President Obama Touts HSR in State of the Union Address
This was certainly a welcome part of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech last night:
Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying – without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.
This was framed in the president’s overall approach of America having a new “Sputnik moment,” where government investment can expand opportunity and generate growth. And these are quite welcome words, just a week after some House Republicans threatened to gut HSR funding. If Obama is true to his word, he should be counted on to veto those cuts if they survive the Congress.
On the other hand, it’s not quite clear how Obama plans to bring about that properly ambitious goal, especially since he also announced a five-year freeze on domestic federal spending. Presumably he expects a new Transportation Bill to provide the money, or a national infrastructure bank, or both. The speech was well-received by the public, but Congressional Republicans will probably not be any more willing to give Obama a political victory. On the other hand, popular support for this speech and for the goal of high speed rail – especially with Obama cleverly and correctly framing it as a way to save time over the car and save one’s dignity from a TSA search – may help fuel public demands for Republicans to abandon their attacks on these train projects.
President Obama showed once again that he is the best thing to have happened to high speed rail at the national level in quite a long time. As he did in 2008 campaign and again while in his first year in office in 2009, Obama is using high speed rail as an example of the kind of smart, modern, sensible use of government money that we in California have already recognized it to be. Obama recognizes it works as stimulus and works as long-term infrastructure, which the country desperately needs.
There will still be critics of high speed rail, of course, and they’ll keep criticizing even when the trains are full and generating profits. But what President Obama has done tonight is not just talk about high speed rail and why it’s a good idea – but why it is essential for this country to start building again, to start innovating, to stop making excuses for doing nothing and for going out there and doing the kinds of things that make the US an innovative leader again. High speed rail is one of those must-haves for a prosperous 21st century economy. It’s always refreshing to know that President Obama understands that truth.
(Thanks to Ryan Stern for that screencap of the White House’s “enhanced” State of the Union online feed, which had charts and images scrolling next to the president as he spoke.)
This is great, but yeah, now the Republicans are going to try even harder to torpedo HSR since it will be seen as a victory for Obama. Even if JFK had had a full two terms, I doubt the Republicans would have tried to torpedoed the Apollo missions to hurt JFK politically. (Or maybe they did I wasn’t around back then)
Also, I was thinking – we all praise Obama for being the first president who is really pushing the HSR agenda. Is this because HSRs time has come? Or is it just because he is the first Democratic president in a while? Or because his buddy Joe Biden just really likes rail? You gotta wonder where HSR would be today if Al Gore or John Kerry was elected. They probably would have allocated some HSR funding, maybe not much, and then at this point HSR wouldn’t only be seen as an Obama thing.
Alai Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Now, maybe I’m misremembering, but wasn’t HSR brought up in California before it really became a national issue?
Spokker Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Because http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/04/16/obama.rail/art.obama.rail.afp.gi.jpg
And being a Democrat doesn’t automatically mean you support trains. Clinton was no friend of rail: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E2DF1738F935A25752C0A96E958260
Donk Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Yeah I wasn’t saying all Democrats. I mentioned two guys who obviously would have supported HSR:
John Kerry
http://trains4america.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/kerrys-high-speed-rail-plan-the-whole-letter/
and Al Gore
http://www.issues2000.org/Al_Gore_Environment.htm
“Q: Should the federal government be spending more to help Amtrak expand intercity rail travel and develop high-speed corridors??
A: With growing congestion on our highways and airports, it’s time to give the American people a fast and efficient alternative for traveling between our communities. High-speed rail reduces highway and airport congestion, improves air quality, stimulates the economy, and broadens the scope of personal choice for traveling between our communities. That is why, as part of my Energy Security and Environment Trust Fund, I am proposing a major commitment to build high-speed rail systems in major transportation corridors across the nation. As president, I will fight for new grants to Amtrak and the states for improving and expanding passenger rail routes and corridors. And I will work to secure funding to help communities improve rail stations – to help rebuild these vital economic centers in cities and small towns across America.”
Brandon from San Diego Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:37 am
Is John Kerry still alive and in office?
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:01 am
Yup, still alive, still a member of the club of 100 politicians who think they should be President.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:25 am
I hope this doesn’t offend Donk too much, but an interesting bit of political trivia. . .
If John F. Kerry had won the presidency some years back, it would be the second time we would have had a man in the White House who would have had the combination of being:
A Catholic
A Democrat
A former small boat commander
A Senator
From Massachusetts
With hair, and
The initials JFK.
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Kerry might have actually supported transit early. He never said anything about it on the campaign trail, but he seemed to be secretly an urbanist – if I’m not mistaken he made noises about cutting farm subsidies, which are a common urbanist bête noire.
tomh Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
HSR has been in place around the world for decades. And finally Americans are getting serious about it. Our mistake has been emphasis on the car vs. the train.
YesonHSR Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Well first of all the 1960s were vastly different than today I came to Congress in spending money on infrastructure and technology… the USA is where China is today then .. freeways were getting built huge investments in education in colleges skyscrapers going up even many of the large newer transit systems that we have today had their beginnings in the 1960s were even had one of the first versions of high-speed rail between New York and Washington DC. By far more bipartisanship and a good old boy network actually. I kind of think our passage of prop 1A and 2000 along with the election of Obama was one of the reasons there was high-speed rail money in the stimulus.. we sure have committed a good chunk compared to everybody else .. and wondering if prop 1A lost would there been any high-speed rail money… we Californians still can lead the way
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Obama is a Midwesterner. There’s cheap HSR routes all over the Midwest. If Prop 1a hadn’t passed the FRA would have been asking the same questions they asked of Florida where they didn’t have anything like Prop 1a on the books.
