Margaret (SP fan) Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "PAMPA" = Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton.
> (I myself had never heard that acronym until
> this post.)
>
> To Synonymouse --
> "Trees grow back." Yeah, if you can wait around
> 100 years! I suppose, then, that it'd be OK with
> you if some government agency came along and cut
> down all the old, tall, mature trees in one part
> of whatever area you live in? How about in your
> yard (if you are fortunate enough to have a
> house)?
> Oh - the ABAG regs only require cities to plan
> for low-income housing (a good idea, BTW, if done
> sensibly) -- not to actually build anything.
>
> To everyone --
> Caltrain electrification is one way to plan for
> HSR here on the SF Peninsula -- a very very bad
> idea,
> and not needed. Yeah -- like we need to go 200
> mph
> from SF to San Jose -- a distance of only 47
> miles?
> Right! Really smart! NOT! And tell me, please,
> just
> exactly who is supposed to pay for this
> ridiculous
> boondoggle of a project? Ordinary folk, who
> cannot
> afford even more taxes, and who have been
> dismayed
> by the cruel and unnecessary cuts to police and
> fire
> department personnel and schools? Isn't properly
> funding those departments just a wee bit more
> important
> than paying for a ridiculously expensive
> high-speed
> train that we don't need? (All that CAHSR is is a
> way
> to take money from middle-income and poor folks
> and give
> it to people who are already very wealthy, who
> neither
> need nor deserve it.)


So Marg..... Are you saying it's still a good idea continuing to run those old, tired, slow diesels, that burn fossil fuels, and puke exhaust?? With all that "green talk" that folks on the peninsula seem to pride themselves on, electrification would be the way to go. And yes, you are gonna have to pay for it. That service is paid for with your taxes. Don't like it? Move.

They have it Europe and EVERYONE pays for it.

Oh I forgot, the purists say the SP never had it and it would ruin the route over there. Well, tough s***!! Do you really think if the SP was still around, they would pass up on technology that allowed for faster trains and better schedules?

Have you ever been on the east coast and rode behind a 125mph Amtrak train? Better yet, been up in the cab of one?

I have.

Everyone wants faster trains, or at least faster schedules (yes there's a difference). Electric trains leave diesel locomotives in the dust when it comes to acceleration. I watched the speedometer go from 0-125 on an AEM-7 in what seemed like no time. 80mph was very quick for sure. A diesel would be barely up to 50 in comparison.

I'm sure if you had it your way, the peninsula would still be running on jointed rails, current of traffic with ABS signals, and ancient inefficient equipment. Not a way to move 21st century people on a 21st century railroad. Can you imagine telling all the techie passengers, "WiFi, pffft!!! That's not what the SP would use. Here's a telegram pad."

So Marg, stop crying poor mouth, put your big girl panties on, and ask yourself this: If you were the head of Caltrain: 1)would you continue to use out dated and slow equipment, or upgrade to something faster, "greener", and more reliable? And 2) would it attract more paying passengers if it were faster?

John Whorfin