Join the discussion on the following article:
High speed rail environmental hearings set for corridors in Texas and Minnesota
I’m all in favor of expanded passenger rail, but the proposed link between Minneapolis and Duluth is a boondoggle. There wouldn’t be anywhere near enough traffic to support it, and the low-speed switching and bridges in Superior and Duluth would add a considerable amount of time to the “high-speed” route. This money should be used where it makes more sense, like Twin Cities to Chicago (or Milwaukee and Madison if the Flat Earth Party is ever thrown out of the Wisconsin statehouse).
TEN YRS. AGO TEXAS WANTED A HIGH SPEED RAILROAD TRIAGLE ROUTE. CONNECTING DALLAS, HOUSTON,SAN ANTONIO AND FT. WORTH. ON THE NEW PROPOSAL THEY HELD A PUBLIC HEARING MEETING MONDAY 3-25-2013 IN WACO, TX. THE SAME OLD STORIES RE-SURFACED. COST TO MUCH, DIVIDE FARM AND RANCH LAND, DISRUPT ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY. ONE SPEAKER CALLED THE PROJECT A CANCER THAT IS RE-TURNING…TO VIEW THE COMPLETE STORY ONLINE GO TO waco tribune-times herald.com
The concept of high speed rail down to Brownsville could influence the possible re-routing of Amtrak’s Chief through Amarillo, since that would be the logical connecting point for a passenger line linking Fort Worth to Denver (the old Colorado & Southern) which would complete the network for the folks from Matamoros, Mexico, to go skiing in the Rockies.
The Twin Cities to Duluth is a delightful outing for the trip alone - especially when pulled by steam. Otherwise, a boondoggle as Al Miller stated so well. Unfortunately, the low speed switching in Superior and bridges gives even the steam major fits.
I wonder when preliminary routes and terminals will be discussed.
I’m not convinced that passenger rail from the Twin Cities to Duluth is, in and of itself, a boondoggle. Anyone who’s driven that route on a regular basis can see the benefits of another transportation alternative. What I don’t get is why a “high speed” rail alternative. A 79mph trip would get me there just fine, thank you.
I always like to promote the idea that we have a lot of work to do improving the existing system, and that when this is done, more progress is made than trying to take on huge projects all at once. Look at Seattle-Portland, North Carolina, routes around Chicago, and Virginia. There’s a ton that could be done to improve the timing of the Texas Eagle’s entire route, and it would seem this route would overlap one of the proposed routes in this schedule. How about starting with speeding up Dallas-Fort Worth to San-Antonio and adding a frequency to compliment the Texas Eagle first, then speeding up Fort-Worth to Oklahoma City, then adding a frequency there? Once those are done and well patronized, then we could talk about additional frequencies, extended trips, and improved speeds.
WILLIAM S ENSINGER, your comment makes so much sense it does not have a prayer of being adopted, but keep trying.