Texas bullet Train

[Breedlove]

I know there are quite a few Texans on here . What are your opinions on the Dallas to Houston high speed train.

I tried to buy a piece of land in Roans Prairie Texas , when I called they told me the land was under contract ( 2 ) lots at 145,000.00 . Somebody is making some expensive bets . Roans Prairie currently has nothing , a Valero station and a Dollar Store . Not even a stop light . Roans prairie is supposed to be where one of the stations are going in .

[Chuckanut]

Note. I 'm not a Texan or a Californian.

Are you sure this idea isn't being floated by all those Californians flocking to Texas who miss their upcoming high speed rail line between LA and SF? Or perhaps a perfidious plot by California politicians to get Texas taxes up to CA levels?

Cost for California bullet train system rises to $77.3 billion

Quote:

The price of the California bullet train project jumped sharply Friday when the state rail authority announced that the cost of connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco would be $77.3 billion and could rise as high as $98.1 billion — an uptick of at least $13 billion from estimates two years ago.

[REWahoo]

As a Texan living in an area that won't benefit from it, even if it is highly successful, I'm neutral on the plan - and will remain that way as long as I don't have to foot any part of the bill:

Quote:

Texas Central, the developers, say the project is a private venture supported by private funds. It is fully financed through the pre-construction phase, but the company is also exploring the option of federal loans like the RRIF - or the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing.

A closer look at the route, financing for the Texas Bullet Train | abc13.com

[braumeister]

Does it go near the Superconducting SuperCollider?

[Breedlove]

Kind of interesting , they are touting it as it will only be privately funded . And yes the Cali. train has been part of the discussion on the train . I know nothing on the Cali. train but appearently it has a bad taste as a boondoggle . Texans keep bringing up the Cali. train . This train will run from Houston to Dallas a 90 min. ride . The train hopes to cut down on cars on the highway and Airline traffic .
A friend of mine works for TDOT in Austin and he says there will not be any highways built in Texas unless they will be part of the toll road system . He said Texans will not approve any taxes for new highways.

[Ed B]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Does it go near the Superconducting SuperCollider?

Oh snap!

Yes.

[MuirWannabe]

I just don’t see it happening. It’s been talked about already for years, with no actual progress. Seems we aren’t able to do these type projects anymore....even in Texas.
Plus, Texans love their cars and the freedom they represent. Not sure how well attended a train system might be. Definitely would need good transportation alternatives at the stations which I suppose is possible. Reducing traffic burden on Texas freeways, especially 45 and 35, is a noble goal.

Maybe The hyperloop would be a better solution in this day and age. Probably get built about as fast as a high speed train.

[USGrant1962]

Here's the developer's website https://www.texascentral.com/project/.

They have just hired Bechtel as project manager.

[Car-Guy]

Back in the day, I traveled between Houston and Dallas a lot for both business and pleasure. Once you consider the time and expense of going to and from and "through" the airports (or train station in this case), parking, getting a rental in the distance city (or catching/calling cabs) it just wasn't worth the hassle. Anyway, I-45 is pretty high speed already.

I drove it both ways and conducted my business in the same day many times. Flying "might" have saved me a few hours "sometimes" but not enough to make the inconvenience worth it to me. I don't see a fast train being any better.

[USGrant1962]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Car-Guy Back in the day, I traveled between Houston and Dallas a lot for both business and pleasure. Once you consider the time and expense of going to and from and "through" the airports (or train station in this case), parking, getting a rental in the distance city (or catching/calling cabs) it just wasn't worth the hassle. Anyway, I-45 is pretty high speed already. I drove it both ways and conducted my business in the same day many times. Flying "might" have saved me a few hours "sometimes" but not enough to make the inconvenience worth it to me. I don't see a fast train being any better.

I'm shocked I tell you, shocked, that Car-Guy would prefer to drive.

[Koolau]

Not to totally hijack the thread, but let me tell you about Honolulu's experience with trains. Very long story, very short: Our light rail, which might be finished before I die was supposed to cost $3 billion. By now, the estimated cost is $10 Billion with no one having a clue when the first passenger will ride it. If my math is correct, roughly 1,000,000 Oahu residents will spend $10,000 each to produce a 20+ mile train which (if anyone actually rides it) will reduce traffic congestion by 6% (proponents numbers.)

