Sunday Open Thread
I’m in San Francisco again today, this time for a day-long event called RootsCamp California. It’s a meeting of progressive activists from across the state to talk about whatever we want – the schedule is loose. The cost is $0, and if any of you want to talk about mass transit and/or HSR issues, we’ll have a session around 3pm on that. The location is 17th and Kansas in SF, on the north side of Potrero Hill. If you can make it, great. If not, enjoy the open thread!
Its a quintessentially prefect autumn day in the city today. Enjoy it.
wu ming Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
and a correspondingly quintessentially awful hot north wind blowing dust around day in the central valley. ugh.
jimsf Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Its rice field burnin’ season ’bout now up yonder idn’t it? When I was a kid up there in the north/sac valley, they used to burn those fields till the sky was black lookin’ like a tornader! Of course in those days we all had burn barrels in our yards too and everybody burned their own garbage. ..yes… right in your own yard… of course in spirit of health and environmentalism, we could only do it every other day.
Better question for an Open Thread:
Do we know where the 100 Acre site for the Maintenance Facility is being proposed at SFO? I can’t seem to find any indication in any material. The Supplemental AA stated that SFO was out of favor because leases had just been renewed, so it’s not the open patch of land west of 101 which is stub-ended, as described. Furthermore, other than ONT, this will be the only major international airport connected to the line. Given the land constraints at SFO, will a maintenance facility help grow train/air light cargo shipping or hurt it?
If you haven’t ever seen it, I recommend watching Future Shock Its here in 5 parts. One, because its interesting and two, its fun to laugh at how we used to dress.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
This statement from A Track Record of Success: High-Speed Rail Around the World and Its Promise for America. Opponents use this fact to claim that these high speed rail lines are the only two to show a profit. Yet many high speed lines, including the moderate speed Acela line, show an operating profit.
The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century providing funding for the construction does not require that California High Speed Rail cover construction costs. What it does require is this:
This neutral operating cost is met by high speed rail lines around the world and argueing that California will not meet this requirement by showing only two lines have paid back construction costs is an illegitimate arguement.
Elizabeth Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 10:30 am
The requirement for California high speed rail is actually more stringent than meeting its operating costs. It must also meets its financing costs, a number that is undetermined as of yet. This could easily be north of a $1 billion a year.
Off topic, but interesting anyway, from New Mexico:
http://server.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30412
Another interesting link:
http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2010/11/fast-rail-operating-costs-would-be-1-or_14.html
Where’s Robert? Don’t we get a report on what happened at the meeting?
Modesto Bee article- “build mcd-fno first”
National Express in talks on high-speed Florida rail
Peter Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 8:51 am
It’s just a guest opinion, but I agree with the gist of the article in the Bee. Two functioning stations, more people employed, etc.
jimsf Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Would the mcd-fno segment include the wye at chowchilla?
Peter Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Yes, if that’s the alignment they decide to build. They might decide on the alignment going around Chowchilla to the east.
jimsf Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 10:02 am
well Im looking at these items but its just gobbledygook. What is the dang final decision people!
Peter Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Uhhh, we won’t/can’t have one until the EIR is certified?
Its almost gone already!
Which trainsets do you think CHSRA will use? French, Japanese, etc?
AFter watching that video in my last post I am now very depressed. How in hell did we go from being this kind of country to being this kind of country in 25 short years? Id you didn’t live it in the 70s and 80s then you have nothing to compare it too. But I have to tell you, we are in serious trouble as a nation with the attitude today and I don’t think it can be salvaged. Fellow californians, its time for us to go before they take us down with them.
In a somewhat gloriously insane idea, it’s 3,627 miles from Los Angeles to New York via Chicago and Pittsburgh on Amtrak. Shouldn’t we be able to upgrade that to HSR for only 100-200 billion?
D. P. Lubic Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Not all of us think it is insane; it is just that a lot of other stuff has to come first, like it did the first time, 140 years ago.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 4:27 am
Right now, we are at the stage of building the Baltimore & Ohio between Baltimore and Ellicott City. We have the complications of short money (which Maryland had back then), and citizens with a view that the railroad is harmful to people and property next to it (shared with farmers who thought those iron steam dragons would kill frighten and kill their livestock and burn down their farms). We also have the disadvantages that so many people think we are trying to take away their “freedom” ™ in the form of cars, and we are opposed by oil interests (parallelled by the canal interests, but much more powerful).
Our advantages are a combination of time (the last of the pro-car generation is in or approaching retirement), and the rising price of liquid fuel that was cheaper than water, but may not be for very long. Our main challenge is whether we have enough time to beat out the oil clock.
I admit, I wish I knew the answer to that last one.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 4:34 am
Oh, one other advantage we have, and which the Maryland people also had in 1830 (now 180 years ago!), is that once we get a section up and running, we should have enough of a demonstration for people to say, “We want that too!” I expect those doofus governors who want to kill rail projects will have egg on their faces, especially when gas goes back up again, which it will do.
I just wish I could get a passenger train running on the freight branch that crosses my street a block away by then.