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Trust me, it will happen. You just gotta have patience man.
Author: les
Date: 08-30-2019 - 13:58
First off, there is no way DeFazio will let the Starlight die. So give up on that myth.
Second off, the northwest cities are not full of car hounds like you suggest. Sure it took some arm twisting to get Max implemented, but now the city can imagine life without it. Same will happen with fast trains.
About 40 years ago Portland was about 300,000 people and the Cascades (including 1 Starlight) started the 4 Sea to Portland runs. Look where its now (2 new runs to start this year, 2 more set for mid-20s) with 9 runs by 2025
Eugene-Portland is a much larger city pair then Portland-Seattle was back then.
You just gotta have patience man.
Not going to happen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Be realistic. Booming? growing yes. 480,000 People
> you listed, what % give a rats-ass about a train
> that does not go where they want to go IF they do
> choose to leave town.
>
> Urban transit systems have riders because of
> commuter traffic. Not going to happen in
> Oregons's Willamette Valley, even if you ran
> trains every 30 min. at 150 mph. If you could get
> from Downtown Portland to Eugene in just over 1
> hour, Other than 5-6 Home Duck Games a year, any
> maybe some students that would commute depending
> on ticket price, who would ride and support it?
> It would already be BILLIONS in the hole from
> building and how much subsidy per passenger ticket
> purchased would it require per train run?
>
> Some state workers would travel to Salem, but
> still colossal waste of $$$. You could build
> dedicated autonomous vehicle lanes on the freeway
> for WAY less money with speeds of 70-90 mph(or
> more) with faster overall transit times for
> virtually all trips.
>
> Technology is passing you by while you're sitting
> in your steam-shovel. Trains have poor asset
> utilization per passenger mile, and that's almost
> impossible to overcome over extended distances.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> les Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Are we talking about the same stretch of land.
> > Have you seen the growth rates of these cities
> > south of Portland? That I-5 stretch south of
> > Portland is becoming more and more of a monster
> to
> > penetrate and it is only going to get worse.
> Once
> > the Vancouver to Portland section gets it's new
> > train sets, gradual upgrades south of Portland
> > will occur. ODOT doesn't need to come up with
> all
> > the funds at once. And besides, look at who is
> > the head of oversight for transportation in the
> US
> > Congress. The Starlight is not going anywhere,
> > but will only be enhanced.
> >
> > WES is a non-starter, ie, is there a more
> anemic
> > commuter line in the country?
> >
> > Population Eugene-Springfield 240,000 and
> > booming.
> > Salem 180,000 and booming.
> > Albany 60,000 and booming.
> >
> > Demand usually goes up with population growth.
> > Just need the right investments.
> >
> >
> >
Second off, the northwest cities are not full of car hounds like you suggest. Sure it took some arm twisting to get Max implemented, but now the city can imagine life without it. Same will happen with fast trains.
About 40 years ago Portland was about 300,000 people and the Cascades (including 1 Starlight) started the 4 Sea to Portland runs. Look where its now (2 new runs to start this year, 2 more set for mid-20s) with 9 runs by 2025
Eugene-Portland is a much larger city pair then Portland-Seattle was back then.
You just gotta have patience man.
Not going to happen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Be realistic. Booming? growing yes. 480,000 People
> you listed, what % give a rats-ass about a train
> that does not go where they want to go IF they do
> choose to leave town.
>
> Urban transit systems have riders because of
> commuter traffic. Not going to happen in
> Oregons's Willamette Valley, even if you ran
> trains every 30 min. at 150 mph. If you could get
> from Downtown Portland to Eugene in just over 1
> hour, Other than 5-6 Home Duck Games a year, any
> maybe some students that would commute depending
> on ticket price, who would ride and support it?
> It would already be BILLIONS in the hole from
> building and how much subsidy per passenger ticket
> purchased would it require per train run?
>
> Some state workers would travel to Salem, but
> still colossal waste of $$$. You could build
> dedicated autonomous vehicle lanes on the freeway
> for WAY less money with speeds of 70-90 mph(or
> more) with faster overall transit times for
> virtually all trips.
>
> Technology is passing you by while you're sitting
> in your steam-shovel. Trains have poor asset
> utilization per passenger mile, and that's almost
> impossible to overcome over extended distances.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> les Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Are we talking about the same stretch of land.
> > Have you seen the growth rates of these cities
> > south of Portland? That I-5 stretch south of
> > Portland is becoming more and more of a monster
> to
> > penetrate and it is only going to get worse.
> Once
> > the Vancouver to Portland section gets it's new
> > train sets, gradual upgrades south of Portland
> > will occur. ODOT doesn't need to come up with
> all
> > the funds at once. And besides, look at who is
> > the head of oversight for transportation in the
> US
> > Congress. The Starlight is not going anywhere,
> > but will only be enhanced.
> >
> > WES is a non-starter, ie, is there a more
> anemic
> > commuter line in the country?
> >
> > Population Eugene-Springfield 240,000 and
> > booming.
> > Salem 180,000 and booming.
> > Albany 60,000 and booming.
> >
> > Demand usually goes up with population growth.
> > Just need the right investments.
> >
> >
> >
