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California's high speed rail project behind in schedule and with cost overuns.

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Posted by gardendance on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 4:58 AM

CMStPnP

I cannot believe all the under city running and bridges the California line is going to have being in a state prone to Earthquakes.........Cha-Ching!  

What's "under city running"? How do this project's under city running, bridges and earthquake propensity compare to Japanese high speed rail?

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Posted by schlimm on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 6:39 AM

cudjoebob
and for the record, I am a big passenger train fan and Amtrak supporter but I am very much against the California HSR project (as well as against the Tampa-Orlando HSR that Governor Scott cancelled).  the Texas HSR?  no worries, that project will collapse in 2 years.

A nostalgia rail fan, apparently.  

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 6:27 AM

cudjoebob

when is Jerry Brown's term over?  that date will be the end of 'his pet project' HSR in California.  no one running for governor will be trying to boost that project.  it's toxic for politicians to endorse that endless money pit.    and for the record, I am a big passenger train fan and Amtrak supporter but I am very much against the California HSR project (as well as against the Tampa-Orlando HSR that Governor Scott cancelled).  the Texas HSR?  no worries, that project will collapse in 2 years. 

Ah yes.  Forward thinking California preparing for the 19th Century.  People will never travel anywhere so there is no need for expanded travel options other than cars or planes.

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Posted by cudjoebob on Monday, November 2, 2015 11:27 PM

when is Jerry Brown's term over?  that date will be the end of 'his pet project' HSR in California.  no one running for governor will be trying to boost that project.  it's toxic for politicians to endorse that endless money pit.    and for the record, I am a big passenger train fan and Amtrak supporter but I am very much against the California HSR project (as well as against the Tampa-Orlando HSR that Governor Scott cancelled).  the Texas HSR?  no worries, that project will collapse in 2 years.  

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, October 31, 2015 10:16 PM

schlimm

Part of the responsibilities of a business, historically, has been more than just making a buck, especially (though not limited to) public media.

 

 I agree.  In a perfect world, yes.  Reality doesn't always match.

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Posted by schlimm on Saturday, October 31, 2015 9:16 PM

Part of the responsibilities of a business, historically, has been more than just making a buck, especially (though not limited to) public media.

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Posted by ouibejamn on Saturday, October 31, 2015 7:13 PM

Marilyn Monroe supported high speed rail? I learn so much from this site.

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Posted by wanswheel on Saturday, October 31, 2015 6:55 PM
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Posted by garyla on Saturday, October 31, 2015 6:28 PM

ChessieCat123

Most major public works projects have some leval of corruption. However that did not stop the Interstate Highway System in its tracks. The press is supposed to weed out corruption but does not offer any alternitives. There real job is to stir up the pot and increase circulation and ratings. The LA times endorced Goldwater because that would get people talking and stick it to the hippies that were infecting California. Now that we have all grown up does this have to be a all or nothing?

 

Huh?   

Part of what the paper has uncovered is huge budget overrun already being concealed in a project that is wildly expensive to begin with.

The Times endorsed Goldwater at least partly because it had previously promised to endorse the Republican nominee, whoever he was.  This was apparently with some reluctance, but the paper stuck to its word.  Johnson was on his way to winning big in California, and the endorsement clearly wasn't going to enhance the paper's popularity. 

"Stick it to the hippies"?  You're kidding, right?  As one who was a California teenager at the time, I can tell you that "the hippies" were a tiny phenomenon in 1964.  1967 was three years away, and the world changed a lot in that time.  Go back to any 1964 newspapers, and see how much you can read about "hippies."

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, October 31, 2015 5:47 PM

schlimm

Try reading some history of journalism for examples of newspapers uncovering corruption and other cases of illegal activity.  There are many.  Surely you heard of Watergate?

 

 And that was their job?

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Posted by schlimm on Saturday, October 31, 2015 5:39 PM

Try reading some history of journalism for examples of newspapers uncovering corruption and other cases of illegal activity.  There are many.  Surely you heard of Watergate?

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, October 31, 2015 3:49 PM

ChessieCat123

Most major public works projects have some leval of corruption. However that did not stop the Interstate Highway System in its tracks. The press is supposed to weed out corruption but does not offer any alternitives. There real job is to stir up the pot and increase circulation and ratings. The LA times endorced Goldwater because that would get people talking and stick it to the hippies that were infecting California. Now that we have all grown up does this have to be a all or nothing?

