Rich Hunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I hate posting here because of the sniping but I'm
> going to do it anyway.

I agree 100%. That's why I'm rarely here anymore.


> Regarding the Carol and
> Eddie debate, consider the facts. The history that
> made either city (Hemet or Monterey) what it
> was is long gone. Hemet was the retirement capitol
> of SoCal, Monterey was the choice of residence
> for many of the high end commuters to the SF/SJ.
> Today, Hemet/Perris/Winchester is an area being
> populated by people who couldn't afford to live
> closer to LA and Monterey is populated by many
> people who don't have to commute anywhere. The
> Hemet line makes sense because it has some
> potential to be useful to the taxpayers who will
> support it. The Monterey line might get used and
> maybe more so on weekends but it's value is
> cterainly going to be measures less than it's
> cost.

Except that the length of the Monterey line means that it is more of an intercity run for tourists than a commuter run, so its traffic would be daily, not just weekends.


> And as has been mentioned, it's not gong to get
> any closer than Costco, so you might as well
> start
> the service in Watsonville and drive to a Park and
> Ride lot there.


If the state of California wanted the ROW back the Cosco would discover the blade of a bulldozer before you could say Rich Hunn.

> I just rode the busiest train
> on the Belen/Santa Fe run, PM commuter run out of
> ABQ and it would be lucky to have been at 35%.
> Great ride, nice scenery, and thanks to a whole
> bunch of taxpayers for the ride (All day pass is
> $9).

And what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Population of the Albuquerque metro area is 550K. Population of the SanFran/SanJose/Oakland metro area is 7.2 Million - Belen is a commuter destination while Monterey is a vacation/sightseeing/intercity destination that is five times the size of Belen. Total tourist expenditure per year in Monterey is 2.2 Billion dollars. Total tourist expenditure in Belen - heck it's not even listed on the internet, but I'm going to bet it's the receipts of a couple roadside motels so moot anyway.

7.2 Million people possibly coming down to contribute to a pool of 2.2 Billion being spent - but there's no market there and no one is going to ride it?

I disagree.

I do agree, however, it's never going to get built, because despite all the anti-rail railfans on this board, there are legions of anti-rail NIMBYs and others in the real world who will kill it anyway.