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113 Comments
- Link459, on 12/26/2008, -0/+30Who else read this as High Speed Rail Guns in Texas?
- SEN5241, on 12/26/2008, -0/+22Not as long as Herb Kelleher and/or Southwest Airlines have anything to say about it.
- zerton, on 12/26/2008, -1/+23This is a great idea. Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston are all too far for a comfortable drive but too short for a plane ride.
- vurdillac, on 12/26/2008, -4/+18So I take the train from Austin to Dallas and then what? I would have to rent a car, because every city in Texas is laid out with cars in mind. I'm supposed to walk to the business meeting or wait for the bus in 100 degree heat in the summer? I would show up soaked through with sweat. Nope - gotta have a car, and it doesn't make much sense to rent one if I'm already paying for the one I already own. Might as well just drive that one up there and save myself the trouble.
Rail lines just aren't going to work in Texas with the current infrastructure, and you can't totally redesign the cities to accommodate foot traffic. With the massive sprawl around all the cities, you don't even have sidewalks or safe bike lines in most places. - ingoldsby, on 12/26/2008, -0/+13You can pretty much be guaranteed that gas prices will skyrocket again. The oil producing companies got a taste of what it was like to have us paying $140/barrel. They will not stop killing production until it climbs back up until at least half that.
- suprememilo, on 12/26/2008, -0/+13I45 is always too traffic heavy so the drive from Houston to Dallas can take 5 hours, but a train only going 120 mph would only take 2.
- zerton, on 12/26/2008, -1/+11Two things:
1. It will be a high speed train, think TGV or the Shinkansen.
2. I don't think you understand Texas's urban geography very well. Its 5 largest cities aren't that far apart. - nemothewhale, on 12/26/2008, -2/+9I live in Austin. They try to pull this stuff all the time. As long as gas prices don't skyrocket again, you can't expect to see anything new as far as transportation, especially trains, to come to Texas.
- sleepyness, on 12/26/2008, -0/+6We are getting MetroRail.
http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/all-systems-go.sh ... - billyfalconer, on 12/26/2008, -0/+6The last time this came up, Southwest bought the politicians. It was embarrassingly obvious.
- inactive, on 12/26/2008, -0/+6You live in Austin? Have you been on a vacation for three years, then? Cap Metro is about to roll out the new train system any day now.
- suprememilo, on 12/26/2008, -1/+6Why would I want to go to El Paso?
- Dou6, on 12/26/2008, -0/+5Haha, I just have to laugh at you. Driving down the highway through the middle of Austin at rush hour or on a holiday is a nightmare.
- homercles337, on 12/26/2008, -9/+14Why do they need one through Austin? Once youre in Austin, there is nothing else to see in the entirety of the state.
- lisaawesome, on 12/26/2008, -0/+5We need a better train system for OKC to Dallas and other major cities in Texas. The Heartland Flyer is not a great option. High speed rail could help ease the i-35 congestion going across the border and would likely bring even more money into Texas (since we tend to head south for shopping).
- legoalert33, on 12/26/2008, -2/+7Simpsons did it.
- modernsavage, on 12/26/2008, -0/+5The real story here isn't so much Texas getting a high-speed rail line, but the other proposed (more likely to happen) high speed rail lines throughout the country.
"The U.S. Department of Transportation is soliciting proposals to design, finance, build, and maintain 11 new high-speed rail corridors around the country."
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/high-spe ...
Though, Texas may not go for it, considering their lifestyle, I do think this is promising for other parts of the country. I honestly think this is worth the government spending some money on, as a high speed rail system, on a regional level, would be far more efficient system then highways and air travel. - ihavebeenseen, on 12/26/2008, -1/+5Flying to small cities is a money loser too. W/o the help of the government airliners would never fly to these places.
- ihavebeenseen, on 12/26/2008, -0/+4They could let them run it. Besides SW's margins are pretty slim on intra-texas flights. When fuel prices rise they are making even less.
- vurdillac, on 12/26/2008, -0/+4I voted against light rail in Austin - where would you put the tracks, how much would that cost, and how is it going to be any more efficient than Capitol Metro? Capmet's not bad, but also not totally reliable for commuting to a job - I know because I use it for that purpose and sometimes the busses just don't show up when they're supposed to and employers get tired of that "the bus didn't show up" excuse.
- KyleGoetz, on 12/26/2008, -1/+5I went from Amarillo to Austin in 10 hours by airplane, including delays due to FOG. Don't tell me flying is necessarily faster.
- HtomSirveaux, on 12/27/2008, -0/+4"...Amtrak, which is the rough equivalent of what is being proposed..."
I do believe you're quite wrong about that.
"...(Roads) are more efficient."
No, they are not.
"...have fun sharing the subway with 8 million people."
Yeah, what's with all of those ***** in NYC? It's not like it's the largest city in the nation.
lots of fail in these comments, guys. - thenativeraver, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3They did it in BTTF 3, why not?
- sjm20k, on 12/26/2008, -1/+5Perhaps where you're from the train system sucks, but in NYC it boggles my mind that people still choose to drive a car. On top of that I can catch Amtrak to DC is much less time than it takes by car. Don't talk down trains due to lack of proper infrastructure in your area - perhaps it would be worth pumping some money into to ultimately serve the public better than it does at the moment.
- Dewhead, on 12/26/2008, -4/+7Are you a Texan then? I am and I prefer Dallas. Maybe it because people like you live in Austin.
- digg1520, on 12/26/2008, -1/+4take a cab
- urbanbluest, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3Do whatever you'd do if you'd have taken a plane?
