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Posted

The deal is valued at $14 billion and includes final engineering and design of the 240-mile high-speed rail line and construction of the route, mostly along a utility corridor between the two metro regions.

The announcement is the most concrete step toward construction for the train — expected to whisk travelers to and from Houston and Dallas in 90 minutes with a stop in the Brazos Valley. The plan has faced intense opposition from rural residents who fear the train’s construction will ruin their peaceful pastures and lifestyles.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/Company-announces-14-billion-deal-with-build-14437777.php

Posted

Where exactly is this stop in the Brazos Valley? Are their long term plans to have lines running from Dallas and Houston to Austin and San Antonio? May have one going from Dallas to Lubbock? El Paso to San Antonio? Oh the possibilities!

Posted
1 minute ago, UDontKnow said:

Where exactly is this stop in the Brazos Valley? Are their long term plans to have lines running from Dallas and Houston to Austin and San Antonio? May have one going from Dallas to Lubbock? El Paso to San Antonio? Oh the possibilities!

Too many financial interests against high-speed rail, so I don’t believe any of this will happen, including the Houston-Dallas line.  

But damn would it be amazing for pro- and college-level sports fans.   

Posted
11 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Also, if it came to pass, the TSA will get their hooks in this and add an 30-60 minutes of security bullshit, making those 90-minute trips into 2-3 hour trips.   

Ah true. Railway systems are a historical target for terrorist attacks on the global scale.

Posted
40 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

I'm guessing all the crooked congressmen have already bought up all the land near the Brazos Valley stop 

The thing about the Brazos Valley stop is that it will take just as long to drive from the stop to College Station as it does to the station in Houston.  It is pretty stupid.

Posted
23 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

Where exactly is this stop in the Brazos Valley? Are their long term plans to have lines running from Dallas and Houston to Austin and San Antonio? May have one going from Dallas to Lubbock? El Paso to San Antonio? Oh the possibilities!

TxDot did a 900 page study on a high speed train line from Oklahoma to Monterrey Mexico that would go through Waco, Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo.  The Austin section would run along the 130 corridor so you would have to hop on a bus to get you downtown. Maybe they could have the transfer point at the front of the airport grounds.

 

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Posted
33 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

Ah true. Railway systems are a historical target for terrorist attacks on the global scale.

More like government bureaucracies grow when given the chance.   

Plus, somebody/industry who doesn’t like high-speed rail will probably lobby Congress to try and make it painful for travelers.  

Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

More like government bureaucracies grow when given the chance.   

Plus, somebody/industry who doesn’t like high-speed rail will probably lobby Congress to try and make it painful for travelers.  

I was mentioning it as an excuse for Homeland Security to get itself involved by sending TSA - perhaps second to FEMA as the most incompetent federal agency.

Edited by UDontKnow
  • Fuck You 1
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

I was mentioning it as an excuse for Homeland Security to get itself involved by sending TSA - perhaps second to FEMA as the most incompetent federal agency.

Agreed.   

I do think this is how those opposed to this will fight it, should it actually be built.  All they have to do is add 45 minutes or so to each leg, and many will say “fuck it” and drive or fly.   

Edited by atomheartbevo
Posted
50 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Also, if it came to pass, the TSA will get their hooks in this and add an 30-60 minutes of security bullshit, making those 90-minute trips into 2-3 hour trips.   

So far as I know, passengers don't have to pass through any sort of onerous security process to board the Acela in the northeast or any other sort of passenger train in this country -- or internationally -- which I have more personal experience with.

  • Like 2
Posted
19 minutes ago, bolverk said:

So far as I know, passengers don't have to pass through any sort of onerous security process to board the Acela in the northeast or any other sort of passenger train in this country -- or internationally -- which I have more personal experience with.

Those trains have been around forever, and have plenty of built-in political support for them, including politicians who actually use them.

Here, it's new and is seen as a threat to all kinds of people/businesses up and down that corridor, who are going to bitch to their local and state politicians.  And plenty of towns up and down that corridor are going to scream at their local and state politicians that they should be included, or that it's hurting their tax collection, etc.  Wouldn't take too many people skipping that drive to hurt some of those businesses/podunk towns up and down that route.

I'm just being way too cynical, I know, but I don't see these businesses/towns going down without a fight.

Posted
27 minutes ago, bolverk said:

So far as I know, passengers don't have to pass through any sort of onerous security process to board the Acela in the northeast or any other sort of passenger train in this country -- or internationally -- which I have more personal experience with.

Huh? Eurostar has strict security at this point. I did London/Paris/London two months ago and it was as bad as airport security, lines included. 

Posted
Just now, phdhorn said:

How about something like building of a big Verruckt that lauches you 275  miles into the air w/o lopping off your head?

There's a guy willing to design that, and he's currently out-of-work, he could help you.

Posted
2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Schedules are going to be a challenge, because the train is going to run significantly faster on the trips north than on the trips south.

Because Oklahoma sucks.

My theory that the first reply is most often the best gets another data point 

  • Like 1
Posted
16 minutes ago, woohorn said:

How long is drive from N Houston to S Dallas normally-3.5 to 4 hrs?

If you fuel up before you hit I-45 and don't have a car full of kids, preggos or prostate impinged bladders you can do it in that amount of time. 3 to 3.5 hrs if you get out of Houston before or after heavy traffic hrs. Left hand lane and cruise on 75-80 mph.

  • Like 1
  • Fuck You 1
Posted
1 hour ago, Moby Ric said:

The thing about the Brazos Valley stop is that it will take just as long to drive from the stop to College Station as it does to the station in Houston.  It is pretty stupid.

This. If it has a stop in the Brazos Valley its a waste of time and money. 

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Agreed.   

I do think this is how those opposed to this will fight it, should it actually be built.  All they have to do is add 45 minutes or so to each leg, and many will say “fuck it” and drive or fly.   

More likely self driving cars will be prevalent long before hsr could be finished.  And they won’t have enough demand.  Because if I don’t have to deal with aggravation of driving, I’d much rather hop in my self driving vehicle and go start to end in 3-4 hours than fuck with driving to train station early enough to catch train, parking, security, train time, and then taking a taxi or uber to final destination.  I don’t see it being any faster when you factor in all that.  Especially for those whose start and end points aren’t close to rail stations. 

Driving is cheaper.  You can pack what you want.  You go point to point.  Can take friends and family for no extra cost.  And you have a vehicle when you get there.  

Edited by Johnny Sack
  • Like 4
Posted
2 hours ago, UDontKnow said:

Where exactly is this stop in the Brazos Valley? Are their long term plans to have lines running from Dallas and Houston to Austin and San Antonio? May have one going from Dallas to Lubbock? El Paso to San Antonio? Oh the possibilities!

Monorail!

Posted
34 minutes ago, JimmyJames said:

This. If it has a stop in the Brazos Valley its a waste of time and money. 

John Sharp will make sure the route takes it directly in front of Dead Dog/Kroger Field.

Posted
6 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

You don’t like public funded transportation? What about roads? 

We have roads.  Already pay for them.  They are "looking for private investors".

Let's keep it private imo.

Posted
9 minutes ago, Poolflood said:

We have roads.  Already pay for them.  They are "looking for private investors".

Let's keep it private imo.

So to be clear, you are for public roads but against public trains?

 

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