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Sunday, April 17, 2011

We Can Get Men To The Moon and Back, But We Can't Get A Train Into LAX

Update

April 25, 2011: Update on high-speed rail.

Original Posting

The explanation(s) why the Los Angeles airport doesn't have light rail access would be humorous -- on second thought it is humorous -- but, I was going to say, if the reasons weren't so bizarre.

Memo to self: file this under "Stuff I can't make up."

Remember that initiative for high speed rail? It appears "we" can't even build a 2.5 mile section of slow rail any more.
At least 20 airports across the nation have rail access, according to the American Public Transportation Assn., including those in Chicago and New York. LAX is the nation's third-busiest airport and the sixth-busiest in the world, and travelers have long wondered why L.A. has no airport rail link.
The Los Angeles subway / light rail system comes within 2.5 miles of LAX but from there you catch a 15-minute shuttle bus. Which of course, is no big deal, because no one rides the Los Angeles subway / light rail system anyway. The Green Line almost got to LAX when it was built in the 1990's but "they ran out of money." LOL. My four-year-old granddaughter can budget better than that. [That is hyperbole; of course, she can't.]

["That's a nice McMansion you have there. But I don't see a front door." "Oh, we ran out of money."]

There are not less than half a dozen reasons why light rail never made it to LAX and why it still won't make it to LAX but the most bizarre reason is this:
Linking the Green Line to LAX also faced hurdles from the Federal Aviation Administration, which worried the line could create a hazard to air navigation, interfere with electronic or visual aids, or obstruct aircraft approach and departure paths.
You have got to be kidding. How do the other "more than 20 airports across the nation" manage to keep operating safely despite rail access? Now that we know rail access can interfere with flight operations, perhaps rail access should be terminated at these other airports. Who would have thought?

By the way, in LA, the Green Line is known as the "line to nowhere."

And that folks, is just a 2.5 mile stretch of light rail. Something tells me I'm not going to see much of that high speed rail initiative in my lifetime.

Oh, by the way, the real reason Los Angeles is not interested in connecting the Green Line to the airport: Los Angeles is a "car town." No one rides the subway in LA.

Actually, the rumbling of a train on rickety rails or regularly irregular blasts of a locomotive horn might help keep FAA controllers awake.

*********

Another rail story, this time closer to home.

If Amtrak service to northeast North Dakota is to continue, $100 million worth of improvements and repairs are needed. Without the repairs, Amtrak will go from Minot to Fargo, bypassing Devils Lake and Grand Forks, in addition to other stops. Repairs and maintenance will disrupt traffic for two seasons.

I'm sure that's another "shovel-ready" project that won't be completed in my lifetime.

6 comments:

  1. The Amtrak track is owned by Burlington Northern. The rising waters in the Devil's Lake basin are the threat.

    Hess342

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was unaware of the rising water issue as being the problem.

    With regard to track ownership, Amtrak does not own any rail. It leases "time" from the owner of the track. That relationship is probably the major reason during summer months why Amtrak cannot stay on schedule. If there is no double track, Amtrak must pull off on a siding and let freight trains pass first (unless the track owner allows otherwise).

    I now forget which line it is, but I believe it is Union Pacific on the west coast that is most helpful to Amtrak, letting Amtrak pass while its freight trains wait on the siding whenever possible. BNI (now Warren Buffett's train) used to have the worse record (of the two in the west; I don't know the story east of the Mississippi).

    I have probably ridden Amtrak for long haul trips as much or more than any reader of my blog. The folks riding Amtrak for commuting purposes on the East Coast have surpassed all the Amtrak riding I have done by a huge amount, no doubt. I have sat on more railroad siding for more hours than I care to remember. But with the iPad, it no longer bothers me (at all).

    As long as I'm rambling, I have probably ridden Greyhound buses for long haul trips more than any reader of my blog. If someone rides Greyhound more than I have, my heart goes out to them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As you drive up to LAX, it is quit interesting to see how the rail line stops short of the airport. Not to mention the busy intersection leading into the airport, a danger for pedestrians.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I did not realize the rail line was that close; I've driven up and down Century Blvd so many times, and I've missed that. I can't wait to look for that later this spring when I fly back to LA.

    I have noticed the very, very busy intersection and in LA the avenues are very broad making it very difficult for pedestrians to cross safely.

    Thanks for taking time to comment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. In Minneapolis, MN the light rail opened in 2005 as the "train to nowhere". It took a year more to complete a tunnel under the MSP airport runways with stops directly at the two main terminals and a terminus at the Mall of America. Only then did it take off with annual ridership a million over projections. It still has hefty ongoing subsidy but good ridership.

    I live less than a half mile from one of the stations and my house value is still down more than 10% below the peak. Not bad but still down.

    Speaking of passenger rail the much vaunted Chinese high speed rail initiative risks getting "derailed". http://hotair.com/archives/2011/04/23/about-chinas-high-speed-rail-edge/

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/chinas-train-wreck/2011/04/21/AFqjRWRE_story.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Don't get me wrong. As a frequent rider of Amtrak, I love the train, and I would love high speed rail.

    The problem is that it won't happen. For true high speed rail new tracks would have to be laid, and the cost would be prohibitive.

    However, the bigger problem is the legal requirement that towns and cities have that require trains slow down to 5 mph when they go through populated areas.

    When returning to San Antonio, the Amtrak train takes me right by my apartment, but then creeps along at 5 mph for one hour before it gets to the terminal. I can drive from my apartment to the terminal in about 10 minutes. And all along the route, the train slows down when going through populated areas.

    Environmental impact statements, rights of way, easements, lawsuits, --- no, there's no way new rail will be laid in this country in this legal environment. "They" can't even put in new transmission lines from wind farms to urban centers.

    There's a reason there's no railroad in Brazil: it's called "airlines."

    ReplyDelete

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