On a happier note: Maglevs be Yarrr and woo...

[Az]

That seems ridiculously stupid. The line should either be built fully ( downtown LA -downtown LV ) or not built at all. This measly stretch is meaningless - in Nevada you can have all the land you want, and traffic shouldn't be that big of a problem. However, a full LV-LA line would be awesome.

[DRoseDARs]

I'll take "ridiculously stupid" tourist gimmick over "not built at all." The fact is there needs to be some stretch built in the US that is viewed by the public as successful or else it will never gain any traction here. The Vegas-Primm line is the most likely candidate for the public case in terms of the Gee Whiz Ain't That Neat? factor, though getting at least Southern California (or a portion of the east coast lines) up and running would be FAR more effective in winning over good press finacially.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Az
If you pull off even half of this **** before 2020 my opinion of america will vastly improve.

The California system seems to be the farthest along in that the state already owns all of the right of ways plus a bond measure was already passed to finance a large chunk of the system's construction costs. The current sticking point is getting the Federal matching funds which were promised but for which the deadline for use comes after the proposed start of construction date; the feds would have to extend the deadline if this system was to be built. The state's budget is also a mess right now so it is unclear if the state will be able to come up with it's share to suppliment the bond money and the promised Federal money.

The LA/Orange County to Las Vegas Line was originally a private investor project but it has run foul of state and federal authorities which have told them they can't use federal and state owned right of ways along the major freeway corridors. If everyone would stop the turf fight and just work together then it could be built. I have no information about how far along or how realistic the other Maglev lines are in the country. I do find the Phenoix to Vegas line to be interesting since it would tie into the larger California/California-Nevada system creating a western highspeed rail network covering the major cities of three states.

[DRoseDARs]

That's what I love so much about the Transrapid technology: The actual track can be placed either on "virgin" ground with minimal disturbance or directly above existing transit infrastructure like highways/freeways/whateverways.

[Az]

I'll take "ridiculously stupid" tourist gimmick over "not built at all."

nonononono. These "limited use toy" projects reflect badly on other projects/further investment and drive public opinion against them.

It's like lightrail-metro lines. Often, a complete system is needed to achieve true usability, but when construction proceeds on a "line at a time" schedule ( and sometimes even worse, bit by bit ), projects are being frozen and halted, due to bad public relations, and changes of administration that leave a graveyard of white elephants.

[DRoseDARs]

Erm, trust me: The USAmerican public is stupid. Really stupid. They need glitzy examples or they lose interest. Construction ALWAYS causes a growth in bad PR (depending on the project, either minor annoyance-soon-forgotten to full-blown torch-and-pitchfork mobs) and holdups of various sorts. The US public needs to have something shiny to distract their simpleton minds from the short-term inconvieniences leading to long-term gains for their own good.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Maglev would actually work in Southern California and here is why

There is a ****load of land out in the desert, but it's not within commutable distance of all the big businesses. You put a train out there and give people 1 hour commute to San Diego, Orange or Los Angeles County, and you've got yourself 500% more land available and home prices that are once again affordable.

Maglev.

Now all you need is a weaker country nearby to steal the water from. Hmmm, I wonder how tough Mexico is?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Oerdin


The California system seems to be the farthest along in that the state already owns all of the right of ways plus a bond measure was already passed to finance a large chunk of the system's construction costs. The current sticking point is getting the Federal matching funds which were promised but for which the deadline for use comes after the proposed start of construction date; the feds would have to extend the deadline if this system was to be built. The state's budget is also a mess right now so it is unclear if the state will be able to come up with it's share to suppliment the bond money and the promised Federal money.

The LA/Orange County to Las Vegas Line was originally a private investor project but it has run foul of state and federal authorities which have told them they can't use federal and state owned right of ways along the major freeway corridors. If everyone would stop the turf fight and just work together then it could be built. I have no information about how far along or how realistic the other Maglev lines are in the country. I do find the Phenoix to Vegas line to be interesting since it would tie into the larger California/California-Nevada system creating a western highspeed rail network covering the major cities of three states.

You know nothing gets built with state funds in Orange County in your one party state.

[Az]

Now all you need is a weaker country nearby to steal the water from. Hmmm, I wonder how tough Mexico is?

Desalinization and water recycling

[Cyclotron]

Stealing water? That's old hat to us Californians. How much do you want?

[Ted Striker]

.

[Odin]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
Erm, trust me: The USAmerican public is stupid. Really stupid. They need glitzy examples or they lose interest. Construction ALWAYS causes a growth in bad PR (depending on the project, either minor annoyance-soon-forgotten to full-blown torch-and-pitchfork mobs) and holdups of various sorts. The US public needs to have something shiny to distract their simpleton minds from the short-term inconvieniences leading to long-term gains for their own good.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Sikander

Now all you need is a weaker country nearby to steal the water from. Hmmm, I wonder how tough Mexico is?

Northern California and Arizona are already our water *****es!

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Sikander


You know nothing gets built with state funds in Orange County in your one party state.

Is that why the bonds have already been passed?

[Ted Striker]

.