And in Crazy Train news.

[AngelsLakersFan]

2 hours ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

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

The problem is you have to get to Rialto to catch it.

[cals]

10 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

The problem is you have to get to Rialto to catch it.

Like herpes.

[Jay]

10 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

The problem is you have to get to Rialto to catch it.

Ideally they'll have some sort of red eye you can take to avoid traffic.

[Blarg]

11 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

The problem is you have to get to Rialto to catch it.

It will be connected to the Metro. 

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

It will be connected to the Metro. 

From Rialto/Rancho Cucamonga to LA, it will take about an hour and a half for the gold line.  Metrolink, if it even goes there, might be a little quicker. 

The biggest problem with LA rail is there are no express trains that skip those small stations.  For instance, if the gold line had an express that went from Union Station to Pasadena in about 10-15 minutes or even less without stopping, it would probably be much more appealing.  Instead, there are like 5 stops in between, and it takes at least 30 minutes.  Heck a metrolink from LA to Anaheim express that would take you 10-20 minutes would be a real time saver.  Of course, since it's metrolink, the train itself would be 40 minutes late before it even left LA.

[AngelsLakersFan]

3 hours ago, Blarg said:

It will be connected to the Metro. 

Yeah, but not a lot of people are choosing to get to or commute from Rialto by train these days. It's a pretty big hit to the value proposition for anyone who isnt in the eastern half of SoCal.

[AngelsLakersFan]

1 hour ago, gotbeer said:

From Rialto/Rancho Cucamonga to LA, it will take about an hour and a half for the gold line.  Metrolink, if it even goes there, might be a little quicker. 

The biggest problem with LA rail is there are no express trains that skip those small stations.  For instance, if the gold line had an express that went from Union Station to Pasadena in about 10-15 minutes or even less without stopping, it would probably be much more appealing.  Instead, there are like 5 stops in between, and it takes at least 30 minutes.  Heck a metrolink from LA to Anaheim express that would take you 10-20 minutes would be a real time saver.  Of course, since it's metrolink, the train itself would be 40 minutes late before it even left LA.

The biggest issue is that commuter rail is at the mercy of the freight industry who owns most of the rails. Unless we build a network of dedicated track or completely revamp the regulatory environment that is not possible.

As the crazy train has shown, building such a rail network is politically untenable. The one way they could probably do it at a "reasonable" cost would be by replacing a couple of freeway lanes with rail. Of course people would lose their shit if anyone proposed that. At the same time, our current system is not sustainable.

[gotbeer]

3 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

The biggest issue is that commuter rail is at the mercy of the freight industry who owns most of the rails. Unless we build a network of dedicated track or completely revamp the regulatory environment that is not possible.

As the crazy train has shown, building such a rail network is politically untenable. The one way they could probably do it at a "reasonable" cost would be by replacing a couple of freeway lanes with rail. Of course people would lose their shit if anyone proposed that. At the same time, our current system is not sustainable.

Metrolink and amtrack are the only one's that share lines with freight.  All the Metro lines are just for commuter service.  All the former color lines, Red and Purple (subway), blue, gold, and green along with the expo, and crenshaw lines. 

Sad thing is, the metrolink and amtrack lines are patroled well, and the homeless aren't as abundant on those.  Where the color lines are just filled with homeless, so people don't want to use them as much.  But metrolink and amtrack are notorious for not operating on time, probably because they share with freight, so not as feasable for working people.  So both modes are just a moneysink with dwindling ridership.

[gotbeer]

Looks like they are making progress.

Brightline West announces update on high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to California

Then they lost me.

LA-Vegas high-speed rail tickets could be $400 round-trip

[Jason]

18 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

Looks like they are making progress.

Brightline West announces update on high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to California

Then they lost me.

LA-Vegas high-speed rail tickets could be $400 round-trip

$400 round trip will keep the poors off of it 

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

$400 round trip will keep the poors off of it 

$400 round trip, I'd rather fly for 1/3 to 1/2 the price in less than half the time. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

On 3/5/2024 at 7:35 AM, Jason said:

$400 round trip will keep the poors off of it 

A lot of other people too.