Anyone also make note of the President’s comment about how China leads their way in their HSR projects at the expense of bulldozing homes? I thought that was a good pitch.
Sure it’d be easy if we were like China where we just rubber stamp bills. But building a HSR here in America is a long term project that is bound to take time and face numerous hurdles and oppositions along the way. OTOH, if we don’t act fast, it’ll just add to more wasted time and cost overruns from fluctuation of material prices. I hope we as Americans can find common ground to see the benefit of HSR.
The main problem of course is finding the funding to do so. We have a record $1.5 trillion deficit now, neither Republicans or Democrats want a political disaster of using federal funds which add more to the deficit.
That being said, we need to stop relying on just the public sector to do such job. We need a consortium of private sectors willing to help out as well. I hope CAHSR can do a better job in reaching out to more private companies to fund this project. Even the airline industry wants in on the HSR project because they don’t make money on short-haul routes. Why not try to work with them to put a down payment on HSR stations at the airports?
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
But how do we get the private sector in? How do we get them to assume any risk at all?
It is my observation that the “private sector” has become extremely risk-averse in recent years. Certainly they are nothing like the “buccaroos” of Amecan capitalism in the 19th century. Hell, try to run a steam excursion on a modern railroad today, and all you get is “Go away, we don’t want to risk a lawsuit if anything happens.” Never mind that you may have crews with years of experience, including 20 years of running a steam train up and down 3% grades on their own line, and that some of them work for your own company. This happened not too long ago.
This is not restricted to the railroad industry, either. And in any event, we still have that rigged game, with the road system as a whole having a cost recovery ratio of barely 50%, and perhaps even worse. And of course, it seems that everyone with really serious money has made it in the oil business. . .
How do we deal with that?
Ken Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Oil cos and have their lobbies in Washington playing their game. We need our own HSR lobby group with a strong support behind our backs. The US Supreme Court recently made a decision that foreign companies can lobby Washington. This game can be used against them by bringing in a consortium of foreign HSR companies like Talgo, Alstom, Bombardier, Hyundai Rotem and JR to our backs to fund our own lobby group. Electric cos holding our backs are also the answer against oil cos of the naysayers.
Another way to look at this is that this is basically old business versus new business. Bring in the newcomers of American business to become advocates of HSR, notably, the IT sector which can seek to benefit from all the business they can gain from building HSR. You need back end servers and databases to run HSR, reservation systems, CAD systems for architecture and construction, WiFi in the trains, etc. And guess what, majority of those companies are based here in California.
Start giving incentives to the private sector to fund HSR. It’s not like taxes where you just take people’s money with no clear incentive back, businesses are run as what’s in their best interest. If company X says “ok, if I chip in a billion, but what’s in it for me?” It’s common sense, this is how capitalism works. So start giving them incentives like long term tax breaks for those who chip in.
Japan has no natural resources but they desperately need rare-earth metals to make hybrid cars. Recently China decided to shut off their rare-earths supply to Japan and Japan began to scramble to look for alternative sources. Guess what, we have rare-earths here in California in the Mountain Pass mine run by Molycorp. See? Start looking what we have that other people want and willing to pay the upfront cost for them.
How about selling exclusive code-share rights on HSR to airline companies? The highest bidder that pitch in now have first dibs on exclusive code-share “flights” on HSR. Most airlines belong to an airline alliance anyway, even if an US airline company doesn’t want in, it can be bidded alliance wide. If say the oneworld alliance becomes the highest bidder, then a HSR running from SFO station to Fresno could also be sold as Japan Airlines flight XXXX/ British Airways flight YYYY / American Airlines flight ZZZZ, without the need of American Airlines to fly that flight themselves.
Is it the right way to do it? No, but sadly this is the American way. In capitalism, money talks and that’s what runs Washington. You want HSR, bring in a businessman into the CAHSRA and get the deals made with the private sector. Go find charismatic business person who are pro-HSR as a board member for the Authority. I’m sure if we look hard enough, we’ll be able to find somebody in Silicon Valley. Steve Jobs perhaps? Maybe the founders of Google? Bill Gates? Warren Buffett?
Andre Peretti Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Code-sharing with airlines is nothing new. All foreign airlines codeshare with the TGV, at least for stations with an IATA code. If you book a Washington-Bordeaux flight with United, for instance, the Paris-Bordeaux part of your trip will be on the TGV. For most airlines, 1 TGV mile=2 frequent-flyer miles. Qatar Airways charges nothing for the TGV.
Exclusive codeshare rights doesn’t seem to be a good idea. One airline wouldn’t fill the trains.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Does’t Amtrak also participate in some sort of joint reservation system with airlines and travel agencies?
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Continental has Acela “flights” I don’t remember if it’s codesharing or what. You can book Acela along with your Continental flight…
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 2:33 am
Yes, Amtrak codeshares with Continental.
Ken Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
True, but you also have to consider the factor what’s in it for the airlines. Sure even our airlines codeshare with the TGV and ICE, but really, there’s not much incentive as no US airline fly intra-France or intra-Germany; the main benefit are the French and German airlines as they don’t need to fly those routes anymore and let rail handle the traffic between major intra-cities and to the hub airports.
What CAHSRA should do is to make clear of that point; the benefits to the airlines of code-sharing with a prospective HSR within certain markets in the US. I’m sure United, American, Delta, JetBlue, or Southwest don’t really want to continue flying between LA and SF dozens of times everyday as fuel costs rise. You have maintenance costs, labor costs, airport landing fees, gate space which otherwise the airlines could be put to better use for longer haul routes.
