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Ceremonial start opens California’s high speed rail work
Will it ever be completed I don’t think do.
The ceremony doesn’t deflect the raging criticism of the HSR in Calif. With Republicans in control they could eliminate funding for the project, A new route is being considered for Bakersfield using UP tracks which would eradicate the demolishing of homes and a reduction of business terminations. This route would go through East Bakersfield along UP tracks and continue through Edison over the Tehachapi Mts. This will be a wait and see proposition. No one is holding their breath. The most practical route would be from Lancaster to Las Vegas for a gamblers’ special excursion. The French suggested that this project should have ben started in the 1970’s. California doesn’t have the infrastructure for such a massive undertaking and this view was presented in Trains Magazine.
I disagree with you Keith, GAMBLING CORRIDORS HAVE BEEN A FLOP! Look at how many times new train routes were started to Atlantic City and failed. The Amtrak corridor was NOT a success form the onset. NJ Transit’s lowest performing route in terms of passengers has been the Atlantic City line. The ACES trains serving New York and Newark did not last long either. As for Amtrak, the success of the Gulf Coast Limited for the two times it did run had its success based at New Orleans during the World’s Fair in 1984, and another short tenure in the late 1990’s was as a second train of sorts on the Sunset Limited route at that time, again mostly helped by good connections at New Orleans with a train to/from Memphis and Chicago to serve Mobile, not as much caSINos at Gulfport and Biloxi, which were also anchored by military activity, not to mention also Pascagoula as well. The Desert Wind did okay, but that was a long-distance service, much like the Sunset Limted east of New Orleans.
Gambling is a MAJOR reason our nation is down the path to bankruptcy and some caSINos in Las Vegas are already about to go broke while many caSINos just closed up recently in Atlantic City! Never mind Las Vegas, that route will do NOTHING to solve California’s transportation or financial woes. The best way to California to erase its deficits on transportation would be to start charging tolls along both I-15 and I-80 near the Nevada state line.Anew train line to Las Vegas isn’t going to get anybody quicker between the Bay area and Southern California. On the contrary, support for the high-speed rail is slowly returning. California will ship out and lose their state’s economy out to Nevada if they do so. Furthermore, none of the proposed Las Vegas train services have a proposal to run through trains to/from downtown Los Angeles. Unless there is far more Metrolink service than what is now being provided to Lancaster and a proposal to bring frequent train service to Victorville, the Las Vegas trains are making a fool
Good grief, I hope they aren’t using wooden ties and spikes on a high speed line!