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Austin TX approves Commuter Rail Startup

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Posted by dharmon on Thursday, November 4, 2004 11:20 PM
County Line was always on the pricey side. When I was at school, that luxury was reserved for when when the parental units were buying....and maybe a stop at the grocery store on the way home. I alway thought it was the ultimate date place....cause if she still liked you with BBQ sauce all over ya, you were in....They had one in Corpus too. And speaking of Corpus, there used to be this little BBQ place out of town by the yellow cake plant that was right next to a small yard. Took some nice pics of a SSW geep. But that was years ago.
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Posted by dldance on Thursday, November 4, 2004 9:56 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

Originally posted by dharmon

And Austin has a freeway named for a railroad......
[/quote

soon to have two - the new Texas 130 toll road bypass follows some of the abandoned MKT ROW - some are already calling it the Katy freeway.

ps - had BBQ at the County Line last night.

dd


STOP! That's cruel and unusual punishment! Do they still do the family style meals with some of everything? MMMM






yes - but its getting pricey

dd
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Posted by dharmon on Thursday, November 4, 2004 10:14 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

Originally posted by dharmon

And Austin has a freeway named for a railroad......
[/quote

soon to have two - the new Texas 130 toll road bypass follows some of the abandoned MKT ROW - some are already calling it the Katy freeway.

ps - had BBQ at the County Line last night.

dd


STOP! That's cruel and unusual punishment! Do they still do the family style meals with some of everything? MMMM



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Posted by dldance on Thursday, November 4, 2004 10:00 AM
Originally posted by dharmon

And Austin has a freeway named for a railroad......
[/quote

soon to have two - the new Texas 130 toll road bypass follows some of the abandoned MKT ROW - some are already calling it the Katy freeway.

ps - had BBQ at the County Line last night.

dd
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Posted by dharmon on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 9:22 PM
And Austin has a freeway named for a railroad......
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Posted by dharmon on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 9:14 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

dharmon - Capital Metro tried 4 years ago with a billion dollar proposal that involved lots of new construction, full electrification, and closing lanes on congested streets for ROW. That failed. This proposal is much more modest and is based on existing ROW.

ohlemeier - I agree with you about Austin's traffic. When I moved to Austin about 15 years ago - my commute was 30 - 45 minutes. Now it take 60 - 80 minutes so mostly I work from home.

fuzzybroken - commuter rail is expensive. Austin is putting almost $2 million per mile into this and the existing track is almost all continuous rail in excellent condition. I don't think that any commuter rail project will withstand initial financial analysis - but you have to start somewhere or our traffic problems will only get worse. Having ROW is a good start.

dd


I wasn't aware of a previous attempt. But then again, it's been awhile since I lived there. Keep up the reporting of one of my favorite places.....and have a bite at Threadgills for me..
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Posted by dldance on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 4:29 PM
dharmon - Capital Metro tried 4 years ago with a billion dollar proposal that involved lots of new construction, full electrification, and closing lanes on congested streets for ROW. That failed. This proposal is much more modest and is based on existing ROW.

ohlemeier - I agree with you about Austin's traffic. When I moved to Austin about 15 years ago - my commute was 30 - 45 minutes. Now it take 60 - 80 minutes so mostly I work from home.

fuzzybroken - commuter rail is expensive. Austin is putting almost $2 million per mile into this and the existing track is almost all continuous rail in excellent condition. I don't think that any commuter rail project will withstand initial financial analysis - but you have to start somewhere or our traffic problems will only get worse. Having ROW is a good start.

dd
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  • From: Milwaukee, WI, US
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Posted by fuzzybroken on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 3:38 PM
Good!

I would like to see some kind of commuter rail start up in Milwaukee/southeastern Wisconsin. An extension of Chicago's Metra system would be just fine.

Also, the Canadian Pacific is abandoning a stretch of track that runs right past the Milwaukee Brewers' Miller Park, through the Veterans Administration grounds, through State Fair Park, and near th Milwaukee County Zoo. The line needs a LOT of work, but wouldn't it make an ideal commuter/tourism line?

-Mark
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken
-Fuzzy Fuzzy World 3
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Posted by dldance on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 3:02 PM
Originally posted by Clevelandrocks

What are the ridership estimates?
[/quote

Initial estimates are for about 1,700 boardings per weekday. They plan to run 4 or 5 inbounds at 30 minutes intervals in the morning with 2 or 3 outbounds - reverse in the evening. Project boarding growth to about 7,000 per day in the first 10 years of operation.

dd
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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 2:50 PM
That's great news.

Austin and I-35 are getting so congested. I was stuck in traffic there recently during the middle of the day.

I-35 came to a screeching halt. There are so many trucks clogging that highway.

That area has long needed rail. The population stats and density support improving rail service.

Look at how successful the Bakersfield - Bay area trains are. Fresno and BAK are comparatively small towns.

Such a rail system would work well from San Antonio to Austin and its growng northern suburbs, as well as routes to HOU and Dallas, since Texas is second only to California in population.

Oops. Wait a minute. Those right-wing idiots such as Wendall Cox and FORMER Sen. Phil Gramm and Sen. John McCain would tell me people prefer their UNSUBSIDIZED (right...) cars to SOCIALISTIC mass transit.

Well, we all don't have our private GOVERNMENT-FUNDED private planes and first class treatment those big-wigs get.
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Posted by dharmon on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 9:48 AM
Politically, it's odd that Austin has waited this long, given it's history of social-activism at the local government level. Although geography and population density probably wouldn't have supported it until of late.
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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 9:38 AM
What are the ridership estimates?
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Austin TX approves Commuter Rail Startup
Posted by dldance on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 9:01 AM
In last night's electon, 62% of Austin area voters approved a $60 million light rail startup plan. The commuter rail services will use 32 miles of existing tracks owned by Capital Metro and operated by Austin Area Terminal Railroad. It will use DMUs and will have 9 stations between the small Texas town of Leander and the convention center in downtown Austin. The $60 million will be used to add some double track, build stations and maintenance facilities, and improve existing grade crossings. Expected start of service will be in 2008.

dd

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