SMART sent a message to the NWP when they went(incorrectly IMHO)for 115lb. rail instead of 136lb. The SP had in the last years gone for the 136; I have to believe it fares better with little or no maintenance.

The voters were never given the choice of electric rail transit vs. diesel freight. That's Bosco and the other bosses of the patronage machine talking. The gypsy only knows at this point precisely what the passenger loadings are going to look like. My take is low and the losses will mount quickly, especially with 2-man operation. SMART will try to obtain further subsidy funds. Maybe MTC will give them some from Jerry Brown's pothole gas tax scam. But most of that skim will go to BART, which manipulates MTC like a puppet.