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Re: SMART goes Titanic - nothing can possibly go wrong
Author: synonymouse
Date: 10-20-2008 - 22:00
IMHO the HSR will attract enough business to at least pay its operating costs, something BART will never be able to achieve. Capital costs are another affair, but then roads and airports also benefit from massive government subsidies, so why not passenger rail?
BART's broad gauge is the benchmark against which all transit follies and cons can be measured. We live in an area highly prone to natural disasters, the kind that can destroy facilities and equipment. One would have thought BART might have standardized in a way that would permit buying or borrowing cars that could be pressed into service as emergency replacement for rolling stock lost to an earthquake or fire. Maybe the Russians would have something they could use after the next Big One.
I guess another approach when your stuff is as unique as BART's is to buy a huge fleet of spares.
BART's broad gauge is the benchmark against which all transit follies and cons can be measured. We live in an area highly prone to natural disasters, the kind that can destroy facilities and equipment. One would have thought BART might have standardized in a way that would permit buying or borrowing cars that could be pressed into service as emergency replacement for rolling stock lost to an earthquake or fire. Maybe the Russians would have something they could use after the next Big One.
I guess another approach when your stuff is as unique as BART's is to buy a huge fleet of spares.