That’s the selling point that CAHSRA should make to US airlines: if you plank down $1 billion now, we’ll give you (and your alliance carriers) the exclusive share of code-sharing between SF, LA and SD, so that you don’t need to fly your planes between those intra-cities. Who knows? They might be more interested in planking down an extra $1 billion to bring HSR to LAX too as it’s a major hub for all three of the US major legacies.
Another prospect is talking with FedEx or UPS. They too are companies being hardest hit with rising fuel prices. Why not offer a deal with them? $1 billion now, and we’ll give FedEx or UPS exclusive rights to carry packages and parcels on one HSR carriage twice a day between LA, SF, SD and Sacramento. Who says HSR should only carry passengers? It’s not hard to transform one single carriage for FedEx or UPS use.
Hire a business guy into the board of CAHSRA and start talking. Lots of ways to bring in the private sector into this business.
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
One the UPS or FedEx car or cars gets to the end point what do you do with it? Have everybody who has a package on the train come down to the station and claim it?
UPS and I suspect FedEx use rail extensively. Search YouTube for “UPS Train”. there’s lots of videos from all over the country.
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
run Post trains and have mail carriers meet the train.
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Its not complicated. When amtrak was carrying us mail, I worked in the yard and unloaded the mail from the mail car. It comes on big rolling metal bins wiht canvas bags. Two people unload it, and the postal employees there with the truck load it onto their truck and drop off the next batch to be shipped out. The time to do it would be for intra california overnight stuff. You could even go so far, since many of the larger stations are going to have retail space anyway, go so far as to have a fedex or ups “ez ship” or some such concept where ( just as we do with amtrak express) Aunt Marge can take her box of knitted shawls down to fresno hsr fed ex and for 19.95 send them same day to Cousin Walter in Riverside. Go top the window, weight the box, slap on the bar code, pay the money, the fed ex guy takes the bin of packages to the loading door where the hsr employee load them into the cargo portion of the trainset. Everyone takes their cut. People are employed, And Aunt Marge and Cousin Walter are thrilled with the fast, affordable option. I mean think of e-bay alone… what a great way for people who buy and sell within the state, on e-bay, to send stuff quickly.
I mean you can do it on amtrak now between certain city pairs and its very cheap and we can’t get it from sac to la in 3 hours. But I think an onsite fed ex or ups office in these larger stations where you can get “next train out” service would be very successful for all those items that can’t be faxed or emailed, In fact it would great for a small business person, Say, Konnie’s KupKakes and Konfections – you need that 2 dozen red velvet cupcakes tonight and you keard of Konnies’ San Jose but you live in Palmdale. How on earth are you gonna get those spectacular cupcakes to palmdale in time for your bridge club? fedexHSR* service that’s how! You have to think in terms of “can do” not “we can’t” thats just what the president was talking about the other night. There are no limits to what can be done. ONly limited imaginations. And who want to be part of that crowd?
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
There ain’t gonna be no baggage car in the passenger trains. Just like there ain’t gonna be no dining car with linen tablecloths and Pullman waiters.
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
1) find a cupcake bakery in Palmdale
2) careful adirondacker, that’s his berserk button
3) I would have no objection to painting one or two trains yellow, unless yellow is reserved for test trains
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Personally, I think they should paint the trains white and then invite local graffiti artists to decorate them further.
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
if we’re going off on tangents, the blue-and-yellow shown on the web site is way too much.
give me a nice white with Dodger blue stripes.
or something similar to Metrolink.
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
no white trains. ugly. no white trains.
hmm maybe aluminum color like this
Clem Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
the blue-and-yellow shown on the web site is way too much.
Because it is too saturated… one of the rookie errors in 3D rendering is to pick out-of-gamut colors that would be impossible in real life. Pops on the screen, but something ain’t right, as you point out.
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
jim: you’re using a jet airliner as your example? chutzpah much?
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
The colors could represent something like the ggt logo which I like – it shows ocean/bridge/headlands which equals this
I like the shiny plane.
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Jim, the American Airlines livery is to leave the plane unpainted. It’s not “aluminum color.” I wouldn’t mind unpainted trains, but then graffiti on them wouldn’t look as neat…
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
One of the charms of unpainted stainless steel or aluminum is that it’s very easy to remove grafiiti . If you can’t find a chemical to take it off or it’s been scratched in, you can sandblast it. Those techniques do nasty things to paint schemes.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 12:25 am
One of the fun things about railroads–colors.
Substitute stainless steel for aluminum, and you have Jim SF’s shiny, silver body. This is the basic color of Amtrak’s Superliners, the Acela, and other trains, and goes back to the 1930s on Budd Zephyrs for the Burlington, and Santa Fe’s Super Chief.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=331731&nseq=55
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=273715&nseq=118
That stainless steel can really hold up well; check out this photo of the preserved Nebraska Zephyr from 1997. The train set shown predates WW II!
