Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Is Hi Speed Rail a vaste of money, I vote YES!!!
In my last post, i promised you a look at the proposed Hi Speed Rail projects that the O Bama administration has proposed. IMHO this is a waste of our tax dollars and should be stopped.
Intercity passenger rail is a waste of money. It's time has passed and it should be allowed to die a merciful death. I mentioned in a recent post that bueach ticket on Amtrak costs the taxpayers a $50 subsidy to Amtrak. Outside of the Northeast Corridor, there are few trains that have enough usage to justify the expense. At a time of tight state revenues, Amtrak is going to the states for additional funding.
According to a recent article in Trains magazine, all routes of 750 miles or less will be required to get state funding.
Proponents of passenger rail point out that every part tranportation system has governement subsidies. My question is this do we really need to fund something where there is little demand? Yes, our airports are overcrowded, but so what.
Why not let intercity buses pick up the slack. They can run on our existing highway system, they are run by private enterprise and turn a profit. It is far easier to add additional bus routes than to lay new rail.
It is not to say that I am totally against passenger rail. I am totally in favor of spending money where it works. That is in areas of high population density and commuter rail. Commuter rail reduces traffic congestion, eliminates the parking hassles and is in general a good alternative to private car travel. Here in the Northeast corridor we have enough population density to make it work. Aceela has become a popular alternative to air travel between Boston and Washington D.C.
How many other parts of the country have this much population? Answer, None!
Proponents of Hi Speed rail also look to Europe and Japan as examples. In both cases the population density is there and the price of gasoline is much higher than what we pay here. People would have to be forced out of their cars by increased gasoline taxes to make it work here. My question is, why? Gasoline taxes would have a negative impact on the entire economy. Just look at what happened when fuel spiked recently. That should give you your answer.
If government want to spend our money to upgrade the existing rail system, fine.
A partnership with the freight railroads would work wonders. If we can get more trucks off the highways, we all win. Less traffic and less pollution. A train can get better fuel economy than trucks. Upgrading the system will allow more shippers to see rail as a viable alternative.
Like health care, we have a good transportation system in place. It may need some tweaking, but it is not broken. If it ain't broke, don't fix it and don't spend my tax money to fix it.
Intercity passenger rail is a waste of money. It's time has passed and it should be allowed to die a merciful death. I mentioned in a recent post that bueach ticket on Amtrak costs the taxpayers a $50 subsidy to Amtrak. Outside of the Northeast Corridor, there are few trains that have enough usage to justify the expense. At a time of tight state revenues, Amtrak is going to the states for additional funding.
According to a recent article in Trains magazine, all routes of 750 miles or less will be required to get state funding.
Proponents of passenger rail point out that every part tranportation system has governement subsidies. My question is this do we really need to fund something where there is little demand? Yes, our airports are overcrowded, but so what.
Why not let intercity buses pick up the slack. They can run on our existing highway system, they are run by private enterprise and turn a profit. It is far easier to add additional bus routes than to lay new rail.
It is not to say that I am totally against passenger rail. I am totally in favor of spending money where it works. That is in areas of high population density and commuter rail. Commuter rail reduces traffic congestion, eliminates the parking hassles and is in general a good alternative to private car travel. Here in the Northeast corridor we have enough population density to make it work. Aceela has become a popular alternative to air travel between Boston and Washington D.C.
How many other parts of the country have this much population? Answer, None!
Proponents of Hi Speed rail also look to Europe and Japan as examples. In both cases the population density is there and the price of gasoline is much higher than what we pay here. People would have to be forced out of their cars by increased gasoline taxes to make it work here. My question is, why? Gasoline taxes would have a negative impact on the entire economy. Just look at what happened when fuel spiked recently. That should give you your answer.
If government want to spend our money to upgrade the existing rail system, fine.
A partnership with the freight railroads would work wonders. If we can get more trucks off the highways, we all win. Less traffic and less pollution. A train can get better fuel economy than trucks. Upgrading the system will allow more shippers to see rail as a viable alternative.
Like health care, we have a good transportation system in place. It may need some tweaking, but it is not broken. If it ain't broke, don't fix it and don't spend my tax money to fix it.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Some Railroad terms you should know
Since my business is booming, I am going to keep this post brief.
In my next post I am going to discuss in detail, my thoughts on the Hi Speed rail proposal by the O Bama administration.
