muncien wrote:Tucy wrote:muncien wrote:
Yes... Perhaps I should elaborate. My contention isn't with the contents of the bill itself, but more with the motivations behind it. Being that exactly zero people have ever been killed in Texas due to terrorist attacks on trains, 'safety' isn't exactly the bill author's motivation. This bill was submitted by representatives in areas that disagree with this project specifically (because it doesn't benefit them) in order to make life more difficult for those building it. Those who claim to oppose over regulation (I am one of them), cannot on the other hand impose regulation on something simply because they don't agree with it. It is hypocrisy at it's best...
If indeed these folks cared about the safety of Texas's as much as they profess to, they should put more focus on automobile safety. The fact that we as a country are 'okay' with the fact that every year we loose as many people automobile accidents as we did for the entire Korean war, is just maddening. We should be promoting safer alternative modes of transportation, not discouraging them.
How do you know their motivations? And what about the motivations of all of the senators and representatives (including quite a few from areas the rail will benefit)?
The bill passed by wide margins in both the House and Senate (94-29 and 24-6, respectively)
The bill AUTHOR himself couldn't talk about the bill without expressing his obvious opposition to the project in the same sentence...
Senator Brian Birdwell, SB 975 author: “While I maintain my steadfast opposition to the Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail project―both for the landowners who will be harmed by it in the short term and for the Texas taxpayers who will likely be asked to subsidize it in the long term―I am proud of the legislature for passing my SB 975 to ensure the public safety and security of all those on and around any future high-speed rail line in Texas.”
tamtagon wrote:Texas has had plenty of laws put in place only to have them removed in the daylight of reality.
electricron wrote:...But when discussing transportation issues around this state, it's best to use the existing laws as the foundation of the discussion of what is legally possible.
tamtagon wrote:A law that says the state is forbidden from contributing to HSR construction is political maneuvering plain and simple.
Dive Insight:
Despite optimism on the part of the authority's board members, the bullet train project faces more obstacles than just the time it will take the FRA to issue its final impact statement and record of decision.
First, the project is not fully funded. In fact, the authority reported earlier this year that it is about $40 billion short, and the gap is likely to grow. The authority anticipates that the bullet train's total costs could reach $98 billion.
WesTexas wrote:wow. the Cali bullet train has gotten out of control. This is why it needs to be ran by a private company and investors and not the government. It cant even go high speed when and if finished because all the towns it has to stop in. Train to no where.
WesTexas wrote:BUILD IT! We need something to brag about here in Texas. Also I want to ride one of these bad boys without spending over a grand to fly to Japan.
muncien wrote:WesTexas wrote:BUILD IT! We need something to brag about here in Texas. Also I want to ride one of these bad boys without spending over a grand to fly to Japan.
No doubt! I spent two weeks riding old Amtrak trains around the country last year, and spent a couple years riding trains around Europe as well. Traveling by train is superior to air travel by so many magnitudes, it's hardly even comparable. Even those old Amtrak clunkers were a joy to ride. So long as we don't go out of our way to make this far more complicated than it has to be, these trains should mop up the traffic between D and H in no time.
Texas Central has not revealed with a Dallas to Houston ticket will cost but a spokesman said it will be competitive with airline fares.
Shin-Yokohama
When the bullet train opened in 1964, the Shin-Yokohama station was mostly an empty field. Today, it looks like the downtown area of a small city, packed with high-rise buildings.
With or without the buildings, the passengers alone provide the population. As of 2010, more than 28,000 passengers boarded trains at the station daily, according to the railway.
A new ruling by a Leon County judge could have major implications for the proposed high-speed rail between Houston and Dallas, by preventing the rail line’s developers from using eminent domain to acquire land for the project.
For the past few years,Texas Central Railway has been working on plans to build a privately-funded high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. At issue is whether Texas Central can use eminent domain as a railroad when landowners don’t want to sell their land voluntarily. The company contends it has that authority under Texas law, but a Leon County judge has now ruled that Texas Central isn’t actually a railroad.
exelone31 wrote:For those curious, per Wikipedia, the population of Leon County as of the 2010 Census was 16,801.