 

 In what version of your good old days did the press have the job of weeding out corruption and offering alternatives?  Since at least the Spanish American War, and quite possibly before that, the press' job was to sell more newspapers, truth be damned!

ChessieCat123- are there any trains in your part of the world?

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Posted by switch7frg on Saturday, October 31, 2015 12:49 PM

Wink Schlimm, das ist rechts,  verboten.

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Posted by garyla on Friday, October 30, 2015 9:27 PM

wanswheel
The Times they are a-changin’
 

Indeed, California and the L. A. Times have changed quite a bit since then. 

At that time, incumbent Gov. Pat Brown (father of Jerry) was only the second Democrat to serve as governor of that state since 1899.  You can look it up.

And since then, the newspaper (while varying some over the years) has become pretty reliably liberal and was, if I recall correctly, very much on board with the HSR plan.  That's part of what makes this a story.  The paper has done a big piece of investigative journalism here, and has really stirred the pot. 

Don't expect this to go away anytime soon.

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Posted by wanswheel on Friday, October 30, 2015 8:25 PM
The Times they are a-changin’
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Posted by schlimm on Friday, October 30, 2015 6:38 PM

DSchmitt
Has the LA Times changed?  They were pretty liberal when I lived there in the 1980's.

The Times was bought by Tribune Publishing in 2000.  Since then, they have gone through publishers and editors like wildfire and although not a conservative paper, most observers would say it is not as liberal as it formerly was. 

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Posted by DSchmitt on Friday, October 30, 2015 5:12 PM

ChessieCat123

My point is....That the LA Times as well as other Conservitive Tabloids questions domestic spending on public works and welfare projects while not questioning miltary spending and giving defence contractors a blank check. Not being from the west coast my wife just reminded me that Defence Industry out still employs a lot of people. However I believe that if we have high speed electric trains we could reduce our dependency on oil that comes from the Middle East perpetual war zones and we would not need the Stealth Bombers in the first place.---Ow BTW this is a Long Range Stealth Bomber that could be used against Russia or China in a cold war scenrio (Not against a bunch of raga tag Bedoins in the desert) and if we use them its the end of the world as we know it anyway.

Again my point is that California needs to go with a more conventional system rather then a Buck Rodgers system that the average man can"t afford anyway.

 

 

Has the LA Times changed?  They were pretty liberal when I lived there in the 1980's.  There was another major paper that took the conservitive side.

 

We don't have to be dependent on Mideast oil now. We have much more oil than they do.  If the Federal goverment would allow it we and Canada could supply our own needs  and most of Western Europes too. 

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Posted by J. Bishop on Friday, October 30, 2015 4:19 PM

Murphy Siding

 

 
ChessieCat123

My point is....That the LA Times as well as other Conservitive Tabloids questions domestic spending on public works and welfare projects while not questioning miltary spending and giving defence contractors a blank check. Not being from the west coast my wife just reminded me that Defence Industry out still employs a lot of people. However I believe that if we have high speed electric trains we could reduce our dependency on oil that comes from the Middle East perpetual war zones and we would not need the Stealth Bombers in the first place.---Ow BTW this is a Long Range Stealth Bomber that could be used against Russia or China in a cold war scenrio (Not against a bunch of raga tag Bedoins in the desert) and if we use them its the end of the world as we know it anyway.

Again my point is that California needs to go with a more conventional system rather then a Buck Rodgers system that the average man can"t afford anyway.

 

 

 

 

 I dunno, maybe your beef is with the LA Times and how they report the news?

 

 I don't know where you get "Buck Rodgers system" What is planned is a conventional high speed rail line, as used in countries all over the world.  As I pointed out before, there is no practical way to upgrade the present lines given their routes and the topography. Also, the California lines were not built for high capacity passenger service, as were the eastern lines.  There is no capacity to handle serious passenger traffic. The existing lines would have to be replaced in any event.
 