But I'm not bitter.

Returning you now to our regularly scheduled discussion.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuirWannabe I just don’t see it happening. It’s been talked about already for years, with no actual progress. Seems we aren’t able to do these type projects anymore....even in Texas. Plus, Texans love their cars and the freedom they represent. Not sure how well attended a train system might be. Definitely would need good transportation alternatives at the stations which I suppose is possible. Reducing traffic burden on Texas freeways, especially 45 and 35, is a noble goal. Maybe The hyperloop would be a better solution in this day and age. Probably get built about as fast as a high speed train.

The last couple of attempts stoped when folks whose land would be taken by eminent domain got their county courts to push back against the project along with their state legislators It will be interesting to see how things go once folks who will be affected find out their land is possibly gone. Since you can't turn an RR track very fast a number of homes may well go.

[Breedlove]

And farther interesting , there are subdivisions on the west side of Houston that could be affected . But me ....I want to see it . The Roans Prairie station would be a few miles from my country home and catch a Uber in Houston or Dallas makes sense to me ! A couple weeks ago we went to Dallas for the NFL draft . Once there we rode Uber everywhere to avoid the slug of people.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Car-Guy Back in the day, I traveled between Houston and Dallas a lot for both business and pleasure. Once you consider the time and expense of going to and from and "through" the airports (or train station in this case), parking, getting a rental in the distance city (or catching/calling cabs) it just wasn't worth the hassle. Anyway, I-45 is pretty high speed already. I drove it both ways and conducted my business in the same day many times. Flying "might" have saved me a few hours "sometimes" but not enough to make the inconvenience worth it to me. I don't see a fast train being any better.

I will give a different perspective.... but something that cannot be done anymore...

One time I was at work when my boss came and said 'you need to get this paper to Dallas right away'.... So, I went downstairs and grabbed a cab to Hobby... maybe 45 minutes for so.... jumped on a Southwest plane and flew to Dallas Love... got a cab to where I need to go... 20 minutes... took the paper upstairs, signed a few docs and back to the cab.... 20 minutes to the airport and I walk onto a plane 1 hour from when I landed... back to Houston for another cab to downtown and I STILL had to stay and finish the day at work....

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by USGrant1962 I'm shocked I tell you, shocked, that Car-Guy would prefer to drive.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meierlde The last couple of attempts stoped when folks whose land would be taken by eminent domain got their county courts to push back against the project along with their state legislators It will be interesting to see how things go once folks who will be affected find out their land is possibly gone. Since you can't turn an RR track very fast a number of homes may well go.

They said they would be using land that is already used for utilities... so not much land to take from people...

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud I will give a different perspective.... but something that cannot be done anymore... One time I was at work when my boss came and said 'you need to get this paper to Dallas right away'.... So, I went downstairs and grabbed a cab to Hobby... maybe 45 minutes for so.... jumped on a Southwest plane and flew to Dallas Love... got a cab to where I need to go... 20 minutes... took the paper upstairs, signed a few docs and back to the cab.... 20 minutes to the airport and I walk onto a plane 1 hour from when I landed... back to Houston for another cab to downtown and I STILL had to stay and finish the day at work....

Yep, I've done that too when time was critical (except I didn't go back to work ). Hobby and Love are a "lot" better/faster than getting through IAH and DFW. But still not worth the hassle for me. But, as pointed out, I like to drive so that helps explain/support my perspective...

[aja8888]

I drive to DFW area living in The Woodlands. About 3.5 hours, all freeway. Much faster than flying/rental car, etc.

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 I drive to DFW area living in The Woodlands. About 3.5 hours, all freeway. Much faster than flying/rental car, etc.

Especially with a 75mph () speed limit much of the way. BTW, if you are going to drive 75mph on I-45, ~north of Houston and ~south of Dallas, you might want to stay in the right hand lane, like you should anyway.

[MuirWannabe]

Being in the northern parts of Houston and the southern parts of Dallas makes a big difference in duration.
When I visit Houston from Dallas, I’m driving all the way to the Clear Lake area. That adds a good 1.5 hours