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Re: punta colonet/Pacific Rim RR?
Author: unk diego
Date: 09-01-2008 - 12:26
Folks,
I don't know anything about costing out new rail lines today. That said, the idea of going to C. Juarez seems like non-sense to me. This would effectively duplicate the Sunset route from Niland, CA to El Paso, TX. Considering how much time and money U.P. has spent over the last few years, and will spend over the next few, just double tracking this route, how can this make sense? This would effectively make a new transcontinental railroad, when was the last time that was done? I guess maybe the Milwaukee road's western extension or the Copper Canyon route, depending on how you count it.
As long as we are daydreaming, how about building to Agua Prieta and rebuilding the El Paso and Southwestern east from Douglass, AZ to El Paso? Or continue furthure east to a junction somewhere with the former Kansas City-Orient route. Seriously, building to Yuma would cross the former Sorona-Baja California line near Mexicali, so why not just go up to Niland there? And building to C. Juarez would cross the lines to Nogales, why not cross there?
I also have to agree that these east of Yuma schemes are probably some scam involving the Mexican government and these multi-national companies that the Mexican government serves. It is hard to imagine anything real coming out it. There certainly is precedent for these schemes however. During the pre-revolution Diaz dictatorship over 85% of all northwest Mexico (Baja, Sonora, etc) was given away to various non Mexican railroad-mining-settlement companies. I'm sure that the idea is the same, although the details may vary.
It would be ironic if this duplicate Sunset route was built however. Although the Punta Colonet project is usually touted as relieving congestion at the L.A. area ports, we all know that the real reason is to take work away from the "overpaid, lazy, militant..." I.L.W.U. longshoremen. An alternate Sunset route would also allow these same multi-national shippers to take work away from the "overpaid..." U.S. railroad workers, not just from Punta Colonet, but the L.A. area ports as well.
Also, the parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico that the Sunset route passes through were transferred from Mexican to U.S. occupation primarily because the robber-barons of the era believed that the U.S. government would be much more "business friendly" (the politically correct term for giving more subsidies and using their police powers to suppress the local population). Now, today's robber-barons believe the Mexican government is more "business friendly", for the same exact reasons! Do you think U.P. would like to have the Gadsden purchase sold back to Mexico?
I don't know anything about costing out new rail lines today. That said, the idea of going to C. Juarez seems like non-sense to me. This would effectively duplicate the Sunset route from Niland, CA to El Paso, TX. Considering how much time and money U.P. has spent over the last few years, and will spend over the next few, just double tracking this route, how can this make sense? This would effectively make a new transcontinental railroad, when was the last time that was done? I guess maybe the Milwaukee road's western extension or the Copper Canyon route, depending on how you count it.
As long as we are daydreaming, how about building to Agua Prieta and rebuilding the El Paso and Southwestern east from Douglass, AZ to El Paso? Or continue furthure east to a junction somewhere with the former Kansas City-Orient route. Seriously, building to Yuma would cross the former Sorona-Baja California line near Mexicali, so why not just go up to Niland there? And building to C. Juarez would cross the lines to Nogales, why not cross there?
I also have to agree that these east of Yuma schemes are probably some scam involving the Mexican government and these multi-national companies that the Mexican government serves. It is hard to imagine anything real coming out it. There certainly is precedent for these schemes however. During the pre-revolution Diaz dictatorship over 85% of all northwest Mexico (Baja, Sonora, etc) was given away to various non Mexican railroad-mining-settlement companies. I'm sure that the idea is the same, although the details may vary.
It would be ironic if this duplicate Sunset route was built however. Although the Punta Colonet project is usually touted as relieving congestion at the L.A. area ports, we all know that the real reason is to take work away from the "overpaid, lazy, militant..." I.L.W.U. longshoremen. An alternate Sunset route would also allow these same multi-national shippers to take work away from the "overpaid..." U.S. railroad workers, not just from Punta Colonet, but the L.A. area ports as well.
Also, the parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico that the Sunset route passes through were transferred from Mexican to U.S. occupation primarily because the robber-barons of the era believed that the U.S. government would be much more "business friendly" (the politically correct term for giving more subsidies and using their police powers to suppress the local population). Now, today's robber-barons believe the Mexican government is more "business friendly", for the same exact reasons! Do you think U.P. would like to have the Gadsden purchase sold back to Mexico?
