AggieCo2023 said:

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I trust Texans can handle a project better that Californians

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Why? We are far more conservative. You are far left. Conservatives very bad. Far left very good. Right?

Why would you trust Texans with engaging, leftist?

Manhattan said:

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Amtrak owns most of their rail on the NEC, it isn't true high spelled rail because nimbys like in this thread won't allow the changes like make turns wider to speed up the trains.

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Come on - Amtrak is subsidized each year by billions of dollars and then cries to get more to be "profitable".

https://www.marketplace.org/2020/09/29/amtrak-needs-another-bailout-to-stay-afloat/ I know you are going to jump at the first thing in this article that it is covid related but look deeper to see where they are subsidized by almost a third of their budget from us tax dollars.

Another government boondoggle burden on the tax payer each year

Street Fighter said:

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swampdog01 said:

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Don't have a vehicle and can't afford to travel by existing options

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Then HTF are they getting to tbe train station out on the boonies?

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Government of course!
Since they have to build a choo-choo train for everyone that doesn't have a car to get to places they obviously can't go we'll just have to expand the bus routes to take these trapped masses to the train station!

Why should a private company have the right to eminent domain? What happens when a big corporation wants land in a area that will encourage growth and land owners don't want to sell? Would this set precedence?

1991sir said:

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Why should a private company have the right to eminent domain? What happens when a big corporation wants land in an area that will encourage growth and land owners don't want to sell? Would this set precedence?

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Because the Texas constitution says they can…. Private companies use eminent domain all the time through the government.

What we shouldn't be using it for is bulldozing homes and businesses in Houston so people from MOCO can sit in their cars for the same amount of time on a wider freeway.

fka ftc said:

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YokelRidesAgain said:

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curry97 said:

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Roans Prairie is the proposed site for that stop which is 30 minutes from BCS.

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So this train is going to drop me off in the butt crack middle of nowhere in Grimes County, with no car? Awesome.

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Dems call this "progress".

Having a train dropping folks off in the middle of nowhere is how College Station got started. What's old is new again.

For the record, the stops on this train maybe zero ****ing sense.

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NOTHING about this makes sense.

It's hilarious that you are arguing eminent domain when the whole premise of the OP is that the law is settled.

Lucky for you this project isn't viable without government money.

Pretty obvious OP owns NO land this would effect. But they have no issue with other people losing their land so they can fulfill their childhood dream of super awesome trains.

No thanks

Nobody would be losing any land.

Lol, the mod is probably someone participating in the argument

With how comfortable everyone is with doing business remotely largely due to covid lockdowns, this makes less sense than ever.

The WFH / remote working is fading faster than it came on. See massive layoffs in tech and other areas as the bets that WFH was here to stay are all busting.,

You don't think the city can run a shuttle from the train station to campus/downtown? Hell they run a shuttle from the mall to Santa's wonderland lol

So what is the travel time on train supposed to be from Houston to Roans Prarie?


(It's hilarious to me that people still pushing this train as some great thing the state needs. It's the very definition of a boondoggle)

AggieCo2023 said:

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You don't think the city can run a shuttle from the train station to campus/downtown? Hell they run a shuttle from the mall to Santa's wonderland lol

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Does the City run that or is Santa's Wonderland footing the bill for that?

Actually, as I think about it the most likely answer would be Santa's Wonderland applying for HOT funds. Let's not open that can of worms in this thread.

fka ftc said:

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The WFH / remote working is fading faster than it came on. See massive layoffs in tech and other areas as the bets that WFH was here to stay are all busting.,

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I didn't say or mean people that WFH. This train has a minimum travel time of 90 minutes from station to station. With all the other added time, that would be well over 2 hours from somewhere in DFW metro to somewhere in Houston metro one way. That isn't a reasonable daily commute for most people. This would service people that have to go from one to the other for occasional business reasons, and I think virtual meetings, unlike mass WFH, are here to stay to cut down on travel costs.