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=17383&nseq=40
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 12:42 am
It’s a bit dusty looking here, but Chesapeake & Ohio used a combination of stainless steel, blue, and yellow; could this be a combination of CAHSRA’s colors and Jim SF’s preference for silver?
http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/protopass4_files/image005.jpg
Of course, some of the most colorful trains of all time were the Daylights of Southern Pacific, with a color scheme so evocative of California with its famous sunsets:
http://gsee.sdf-us.org/signals/images/signalbridge/mbpix/bridge_daylight1.jpg
http://www.modeltrains.com/PICTURES/PICTURES%20-%20Brass/Division%20Point/DP-1000-9999/DP-1749.jpg
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 12:57 am
Some other examples of color:
Seaboard Air Line, with diesels that ran to Florida in what was called the “citrus scheme,” pulling stainless cars; the prewar variation on this was made even brighter with silver trucks and fuel tanks:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=243833&nseq=28
Rival Atlantic Coast Line went in for a combination of purple and silver, with stainless cars:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=167845&nseq=20
An eastern classic was the Baltimore & Ohio’s beautiful blue and grey, recalling the Civil War heritage of its route:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=275546&nseq=142
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 1:04 am
The Empire Builder used to look like this when it was a Great Northern train:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=255285&nseq=45
Eastern colors tended to be conservative, as shown here on the New York Central:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=333472&nseq=15
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=333473&nseq=14
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 1:16 am
We’ll close out with another western train, the jointly operated (Texas & Pacific–Missouri-Kansas-Texas) Texas Special; this painting does not do justice to the bright red and stainless sheathing of the postwar units of this train, which were a bit unusual in the diesel age for being named for famous race horses:
http://www.nicospilt.com/scans/texas-special.JPG
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
p.s. why complicate your example by tossing fresh food into the mix? do you want refrigerated trains, too?
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
because if we don’t do it the way japan does it its automatically wrong. because this is japan.
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
There is no rule anywhere that says these things can’t be done. If someone can find a way to make a profit doing it, then the system should be used to make profit in whatever way it can. Since its not allowed to operate with subsidies, the operator has no choice but to maximize profit. And with so many trains per hour, mostly running half empty for the first decade, you better put something in all that empty space and charge for it.
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
better Japan than France.
alternatively, hire a long-distance courier. the courier buys a HSR ticket, takes the package with him as his luggage.
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
lobster is flown in cold pack containers from boston to san francisco everyday.
jimsf Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
planes are not refrigerated.
I never asked for white linen. I said lounge.
and california hsr can be whatever californians say they want it to be. Its up to californians. Not japan, no new york.
James Fujita Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
well then, luckily for you, I’m a Californian.
Joey Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Something tells me that the operator (not CHSRA) won’t be running 9TPH from the very start.
Probably not ever, either, but that’s a different matter.
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
There is no rule anywhere that says these things can’t be done.
The implied one that says the doors pop open, everybody gets off, everybody gets on and the train leaves in 30 – 90 seconds. which is the reason there ain’t gonna be no baggage car.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:50 am
But that rule says nothing about whether there is an express packages car. It only says if there is, it is specially designed for the purpose.
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Kinda pointless to have an express package car if you don’t have time to unload the packages at their destination. It’s not terribly useful to load a package for Bakersfield and then only unload packages in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Joey Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
…which is why it makes much more sense to have specific trains dedicated to carrying express mail (as in TGV La Poste) rather than one car on every train.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
This package service discussion tickles my brain cells about how some things used to be done–although even I wouldn’t suggest bringing this back;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnGfWw7Bgu0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HKHFzkobXc&NR=1&feature=fvwp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxtGANhbr-0&feature=related
Jerry Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Think outside the tracks.
Ken Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 4:18 am
Do people go claim their packages at the airport when FedEx and UPS sends their stuff via air? No, it’s off-loaded and sent to the destination. Any person can just send a FedEx anywhere, but instead of using air or long haul trucks, one HSR rail car would be attached at the railyard. There are more than one way to do this and I’m sure they’ll figure it out so long as FedEx or UPS is given the opportunity to utilize HSR for their own benefit as well.
In either case, the point I was trying to make was not HOW it’s gonna be done, but WHO in the private sectors are willing to put up front cost for the HSR project.
And the point that I made was to start looking at companies that depend heavily on current fuel prices. Airlines, couriers, heck even the military in many ways are dependent on oil prices. What other private companies are out there that can see potential benefit from HSR? How about giving McDonald’s the exclusive hamburger store deal at all HSR stations? Starbucks for coffee stands? Coca-Cola vending machines? HSR exclusive payment by VISA?
James Fujita Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
incidentally, I don’t see what’s so great about exclusive contracts.
Union Station already has Famima!!, Subway, Wetzels, Sees. Does this mean every station ought to have Famima!!, Subway, Wetzels, Sees? I do like Famima!! but that’s beside the point.
Each individual station should have some retail options, but it seems like it would depend on the location.
Same goes for code sharing. I would want to be able to make quick and easy transfers, whether I’m traveling via Hawaiian Airlines, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or Alitalia.
Spokker Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Exclusive payment by Visa? Talk about lost ticket sales.
Andre Peretti Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
“there’s not much incentive as no US airline fly intra-France or intra-Germany; the main benefit are the French and German airlines”
On the contrary, Air france has lost the monopoly it used to have on trips to French cities other than Paris. Now, foreign companies can sell tickets to anywhere in France.
Air France had smelled the danger and tried to negociate an exclusive partnership with the SNCF, but the SNCF refused.
tomh Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
That’s the problem. How does spending money to build HSR or more transit compete with roads politically when roads are perceived as being “free”?
joe Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Oil isn’t getting any cheaper and car ownership is costly and getting worse with worn down roads.
Spending cuts hurt roads, and increase driving costs.
“The worst states included New Jersey, where car owners paid an average $596 in additional car repairs because of road conditions, and California, where they paid $590.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/06/2170996/poorly-maintained-roads-cost-texas.html#ixzz1CDHzdV2d“
Dan S. Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Ah, my broken record’s still spinning: Regarding the “record $1.5 trillion deficit,” always good to remember that our deficit as a percentage of GDP is around 75% of its maximum, which was around 120% during / after the war. “The war” being World War II, of course. And keep in mind that immediately after having a 120% of GDP deficit level, we were finally able to pull ourselves out of that little thing called the Great Depression. One could almost say that having such a high level of public spending was the very reason that our economy picked up again. Hate for that to happen to us now.
