Capdiamont Wrote:
BTW to the critics, I think they should pay for it themselves.

I agree. Note that SP paid for the Palmdale-Colton cutoff without taxpayer help and ATSF paid for the Crookton-Williams Jct. line relocation on their own. Other than the passage of a few years, what's the difference with this Tehachapi project? It's not as if the balance sheets of UP and BNSF are on a par with, say, the CRIP or the MILW. These are wealthy railroads. If this isn't "welfare for the rich", I don't know what is.

That said, it is a public benefit, if you read the document.

Looks like they've done a good job of putting lipstick on a pig.

Think air quality, and reduced maintenance on the roads.

So can I, likewise, have the taxpayers foot the bill for a mansion for me because of the positive benefits that will be gained, such as increased property values in my neighborhood?

Also consider there is a large cost to do all the permitting, hearings, and studies for this project.

So the "trauma" of having to deal with bureaucracy and paper shuffling needs to be "softened" by taxpayer subsidies? Puh-leeze.