Is Interstate 14 Dead? (Atlanta, Columbus, Savannah: to buy, live, price)

[tckr83]

Originally Posted by gaduchman

Baloney!

1M/mile for light rail and $4-6M for heavy rail. Since no one is doing heavy rail anymore and there's no reason for it, light rail is the cheapest form of mass transit.

Cheap oil is your past - your next fillup is going to be $6/gal by this time next year. Fuel oil, by comparison is far cheaper when purchased for diesel electric train companies - not Amtrak. Private industry does it more efficiently than any govt anything.

Baloney? People DONT want to ride trains in the southeast, it's that simple. It's a different lifestyle down here compared to the northeast... When people travel they want to be free to do what they want, when they want. Saying gas will be 6$/gal next year is just as much of a stretch as saying that this proposed rail system will cure all ill's and proved the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are being mentioned. It always looks good on paper and fails to produce the goods.

1M a mile is baloney. California recently approved 10Billion dollars for an 800-mile stretch of light rail/high speed transit system. That's not 1M per mile.

If you have some links supporting this that are associated with an unbiased affiliation... I would be interested. Just from doing some searching myself, I've had trouble doing so.

[koko339]

Originally Posted by tckr83

Baloney? People DONT want to ride trains in the southeast, it's that simple. It's a different lifestyle down here compared to the northeast... When people travel they want to be free to do what they want, when they want. Saying gas will be 6$/gal next year is just as much of a stretch as saying that this proposed rail system will cure all ill's and proved the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are being mentioned. It always looks good on paper and fails to produce the goods.

1M a mile is baloney. California recently approved 10Billion dollars for an 800-mile stretch of light rail/high speed transit system. That's not 1M per mile.

If you have some links supporting this that are associated with an unbiased affiliation... I would be interested. Just from doing some searching myself, I've had trouble doing so.

I'm glad you speak for all of us. I know I'm not the only one in the South that would like more rail.

[Southernbill]

If the state of GA were really serious about rail it could easily build rail without having to pay astronomical prices for right of way just place it in the center median of interstates outside of most metro areas most of the overpasses are outdated and need replacing just remove the center columns and lay track 75 and 95 would be the exceptions due to widening projects that removed or narrowed the center median. Think of what it cost to widen 95 and 75 throughout the state from 2 lanes in each direction to 3. I'm sure most citizens along this route would give that extra lane back for a train any day. By now GA could have a Savannah-Jacksonville route, a Chattanooga-Atlanta-Macon-Valdosta route, and with the 2 proposed routes you would have Augusta-Savannah possibly Dalton-Gainesville-Athens-Augusta-Statesboro-Savannah/Jacksonville depending on the route, and Columbus-Macon-Milledgeville-Augusta route. The state has invested in commuter rail line routes into Metro Atlanta (abandoned rail lines bought and currently or planned to be rehabilitated) and other parts of the state so that could be used there.

[Southernbill]

oh i forgot Atlanta-Macon route currently being discussed and Atlanta-Athens or the Brain Train.sounds like a complete network to me the only line missing would be a West GA route possibly Rome-Atlanta-Columbus-Albany-Valdosta Central GA Columbus-Macon-Savannah and South GA Albany-Valdosta-Waycross-Brunswick

[tckr83]

Originally Posted by koko339

I'm glad you speak for all of us. I know I'm not the only one in the South that would like more rail.

If you want to be that literal with my post, that's your prerogative. A VAST majority of southerners would rather drive than ride trains. You happy?

And I'll stand by that statement without worry of being wrong.

[Southernbill]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

I-14 doesn't connect to Savannah

by way of I-16.

Originally Posted by outsideperspective

on the numbering issue just number it 375 as a spur to Savannah thru Athens and Augusta and name it the Third Infantry Expressway throughout the state in Honor of the soldiers that should solve that

good idea / heres your answer

Interstate 24 takes a northwest-southeast orientation through Southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The freeway even enters Georgia briefly. Extend it from I-75 around Calhoun over to Gainesville Atlantas Northern ARC a little farther out down to Athens over to Augusta down to Savannah.