- sleepyness, on 12/27/2008, -0/+3It's not like they could make the highways wider...Mopac and I35 are stuck as is really
- rif42, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3Hi speed trains driving 320-350kph is a great replacement for commuter flight of 300-800km distance. Here the train is over all faster. It is also far for flexible because the train can make a couple of stops along the route without incurring much delay. The train is also more energy efficient than the planes.
As a bonus a TGV style train is more comfortable than monkey class in a commuter flight. - inactive, on 12/27/2008, -0/+3Back To The Future 3, for those who don't know what he's talking about.
- vurdillac, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3That's expensive. If you know Dallas or Houston, you know it's probably going to take 45 minutes each way to get anywhere and renting a cab for an hour and a half is going to cost more than the tank of gas to drive from Austin to Dallas.
- KyleGoetz, on 12/26/2008, -2/+5Boy I tell ya, Houston is so ridiculously bible-thumping that there's not a single Chinatown and it's definitely not got one of the largest gay communities in the nation.
- rdoger6424, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3So are you saying that they shouldn't be building airports in Texas because those same problems exist?
- HtomSirveaux, on 12/27/2008, -0/+3...because high speed rail is meant to take about half that same amount of time.
- vurdillac, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3I lived in Tokyo and they have a lovely public transportation system ideally designed for non-car owners. You know how they got that? We bombed the ***** out of them in WWII and they were able to design from the ground up because there was nothing left. Barring some cataclysm taking out the infrastructure in DFW or Houston, it's going to take more than a positive attitude to redesign those cities.
- KyleGoetz, on 12/26/2008, -2/+4Protip: The oil prices you refer to are oil futures set by market speculators and investors in the futures markets, not by the production companies.
- pacman122, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2Only reason I dugg this
- JellyBean473, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2http://www.iat.utexas.edu/emsys.html
they've got one :P - HtomSirveaux, on 12/27/2008, -0/+2I never understood Southwest's reasoning to sink the deal. All it did was make them look like *****. If they had helped fund it instead they would have been loved and expanded the company.
- urbanbluest, on 12/26/2008, -1/+3I live in Texas and have lived in different parts of Texas for years. (Also lived in or near San Francisco, Chicago, DC, and Miami). My family is from here for generations. And I'd like to say that while some of you are right about people's attitudes here, you ain't got it right.
Sure it is a car culture here. Like Southern California. Besides people who'd rather not drive, though, alot of people that normally fly between these cities would instead take a train. Then upon critical mass a lot more people would take the train.
And to clarify, previous attempts to do this ORIGINATED FROM HERE. Alot of people want to do this for a lot of reasons. These initiatives weren't killed by "Texans" but directly through airline lobbying -- a lot of which came from corporate office in cities all over the United States.
Regardless of how people feel about Texas and Texans (much of which is justified) I hope this goes through -- if not for environmental or economic reasons -- because it would be a fast comfortable way to get around this big area. I think a lot of people here feel the same way. - cantaclaro, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2Oh Austin has its problems, it is by no means perfect. I'm looking at you Travis Heights Hippies. In comparison to the rest of the state, its the best. Its probably my favorite city in the world after Geneva Switzerland.
- ngwright, on 12/26/2008, -1/+3Air travel just cannot compete with high speed rail on these short routes and if the line is well designed, it will just keep getting busier. Train stations especially in older cities (and San Antonio, Dallas and Austin were originally built around rail) are in the center of the city where the density, the hotels and the destinations are. The airports are at least an hour's drive away. You're already taking taxis and shuttles to get there. It just takes too much time. And when gas prices go up again, it will just get worse. Rail makes way more sense.
- KyleGoetz, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2They did a monorail, not a light rail. But nice reference to two great shows at the same time anyway.
- sjm20k, on 12/27/2008, -1/+3I do, it's fine, and I get to where I'm going faster than people in cars.
- nemajordude, on 12/26/2008, -1/+3Dugg because I'm a former Houstonian who hated the traffic, both in town and between Hou and SA and Austin. I now live in a medium size midwestern town with lots of commerce, low crime, lower levels of bad stuff from the recession and, yes, light traffic. The only thing that sux is the 9-month winters. And this is my first digg.
- rif42, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2@KyleGoetz
Hi speed trains means 320kph+, more than double the speed of your car ride. Even with 1 or 2 stops on the way it is a lot faster.
How much would a 10-15km taxi ride cost at the destination station? Perhaps they could include that in train ticket price for the hi speed trains. - HtomSirveaux, on 12/27/2008, -0/+2The price dropped $100 a barrel because of the bank failures not because of the seasonal change. The price is high in the summer when everyone starts to travel much more than they do in the winter. The production companies cannot meet the summer demand. The shortage is because production refineries are at full tilt in the summer, not because they are purposefully choking the supply.
Oil companies make a killing because the demand is constantly on the rise and the supply is constantly falling. - fullzer0, on 12/26/2008, -1/+3Austin is perfect? Last time I checked traffic is still a bitch, 6th street is still rundown, and it's still a pricey city to live in.
I was just wondering if it had changed overnight. - inactive, on 12/29/2008, -0/+2Learn to read dumbasz, I never said complicated. It is great if you like delays however.
- HtomSirveaux, on 12/27/2008, -0/+2"...why the hell would you ever want to go to those ***** cities?"
May be I'm not a Texas hippie or a heavy drinker and Austin is land-locked for one.
Dallas is a service market and financial city, San Antonio is labor and military, Houston has all the oil with the coast nearby, and Austin has... The Capitol?... UT?... Most bars in the nation?
However, I will proffer that the hill country is one of the best areas in the state.
If Southwest would just get on board with the ***** thing they'd probably find it to be very successful, anything to avoid I-35.
A big state needs big transportation. And a big nation for that matter. -
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