BMX Bandit said:

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So what is the travel time on train supposed to be from Houston to Roans Prarie?


(It's hilarious to me that people still pushing this train as some great thing the state needs. It's the very definition of a boondoggle)

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that is 100% true and I'm one of the few people that would beneficially use it (professional whose work is concentrated in downtown).

The money for this project would be better utilized in a large pile for a bonfire.

AggieCo2023 said:

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You don't think the city can run a shuttle from the train station to campus/downtown? Hell they run a shuttle from the mall to Santa's wonderland lol

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Yeah $30B wasn't enough, let's spend more tax money.
There's nothing to suggest utilization would be high enough to warrant a shuttle dedicated to this.

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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fka ftc said:

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The WFH / remote working is fading faster than it came on. See massive layoffs in tech and other areas as the bets that WFH was here to stay are all busting.,

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I didn't say or mean people that WFH. This train has a minimum travel time of 90 minutes from station to station. With all the other added time, that would be well over 2 hours from somewhere in DFW metro to somewhere in Houston metro one way. That isn't a reasonable daily commute for most people. This would service people that have to go from one to the other for occasional business reasons, and I think virtual meetings, unlike mass WFH, are here to stay to cut down on travel costs.

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Slightly off topic, but I take JSX from Love to Hobby 3-4 times a month on day trips. I can leave my house in FloMo and be in my office in Rosharon in just over 2 hours. Leave my house 9:30, board flight 10:05, land about 11:10, rental car 11:15 and sitting pretty in Rosharon about 11:40. Reverse that on way home leaving office at 7:30 and home by 10pm. For about $550-$600 all in.

Point being, folks that need to be physically present have options.

I actually would support rail or similar, but the Texas Central is a poorly thought out solution looking for a non-existent problem.

Have they said or hinted at how much tickets would cost? That's the worst part about trains in the US, not only are they slow (not applicable to this train I know), but they're also typically expensive. Amtrak cost more than airlines, a good amount of metro's light rail systems cost considerably more than driving.

Engineering/design and land rights contractors will bleed money from available government and investor sources. Some will make money from land speculation and others will get screwed over

Project will never break ground imo.

Will this be similar to the Hogwarts Express?



RIP Hagrid

Both will ultimately be works of fiction (though one at universal studios is fun)

Admiral Adama said:

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Southwest round-trip Lovefield to Hobby $240.
Bullet train $30B / $240 = 125,000,000 round trips.
DFW and Houston metro combined populations: 15 million
Round trips per person: 8.3

For the same cost as building the bullet train we could give every single person living in the Houston and Dallas metros eight round trip flights on Southwest. What a bargain for the Texas tax payer.

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That is if you can build it for 30B. How is CA doing vs. original budget?

Liberals always think communism and socialism will work when they try it. HSR will be no different.

OP once again proving to be site supported troll, or Hindenburg level collapse of A&Ms degree standards.

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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Have they said or hinted at how much tickets would cost? That's the worst part about trains in the US, not only are they slow (not applicable to this train I know), but they're also typically expensive. Amtrak cost more than airlines, a good amount of metro's light rail systems cost considerably more than driving.

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I've never seen any published projected ticket pricing, and I don't think it was ever included in any of the marketing surveys they conducted. They loved to tout the "interest" they had, but when you looked at the marketing/survey questions it was, "Would you be interested in... or Would you consider..." The questions were designed to generate "Yes" answers.

$30B seems like a good deal. I-45 expansion project is 10 years $10B only about 15 miles

AggieCo2023 said:

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There's literally perfect functioning trains in several other states lol. Why can't Texas do something Japan and Europe can?

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Look at the population densities. Japan and large swaths of Europe are practically continuous giant cities and their commercial districts are much tighter. Compare that to your Dallas to Houston route. There's nothing in between and once you arrive 2/3 of the train passengers will be looking at a 30+ minute uber to travel to The Woodlands or Katy (the Energy Corridor) or Fort Worth or whatever.

