cloud713 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Cloud , I understand this is HIGH SPEED RAIL . What I was saying was a given scenario that it is possible that they could place stops which would be lkely in high end areas for something of that type of travel or decide to express from city to city where an airport or a new class terminal would be likely to accomodate that type of travel if they decide to . It is great possibility .So given that this is a HSR discussion.. You are surely aware a route couldn't have nearly as many stops as you are suggesting. CTR doesn't even want multiple stops in DFW.. What makes y'all think there would be stops in College Station, or any of the places Tower listed? I wish the airports were connected, and a HSR stop in The Woodlands would be nice, but those places can all be accessible with basic commuter rail without slowing down the train to Dallas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Yes, I know why there's no slow spots, that's the reason why Amtrak failed but HSR won't. Frankly, I can't imagine that you would consider Dallas-Houston a "priority" while considering no other stops. Secondly, "some middle of nowhere of college town" clearly shows that you have no idea of the major changes afoot (or even been there in the last five-ten years, if ever). But that's okay, I know you didn't mean it to be rude. It's definitely growing and in many ways under-served. Interstate 45 bypassed B-CS years ago. We now have an opportunity to do something different. I've run between Houston and CS several times in the last 4 years, the last time being last Fall, and it's 4 lane divided highway all the way from the loop to CS via 290/hwy 6. Don't recall hitting any stoplights all the way and the only bottleneck I can think of would be the one lane turnoff at Hempstead. It may not be federal interstate, but it's effectively the same thing as far as drive time goes. Takes about 90 mins or so from our house in west Houston to get to CS. At 90 mins drive time, or less depending on where you are going since it takes almost 30 mins to get from my house to 290, it doesn't seem like HSR would make as much of a difference as it would to a farther destination like Dallas, SA, or even Austin. Seems like it might be a possible canidate for local or commuter service somewhere down the road. I know that there are a lot of commuters coming into town from at least Brenham so a 290/6 route might be a possibility at some point. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I've run between Houston and CS several times in the last 4 years, the last time being last Fall, and it's 4 lane divided highway all the way from the loop to CS via 290/hwy 6. Don't recall hitting any stoplights all the way and the only bottleneck I can think of would be the one lane turnoff at Hempstead. It may not be federal interstate, but it's effectively the same thing as far as drive time goes. Takes about 90 mins or so from our house in west Houston to get to CS. At 90 mins drive time, or less depending on where you are going since it takes almost 30 mins to get from my house to 290, it doesn't seem like HSR would make as much of a difference as it would to a farther destination like Dallas, SA, or even Austin. Seems like it might be a possible canidate for local or commuter service somewhere down the road. I know that there are a lot of commuters coming into town from at least Brenham so a 290/6 route might be a possibility at some point. This. When 249 gets to Navasota it'll be even less. A future commuter rail up the Aggie Expressway would be extremely ideal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 sounds like the Houston station will likely go at the Hardy Yards.. unless they consider the Post Office Site "just north of Downtown". either way would be great, though i like the direct connectivity from Hardy Yards to the light rail, but they could build a pedestrian skybridge from the Post Office Site to UHD.. if they try to dump the line off out at beltway 8 or something it wont be nearly as successful.http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2014/07/bullet-train-goal-68-trips-a-day-from-dallas-to.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 That's the most realistic spot IMO. Hopefully Amtrak can move their operations there as well, and we can have a hub with all rail service in one spot (even though Amtrak trains wouldn't be able to mix with the HSR trains, a separate track could be built). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Don't forget that The Woodlands is working with planners to make sure the last Houston stop includes The Woodlands....a stop near The Woods/ExxonMobil means no 249 corridor. My only wish is that the HSR would originate at in Downtown Houston, swing by IAH, The Woods/ExxonMobil, to Dallas.....or at least a stop close enough to IAH for a cab or shuttle to/from to be feasible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Don't forget that The Woodlands is working with planners to make sure the last Houston stop includes The Woodlands....a stop near The Woods/ExxonMobil means no 249 corridor. My only wish is that the HSR would originate at in Downtown Houston, swing by IAH, The Woods/ExxonMobil, to Dallas.....or at least a stop close enough to IAH for a cab or shuttle to/from to be feasible.this would be huge for the Woodlands (rail connection seems to be the one thing that area lacks), but given the TCR desires to only have one stop in DFW, i just dont see them building a stop at The Woodlands, and the airport, and downtown. it would be cool to eventually extend the HSR line from downtown, down to Galveston, but the only route is along Highway 3(?)