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Re: abc7.com_campaigntrue_source=facebook
Author: Sgt. Joe Friday
Date: 04-04-2021 - 13:42
Biden may want an LA to Las Vegas route, but I'm pretty sure Uncle Pete is going to demand all sorts of upgrades to the line in exchange for allowing one train a day each way, let alone multiple trips.
LA to Phoenix and maybe Tucson is a little sketchier. Once you get south of Indio the line lacks what you need to make the service viable: people. Yuma has about 50,000 people, but I'm not sure that's enough to tip the scale. BOB2 probably has some observations here.
Timewise, a LA-PHX run would probably be in the neighborhood of 8-9 hours. When I lived in Orange County, I could make the OC-PHX trip driving one way in about 6 hours, with a short stop in Blythe for gas/food/relief. So timewise it's doubtful it would be competitive.
Since we're spit balling here, why not LA-Calexico (Mexicali)? Mexicali has about 3/4 million people IIRC, and El Centro and Brawley have around 50,000 and 30,000 respectively. How much freight does the line south of Niland see? Not as much as the LASL line, so UP might be more agreeable to allowing passenger use of the line. It would need upgrades in any case though; I think the maximum allowable speed on the line is 40 MPH in most places, and I'm not sure what the signaling situation is either.
LA to Phoenix and maybe Tucson is a little sketchier. Once you get south of Indio the line lacks what you need to make the service viable: people. Yuma has about 50,000 people, but I'm not sure that's enough to tip the scale. BOB2 probably has some observations here.
Timewise, a LA-PHX run would probably be in the neighborhood of 8-9 hours. When I lived in Orange County, I could make the OC-PHX trip driving one way in about 6 hours, with a short stop in Blythe for gas/food/relief. So timewise it's doubtful it would be competitive.
Since we're spit balling here, why not LA-Calexico (Mexicali)? Mexicali has about 3/4 million people IIRC, and El Centro and Brawley have around 50,000 and 30,000 respectively. How much freight does the line south of Niland see? Not as much as the LASL line, so UP might be more agreeable to allowing passenger use of the line. It would need upgrades in any case though; I think the maximum allowable speed on the line is 40 MPH in most places, and I'm not sure what the signaling situation is either.
