Texas poised to get America's first bullet train? (Houston, Dallas: real estate market, bankrupt)

[Boothwynman]

Originally Posted by oil capital

Nothing seems to have come of this. The Prime Minister's visit has come and gone, the joint statement has been issued. No mention of bullet trains, high-speed rail, or Texas.



https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...ers-statement/

From the Newsweek article...

According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, citing unnamed administration sources, the White House is looking to make an announcement on the project

The Newsweek article doesn't link the Reuters article.

To the bolded, you gotta be careful of references to "sources". They may just be trial balloons by the news outlet with an eye to measuring reaction to something that *may* happen or be proposed.

[blisterpeanuts]

As an Oklahoman (originally), with a lot of family in Texas... I think a network of bullet trains connecting the cities of the Southwest (Texas, NM, AZ, maybe Oklahoma and points east eventually) is a splendid idea. Japanese make the best trains, there's lots of land so less NIMBY to deal with, and it's surely a better investment than, I don't know, forgiving a trillion dollars of student loans.

Did I mention how great Japanese bullet trains are? Actually one of the reasons they're so great is the preventative maintenance they do on their trains. They have this down to a science.

I'm not certain that a U.S. bullet train would have as good maintenance, which is kind of essential when you're dealing with 200 mph speeds and very low tolerances for mistakes. The crossings would have to be very "bullet proof" so to speak; imagine hitting a truck or something at that kind of speed.

Then there's the unions. They'd probably have to use NABTU, the construction union that Amtrak has to deal with, plus a union of engineers/conductors.

I suggest that Southwest Airlines diversify into bullet trains (why not? seems like a great idea. "Southwest Train Lines"!) and then they'll be totally on board with this.

All aboard!!!

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Not if Southwest Airlines has a say in it...

Southwest hasn't said much. The Dallas/Houston route is pretty saturated for air travel.

[Dallaz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Sk...ist=LL&index=1

[Dopo]

Crazy that 100,000 farmers can put a hold on a project that would benefit 12 million people

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Crazy that 100,000 farmers can put a hold on a project that would benefit 12 million people

The rural property owners look at it as "why should I suffer the loss of property that's been in my family for a few generations, just so namby pamby city folks can get to Dallas from Houston without driving".

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The rural property owners look at it as "why should I suffer the loss of property that's been in my family for a few generations, just so namby pamby city folks can get to Dallas from Houston without driving".

Same city people that subsidize building the roads that those farmers use

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Same city people that subsidize building the roads that those farmers use

The roads can be used by everyone and don't typically result in taking of land by eminent domain, other than when freeways get expanded. Whether you agree with the rural folks or not, they do have some valid points that need to be considered. Especially since routing of the high speed rail, as well as pipelines and other infrastructure, seldom considers alternatives other than what is cheapest for the developer of the projects.

[Need4Camaro]

Meh, just remove the speed limit on I-45 ... do the same for I-35 while they're at it. I'd prefer that to a Bullet Train

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The roads can be used by everyone

We can make the same comment ... the fast speed train can be used by everyone