/Old Galveston Road, which is through some fairly dense/populated areas with lots of cross roads and stuff so it would practically have to be elevated the whole stretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Just looking at a map of the Tokaido Shinkansen (JR Central's hsr route from Tokyo to Osaka), they've got 17 stations in all, 3 of them in the Tokyo area. Seems likely that they would include multiple stops in a large city then, maybe at least downtown and IAH or the Woodlands, depending on where they can run the right of way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Yes one would think.. But then why are they so against having multiple stations in DFW.. Just to spite the metroplex? Heh. Don't get me wrong, I would love a station at the turn off to Bush (with an elevated automated people mover/tram thing connecting to the front of the airport), and/or a station at The Woodlands. I just don't see that many stations getting built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Would be nice to have a station at IAH just to take care of the IAH-Downtown rail connection problem, would be nice to take an express train up there from downtown. And maybe one stop in the Woodlands. More than that is too much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Well, what I found interesting is the Tokaido route is 320 miles and has 17 stations. Houston to Dallas is 240 miles. Not quite as far, but far enough to have some intermediary stops. Proportionately you might fit in 12 or 13 stops. From what I understand is JCR also runs both non-stops and station hoppers on the line. So, it's entirely possible, perhaps likely, there will be multiple stops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchFan Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 My expectation is that they will only have stops at the two end points, downtown Houston and downtown Dallas. I admit that it would be nice for us if we could leverage this project to get high-speed commuter rail between downtown Houston and IAH and The Woodlands, but I think their priority is minimizing the travel time between the endpoints. Incidentally, Dallas won't need a reciprocal stop at DFW since in August they are opening high speed (well, up to 65 MPH) light rail service between DFW and their downtown. Tokyo is the center of a dense metro area with 35 million people, the world's largest. I'd be reluctant to use it as an analog for either Houston or Dallas, with metro populations of 6-7 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchFan Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 (edited) On second thought, I can see intermediate stops as being something they might eventually add, over time. Perhaps once they build up ridership for nonstop long-haul service, they might add some service that includes intermediate stops. However, it seems like they would have to lay the tracks through such places at the outset. But ... aside from Bryan/College Station, I can't think of anyplace (sort of) between Houston and Dallas that might warrant a stop. It's been 20 years since I've ridden the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka, which itself has 19 million people. As I recall, that particular train had only one intermediate stop, in Kyoto, which has 1.5 million inhabitants and a huge tourism industry. Edited July 26, 2014 by ArchFan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 sounds like the Houston station will likely go at the Hardy Yards.. unless they consider the Post Office Site "just north of Downtown". either way would be great, though i like the direct connectivity from Hardy Yards to the light rail, but they could build a pedestrian skybridge from the Post Office Site to UHD.. if they try to dump the line off out at beltway 8 or something it wont be nearly as successful.http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2014/07/bullet-train-goal-68-trips-a-day-from-dallas-to.html It's annoying that the train would make it to downtown Dallas but in Houston would stop at Hardy Yards. It is inconceivable to extend it into downtown? The downtown post office site is just sitting there waiting for a new use. It's not a huge distance but there is that psychological barrier at having to cross Buffalo Bayou and I-10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 It's annoying that the train would make it to downtown Dallas but in Houston would stop at Hardy Yards. It is inconceivable to extend it into downtown? The downtown post office site is just sitting there waiting for a new use. It's not a huge distance but there is that psychological barrier at having to cross Buffalo Bayou and I-10. I think the difficulty is acquiring the ROW and constructing the infrastructure. Downtown Dallas is fairly easily accessible as they already have a decent train station there. With the proposed HSR line coming from the north, getting it to Hardy Yards is by far the path of least resistance. If they wanted to use existing ROW, they'd have to circle around quite a bit to reach the Post Office location. Besides, I don't think the Hardy location is bad. It's a very easy five minute light rail ride to the heart of downtown, and it's not that much different than 30th Street Station in Philadelphia that's outside of downtown, but right on the subway line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I think the difficulty is acquiring the ROW and constructing the infrastructure. Downtown Dallas is fairly