[912]

Originally Posted by tckr83

Light rail is a waste of time and money. People don't want to ride trains in the southeast, maybe in the northeast... They want to drive their car and exit when/where they want to along the way to their destination. Light rail has been nothing but financial trouble in city lines across america as well as Amtrak for years. Why would that change now?

It just won't take off in the Southeast.

Rep for you!

The South is not compact like the northeast...or Europe for that matter. This part of the country isn't conducive for it.

[plainsman48]

Originally Posted by tckr83

Baloney? People DONT want to ride trains in the southeast, it's that simple. It's a different lifestyle down here compared to the northeast... When people travel they want to be free to do what they want, when they want. Saying gas will be 6$/gal next year is just as much of a stretch as saying that this proposed rail system will cure all ill's and proved the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are being mentioned. It always looks good on paper and fails to produce the goods.

1M a mile is baloney. California recently approved 10Billion dollars for an 800-mile stretch of light rail/high speed transit system. That's not 1M per mile.

If you have some links supporting this that are associated with an unbiased affiliation... I would be interested. Just from doing some searching myself, I've had trouble doing so.

Then you're not looking in the right places. There's plenty of info if you put a little time into it.

800 miles of light rail in Kali - that I gotta see for only $10B - by the time it's finished in 2025, it will be 5x more expensive!

Getting back to the $1M/mi premise - I'm sure he meant the cost of the rail is that - which would be correct at today's price of steel. Remember, this isn't your old clickety-clack tracks. It's welded every quarter-mile, very smooth and very efficient. Chicago and NYC have had it for more than a century and it effectively moves people into and around the city. Buses still provide the arterial arms to the hubs.

As to the viability - from my review of old southern rail lines, Georgia was covered by them. Most towns - Macon, Savannah, Atlanta, Albany, Tifton, Valdosta, Waycross were hubs. Most of the old lines are still there and unused they were converted to trails, as the interstate system became the predominate mode of transport. The interstate system at its max is 2-3000 vehicles, per lane, per hour. Light rail handles up to 10 times that number of people, granted a few hours in the morning and at night - BUT in between times can be converted to handling freight. Which brings the costs down for everyone.

I used to drive otr as an o/o - two years ago, I had to charge $4/loaded mile to make ends meet on long hauls when diesel hit $5.35/gal! A train with 100 cars hauling twice my load on each, pays for itself many times over. Plus I am required to stop, a train doesn't.

Your arguments against light rail are moot - accept the technology (tho it may be old) or be left in the dust.

How Light Rail Saves Operating Cost Dollars Compared With Buses

Six dollar/gallon gas is not an anomoly - it will happen. Prudhoe pipeline may need to be shut down for an extensive period of time and that will cause a uptick in prices. This won't be the oil trader doing it - like $140/bbl oil two years ago. When it gets that expensive, you won't be driving that suv.

[plainsman48]

Originally Posted by Southernbill

If the state of GA were really serious about rail it could easily build rail without having to pay astronomical prices for right of way just place it in the center median of interstates outside of most metro areas most of the overpasses are outdated and need replacing just remove the center columns and lay track 75 and 95 would be the exceptions due to widening projects that removed or narrowed the center median. Think of what it cost to widen 95 and 75 throughout the state from 2 lanes in each direction to 3. I'm sure most citizens along this route would give that extra lane back for a train any day. By now GA could have a Savannah-Jacksonville route, a Chattanooga-Atlanta-Macon-Valdosta route, and with the 2 proposed routes you would have Augusta-Savannah possibly Dalton-Gainesville-Athens-Augusta-Statesboro-Savannah/Jacksonville depending on the route, and Columbus-Macon-Milledgeville-Augusta route. The state has invested in commuter rail line routes into Metro Atlanta (abandoned rail lines bought and currently or planned to be rehabilitated) and other parts of the state so that could be used there.

Exactly! Most cities and states already own the land, so there's no need to purchase it. What they need is the engineering to figure out the curves and where to up the pilings for the raised structures. My gosh, if Roy Disney could do this in the 1960's - Georgia can too.

[midgeorgiaman]

Rail could work, but I agree that the current political climate would kill it. Georgia can't even expand rail in Atlanta where the traffic and urban density actually make it a no-brainer. Call me pessimistic, but if we can't sell MARTA to the legislature then I don't see anything else getting a chance.