Locator: 46267RAIL.
Disclaimer: in a long note like this there will be typographical and content errors along with factoids and personal opinions.
Updates
December 26, 2023: must have been a slow news the day after Christmas -- MSN re-posts this same story. Biden announces, distribution of $8 billion to two bullet train projects in California ahead of 2024 -- in anticipation of a presidential election year.
Original Post
From today / overnight, your tax dollars at work:
More than $6 billion is going to high-speed electric rail projects in California. President Joe Biden made the announcement today in Las Vegas.
The money is slated for two different projects, one connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles and another linking Bakersfield with Merced. LOL.
Supporters hope the billions of dollars will get the high-speed rail system back on track.
More than $3 billion is set to help build nearly 175 miles of track between Bakersfield and Merced. In 2008, Californians gave the green light to the 500-mile project, which promised to carry passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours on a fully electric train traveling at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.
For folks living in North Dakota who do not understand the geography of California, a high-speed train from Bakersfield to Merced would be similar to a high-speed train from Williston to Stanley. Without the fruits and nuts.
The $3 billion will go a long way in bridging the funding gap.
$130 billion.
Buffett is always looking for a big opportunity. Warren Bufffett's cash hoard:
Ukraine, to date:
Black Friday, consumer spending:
Isn't it time for California to simply transfer the entire bullet train project (LAX to SFO) to Elon Musk's RailroadX company? The project will be completed by 2026 and will come in under budget. The only downside: having to read all those mean tweets.
LA to LV:
Unlike California’s rail effort, the Las Vegas project is not government-run but rather a private-public partnership led by Brightline, a Florida-based company that runs a successful commuter line within that state.
The 218-mile “Brightline West” project is expected to have speeds of at least 186mph, resulting in a proposed trip time of 2 hours and 10 min.
The company reportedly wants to price the cheapest one-way ticket at around $100, so that it is competitive with the cost of air travel.
A formal announcement of the project funded by the $1trillion 2021 infrastructure law is planned for Friday, December 8, 2023.
A total of $8.2bn in rail awards are to be announced on Friday by the White House. The announcement comes after Gavin Newsom, the California governor, asked Joe Biden in October for a $3 billion federal grant to support his state’s high-speed rail project connecting San Francisco and LA, which is estimated to cost $88 billion to $128 billion.
The federal investment would allow the state to complete an initial 119-mile segment of the route between Merced and Bakersfield.
The trip on the 218-mile electrified line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas will take just over two hours, with stops in Hesperia or Apple Valley, according to Brightline.
The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. The company already has the federal permits, the labor agreements and the land — a swath in the wide median of Interstate 15 — to build the line. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
More: will run down the wide swath between opposing lanes of I-15.
The states “own” the interstate highways once completed, meaning there will be no regulatory issues and in this case, no geographic issues like mountains. If they can’t get this done on time, under budget, light rail is doomed in this country.
Taylor Swift:
Rumor: if this works out, this will be just in time for the newly proposed Swifty Casino Bar and Grill, to be the largest casino on the strip. This will be located across the street from Barbie's Pink Hotel And Ken's Casino.
Going so fast.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.