easily accessible as they already have a decent train station there. With the proposed HSR line coming from the north, getting it to Hardy Yards is by far the path of least resistance. If they wanted to use existing ROW, they'd have to circle around quite a bit to reach the Post Office location. Besides, I don't think the Hardy location is bad. It's a very easy five minute light rail ride to the heart of downtown, and it's not that much different than 30th Street Station in Philadelphia that's outside of downtown, but right on the subway line.All great points, and with the station possibly going here it might spur development of the Hardy Yards project that's been proposed for so long, and then maybe down the line that proposed canal for Buffalo Bayou could be constructed and Houston's downtown could begin to expand further. The dominoes are beginning to fall. All it needs is the push. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Have it come into old Union Station. Heaven knows the Astros aren't really making much use of it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tower26 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The property near Congress Yard would be a idea location but Txdot has a facility there . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparrow Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Impact News article quotes Eckels as saying "stops are being considered near Bryan-College Station and possibly along Beltway 8 or the Grand Parkway." http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/spring--klein/environmental-study-on-high-speed-rail-from-houston-to-dalla/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Impact News article quotes Eckels as saying "stops are being considered near Bryan-College Station and possibly along Beltway 8 or the Grand Parkway."http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/spring--klein/environmental-study-on-high-speed-rail-from-houston-to-dalla/I'd be surprised if they didn't, but I doubt they'll go through with a college station...station.. On this first phase. Most likely it'll be a "future station" option as CS grows bigger and bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Impact News article quotes Eckels as saying "stops are being considered near Bryan-College Station and possibly along Beltway 8 or the Grand Parkway."http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/spring--klein/environmental-study-on-high-speed-rail-from-houston-to-dalla/Nooooo!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I hope that a downtown Houston stop is a given and that is the reason for it not being mentioned in this article. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I think this article referred to other stops on it's way but if it does mean a Houston stop near the beltway or GP, then that's just another push I the right direction for commuter rail from the station to downtown to the light rail. However, we've seen what happens when we put massive transportational hub far away from our inner core...still waiting for that light rail to IAH... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tower26 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I would suggest a terminal station for Hicks Airport Hwy and the Southwest Triangle area and a terminal station for,Nasa/Ellington Field or Hobby Airport as possible southeast/southwest connector corridors that could be elevated and merge onto a downtown central terminal station for all points north to DFW as a suggestion . It's possible . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graystone Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 As a unapologetic train fan i truly hope this gets the green light. Now if we could create, as others have said, the 'Texas Triangle' route connecting Austin and San Antonio in future expansions I'd be on cloud nine of train nerd heaven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 As a unapologetic train fan i truly hope this gets the green light. Now if we could create, as others have said, the 'Texas Triangle' route connecting Austin and San Antonio in future expansions I'd be on cloud nine of train nerd heaven! I hope you are right, but what would really get my train nerd on would be to see a UP Big Boy going down the rails... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tower26 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) I think we will soon . I hope I'm lucky enough to catch UP X4014 in Houston . Edited August 12, 2014 by Tower26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graystone Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Guys you should have been at the Houston Downtown Amtrak station in late 2012 and caught this guy passing through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Nooooo!!!!! I really think that an alignment that goes to Bryan-College Station is still important and will be more important in the future assuming that growth patterns hold. That doesn't rule out commuter rail to The Woodlands, either, and I would like to see light rail to IAH (my idea involves rails between Hardy Toll Road, there's room). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparrow Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Perhaps the angle to go to privately finance a HSR line is by making it more of a real estate venture. Short reference to TOD angle in Texas Tribune article.www.texastribune.org/2014/08/18/bullet-train-could-change-everything/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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