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Transport Subsidies Lead to Bad Decisions

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[quote user="blue streak 1"] Samantha:What is happening around the line in Austin? I know its early but-----.[/quote]The Leander to Austin passenger rail link is on target to begin service by the end of this year or early next year.  The build portion of the project appears to be on time, but it is over budget to the tune of approximately $30 million, depending on whose accounting you choose to believe.The equipment has been delivered and is being tested.  Also, the operating crews are being trained to drive the trains.  Some of the operating training was being down at night, which upset some Austinites who live near the street crossings.  Apparently they objected to the sound of the horns.  Apparently the equipment does not meet all of the Federal Railroad Administration's requirements for mixing passenger and freight operations.  They claim the equipment fails to comply with 10 of their rules.  Capital Metro, which is the operator of local transit services, has filed for exemptions, point out amongst other things that it does not intend to mix the passenger trains with freight trains, as per the comments below.     Most of the station platforms have been completed, and some of the fixtures, e.g. lights, handrails, seating fixtures, canopies, etc. have been set.  However, it appears that the stations will not be completed until shortly before the start-up I participate in a continuing education program for seniors at the University of Texas.  A Capital Metro executive is scheduled to speak to us in October about Capital Metro's role in the greater Austin community.  We have timed his presentation just before the start-up of the rail operation so that he can give us an update on "the train".  I take a bus from Leander, which is about 18 miles from where I live, to UT.  I am looking forward to the opening of the rail link.  It should cut my commute by a third.  Unfortunately, the rail line will not stop in front of UT.  I will have to transfer to a bus that will carry me from the closest station, which will be a mile or so from the campus, to my destination.  Moreover, the train will not be able to run into the central business district.  Again, Capital Metro is planning connecting buses to carry people to their final destination.  This is not an ideal arrangement, but it is the only way that passenger rail could work in Austin.  Capital Metro had to use existing right of way.  It could not afford to tack down a new right of way.  The Leander to Austin rail link will run on The Austin Western Railroad (AWRR), which is owned by Capital Metro. It operates 155 miles of track from Llano, TX to Giddings, TX with a 6.4 mile branch extending from Fairland to Marble Falls, TX. The line dates back to 1871 when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad built the Giddings to Austin line. The AWRR interchanges with the UP at McNeil and Elgin. Nearly 49,000 carloads move annually, shipping commodities such as aggregates, crushed limestone, calcium bicarbonate, lumber beer, chemicals, plastics and paper. Once commuter rail commences freight service will operate primarily at night during non-commuter operations.  One rumor has it that commuter rail will run in the mornings to Austin and from Austin in the evenings, with bus service during off-peak hours.
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