ADCS

36 minutes ago, gmac said:

 

There is a serious fight against this project in the countryside, and the backers of the HSR don't have the funding to make it happen yet.

They've been fighting from the beginning, and losing.

17 hours ago, gmac said:

PR BS. That fantasy train isn't getting off the ground any time soon.

Real easy to be a naysayer. You have any evidence for why this is so, right now?

Any clue as to why the bridge aesthetics are so spartan, and not in line with the regional design plan?

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.

16 months later, WTI's hovering around $70/bbl. Any news on this project?

14 hours ago, IronTiger said:

 I find it interesting how the same people who accuse the Pierce as "cutting" through Midtown and shouldn't be there are the same ones who hold 610 as a dividing line between "muh inner loop core" and everyone outside of it.

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?

11 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

Maybe the NIMBYs gave them some money to throw some shade...

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.

2 minutes ago, cspwal said:

It does if you went to Baylor

Given that it's Drayton McLane spearheading the whole thing, I'm sure Baylor interests are mollified.

52 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

Now SNCF America has an opinion on what TCR should do.

 

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?

Land value and ability to finance aren't the same thing.

22 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

Right... So all the university educated, well-informed voters who voted against this in 2013 are idiots. Okay.

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.

19 hours ago, samagon said:

 

3. some of my dead skin is floating around in outer space.

We are all made of stardust...

17 hours ago, cspwal said:

It's a private venture.  Do we know what status their funding is at?  If they think they can make a billion dollars doing this, it will happen

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.

20 hours ago, cspwal said:

I mean part of the grand plan on Texas Central's part must include Galveston and New Orleans - they probably have a napkin with a complicated network scribbled out, reproduced here:

 

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.

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.

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.

20 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Correct. rest of 59 is getting buried. The spur however will not. Would be nice if that was buried as well.

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.

10 minutes ago, bobruss said:

They are not burying the section of 59 that crosses over midtown. If they bury anything it will occur behind the convention center.

They are.

http://www.ih45northandmore.com/docs8/04-20170428_NHHIP_Seg3_I-69_RollPlot_PH_1-2.pdf

On 12/21/2017 at 9:04 AM, Ross said:

The big developers won't look at the vacant land, because it's not in parcels big enough to fit their suburban development model that is based on 1000 acre+ developments. A lot of the vacant land is also tied up with clouded titles and by owners who don't feel like selling. Other parcels require some sort of remediation to clean up the crap left behind over 100+ years of industrial use.

Very true. Most development is about making empty land as expensive as possible. That's where the money is.

6 hours ago, curbur said:

What about all of the north/south thoroughfaes across 290 in Cypress west of Fry rd like Mueschke, Mason, Bauer, etc that have yet to be built? If the train goes at grade at that point, then it'll be a lot more cost prohibitive to get those done. What about that new neighborhood that was supposed to be going in south of 290 across from Fairfield between Mueschke@290 & Mason&290?

The train will be on elevated viaduct all the way out to Hockley, judging by the renderings.

Not quite sure why they portrayed Buffalo Bayou at flood stage

Huge news.

19 minutes ago, houstontexasjack said:

It may be premature to speculate, but I wonder if Harvey will have any effect on this project.  Its proximity to Buffalo Bayou, although normally an aesthetic asset, could frighten investors who might be shown photos of the recent flooding over the banks.

Doubtful. In fact, it'll likely go the other way - proven not to flood in the worst circumstances known so far.

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.

21 hours ago, Ross said:

That makes more sense than subways. You still have to figure out how to get the commuters to the stations, and where they will park. And, the commute times will not be significantly shorter. Even in London, it's only 15 or so minutes faster to take the train over driving, but there's limited parking that makes the train more attractive. And METRO prob ably still thinks that there has to be a complete light rail system to handle the heavy rail commuters before the heavy rail can be built. I'm not sure Houston has reached the stage where the public will accept rail as a viable alternative.

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.