Remind me never to take the train in California.
The monumental task of building California’s bullet train will require punching 36 miles of tunnels through the geologically complex mountains north of Los Angeles.
Crews will have to cross the tectonic boundary that separates the North American and Pacific plates, boring through a jumble of fractured rock formations and a maze of earthquake faults, some of which are not mapped.
Here are the details:
A new report from D Magazine quotes a Texas Tribune reporter talking about the high-speed train.
The report said a member of the Texas Transportation commission has confirmed that Texas Central High-Speed Railway is studying the possibility of a Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston rail line.
And here’s why Texas would beat California, if this project happens:
TCHR is a for-profit company.
Yup, I’m talking trash about both California, and the inability of government to measure up to private enterprise. So? Continue reading $20 says Texas gets its high-speed rail project functional before California does.
“+” because this is going to crash and burn for years.
Let me summarize this LA Times article discussing the looming …singularity… of fiscal destruction.
Continue reading Anticipating the upcoming Great California High-Speed Rail Disaster of 2013+.
The Left is whining about it again [Link fixed.]. Speaking as somebody who’s actually used Amtrak in the past, let’s just establish this once and for all: it’s great for going from Manhattan to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and/or Washington DC… if you’re having work pay the several hundred dollars in fares that you need for a round trip. If you’re don’t, it’s expensive. If you need to go somewhere else than from city-to-city, you’re stuck. If you rely on Amtrak for a daily commute, you are smoking crack. If you have kids, then an Amtrak trip is excellent practice for dealing with the fires of Hell.
Bottom line, folks: urban types love high-speed rail because it more or less conveniently links the roughly .5% of the country that they actually care about. The rest of us use this thing called an “automobile,” which is a marvelous device that likewise goes from city to city; plus, you can use it to do such different activities as facilitate shopping, explore rural and suburban areas, and engage in emergency transportation. In a pinch, it even makes for an impromptu locale for fornication.
Try doing that on the Acela.
