Another Piedmont train

[matthewsaggie]

Starting June 4th NC adds another Piedmont to the schedule, making 3 Piedmonts between Charlotte and Raleigh plus the Carolinian Charlotte to Raleigh and on to NYP each day. 

[PJS1]

matthewsaggie

Starting June 4th NC adds another Piedmont to the schedule, making 3 Piedmonts between Charlotte and Raleigh plus the Carolinian Charlotte to Raleigh and on to NYP each day. 

This is what today's passenger rail should look like, i.e. frequent, economical, comfortable, dependable passenger rail transportation in relatively short corridors.

The I-35 corridor in Texas is an excellent candidate for a similar program.  Unfortunately, it is not likely to happen in the near future. 

Instead, we are fixated on a high-speed train between Dallas and Houston, which sounds good until the realization sets in that Bryan/College Station is the only community between Dallas and Houston that people might want to visit. On the other hand, between DFW and San Antonio there are several large cities, i.e. Austin, San Marco, Waco, etc. that could be well served by better passenger rail service. 

[matthewsaggie]

If it actually went to College Station! The TC will still be miles from College Station. Not the way I will be getting there. As we used to say when I was a student, "Highway 6 runs both ways". (A&M Class of '74)

 

[oltmannd]

Along the way, NC has sped up the running times, too. NC knows how to do this.  It helps if you own the ROW, though!

[Overmod]

matthewsaggie

If it actually went to College Station! The TC will still be miles from College Station.

And in Roans Prairie, which is on 30, not 6 -- I'm not sure I have figured this siting decision out yet.  It is certainly not "equitemporal" between Dallas and Houston.

On the other hand, TC seems to be trying to work out some kind of enhanced shuttle service from A&M to the proposed facility, which makes sense to me.

Kind of a sad little dog-and-pony show a couple of weeks ago. 

 

[Gramp]

If it actually went to College Station! The TC will still be miles from College Station.

  ...

And in Roans Prairie, which is on 30, not 6 -- I'm not sure I have figured this siting decision out yet.  It is certainly not "equitemporal" between Dallas and Houston.

On the other hand, TC seems to be trying to work out some kind of enhanced shuttle service from A&M to the proposed facility, which makes sense to me.

Kind of a sad little dog-and-pony show a couple of weeks ago. 

 ...

In existence, this type of project would create its own economic gravity.

This is about the thousands of people essentially commuting between Houston and Dallas each day, though.  It's a new artery in the making.  It's change.  Lots of people have "do not disturb" door hangers dangling from their ears.  The media feeds on them.

[PJS1]

Gramp

 This is about the thousands of people essentially commuting between Houston and Dallas each day, though.  It's a new artery in the making.  It's change.  Lots of people have "do not disturb" door hangers dangling from their ears. 

The Texas Central Railway says that lots of people will use its high-speed train.  Moreover, high end ticket prices will be comparable with flying while low end ticket prices will be comparable with driving.  How much will the ticket prices be?  The railway company has not provided any details for its assertions.

 

The original cost projection for the railway before financing charges was $10 billion.  Now it is $15 to $18 billion before financing.  Anyone who has ever worked in accounting and finance would quickly recognize that this estimate has a lot of wiggle room in it. 

 

The proponents of the Texas Central Railway make a lot of claims for its advantages.  But at least for the public getting any hard analytics is out of the question.

 

The biggest need for alternative transport options is along the I-35 corridor between DFW and San Antonio.  It is one of the most congested corridors in the United States.  It includes DFW, Waco, Temple, Austin, San Marcos, and San Antonio.  But a better rail alternative does not fit the needs of the Japanese equipment manufacturers that are a major force in pushing high speed rail between Dallas and Houston.  

[CMStPnP]

According to it's own timetable, Texas Central has less than 2 years to raise a significant amount of cash from private investors.    Which I don't think will happen, even if Japan comes to the rescue with a few $billion nobody will bankroll a HSR unless we have a proven concept in the United States which it can be compared against for metrics.     Since no such concept exists, being the first to finance such a system will scare away most capitalists with deep pockets OR spike the interest rates on the borrowed capital to above junk bond levels.

[Gramp]

I've driven I-35 and alternate routes from Dallas to San Antonio.  I've found 35 to be a miserable drive what with the trucks, constant construction, slow downs, etc. The sky-high flyovers in the region make me hope there's never an earthquake there.  In my view, Hwy 281 is the only sane way if you're driving the distance.

I don't see how traditional passenger and freight trains can effectively co-exist along the rail route.  It's too valuable for freight.  A reliable bullet train service isn't congruent with a traditional railroad in the US.  I think the bullet train people saw the cost of building new there would be prohibitive.  

The Japanese want/need to find friendly users for their tech, but they're limited.  The US presents a large, potential opportunity, but only in the right places.  The Japanese exercise patience and stick-to-itiveness.

Southwest Air has in effect signed-off on the Texas Central idea, since they have grown well beyond serving the Texas Triangle.

If you all are correct, so be it.  I'm pulling for TC.

[charlie hebdo]

It seems to me as a non-Texan that there is room in TX for both a Metroplex-Houston TC corridor nd a Metroplex-SA corridor. It just requires some vision to see beyond yesterday.