So let's run the math. Google Maps says it's 3h30m from Dallas to Houston. That's the time to beat.
1) 20-30 minutes to the train station
2) need to arrive 60 minutes early to do all the same TSA + boarding stuff that they force you to do at the airport.
3) 1 hour ride (unreasonably optimistic; there will be numerous stops)
4) 30 minutes to disembark, wait on your ride, and drive wherever (probably optimistic)

If it's a 60 minute train ride (again, ridiculously optimistic), you're looking at 3+ hours. If we lengthen the travel time to 1h45m and increase the cab time a little you're looking at 4h. On the financial side, you're looking at 4 cab rides + a train ticket, which is probably $200+. Why would anybody sign up for this? It saves you no time, costs far more, and subjects you to all the travel headaches of airlines.

The business offering offers nothing superior to the current solution while costing a lot more. Oh, and as self driving tech improves, the speed limits between cities will likely increase, decreasing the drive time and making your expensive solution even worse comparatively. (While self driving tech is not ready for city driving, it's ready or darn close to ready for travel between them where traffic and driver behavior is a lot more predictable. In 10 years when they're finishing up your high speed rail system it'll be deployed.)

AggieCo2023 said:

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https://original.newsbreak.com/@jalyn-smoot-1588339/2898655750882-texas-supreme-court-ruling-paves-way-for-30-billion-dollar-dallas-to-houston-bullet-train

Apologies if there already was a thread, but exciting news from the Texas Supreme Court who gave life to this project connecting Dallas and Houston. It also will include a stop in Brazos County which will be helpful for students from each of those cities which is probably 40% of the student body. Hopefully this is completed soon and gives Texans other (quicker) alternatives between the two cities. Should help further our economy as more and more companies are moving their HQ's and production here.

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Dan Scott said:

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$30B seems like a good deal. I-45 expansion project is 10 years $10B only about 15 miles

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That project is projected to be just under $8B and has a much higher proportion of it in an urban area than the train would. They don't serve the same purpose at all either, not sure why you brought it up.

Not comparable

AggieCo2023 said:

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There's literally perfect functioning trains in several other states lol. Why can't Texas do something Japan and Europe can?

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Please name one functioning train in other states that's not a yearly drain on the tax payers.

What! Nobody has even brought up the operating/functioning medium speed passenger rain in your adjoining state to the west!
The NM Railrunner.
https://www.riometro.org/167/Schedules

I've ridden it for free, because I'm a veteran, but it is not very useful for anyone who has truly wants to use it. Does not go south past Belen, really needs to get to Socorro, frequency of service is extremely inadequate. Best use is for tourists and retirees who have a lot of time on their hands and want to take a day trip to Santa Fe.

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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Dan Scott said:

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$30B seems like a good deal. I-45 expansion project is 10 years $10B only about 15 miles

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That project is projected to be just under $8B and has a much higher proportion of it in an urban area than the train would. They don't serve the same purpose at all either, not sure why you brought it up.

Not comparable

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It's $10B. The virtue signaling delays added another $2B. Brought it up because $10B over 10 years for 15 miles of roadwork seems outrageously high.

Another example, they are adding 1 lane on each side of Grandparkway from 249 to i-45. It's about 12 miles. It's going to take 3.5 years to compete.

Point being transportation projects are a huge cluster. I doubt the interstate highway project would be as successful if it started today vs 70 years ago.

akm91 said:

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AggieCo2023 said:

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There's literally perfect functioning trains in several other states lol. Why can't Texas do something Japan and Europe can?

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Please name one functioning train in other states that's not a yearly drain on the tax payers.

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He doesn't care about the worthless taxpayers and their money, especially the really rich ones.

The $30B price tag was from 10 years ago. It's easily 50% higher now. And when was the last time a major infrastructure project came in under budget? This will swell to being billions over budget and tax payers will foot the bill.