California to spend $5.5 billion building a high speed train that goes nowhere

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Lets not even talk about the last time you and Eric went down to the Mission district

What's in the Mission district? Which city? LA? SF?

[The_Dude 1,142]

What's in the Mission district? Which city? LA? SF?

Don't play coy bill

[Ban Hammer 13,517]

Ooh, a Cali civil war. How exciting.

who spiked the granola?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Don't play coy bill

I drove through the mission district in SF once on the way back from an IRS hearing. The only thing I remember was driving with one hand, holding pepper spray in the other hand, telling the crack heads, "No, I don't want my window washed."

[Jenn! 918]

I think AJ might have some kind of high speed train fetish.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I think AJ might have some kind of high speed train fetish.

Some mental images cannot be unseen. Thanks Jenn.

[scandal 951]

It's not much of a civil war. If it weren't for silicon valley, I imagine norcal would have been sold back to Mexico years ago.

I'm quite fond of the south Bay, I lived there for 5 years. Heck of a place to raise a family. In 40 minutes you're at the beach in Santa Cruz, in about 4 hours you're on the slopes at Tahoe.

Bringing the conversation back to rail, I remember when I lived there the talk was to bring BART all the way down the East Bay through Fremont to San Jose, and link it up to Caltrain so there would be a full loop rail service all around the Bay. Still waiting for that one... that makes much more sense to me than a train line through the Central Valley.

[^_^ 5,021]

...a full loop rail service all around the Bay. Still waiting for that one... that makes much more sense to me than a train line through the Central Valley.

That does sound like something people could use. Passenger train stops need to be in populated areas, not in the middle of nowhere.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

That does sound like something people could use. Passenger train stops need to be in populated areas, not in the middle of nowhere.

Patience, grasshopper. Like almost all major construction projects, they first build a test strip, to give the engineers a practical sense of the technology. By building the first section in such a minimally populated area, they get a chance to work out the kinks, before spending huge chunks of money on more expensive portions of the final route. Further, they get to demonstrate the project, and hopefully, win over a significant portion of the state's population that is still skeptical of the utility of such a venture in an already bankrupt state.

ETA: This HSR project is not intended to be a primary commuter route for local commuters, rather, it is intended to provide an alternative to air commuters. So, any stops with probably be minimal, and far between. Otherwise, the HSR will not be so HS.

Edited December 23, 2010 by Some Old Guy

[^_^ 5,021]

Patience, grasshopper. Like almost all major construction projects, they first build a test strip, to give the engineers a practical sense of the technology. By building the first section in such a minimally populated area, they get a chance to work out the kinks, before spending huge chunks of money on more expensive portions of the final route. Further, they get to demonstrate the project, and hopefully, win over a significant portion of the state's population that is still skeptical of the utility of such a venture in an already bankrupt state.

We're talking about a rail line, not a ladder into deep space. Practical sense of the technology? Engineers all over the world already have it.

As for demonstrating the project, what better way to do that than to build in an area no one is going to actually use it? Right?

[The_Dude 1,142]

Patience, grasshopper. Like almost all major construction projects, they first build a test strip, to give the engineers a practical sense of the technology. By building the first section in such a minimally populated area, they get a chance to work out the kinks, before spending huge chunks of money on more expensive portions of the final route. Further, they get to demonstrate the project, and hopefully, win over a significant portion of the state's population that is still skeptical of the utility of such a venture in an already bankrupt state.

ETA: This HSR project is not intended to be a primary commuter route for local commuters, rather, it is intended to provide an alternative to air commuters. So, any stops with probably be minimal, and far between. Otherwise, the HSR will not be so HS.

At $600m +, that is quite an expensive test. You dirty libruls spending money like it's your own.

[^_^ 5,021]

ETA: This HSR project is not intended to be a primary commuter route for local commuters, rather, it is intended to provide an alternative to air commuters.

Right. I've heard that. So which general airport areas is this Borden to not-quite-Bakersfield route servicing?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

We're talking about a rail line, not a ladder into deep space. Practical sense of the technology? Engineers all over the world already have it.

As for demonstrating the project, what better way to do that than to build in an area no one is going to actually use it? Right?

I guess you don't know how government projects develop. They almost never buy anything right off the shelf. And, politicians, not engineers, initially design these projects, so any practicability will have to be developed along the way. Look at the history of the new Oakland Bay Bridge for some insight.

[^_^ 5,021]

They almost never buy anything right off the shelf. And, politicians, not engineers, initially design these projects, so any practicability will have to be developed along the way.

If you say so.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

At $600m +, that is quite an expensive test. You dirty libruls spending money like it's your own.

There is a train station build in Cloverdale, CA, in anticipation of a commuter railway in the North Bay. Nice station. They even have a roundhouse. But, it has been unused for I am guessing 2 decades. Now, they are going to run rail car buses up and down the rails, or so they say. They have spend the last year improving all the crossings, but so far, it hasn't taken a single commuter anywhere. But they did design a hippie rail car that holds more bicycles than passengers, with a healthy food and drink bar.

http://www.sonomamarintrain.org/index.php/stations/cloverdale

If you say so.

I know so.

Edited December 23, 2010 by Some Old Guy