Obama's Train From Nowhere

I like trains and despise traffic. In principle I'm for more rail. The federal government idiotically expands highways without asking so this seems reasonable enough.

Of course, I don't live in California and have no reason to take this train so I am, naturally, against it.

 

If we wnt to develop rail, money would be better spent on freight. Rail uses less fuel than tractor trailers= less oil importation.

 

I'm all for rail development. It makes sense. I've just yet to see a well thought out plan/strategy for it. Lay a legit one out and then we can talk.

 

What if gas is 6 bucks a gallon, and other forms of public transportation were in place to get you anywhere you might want to go?

 

We already use a lot of freight.

 

Just a lot of ifs. Unfortunately I see the $6 gas as the most likely. I guess it depends on where I'm going and what I'm going to do. I've got experience with BART, the el in Chicago, NYC subway, and MARTA. BART and NYC especially I found to be really useful.

 

Well, that is the plan, to have it from LA to Las Vegas, in the end. I am all for the improvement and use of public transportation and no doubt there is a public interest in using the services. I also think a number of people will use the LA to San Francisco. I doubt prices will remain the same for airline flights and using non-fossil fuels should keep the prices more stable.

 

There is a good solution coming down the pike but it will be a tough pill culturally. Public cars that drive themselves to destinations of your choosing. No more teaffic jams though

 

The thing that drives me nuts about all these things he is doing is that the idea for alternative fuels is good on the surface. The alternative energy,solar ,wind, etc.... are also good ideas, but not when you don't have anything in place to replace oil, coal and other fuels. i.e. the electric car, all the money that went from us taxpayers into this car in bailouts and rebates was just totally wasted. Develop the car, get it right and bring it in slowly. If we dump gas as I believe he wants us to do, there has to be an alternative at the ready, not still in development. Besides if we get rid of the gasoline car or at the least get gas prices so high that no one can afford to drive, just how will this effect all these that he is trying to get on the public payroll? They won't be able to afford to travel anywhere much less to the grocery store. You may say that public transportation is then the answer, but wouldn't the price to ride go up also to cover the cost of their fuel? Not to mention people in rural areas. Produce what we have here and do it now, develop the alternatives, then let the switch occur naturally not force it down peoples throats.

 

This is me. I think it could be a great idea but put a little bit of thought into it.

 

Not everyone lives in a metropolitan area. What about those that live in rural areas? Should these people be left out because no one can now afford to drive even to the store to get the basics or will this public transportation system start coming out into the middle of no where to pick up riders? Or better yet, will we all have to move and live in big cities and leave the rural areas empty.

 

If you could put me on an affordable high speed rail train to drop me off in Jackson from Knoxville in....two hours and let my family come and pick me up, then heck yes I am for it.

I see the advantages of it. But the whole thing is a political game and ploy right now to actually accomplish anything with it.

 

Yes, but we could use more. Really there's no reason we couldn't virtually eliminate long haul trucking. Should be limited to predominantly short hauls from hubs to stores. In my area, we have a good number of trains. They are almost excusively hauling coal. Virtually no commercial freight. The amount of diesel we would save/eliminate is astounding.

 

Not really seeing how that helps with anything but parking.

 

How long does it take to make a 6 billion dollar train to smell like piss?

 

Never, if you live in Singapore.

 

There are many inefficiencies tied to independent driving, such as traffic, single occupancy commutes, etc. If you had a computerized system that allowed for it, these things would be eliminated. And it isn't science fiction, it is almost to the testing phase. Essentially, every car would be a bus tailored to your destination, and anyone who had the same general destination and was along the way would be picked up. By keeping all of these trips tracked and all vehicles being controlled by a system, "slowdowns" and accidents that cause traffic would be virtually eliminated.

Most cases of "traffic" where no accident or impediment is involved are is actually a cascading reaction to some seemingly innocent event, such as someone following a bit too closely and pumping the breaks. This gets magnified down a chain of reactions and eventually becomes "traffic."

 

That sounds straight terrible. A bus is bad enough. Who would ride with strangers in much smaller, likely unattended vehicles?

 

Like I said, the problem is cultural.

 

Which isn't changing easily, if at all. Not sure this is really worth pursuing at this point. Would need a major crisis to make something like this viable.