[Lhalo]

On 3/5/2024 at 10:09 AM, gotbeer said:

Looks like they are making progress.

Brightline West announces update on high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to California

Then they lost me.

LA-Vegas high-speed rail tickets could be $400 round-trip

About to hop on the Brightline in Miami right now. VIP tickets are only $69 from here to Palm Beach. Beer, wine and food included. A little different than the Metro lol. 

[gotbeer]

2 minutes ago, Lhalo said:

About to hop on the Brightline in Miami right now. VIP tickets are only $69 from here to Palm Beach. Beer, wine and food included. A little different than the Metro lol. 

$69 with beer and food included would get me on the train to Vegas.  I'd probably take the train a few times back and forth, as I'd be passed out like a homeless on the Metro though.

[Tank]

they announced yesterday that they're going to need another $100 billion to finish the crazy train. 

they're not sure how to fund it and likely to seek money from DC.

[Tank]

On 3/5/2024 at 7:09 AM, gotbeer said:

Looks like they are making progress.

Brightline West announces update on high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to California

Then they lost me.

LA-Vegas high-speed rail tickets could be $400 round-trip

$400 . . . LOL

i've said from the beginning that i don't know anyone who plans to ride this. at $400/round trip, that isn't going to change. 

[gotbeer]

19 hours ago, Tank said:

they announced yesterday that they're going to need another $100 billion to finish the crazy train. 

they're not sure how to fund it and likely to seek money from DC.

Yeah, this is like Prop 1 for the homeless.  Oh we wasted the billions previously, and it didn't help much.  But we've learned and will be better, so give us more money.  And the cultists will say, yeah, that sounds right, carry on.

Another $100 billion needed to complete California's bullet train project

[AngelsLakersFan]

8 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Yeah, this is like Prop 1 for the homeless.  Oh we wasted the billions previously, and it didn't help much.  But we've learned and will be better, so give us more money.  And the cultists will say, yeah, that sounds right, carry on.

Another $100 billion needed to complete California's bullet train project

Not sure how so many people can call America such a great country when we can't do any of the shit other developed countries seem to have little trouble with.

[Blarg]

We are just so much better at boondoggles than other countries. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

We love to boondoggle, it's true. That said, transit, housing and health care are not unnecessary.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

9 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Yeah, this is like Prop 1 for the homeless.  Oh we wasted the billions previously, and it didn't help much.  But we've learned and will be better, so give us more money.  And the cultists will say, yeah, that sounds right, carry on.

Another $100 billion needed to complete California's bullet train project

On the plus side think of all the 6 figure jobs that come with pensions this creates.  Kudos to the voters for giving a blank check to the state government that's only made the issue worse.  

[gotbeer]

15 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

We love to boondoggle, it's true. That said, transit, housing and health care are not unnecessary.

Problem is, the crazy train isn't transit.  It's a legacy.  Metro, Dash, Foothill Transit, Blue Bus, metrolink, etc, that's transit.  

[Jason]

On 3/15/2024 at 1:32 PM, gotbeer said:

Yeah, this is like Prop 1 for the homeless.  Oh we wasted the billions previously, and it didn't help much.  But we've learned and will be better, so give us more money.  And the cultists will say, yeah, that sounds right, carry on.

Another $100 billion needed to complete California's bullet train project

This is why I always vote no on any proposition that costs additional funds. I’m not sure how anyone can trust the current state government with any project or our tax dollars. 

[Jason]

Construction starting on high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California - ABC7 Los Angeles

Watch this get completed well before California's Central Valley one just further proving the State's incompetence. 

[gotbeer]

49 minutes ago, Jason said:

Construction starting on high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California - ABC7 Los Angeles

Watch this get completed well before California's Central Valley one just further proving the State's incompetence. 

Lol.  Expected to be completed by 2028.  Crazy train may lay a foot of track by then.