I also find it instructive to ask who is screaming loudest about the deficit (the Republicans?), and then try to correlate this with who has run up the deficit the most in recent years. (Who was it that gave us a new prescription drug benefit, again? And charged 2 wars onto our children’s credit cars? Tax cuts for the wealthy?) I’m not fooled by their wimpish cries of fiscal responsibility.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_debt
Are we at unsustainable levels of deficit? No. Japan is at 200% of GDP and they’re not sinking into the Pacific. But we are at an unsustainable trajectory, sure. But spending to pull yourself out of a recession is sound policy and I fully support it.
Sadly, though, Ken is right — even the Dems won’t try to logically defend a large deficit right now, and the effect on our little HSR project can’t be good. We’ll see how hard Obama pushes to keep HSR money flowing. But the project simply needs high levels of public financing to reach fruition, IMHO.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:07 am
We do have unsustainable levels of debt.
Its just not public debt that is at unsustainable levels: private debt is at 2.5x GDP and rising
Victor Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 8:40 am
We have from what I’ve read only 75% of the GDP as Debt, Yet Japan has 200% of their GDP as Debt and Japan seems to be doing quite well, Me thinks It’s time to start following the Japanese example. Some say We shouldn’t have bailed out the Banks, And have let them die like in 1929, Do people today even know what happened next, People lost their homes and/or businesses as the Banks needed money and so the Mortgage Call was enacted by many Banks, My family had a Business in Culver City CA, It was an Auto Dealership, It doesn’t exist anymore, Except in a photo. During and after WWII money was spent to 120% of GDP by the US Government and the economy benefited, No one can say that the economy didn’t do well, If they do say It anyway, Their lying and nuts.
Mark Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Nearly all of Japan’s debt is owned domestically which creates much more stability in its sovereign debt market. In the case of the U.S., over 50% is held by foreign investors which puts us at great risk. Addtionally, once outstanding debt hits 90% of GDP, it starts to suffocate domestic growth. We are not that far away. The bond vigilantes which are hammering parts of Europe are likely to focus on the U.S. if we don’t start to get our house in order. Keep in mind that interest rates are at historically low levels and if they start to rise, even modestly, our interest expense would become unbearable. Also, for those thinking CA will be able to just go out and issue 9bln worth of HSR bonds, think again. The municipal bond market has changed dramatically in the past few months. It is much more expensive for issuers to raise debt as the extreme fiscal pressures faced by local and state governments is coming to light more and more each day. CA is going to have a hard enough time just rolling over its existing debt, nevermind issuing new debt.
Peter Orszag (the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Obama) wrote an article in the 1/22/11 Financial Times. Here is his closing paragraph: “The bottom line is that there may well be U.S. public debt tremors this year, both during federal debate over raising the debt ceiling and with at least a limited number of crises in local and city governments. The bigger problem, though, lies beyond 2011, as the unsustainability of the federal government’s fiscal trajectory becomes increasingly clear. I hope it does not ultimately require a crisis to restore fiscal sustainability at the federal level, but I fear it will.”
If we end up facing a crisis over our federal and/or state and local goverment debt, it will make the 2008 financial crising look like a picnic in comparison…. I don’t mean to be doom and gloom, but the bond markets will only fund our debt until one day they won’t. As Greece and Ireland and soon to be Portugal, Spain and Belgium have discovered or soon will discover, this day can arrive much more quickly than anticipated.
Mark Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Are you so sure that being like Japan from a fiscal standpoint is a good thing? Shortly after I commented above, I saw the news that Japan’s sovereign debt rating was just downgraded. This article is well worth reading for anyone who thinks adding more debt to our current situation is a not a bad thing. We can only kick the can down the road for so long….
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/japan-s-debt-rating-lowered-to-aa-by-standard-poor-s-outlook-is-stable.html
wu ming Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
foreign-owned debt denominated in dollars is still far less dangerous than foreign currency-denominated debt. with the former, inflation reduces the value of the money you owe, with the latter, it makes the debt more onerous.
america is more akin to japan’s situation than not.
Ken Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Actually, Japan is not well; they’ve been in a stagnating depression for over two decades now.
Even though Japan does not record unemployment statistics, it is well above 15%, with the younger generations hardest hit as they cannot find jobs. Big name companies like Sony, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Sharp and Panasonic all are outsourcing their productions to China as labor costs in Japan has risen to a point where it isn’t competitive to international levels. Said companies are not making the profit they used to as they’re now seeing high-level competition from electronics companies in South Korea and Taiwan now.
Japan has no natural resources which they can use to make up to pay down that debt. There is a pocket of oil and possible natural gas near the Senkaku Islands which Japan rightfully claims, but is always under constant pressure from China as they claim it’s theirs. Japan doesn’t have (illegal to own) a sizeable military to protect it’s own land so that land could end up in the hands of China.
Furthermore, Japan’s population is shrinking due to low birth rates; meaning they have less people paying for social security and nationalized health insurance for the upcoming retirees: the baby-boomer generation.
Japan also faces increased illegal immigration from places like SE Asia and Brazil, which for some reason the DPJ is giving them more benefits like access to national health care and unemployment benefits at a time when Japan is facing record deficit and it’s own citizens are having tough times.
