Dear federal government: I understand that you have a “river of cash” to distribute for high speed rail in places not called the “East Coast.” I also understand that Texas’ application “lacks the kind of political support from the governor and the Legislature that would help it compete against other states where that support has been stronger.” I just wanted to let you know that our governor and Legislature can be a little silly. They have all sorts of things on their mind right now – elections, redistricting, cutting the budget “to the bone.” They also have to think about Herb and the eagle. Oh, and Perry is a ranch guy, an Aggie, and rail goes through ranches – so it’s sticky. But, here’s the deal:
Texas is growing faster than anywhere else in the country. Texas has five major cities that are a frustrating distance away from each other that could conveniently be linked through high-speed rail. Texas has this whole center of the NAFTA trade corridor thing going on that clogs our roads. High-speed rail could help that. We also have this urban density problem, and as I see it, new arteries of transportation that drop loads of passengers in our city’s urban cores could be helpful.
So forget about the governor and Legislature. Give Roger Staubach and the Super Bowl committee people a call (Glenn or Jason should have their numbers, if you need them). They know how to handle projects and get stuff done. Just give them the money, and higher a staffer to follow them around and make sure the rail lines don’t end up terminating in Arlington. Sound good? Great. Thanks for that.
9 comments
Oh man, to have the equivalent of the Amtrak Acela that runs between New York and Boston. Finish up my business in Manhattan, board a train with a 1/2 bottle of wine and a sandwich – three hours later I am in downtown Boston, transferring to a subway train to visit my son at college. Relaxed and refreshed.
Building a high speed rail system for Texas sounds like a great way to ease traffic, cut down on pollution and put people to work. Being such a big state, we should want to be innovative. But our governor is a slick, greasy moron who people vote for because he’s got good hair. That’s why this state is a mess.
I believe that the “high-speed” in high-speed rail refers to the rate that money is lost by installing the system.
“higher a staffer”
Is this a post about bullet trains, or pot legalization?
@Dubious Brother
the Acela High-speed rail line is profitable. It’s the only Amtrak rail service that is, and that’s because it provides a reasonable alternative to a car, whereas slow diesel locomotives do little to encourage ridership.
I’ve long thought Texas was perfect for high-speed rail, too. But I suspect resistance to such a system isn’t tied to ranches and Gov. Perry and his allergic response to federal funding — not as much, that is, as it’s tied to what a successful rail line might do to Southwest Airlines.
Jerome, you are correct. There is, however, a solution: give Southwest Airlines a franchise to operate high speed trains in the Texas Triangle, which is the very same territory that it captured when it began flying. That way, Southwest can’t lose, because they would have a monopoly on air AND rail travel between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, and travellers would have multiple options on those routes to avoid the three- and four-hour drives. What a deal.
I would imagine SW would welcome the competition as it is a vote of confidence for the overall transpotation (oops, transportation) industry.
I am guessing that people are either planes, trains, or automobile people. Anything to move people around would be good for business overall.
@Jerome: “Tied” is even a little soft. Southwest (Herb) basically squashed rail in the early 90s:
http://austinist.com/2006/08/01/mystery_train_the_texas_highspeed_rail_that_wasnt.php
But Perry’s ranch vote did come up durring the Trans Texas Corridor routing discussions.
But Bob is on to it – I can’t point to any stories, but I seem to remember high speed rail being pitched to the airlines as a benefit because as planes get even more costly to operate, rail service to places like Waco and Temple would allow Southwest (or American) to run fewer flights to those places and have passengers scoot in to hubs like Dallas via rail before connecting to that flight to LA or Atlanta.