After all the back and forth on this, I am honestly kind of amazed that our highway system even exists.
exelone31 wrote:For those curious, per Wikipedia, the population of Leon County as of the 2010 Census was 16,801.
After all the back and forth on this, I am honestly kind of amazed that our highway system even exists.
Hannibal Lecter wrote:The difference is that the highways benefit the rural areas, and the benefits outweigh the negatives. The politicians will fight tooth and nail to get them in their districts. The Dallas-Houston rail line, OTOH, provides no benefits outside the areas with a station.
Construction of the Bullet Train will create 10,000 jobs a year during each year of the build. As indicated in the DEIS, 25 percent of those jobs are expected to be sourced in rural communities.
Because it’s a private entity, the company is expecting to pay property taxes to cities, school districts and other taxing entities along its entire line for its tracks, maintenance facilities and stations, as well as state and local sales taxes. That’s expected to total $2.5 billion through 2040, according to the study.
Finally, during construction, thousands of people will pump money directly into local communities by eating in local restaurants, staying in hotels, filling up at local gas stations, among other things.
Hannibal Lecter wrote:exelone31 wrote:For those curious, per Wikipedia, the population of Leon County as of the 2010 Census was 16,801.
After all the back and forth on this, I am honestly kind of amazed that our highway system even exists.
The difference is that the highways benefit the rural areas, and the benefits outweigh the negatives. The politicians will fight tooth and nail to get them in their districts. The Dallas-Houston rail line, OTOH, provides no benefits outside the areas with a station.
Hannibal Lecter wrote:exelone31 wrote:For those curious, per Wikipedia, the population of Leon County as of the 2010 Census was 16,801.
After all the back and forth on this, I am honestly kind of amazed that our highway system even exists.
The difference is that the highways benefit the rural areas, and the benefits outweigh the negatives. The politicians will fight tooth and nail to get them in their districts. The Dallas-Houston rail line, OTOH, provides no benefits outside the areas with a station.
Cord1936 wrote:Dear Friend,
(...)
...and join the thousands of Texans who want a seat on the Texas Train!
For Texas,
Holly Reed
exelone31 wrote:What it we just build a giant zip line between Dallas and Houston? Will that satisfy all parties?
exelone31 wrote:For those curious, I just did a calculation off a zip line tutorial, and the Dallas-to-Houston zip line would only need to be about 60,000 feet tall. Totally doable!
exelone31 wrote:exelone31 wrote:What it we just build a giant zip line between Dallas and Houston? Will that satisfy all parties?
For those curious, I just did a calculation off a zip line tutorial, and the Dallas-to-Houston zip line would only need to be about 60,000 feet tall. Totally doable!
For those curious, I just did a calculation off a zip line tutorial, and the Dallas-to-Houston zip line would only need to be about 60,000 feet tall. Totally doable!
bachmanlad wrote:Cord1936 wrote:Dear Friend,
(...)
...and join the thousands of Texans who want a seat on the Texas Train!
For Texas,
Holly Reed
I've read the reports on this, but most of them are just copy-pastes of the press release. I still don't understand how this fits into the FRA approval process or how it represents a tangible step forward for TCRW.
Tnexster wrote:Company announces $14 billion deal to build Texas Bullet Train
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/t ... 437777.php
Cbdallas wrote:Glad to see this moving along but still painfull that it will only take you to the perimeter of Houston and not directly downtown.
itsjrd1964 wrote:I wonder if there is any chance that there could be a future extension from the perimeter to downtown. I'm sure if it was the other way around, there would many prominent local pompom-shakers and developers chomping at the bit here to figure out a way for an extension the rest of the way to downtown Dallas.
itsjrd1964 wrote:Cbdallas wrote:Glad to see this moving along but still painfull that it will only take you to the perimeter of Houston and not directly downtown.
I wonder if there is any chance that there could be a future extension from the perimeter to downtown. I'm sure if it was the other way around, there would many prominent local pompom-shakers and developers chomping at the bit here to figure out a way for an extension the rest of the way to downtown Dallas.
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