And today, Japanese bonds’ credit rating has been downgraded by the S&P to AA-. Sure, I don’t expect Japan to fall down to a level like Zimbabwe, but sooner or later, Japan’s probably going to falter to a level like Greece or so.
In retrospect, Japan’s having a tough time. Electronics aren’t selling well from competition from Samsung, LG and HTC, cars haven’t been doing so well either (Toyota fiasco last year), they have no natural resources to fall back on, their lands aren’t really mean for agricultural production as most of the regions are hilly, they have no big biomedical or IT industry like we have, they have no population growth and it’s actually contracting…simply said they have very little to offer to the world right now that people want.
And Japan is desperate for the only thing that they can produce that we can’t: high speed rail, and they’re willing to put upfront cost for it. I say take it, and give them something they need to boot: the rare-earths at Mountain Pass. Japan is desperate, we have the upper advantage in this deal as we can also choose China, South Korea, France or Germany. They also have the skill of making HSR run in earthquake country, a natural disaster we Californians all know about.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
You neglected what Japan 1990′s and USA 2010′s have in common ~ they have kept their banks alive rather than taking them into receivership, sorting the account liabilities that require defending into a “good bank”, and letting the rest of the “bad bank” go into receivership. They’ve elected to have live banks at the expense of a zombie economy.
Just as the US decided in 2008.
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Three things, Ken. First, Japan does too have unemployment statistics; unemployment is 5%, not 15%. It is facing a shortage of labor in the future, not a surplus of labor, because of its aging population, low birth rates, and unwillingness to admit immigrants.
Second, Japan had no growth in the 1990s, but has gotten a little better in the 2000s. Since 2000, its GDP per capita has grown at the same (low) rate as the US.
And third, Japan is not Greece. It controls its own currency and is perceived to be responsible, as a result of which its bond yields are very low. Greece would kill for the bond yield of Japanese debt.
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
We were supposed to be facing permanent labor shortages beginning in the mid 90s or so. We were also supposed to be eliminating the national debt by 2014 or so. With surpluses as far as the eye could see. Stuff happens.
Peter Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
“Stuff happens.”
As in: “6 years of GOP Spending Gone Wild Happens”
Let us never forget how the HELL we got into this deficit mess in the first place.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:55 am
Yes, over half of our current deficit is due to policies originally enacted 2001-2008, the largest being the tax cut, the second being the two reckless foreign adventures, the third being the Medicare Part D pharamaceutical company subsidy.
Nathanael Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:28 am
The banksters are already foreclosing on pretty damn much everyone, including people without mortgages (aaargh). We definitely shouldn’t have bailed those criminals out. Noncriminal banks are another matter.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:55 am
And rather than taking the criminal banks into receivership, we gave them money to buy out the mid-sized banks and get even bigger.
The Republicans had better tell their oil sponsors something, along the lines of “Get packing, you’re a nuisance anymore.”
And this is how they might approach it:
http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2011/01/peak-oil-climate-change-and.html
Victor Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 8:43 am
Please Remember not all Republicans are Lunatic Morons, Who need an education. Some actually like HSR and that includes members of Congress and those elected to the California Legislature.
Nathanael Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:29 am
The ones who aren’t lunatic morons are being driven out of the Republican Party. But I welcome them, whether they’ve figured out that it’s time to register Independent or not.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
In the current thoroughly corrupt US political system, its hard to tell a well-heeled sponsor to go home, especially a sponsor as well heeled as Big Oil, since they can afford to sponsor the establishment of a new set of rivals within their party if existing politicians that they have bought threaten to not stay bought.
And in other news, still more to worry about, at least for connecting services:
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30776
http://adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/522665/Rail-trail-debate-has-data.html?nav=5008
He is without a doubt rising to the level of my top three favorite Republican Presidents. Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Obama.
Victor Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Well You got 2 of 3 right, Obama is a Democrat, Of course Abraham Lincoln and Teddy(Theodore) Roosevelt would probably not be welcome in the Republican party of today.
James Fujita Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Both parties have undergone realignments over the years, which is why Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt would give the modern Republican party fits.
FDR added many social programs to the Democratic platform. The Republican “Southern strategy” was a reaction to the civil rights movement further realigned the parties. Clinton “triangulated” the Democratic party closer to the middle, which Republicans reacted to by moving even further to the right.
Obama attempted a return to very FDR-style stimulus and social programs, and Republicans responded with the “tea party” and by saying no to everything. Obama 2.0 is triangulating.
most “good” modern Republicans would be insulted to have Obama included in their ranks.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Well, yes, Republican as in Eisenhower Republican, pro-business and myths that government budgets should be looked at like household budgets, willing to invest in the infrastructure that business needs to grow.
With the conservative movement driving the official Republican Party further to the right, that drives Eisenhower Republicans into the Corporate wing of the Democratic Party, giving business interests the no lose position of having a pro-corporate majority in both chambers and the White House no matter which party is in power ~ though of course there are relatively winners and loser among the corporate interests depending on which wing of the Corporate Party is the titular governing party.
The radical right wing of the Republican party is treated like mushrooms by the Republican party establishment, including their elected representatives, and the moderate progressive wing of the Democratic party is thrown under the bus with high frequency, only to be scraped off the asphalt and fed scare stories about the radical right wing come election time.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Some people may question your comments about Obama being a “Republican” president, but it’s interesting to recall that a number of people in Teddy Roosevelt’s time thought him a traitor to the interests of the Republican party with his progressive attitudes, including strong support for conservation measures and national parks in his time. This was some interesting controversy over this then, and sadly, we are still having the arguements about it today (ANWAR, various drilling and mining debates on federal land, opening parks to resourse exploitation, privatizing at least parts of the National Park system, with the devil in details that the privatization proponents rarely address).