Since I am a rail fan and this blog is dedicated to the my friends on Facebook and SOC, I thought it best to give you a brief look at some railroad terms.
Rairoading as a whole is divided into two major sectors, passenger and freight.
Freight railroading is simple. Everything that you own or use travels by rail.
Railroads do their best work when handling bulk commodities, whether it be coal, steel, automobiles or building materials.
Freight railroads are divided by classes
Class I are the majors, Union Pacific, Furlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific. They handle the bulk of cross country traffic. Here in New England, CSX controls most of the market as a result of the break up of Conrail. Norfolk Southern is making a move into this market in partnership with the regional line, Pan Am.
Class II are the regionals. In Southern New England, the major regional is the Providence and Worcester. It serves part of Mass and Ct. as well as R.I.. Northern Bew England is dominated by the Guilford lines, now operating under the Pan Am name.
There are other regionals also who serve parts of New England.
Class III are the little guys, the guys who bring the freight to your door. Examples include teg Connecticut Southern and the Pioneer Valley Railroad. Most of these short lines are owned by larege holding companies.
Passenger rail has three major components
Amtrak is the nation's only large passenger railroad. It was formed in the 70s to provide passenger service when the freight railroads could no longer make it work.
On the Northeast corridor and on the West Coast, ith has seen some success, however the road still requires a heavy subsidy from the US government to stay in business.
They are now reaching out to the states they serve for more money, as it seems that they cannot turn a profit regardless of the ridership. I have seen cost figures that indicate each ticket sold cost the taxpayers $50. Can you say LOSER!!!!!
The other components of the passenger system are the commuter rail operations, like MBTA and the Light rail systems, AKA Subways!
Now before you think that this next post is going to be a total slam, let it be known that I am a railroad fan. I have used both passenger rail and commuter rail with good results. M Even my wife knows about my railroading. She lives with the Springfield Southern, my HO model railroad..
Welcome to my new vistors from Sound Off Ct. More to come soon! John
In my next post I am going to discuss in detail, my thoughts on the Hi Speed rail proposal by the O Bama administration.
Since I am a rail fan and this blog is dedicated to the my friends on Facebook and SOC, I thought it best to give you a brief look at some railroad terms.
Rairoading as a whole is divided into two major sectors, passenger and freight.
Freight railroading is simple. Everything that you own or use travels by rail.
Railroads do their best work when handling bulk commodities, whether it be coal, steel, automobiles or building materials.
Freight railroads are divided by classes
Class I are the majors, Union Pacific, Furlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific. They handle the bulk of cross country traffic. Here in New England, CSX controls most of the market as a result of the break up of Conrail. Norfolk Southern is making a move into this market in partnership with the regional line, Pan Am.
Class II are the regionals. In Southern New England, the major regional is the Providence and Worcester. It serves part of Mass and Ct. as well as R.I.. Northern Bew England is dominated by the Guilford lines, now operating under the Pan Am name.
There are other regionals also who serve parts of New England.
Class III are the little guys, the guys who bring the freight to your door. Examples include teg Connecticut Southern and the Pioneer Valley Railroad. Most of these short lines are owned by larege holding companies.
Passenger rail has three major components
Amtrak is the nation's only large passenger railroad. It was formed in the 70s to provide passenger service when the freight railroads could no longer make it work.
On the Northeast corridor and on the West Coast, ith has seen some success, however the road still requires a heavy subsidy from the US government to stay in business.
They are now reaching out to the states they serve for more money, as it seems that they cannot turn a profit regardless of the ridership. I have seen cost figures that indicate each ticket sold cost the taxpayers $50. Can you say LOSER!!!!!
The other components of the passenger system are the commuter rail operations, like MBTA and the Light rail systems, AKA Subways!
Now before you think that this next post is going to be a total slam, let it be known that I am a railroad fan. I have used both passenger rail and commuter rail with good results. M Even my wife knows about my railroading. She lives with the Springfield Southern, my HO model railroad..
Welcome to my new vistors from Sound Off Ct. More to come soon! John
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About Me
- John
- Interested in politics from an early age. Once supported George McGovern for President. Involved in NASCAR in various roles for some 30 yrs. Friend of Bill W, since May of 82 and married to Janet since Dec 1991.