Also Ralph V. is not reporting news.  He writes opinion pieces, exclusively anit-high speed rail. The LA Times, like most newspapers, is a shadow of its former self.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, October 30, 2015 3:38 PM

ChessieCat123

My point is....That the LA Times as well as other Conservitive Tabloids questions domestic spending on public works and welfare projects while not questioning miltary spending and giving defence contractors a blank check. Not being from the west coast my wife just reminded me that Defence Industry out still employs a lot of people. However I believe that if we have high speed electric trains we could reduce our dependency on oil that comes from the Middle East perpetual war zones and we would not need the Stealth Bombers in the first place.---Ow BTW this is a Long Range Stealth Bomber that could be used against Russia or China in a cold war scenrio (Not against a bunch of raga tag Bedoins in the desert) and if we use them its the end of the world as we know it anyway.

Again my point is that California needs to go with a more conventional system rather then a Buck Rodgers system that the average man can"t afford anyway.

 

 

 I dunno, maybe your beef is with the LA Times and how they report the news?

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Posted by paulcap on Friday, October 30, 2015 12:44 PM

Because this massive boondoggel was sold to the voters, the only way to stop it is by voter initiative. But, ELON MUSK's HYPERLOOP System will be tested on a five mile tube in the next year or two, it will make the HSR obsolete, I HOPE!

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Posted by n012944 on Thursday, October 29, 2015 12:40 PM

ChessieCat123

Meanwhile in the same LA Times no one questions the cost of this-

 

 

I am not quite sure what your point is here.  I have seen plenty of comments about the new bomber deal, including negative comments.  Maybe look for them on an airplane or news site. It really has no reason to be posted on a trains focused web site, unless you are doing the whole child like argument of "they got money so I should as well". 

Airliners.net has a whole thread about it, including some complaining about the cost.

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/military/read.main/170570/

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Posted by CMStPnP on Thursday, October 29, 2015 12:13 PM

I think California took a Cadillac approach to HSR that drive up the costs Tens of Billions of Dollars.    Maybe it will payoff later in cheap expansion costs once they get the backbone in.    I cannot believe all the under city running and bridges the California line is going to have being in a state prone to Earthquakes.........Cha-Ching!  

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Posted by schlimm on Thursday, October 29, 2015 11:24 AM

billio

I think they should bring in coolies from China to save on construction expense.

 

Pretty offensive language there.  

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Posted by billio on Thursday, October 29, 2015 10:30 AM

I think they should bring in coolies from China to save on construction expense.

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Posted by J. Bishop on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 11:46 PM

Unfortunately, the upgrade approach is not possible here because there is no line satisfactory to improve for acceptable modern passenger service between LA and SF. The Coast line would have to be virtually replaced and is too long.  The San Joaquin Valley line goes over Tehachapi, essentially impossible for passenger service, and both that part and its northern end would have to be replaced with new allignments.  Especially between Bakersfield and LA, there isn't much difference between building a new highspeed line and a new faster line, which would then have to be replaced again to get to a high speed line.

Also, those of us in LA are familiar with the badly degraded LA Times. Raph V exclusively writes anti-highspeed rail articles. For informed discussion, both pro and con go to the California High Speed Rail Blog.

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Posted by schlimm on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 8:03 PM

Norm48327
quoting schlimm: posters are very critical of or totally opposed to HSR for a variety of reasons, such as: too expensive, not needed, the US doesn't need to copy what other nations have done, all we need are nostalgia trains as in the 1950s, or Amercans prefer cars. 

schlimm: None of that was the point of my post. Governments, and not just California, are accustomed to spending money they don't have on pet projects while necessities go begging.

Norm:  Au contraire!   I think "too expensive" and "not needed" cover your points.

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 3:53 PM

 

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Posted by Norm48327 on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 2:34 PM

schlimm

 

 
ChessieCat123
Geeze for railfans I would think we would be all gung ho for this.

 

Not on the Trains forums.  Most (not all) posters are very critical of or totally opposed to HSR for a variety of reasons, such as: too expensive, not needed, the US doesn't need to copy what other nations have done, all we need are nostalgia trains as in the 1950s, or Amercans prefer cars.

 

schlimm:

None of that was the point of my post. Governments, and not just California, are accustomed to spending money they don't have on pet projects while necessities go begging. I would think it would behove California to be spending money to rectify their water problems before building high speed rail. Deficit spending can not last forever. Eventually, the turnips run out of blood.

Norm


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Posted by rrnut282 on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 12:36 PM

Not unusual when something is the first one built or otherwise finding the best way instead of following the beaten path (best practices).  A certain amount of R&D was baked into the costs and that is very easy to underestimate. 

Mike (2-8-2)

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