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
And yet, that coalition of traditional 19th century Republicans and Progressives was what extended the Republican dominance as the natural party of government past the turn of the century, until a core policy of the modus vivendi between the disparate elements of their governing coalition proved incapable of coping with the Great Depression. Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose run may have opened the door to a Democratic Presidency, but the Republicans were able to reconstruct enough of that coalition to regain the upper hand.
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Not exactly, Bruce. By 1920 Progressivism was dead. Wilson was no more popular then than Bush was in 2008, and this completely discredited the Progressive movement nationally. Harding was the anti-Progressive choice, and was deliberately picked to leave everything the way it is and not try to engage in Rooseveltian or Wilsonian reforms. The 1920s’ GOP was a big business machine, which was completely unconcerned about racial equality (unlike Teddy Roosevelt), which helped open the door for FDR’s poaching of the black and Progressive votes.
Nathanael Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:32 am
Wilson is an interesting case: he sucked the air out of the progressive movement by actually implementing a bunch of the progressive reforms, then alienated everyone by dishonestly getting into World War I, passing the Espionage Act and engaging in the Palmer Raids, among other authoritarian extremist behavior.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 4:50 am
There is also a very strong reason to think Wilson wasn’t really running the country, at least later on. Apparently he suffered a siezure or something (perhaps a stroke), which was somehow kept hidden for a long time, this condition lasting to the end of his presidency. His wife supposedly would sign papers in his name, maybe on the advice of Cabinet members. Does anybody have a confirmation of this?
Nathanael Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Oh yeah, that happened, but that was well after World War I, the Palmer Raids, etc. That was during the period when he failed to get the League of Nations passed.
adirondacker12800 Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
You forgot about Clinton so soon?
BruceMcF Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 7:08 am
He doesn’t make my top three.
High speed rail conversation RIGHT NOW on KGO radio AM 810 in San Francisco.
http://kgoradio.com/listenlive.asp
Unfortunately, most callers are against it. :-(
jimsf Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
none of the callers are from san francisco. they are middle class white folks from the suburbs who are worried about money.
joe Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
What demographic listens and calls into talk radio?
Nathanael Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:33 am
Aged right-wingers. :-P
Special to Alon Levy:
Hello, Alon, Dillon/Mixner/Gordy (from another site) is still at it, but a most interesting little twist–seems he thinks I am also posting under the names of Phyllis and Benito. I asked him who they were just now (so naturally there’s no answer, and may not be one), but I’m curious–are there a couple of other people out there who could sound like me? Are these names familiar to you?
D. P. Lubic
Alon Levy Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
You care too much. He accused me once of working for APTA and twice of being a troll. It’s not what he thinks; it’s that he just heard of Rovian swiftboating or something and decided to try it.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Maybe you’re right, but it would be interesting to find out if someone else thinks and writes like me. Why, it would prove the saying that “Great minds think alike!” :-)
And thanks for your salvos, too.
Donk Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Special to D. P. Lubic:
My butt itches.
Text of an e-mail from my friend who has restored one railroad station and is currently working on another; he is a professional writer, former military intelligence man, former editor at Sea Power magazine, and has recently completed a book-length history on the Baltimore & Ohio’s passenger service and is currently looking for a publisher.
Broadcast on C-Span last week, a confab was held at the Willard in DC
two weeks ago about US policy toward Iran. The speakers included
Gen. Zinni (ret. USMC 4-star), Gen, Jones (ret. USMC 4-star, recent
NSA at WH), Bill Richardson (just ret. as New Mexico Governor and
former Energy Sec.), Mitchell Reise (former chief planner for State
Dept.), former CIA Director Jim Woolsey, and a host of other heavy hitters.
The uniform message: Something has to be done about Iran. They
also advocated de-listing as a terrorist org. the MEK (the people’s
mujaheddin of Iran). The audience, mostly Iranian expats and some
media, applauded it all. An all-star cast of this level does not
appear in public with such statements for trivial reasons. No one
mentioned war.
By treaty, the 50,000 US troops in Iraq must be out by end of
2011. They will be–they will be in Iran, along with other personnel
from Afghanistan, amid a coordinated, un-announced air, sea and land
assault by US forces.
Donk Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Headlines from today’s e-online http://www.eonline.com/#ixzz1CDVruSsT
Teen Mom’s Farrah Abraham Shows Off Her Tail Lights for Chopper Calendar
Khloé Kardashian Odom: Lamar Has Always Wanted a Unisex Fragrance!
“Khloé Kardashian Odom and Lamar Odom have been pretty open about having a great sex life. But apparently Lamar has harbored some unisex aspirations, as well.”
American Idol: Randy Jackson Just Doesn’t Know!
By lowering the age limit to 15, American Idol may have opened the door for the next Justin Bieber, but it also has created the potential for more broken hearts than ever before.
What do these topics have in common? That they are completely unrelated to this blog and that nobody cares about them and that some people just wasted their time reading this.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Donk, you are badly mistaken this time. Maybe the e-mail text is just speculation, but it could also be a warning about that earthquake that gets gas into the $5 range. That’s of very strong interest here.
Time will tell.
Dan S. Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 1:11 am
D.P., with all due respect, I just re-read your post for the 3rd time trying to find the relevance myself. Then I noticed the bombshell in the last paragraph. Did you just blow the lid off the planned secret US invasion of Iran?! That’s way beyond speculation and into conspiracy theory, don’t you think? Or is that a well-veiled tongue-in-cheek?
