[Madman]

Have you been hearing of toll increases on turnpikes and toll roads? New Jersey, Ohio, and most likely Pennsylvania, to name the ones I know of. The increases are substantial ! 
An oportunity to expand service by the railroads may not be as far into the future as once thought. Of course it would mean reintroducing more track to more places. HMMMM, didn't we have that at one time? I see where Las Angeles has brought back PCC cars. Maybe the future of automobiles is not a future at all. Yeah, fat chance in this oil controlled country. But realistically, rail traffic could and should  cut into private auto transportation, at least in the commuter area, if they and we have the will to take our economy back. By that I mean for the average person. The middle and low income members of our society, are loosing a battle. A battle we didn't ask for. 

Yes, bring on the toll increases, and raise the transportation taxes. Hitting the pocketbook is a sure fire way to make us change our habbits. Agreed, the beginning will be difficult. But in a generation, which seems to fly by, we may all be grateful. 

 

[John J]

There was a artical in the local paper here in Phoenix  about adding  a   .66 cent  tax to all gas and diesel   to pay for   roads and their up keep.   I have not read the artical.   66 cents ontop of what is all ready there./DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/w00t.gif

I have to fill my tank every other day.   I use my car for work.    It is diffacult even with the re enbursement.  

I know it is probably never going to happen   But I wish they would do more for Amtrack  accross the  country.

My favorite thing every year  has become   my  Road Trip to Marty's 

 

[blackburn49]

Posted By Madman on 01/20/2008 9:51 AM

An oportunity to expand service by the railroads may not be as far into the future as once thought. Of course it would mean reintroducing more track to more places. HMMMM, didn't we have that at one time? I see where Las Angeles has brought back PCC cars. Maybe the future of automobiles is not a future at all. Yeah, fat chance in this oil controlled country. But realistically, rail traffic could and should  cut into private auto transportation, at least in the commuter area, if they and we have the will to take our economy back. By that I mean for the average person. The middle and low income members of our society, are loosing a battle. A battle we didn't ask for. 


Interesting that you would bring this up. I have been discussing the topic of extending the railroad system to Alaska, beyond to Russia via a proposed Bering Sea tunnel and then world-wide in one large connected rail system--all of which exist as serious proposals in the context of upcoming severe world-wide shortages of oil, gas and metals, part of which can be solved simply by means of extending existing railroad infrastructure world-wide.

I believe we have finally reached the point where all of this is far more likely. 

--Ron in CC

 

[blackburn49]

And that is not even taking into account the very-real need to extend rail service back into the metro areas where it was once common. This has already happened in a few places--Portland Oregon being one of them.  Atlanta is another. I sure was impressed with how well that one worked. 

Selling the idea to the general public to where they will actually USE it may be another matter.  

Anyone who thinks oil will be supplanted by some other source of energy ANYTIME in the foreseeable future is, however, dreaming. From everything I have seen, and I have studied this considerably, it's not going to happen. However, we can certainly find ways to be less wasteful with what we have. The re-introduction of rail mass transit into the metro areas is certainly one way. 

 

[Madman]

Selling something to the public that will get them out of their cars would be very difficult. People have gotten so used to hopping into their auto, that telling them they have to wait on the corner for a bus, or at the station for a train, and then having to conform to train and bus schedules, would be a monumental task. Not until it hurts the pocketbook,will the public demand more public transportation. The other difficulty is the suburbanization of our country. Reinstalling all those defunct interurbans and trolley lines would be expensive, and," not in my back yard"

 

[ThinkerT]

This topic (expanding and upgrading the US rail network) gets brought up fairly frequently on the oil board I post at now and again. This is the latest thread on the topic, basically an article citing some truly nasty behind the scenes bureaucratic and political infighting over this. One faction (much of the bureaucracy) is basically owned outright by the pro car interests, and vehmently rejects any expansion or upgrade to the rail network. They actually went so far as to delete an entire approved section of their latest report which strongly recommended building and rebuilding US railways.

http://p088.ezboard.com/fdownstreamventurespetroleummarkets.showMessage?topicID=21845.topic

 

[Torby]

You should see the uproar over CN buying the EJ&E line around Chicago! Definitely NIMBY trouble!

The closest metra station to my home is farther than my work. The closest metra station to my work is farther than my home.

 

[Spule 4]

There is a plan to re-link passenger service to a lot of cities in PA, OH, IN and IL, just saw it in a planning meeting in Ohio last week.

Almost identical to the plan in a back issue of "Rails Northeast" back in the late 1970s.....

 

[wchasr]

Toll prices have increased or will be increasing in NY too. Glad I don't have to pay them often. What it truly means however is that Interstate 86 (almost literally in my backyard) that is NOT a Toll road will get more and more truck traffic shifting from the northern East to West Route I90. Truskers avoiding the tolls and higher fuel prices on the Toll road. Surprisingly in talking with other folks I know they too have chosen I86 comng west over the PA Turnpike! That one surprised me.

Light Rail would NOT work in my area as we are way to rural. The busses cost too much to run and they are doscontinuing them as a budgetary cut. They also do not serve me too well. I've looked at the routes.

When I travel to NYC in the spring however I love to use the Subway there! Very nice and very convenient for me while I'm there.

We'll be travelling soon to Disney and we'll be travelling by air becasue of the time not any other reason. Amtrack simply wouldn't cut it for this trip.

Chas