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ADCS

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Everything posted by ADCS

  1. They've been fighting from the beginning, and losing.
  2. Real easy to be a naysayer. You have any evidence for why this is so, right now?
  3. Any clue as to why the bridge aesthetics are so spartan, and not in line with the regional design plan?
  4. Both Houston and Dallas will be getting games, I'd imagine. Houston would be in a rotation with the Mexican cities, and Dallas with the western cities.
  5. 16 months later, WTI's hovering around $70/bbl. Any news on this project?
  6. Probably because we live here and can tell the difference. I noticed in your retelling of history how you ignored 45, 59 and 10 splitting up Freedmen's Town, along with the Third and Fifth Wards, too. Do those communities just not count?
  7. Their spokesperson is from a state lobbying firm. Bet it's just Texans Against High-Speed Rail using their resources to gin up whatever opposition they can find.
  8. Given that it's Drayton McLane spearheading the whole thing, I'm sure Baylor interests are mollified.
  9. Now that's pretty funny, given that was the Texas TGV concept from 30 years ago. Does the loss of Waco and Temple as potential stops really matter all that much?
  10. Land value and ability to finance aren't the same thing.
  11. Just because you've got a shiny set of credentials doesn't mean you're well-informed, nor does it mean you are not a fool.
  12. We are all made of stardust...
  13. With respect to funding - I do not think any of the investors are under the impression that the system will be profitable within 10-15 years. That's not the main point - it's for JR and Japan as a whole to demonstrate its Shinkansen technology for export markets. That's why they're pushing this so quickly - they want to be done and operational years before California gets its HSR going. The thought is that if this can be done, even if the system is unprofitable at the beginning, Japanese HSR technology and operational processes will become standard in the US. You can already see this at work - major changes in FRA regulatory practices have already taken place as a result of their work with JR in furtherance of the TCR project. If that happens, then Japan's in the driver's seat for design and development of the real honeypot - the DC - Boston HSR line that will likely be on the table in the 2025 - 2030 range.
  14. Get rid of the direct line between Dallas and Austin, stretch the main route east of CS, and then have a spur that goes Roans Prairie/CS/Austin/SA, and I think you have the basic setup of the long-term network. CS in 30 min, Austin in 55, San Antonio in 90.
  15. I think it's not to outlandish to think that once political support is on board, the tracks will continue through to the Katy Freeway, run down the middle of the (newly reconstructed) freeway and into the Theater District to a new terminus connecting with Amtrak. It'll just take time and cooperation with TxDOT on the inner loop Katy reconstruction to make it feasible.
  16. They also got to piggyback off the existing networks, too, since Deutsche Bahn owns all the tracks. That would never happen here, though, because the motivation for building new rails in the United States has always been primarily about land speculation and development, not simply moving people as in the already densely-populated Western and Central Europe. Heck, the station in Roans Prairie is a gleaming sign that this tradition has not faded in the least bit. High quality train stations function more like better shopping malls than airports. They are commercial centers with a transit element. The NW Mall location is primed for redevelopment, and the TCR Station will be the anchor of what we will soon call the "Upper Post Oak District" or something similar. Prepare to see the low density warehouses on Post Oak replaced with apartments, townhouses and high-end retail, similar to what's going on north of Afton Oaks. Somerset Green is just the beginning.
  17. I'd guess within 15 to 30 years, but 527 was completely redone along with the Montrose trenching. Difficult to justify the expense of sinking it that soon after reconstruction. Compare to the Pierce, where one of the main arguments for its removal is that it is an inherently unsustainable design, with significant perpetual maintenance requirements.
  18. They are. http://www.ih45northandmore.com/docs8/04-20170428_NHHIP_Seg3_I-69_RollPlot_PH_1-2.pdf
  19. Very true. Most development is about making empty land as expensive as possible. That's where the money is.
  20. The train will be on elevated viaduct all the way out to Hockley, judging by the renderings.
  21. Not quite sure why they portrayed Buffalo Bayou at flood stage
  22. Doubtful. In fact, it'll likely go the other way - proven not to flood in the worst circumstances known so far.
  23. I'd imagine METRO replacing the NWTC with a multimodal center at NW Mall would be part and parcel of the project, a way of Texas Central reducing its buildout costs and using public funding without taking any direct subsidies. And Amtrak isn't the biggest concern with creating a new station there - you'd have to be sure UPRR were on board with any interference to their trackage in the area. I'm not sure Amtrak would want, or be able to build its own passenger siding at the site.
  24. One thing METRO could do is partner with a taxi or ridesharing service and subsidize fares to/from rail stations, to be (partially) recaptured through the fare box. Even if it is mildly exploited by people not going to the station to use the train, it gets people in the mindset of taking shared modes to transit-oriented nodes.
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