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:44 am
Well, as noted, this is from a friend I have, and his background is as it says it is, and that includes the military intelligence service. He used to interrogate POWs in Viet Nam; I can tell you he was horrified at some of the stuff we did in Iraq, thought would inflame public opinion against us. He is also a big rail supporter, is quite well versed in the peak oil arguments.
As to the rest, that is his opinion, based on the item he saw. Blowing the lid on an invasion? That would actually be those generals. Preparation for us to be prepared, i.e., a propaganda effort? That might be more likely. Is it wrong, crazy, or “conspiracy theory?” As topsy-turvy as things are, how can we know?
To be honest, I wish I knew.
I especially wish I knew we had enough time; sadly, I don’t think we do.
Spokker Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 2:15 am
STEAM TRAINS
Nathanael Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:37 am
That would be an interesting way to destroy the United States. A secret invasion of Iran would be batshit insane. For one thing, it wouldn’t be secret for more than a couple of days; for another thing, the US would lose. Beyond that, it’s hard to say; China and Russia would probably put their full weight behind funding Iran and opposition to the US, Turkey would probably seize US assets, and I can’t guess beyond that.
BruceMcF Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 4:03 am
Whether or not China and India grow at a pace that increases their demand for petroleum imports is a lot more certain to have an impact at US service stations than a speculative attack on Iran. A third foreign adventure does not seem to be the middle of the road at the moment for a President clearly aiming for the land of the dashed stripe.
Fox Business News has attack upon attach, upon attack on Ca HSR project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwy1mjJQASw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57gClvtohXs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vxXJvnZ_oc
Notice the Doom and Gloom and emphasis on money being thrown out.
Spokker Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 2:14 am
Where is the MSNBC counterpoint featuring Rachel Maddow sticking model trains up her twat and singing Obama’s praises? I want to see balance in news media, after all.
thatbruce Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 10:11 am
The second video, at 3:15, has the common (at times intentional) misperception about the spending; the Fox correspondent Adam Shaperio states that the $43 billion figure is in today’s money, not 2020 dollars, at which point it would be far more.
Remember, phase I is $42.6 billion in year of expenditure dollars , or $34.9 billion in 2008 dollars.
lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CSFHjelz44
I think this means high speed rail is for real, right?
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:34 am
I don’t watch these fellows (no cable), and I’m glad I don’t. They are even more obnoxious than I thought they were!
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:42 am
Let’s just say that opposition to HSR is the least of the problems with Beck. The guy is practically calling for armed rebellion against Obama, saying his government is communist. I don’t really care at this stage what his views on transportation are any more than I care that Stalin had some visionary ideas of how to build a subway network.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 4:55 am
Thanks for the extra insight on Beck; considering that he thinks Obama is a socialist, and that I got called a Communist for a light rail line here, puts me in good company! (Ho, ho, ho, even if my big ego is showing!)
I have to admit to being worried about one of my brothers and some other relatives, though. Those guys listen to Beck, Limbaugh, and others as if they were inspired by God. And they have a good deal of company.
That fellow in Tuscon clearly had head problems, but I still can’t help but think something didn’t filter through from the “bad language,” meaning things like Beck’s calls for rebellion, and have some sort of influence.
This is another of those things we can never really know.
Victor Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 8:49 am
Yeah and then they deny having any influence in inciting an attempted assassination of a Congresswoman.
Alon Levy Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
It’s not just Beck who thinks it’s all socialism. Michelle Bachmann complained that liberals wanted people to “live in tenements and take light rail to their government jobs.” (And, by the way, neither is in the age group you’d think they are: Bachmann is 54, and Beck 46. Craziness knows no demographic boundaries.)
Nathanael Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 3:38 am
Beck has been wearing Nazi uniforms, just to give some perspective on his level of craziness.
OT: Just a reminder for the SF Bay Area folks that the Friends of Caltrain summit is this Saturday. Clem Tillier will be one of the panelists helping brainstorm ideas on how to fix the Caltrain funding gap.
Location: SamTrans Auditorium,
1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos (near Caltrain)
Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011 Time: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.
If your interested in going – please be sure to register for the event at:
http://www.greencaltrain.com/summit/
There will be lunch served so we need a head count. Hope you can make it.
Here’s the agenda:
8:30 – 9:15 Registration & Coffee
9:15 – 9:45 Keynote: Congresswoman Jackie Speier; Michael Brune (Sierra Club)
9:45 – 10:45 Panel 1: The Caltrain Story
Speakers: Chuck Harvey or Michelle Bouchard; Sean Elsbernd; Silicon Valley Employer & Go Pass Member; Peninsula Mayor
Moderator: Sue Lempert
10:45 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 12:00 Panel 2: Seeking Sustainable Funding model for Caltrain (and priming pump for your ideas)
Speakers: Rebecca Long, MTC; Jim Bigelow (pre-tax dollars); Carli Paine, Transform (regional rail, faith groups, unions); Jessica Zenk, SVLG, Clem Tillier (service design), Shirley Johnson (bikes/last mile)
Moderator: Jay Thorwaldson
Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 Empowering Grassroots in Breakout Rooms
2:00 – 2:30 Wrap-up and Next Steps: “Building the Momentum”
I guess our boys are on the up and up in at least one respect…
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-high-speed-travel-20110128,0,4028797.story
OT: The Peninsula EIR could be delayed by as much as a year as the Authority continues to look into a number of issues, including the possibility of a two-track alignment through San Mateo County:
http://belmont-ca.patch.com/articles/peninsulas-high-speed-rail-project-level-eir-could-be-delayed-up-to-a-year