I’ve actually been watching this choo choo issue lately because
Can we see the study that shows people will actually ride this, and not just be a waste of taxpayer funds? @SenThomTillis
— William Teach2 ??????? #refuseresist (@WTeach2) December 12, 2023
I’ve blasted (not that lawmakers or their groups care) Democrats and Republicans over this. In all my years in Raleigh I’ve never heard someone say “hey, let’s go to Richmond!” And they’re talking about extending it up to DC then the NE corridor. They have heard of Amtrak, right? They’re also talking about lines that go east and west from Raleigh. To be honest, if you run one that ends in or very near Wrightsville Beach with a way to get to the beach, I’d take it. Even if it took a bit longer than driving. Nothing like a 2 hour 15 minute drive back after a day on the beach, tired, hot, can’t quite get all the salt and sand off.
Passenger trains could help combat climate change — if rail can actually get built
The Biden administration is investing billions in passenger rail, giving a boost to a potentially important tool for mitigating climate change.
However, significant hurdles could slow efforts to get more rail online.
Last week, President Biden announced $8.2 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for 10 passenger rail projects, including what the White House described as the “first world-class high-speed rail projects in our country’s history.”
The funded projects include a line connecting California to Las Vegas — which alone is expected to carry 11 million passengers each year and prevent 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere — as well as lines serving California’s Central Valley, North Carolina and a line connecting Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va.
Experts, the rail industry and environmentalists say that passenger trains could be an important tool for getting people out of cars and planes, thereby helping the planet.
And there it is, though, they put it quietly: the Climate Cult elites want to force the middle and working classes out of their privately owned vehicles and onto mass transit. While the Elites will fly in fossil fueled airplanes, you’ll be allowed to take the train.
Trains are very good on fuel. Problem is the unions that shut them down and wreck them. Then I knew someone transferring very heavy equipment from Mississippi to Oklahoma. Lost it. Found it in Alaska.
Teach
If they travel by train Raleigh to Richmond, they can then get on the existing train to go from Richmond to DC which I believe is a commuter type rail operation
Gee, Xiden and his handlers seem to have forgotten Brightline, which expanded the Florida East Coast line from Miami to Cocoa, and then added new track from Cocoa to Orlando, capable of reaching 125mph speeds (on the Cocoa to Orlando track.)
All done with private money.
Trains are quite efficient at moving bulk commodities, [coal, sand and gravel, grain, oil, and so forth] and unit cargoes [containers] moderate to long distances. However, people don’t work well as bulk cargo. They tend to want/need to go many places and at different times and priorities, something railroads don’t do particularly well. In the Northeast Corridor with dedicated trackage and owner operation, commuter rail manages to survive, with massive subsidies. Country wide service, Amtrak offers mediocre service with questionable on time scheduling.
Much of the operational problems stem from the unions, as David mentioned above, the FRA, operating railroad work rules, shared trackage with freight trains, and a general lack of double track mainlines. The companies that own the rails haul freight, so freight gets priority and Amtrak waits. Much of Amtrak’s cross country passenger traffic seems to be tourist interest travelers. Airlines are quicker and can be cheaper. Driving is more convenient and can be cheaper. Auntie M and I have been looking at a long distance train trip, but so far no go.
If you would like to expand your knowledge in this area, I suggest a site called ‘the Anti Planner’ hosted by Randal O’Toole. I’ve been a ‘train guy’ for many years.