Posted on 10/14/2010 1:04:05 PM PDT by Willie Green
(IRN)-An environmental group is touting the fuel saving benefits of the train.
In particular, the savings are measured based on the use of the Metra commuter rail system in the Chicago area: 34.8 million of gasoline a year, assuming all the train riders would have made all the same trips by car, with 1.3 people in the car each time, according to the group Environment Illinois.
Metra served 77 million passengers in 2008, with ridership increasing an average of 1 percent per year since 2000. Its busiest line, the BNSF line between Aurora and Chicago, carries an average of 63,200 passengers each weekday.
Environment Illinois is calling for an adjustment of the federal transportation funding formula to support rail as much as roads. Field associate Sophie Huckabay says the current formula rewards states that adopt transportation policies that promote fuel consumption, a perverse incentive, she says.
The train related fuel savings would accrue, Huckabay says, on expanded Metra service further into the hinterlands, to places such as Johnsburg, Rockford, DeKalb and Kankakee, and high-speed rail Downstate.
Plus the state of Illinois has to bail out Metra..
I just looked at Willie’s FReep Page.
“This account has been banned or suspended.”
I’m not going to miss him, however, there are other train pushers that are popping up...
There were two, their names escape me, who seemed to be “sock puppets.”
Right, but I think they are gone now and I think one of them was Willie.
Somehow, he added an untangible wonder to the threads.
“How about you???”
I’ve done my best to use mine and enough more to compensate for you riding a choo-choo!
He was.. He also had a disease called living in the pastitis..
I believe research has been done on light rail regarding the payback aspect as it relates to rewarding Illinois firms close to the administration—i.e., the “Chicago way.” I also believe Amtrak (which serves Galesburg/Knox and Macomb/Western Ill. Univ. students) is heavily subsidized by the government—not sure about Metra. I am thinking any gas savings more than offset in federal outlays.
It should be noted that this week, Wisconsin told the Feds “No Thanks” to light rail. They feel any benefits are outweighed by the high on-going operating costs. States can say no to federal $. Good for them!
For anybody who misses Willie, here he is doing what he loves to do -
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=299903&Disp=16#C16
I saw your question on the TX message board. See the reply by JR here @# 65, then go to reply #60 and click on Willie’s name. Willie has been given the boot.
W Green: Are you a Marxist, a socialist, or just born stupid?
Stupid, very stupid.
And mean too (see his many angry, mean, ugly, posts).
You were as wrong about this as about trains. LOL!
We don’t want any Green trains.
I didn’t know Socialist had a sense of humor.
Willie Green left.
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