And in Crazy Train news.

[Blarg]

Maybe you've never paid attention to all of the pork barreling in every senate bill that watersheds individual state infrastructure. 

[gotbeer]

14 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Maybe you've never paid attention to all of the pork barreling in every senate bill that watersheds individual state infrastructure. 

Well, not a fan of that either.  

[AngelsLakersFan]

4 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Serious question here.  Maybe some of the libs can answer.  

But should the Federal government be helping to fund a project that only affects and marginally benefits people of one state?  

This isn't like a federal interstate.  It doesn't even help commerce.  It's just an inconvenient way to travel within the state.  

If they dont want to spend money on anything useful then they should stop taking money out of our paychecks. I would much rather give my money to the idiots in Sacramento than to the idiots in DC.

Also, high speed rail as a concept is a good one, it's just the implementation (if it happens) and the costs that are the issue.

[gotbeer]

Gov. Newsom proposes $526 mill. for High Speed Rail Project

 

Quote

Wednesday, Governor Newsom presented his budget to the assembly budget committee, this included $526 million for the high-speed rail project.

Last week the high-speed rail authority announced they need an extra $10 billion to go from Merced to Bakersfield.

 

[gotbeer]

I'm sure nothing a few more billion can't solve.

California’s beleaguered bullet train faces another hurdle: flooding from melting snow

 

[gotbeer]

Las Vegas-to-California bullet train gets bipartisan backing

So how far over the $10 billion do you think they will spend?

[Jason]

12 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Las Vegas-to-California bullet train gets bipartisan backing

So how far over the $10 billion do you think they will spend?

It’s California so about $300 billion over 

[Blarg]

Las Vegas wants the tourist so this is going to be completed long before the crazy graft train.  

[Lhalo]

19 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Las Vegas-to-California bullet train gets bipartisan backing

So how far over the $10 billion do you think they will spend?

All six of Nevada’s elected federal lawmakers and four House members from California sent the letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

[Jason]

1 hour ago, Lhalo said:

All six of Nevada’s elected federal lawmakers and four House members from California sent the letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

That trickle of blood lol 

[gotbeer]

California’s high-speed rail is running out of money, but progress has been made

 

Quote

• But 15 years later, there is not a single mile of track laid, and executives involved say there isn’t enough money to finish the project.

Quote

In 2008, California voted yes on a $9 billion bond authorization to build the nation’s first high-speed railway.

Quote

The latest estimates from the California High-Speed Rail Authority suggest it will cost between $88 billion and $128 billion to complete the entire system from LA to San Francisco. 

 

[gotbeer]

Hahahaha.  This thing is going to cost us trillions.  Delujsional.

Could the California High-Speed Rail be completed in the next 5 years?

Quote

Lipkin said support for the High-Speed Rail project has only grown since it was first approved by voters in 2008. In a recent poll by UC Berkeley, support for the project was about 20 percentage points higher than the percentage of people who were against it.

 

[Tank]

38 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Hahahaha.  This thing is going to cost us trillions.  Delujsional.

Could the California High-Speed Rail be completed in the next 5 years?

 

so this isn't an article from the babylon bee? 

i still don't know anyone who plans on using this boondoggle if/when it ever gets finished.

5 years? LOL, if i were a gambling man, i'd bet the over.

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Tank said:

so this isn't an article from the babylon bee? 

i still don't know anyone who plans on using this boondoggle if/when it ever gets finished.

5 years? LOL, if i were a gambling man, i'd bet the over.

Even Phil Michelson would bet the over.

And should the federal government be expected to help fund something that strictly and only benefits Calolfornians?  You can't even argue that this will help interstate commerce.  

[Spirit]

[Jay]

12 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Even Phil Michelson would bet the over.

And should the federal government be expected to help fund something that strictly and only benefits Calolfornians?  You can't even argue that this will help interstate commerce.  

Even after it's completed it will be a drain on taxpayers. It will never make money.

[gotbeer]

Anyone else think this is $6 billion that's going to be wasted with little to show for it?

California High-Speed Rail awarded $3B by Biden Administration; largest grant in its history

Quote

The California High-Speed Rail has received its biggest boost from the federal government yet, being awarded more than $3 billion in grant funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Quote

Brightline West will connect Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga along the the 15 Freeway corridor. That project was awarded about $3 billion in grant funding, but is a private endeavor and is expected to cost about $12 billion, with the rest of the cost privately financed.

 

[Jason]

2 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Anyone else think this is $6 billion that's going to be wasted with little to show for it?

California High-Speed Rail awarded $3B by Biden Administration; largest grant in its history

 

Since it is privately funded, I think it's chance of success is a bit better than the Bakersfield to Merced train. 

[gotbeer]

48 minutes ago, Jason said:

Since it is privately funded, I think it's chance of success is a bit better than the Bakersfield to Merced train. 

Normally I'd say yes.  But this is like the 10th LA to Vegas train plan. 

[Blarg]

24 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Normally I'd say yes.  But this is like the 10th LA to Vegas train plan. 

There is profit in the Las Vegas run. It won't be the boondoggle the crazy train is since there is a private company getting it done to make money.

I just wish they had done this 10 years ago because driving to Las Vegas can be 4 or 9 hours depending on accidents. A booze train would be the perfect alternative. 

[Lhalo]

This will actually affect me financially. Just not sure if it’s positive lot or negative. 

[gotbeer]

Opinion: Don’t buy the myth that California’s bullet train project flopped because of ‘politics’

Quote

Proposition 1A banned taxpayer subsidies if the bullet train didn’t generate enough revenue, which investors saw as a certainty. This is why analysts with the California High-Speed Rail Authority concluded before the 2008 election that the authority’s business plan wouldn’t work — a finding they didn’t share with voters.

Quote

Even with an additional $3.1 billion newly provided by the White House, the state may only have enough funds for 119 miles of track.

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by gotbeer

[Jay]

119 miles of track, that's like going from Santa Ana to Barstow.

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

119 miles of track, that's like going from Santa Ana to Barstow.

119 miles of track isn't even Bakersfield to Merced.  It's more Bakersfield to Fresno. I'm sure the ridership is going to be amazing between those locations.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

On 12/6/2023 at 5:09 PM, Blarg said:

There is profit in the Las Vegas run. It won't be the boondoggle the crazy train is since there is a private company getting it done to make money.

I just wish they had done this 10 years ago because driving to Las Vegas can be 4 or 9 hours depending on accidents. A booze train would be the perfect alternative. 

I would consider riding it to SoCal rather than spending hours on I-15 and fighting the traffic.