.
It's called "continuous improvement" Kevin.
If you don't learn how to practice it, you will never be competitive.
Yes, agreed it is quite a bit more, about 30% more miles then planed, yet the cost went up by a factor of over 400%. Remember, the estimate was for 25 Billion. If we allowed for a doubling of the miles, the cost should have been 50 Billion, but it was over 100 Billion! I do hope you are not trying to tell me that government cost estimates are a realistic representation of what will actually be spent.
, yet the cost went up by a factor of over 400%. Remember, the estimate was for 25 Billion.
Inflated dollars that weren't worth as much as the dollars used in the original estimate.
Gold isn't pegged at $35/ounce anymore.
Nixon ended that in '71 and our currency has been in steady decay ever since.
They are just thinking too small here.
They should make it the full 250 miles from Atlanta to Nashville.
This could become the great southern corridor like DC to Boston.
his is a perfect run for the Meglev.
They are just thinking too small here.
They should make it the full 250 miles from Atlanta to Nashville.
This could become the great southern corridor like DC to Boston.
Yes, I certainly agree!
Maglev's unique ability to negotiate hilly terrain with grades up to 10% would be easier to construct than steel-wheel-on rail proposals which require grades of less than 1%.
Chattanooga to Nashville would be the next, logical segment.
After Nashville...
North to Louisville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, etc. etc.???
Or Southwest to Memphis, Little Rock....???
There are definitely options available for expansion of the Maglev network.
Of course, that shouldn't rule out consideration of steel-wheel-on-rail technology for other segments of the route.
For instance, once Maglev arrives in Louisville from Nashville, it might make more sense to transfer to high-speed-rail from Louisville to Indianapolis/Chicago... or from Louisville up the Ohio river valley to Cincinnati.
IMHO, it really is quite exciting to envision how this network might grow and interface with other modes of travel for easy transfers.
You really are not paying attention.
If you don't understand how inflation affects cost estimates, then I suspect that you're too young to have suffered through the double-digit "Misery Index" of the Jimmy Carter years.
You did not bother to even look at the links I provided or you would recognize that your comments are not correct. I am well aware of inflation, but you should aty least take five minutes to look at the information, the years it applies to and that the numbers I have given are in dollars real dollars, as is stated in the links.
I would ride it along with many friends and family that live near Chattanooga and Atlanta!!!!!
Have you been there lately? There’s a lot to do in just 4 days! Chattanooga is breath taking! I love it!
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