Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="HarveyK400"] I have no idea why it could possibly cost $313 billion for HSR between Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio unless Halliburton gets a no-bid contract from the Governor.  By comparison, California is estimating just $40 billion for a 700 mile long HSR, 220 mph network.  The Southeast Corridor may be a tad more between Washington and Jacksonville for the 220 mph corridor alternative.  There aren't that many other full HSR corridors close to implementation.  Illinois and Wisconsin are looking at improvements for 90-110 mph services that would take only half a billion each.  So maybe the the first phase may be around $100 billion - just a guess. [/quote] The General Accounting Office (GAO) released recently a report of its audit of many of the proposed high speed rail projects in the U.S.  The GAO is considered by many of its users to be one of the best audit organizations in the country, primarily because of its objectivity.  Amongst the projects that it reviewed is the status of high speed rail in Texas.  It found that as of March 2009 Texas has taken no further action to establish a high speed rail system since the failed Texas TGV proposal.  However, a grassroots organization of local elected officials and others is pursuing high speed rail in the Texas Triangle.  However, the Texas Legislature has not sanction any high speed rail for the Lone Star State. The Texas TGV, which was first proposed in 1982, would have provided high speed rail between Dallas/Fort Worth, including DFW Airport, to Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.  Service was to have commenced between DFW and Houston in 1998, with service to Austin and San Antonio beginning in 1999.  The project failed because the proponents could not raise the required private capital, and the legislature refused to fund the project, although it authorized the formation of the Texas High Speed Rail Authority (THSRA).  The THSRA issued requests for proposals.  Two of three applicants met the criteria.  Texas TGV Corporation (Morrison Knudsen, Bombardier, Alstom, Credit Lyonnais, Banque IndoSuez, Merrill Lynch as well as several others) was granted the franchise.  Southwest Airlines filed suit to block the project, but the Texas courts dismissed its lawsuit.  Contrary to popular belief, Southwest Airlines was not the major reason the project fell over.  The project never got beyond the environmental impact study phase because it could not convince potential lenders that the project would be successful.  The estimated cost of the project was $4 billion, with a projected ridership of 11.3 to 18 million by 2015.  Since 1982 the CPI has increased 120.5 per cent, which means the $4 billion would be equal to $8.82 billion today.  A better inflation indicator would be the construction cost deflator, which would be somewhat different than the CPI, but it is more difficult to get.  Accordingly, I think the CPI is a good tool to make my point.  It appears that $313 billion to build HSR in Texas, if that is what the DOT person said, even after allowing for an extension of the line to Little Rock and Tulsa, is not well founded. A more realistic estimate would be that for the California High Speed project, which the GAO found to be between $32.8 and $33.6 billion in mid 2008.  The $40 to $45 billion being tossed around by others does not appear to be based on realistic estimates.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag