Category Archives: railways

Local Government TREND. +1 County Moves to Block High Speed Rail by Protecting its Roads. 4 levels of protection:

The County: Madison County Texas

The high speed rail project: Texas Central Partners’ Dallas to Houston High Speed Rail

The 4 Levels of Madison County road protection:

  • No county road will be closed
  • No county road will be vacated
  • No county road will be altered
  • No county road will be abandoned  to accommodate the proposed high-speed rail route

Madisonville Meteor | County takes stand on railway

3 New Issues Raised by Sheriffs On Texas Bullet Train Path. New Sheriff Coalition.

New Sheriff Coalition: Sheriffs from Grimes, Navarro, Freestone, Limestone, Leon, Madison, Waller, and Ellis counties

Issues that the Sheriff’s raise about the high speed rail in Texas?

  • Which law enforcement agency is repsonsible for patrolling the track?
  • “Who’s going to be responsible for hazmat emergency services if it derailed over there?”
  • Has there been a survey of emergency response teams and hospitals along the track, is fire or hospital distance and response impacted?

 

KBTX Texas…

3 Statements from Sheriffs On Texas Bullet Train Path. New Sheriff Coalition.

New Sheriff Coalition: Sheriffs from Grimes, Navarro, Freestone, Limestone, Leon, Madison, Waller, and Ellis counties

Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell says high speed rail will:

  • slow down response times
  • No representative from high speed rail has talked to the sheriffs
  • cost of increased patrols along the train route

 

KBTX Texas | Local sheriffs concerned about public safety along proposed bullet train route

KWTX 10 | Central Texas sheriffs join coalition to address high speed rail…

Legal Trend = Legislative TREND. Sunshine States Seeks Stop Private Passenger Rail. 3 Key Points to Be Up to Speed.

The nationa’s only privately funded passenger rail: Florida’s All Aboard Florida’s Brightline venture, a high-speed train that would connect Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando with an expansion of the project linking West Palm Beach to Orlando

Who brought suit to stop the privately funded rail? 2 Florida counties + Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida

What are the complaints? 

  • That federal agencies did not sufficiently assess the project’s environmental impacts and risk…

Funding State Transportation Projects via Ride Share Tax. Deep in the Old South.

The State: Virginia

The ride share tax: extending state and regional sales taxes to ride services

The ride share tax revenues will be dedicated to: 

  • “$21 million a year for mass transit systems across Virginia, replacing the use of state-backed bonds to pay for new buses”
  • $154 million a year for the ailing Washington-area Metro system
  • ” one-time bond payment of $50 million as Virginia’s share of a $150 million pledge with Maryland and Washington to collect an equal share of federal funding…

High Speed Rail in the Land of Poppies Triggers Audit. 3 Factors Triggered the Audit.

California High Speed Rail, Phase 1, will  face an audit after these 3 things happened:

  • Projected costs for phase 1 of California’s high speed rail have risen by $3 Billion
  • A bipartisan group of legislators requested a formal audit
  • Concerns that the project will need state subsidies

Due to the projected cost increase, the audit will make the following recommendations:

  • how to accelerate the project’s timeline
  • reduce costs and identify other sources of revenue
  • best practices for approving…

1 Federal Rail Administration High Speed Rail Public Meeting. 12 Objections.

The Federal Rail Administration public meeting in Madison, County TX resulted in the following lists of objections:

  • The route uproots 2 cemetaries
  • The construction phase will require a 2 mile per side buffer zone 
  • unfounded economics
  • route opposition
  • opposition to land acquisition by s privste company using eminent domain
  • the large cost to be borne by taxpayers- eventually
  • the project does not serve the public
  • electromagnetic emissions
  • noise pollution
  • reduced land values
  • environmental…

Meet the Non-Profit Roadblock to High Speed Rail in California

The Non-profit:  Fresno Rescue Mission which feeds and houses the homeless

How the non-profit is holding up high speed rail: The non-profit is standing firm in its compensation request to receive adequate relocation costs

Are there other complicating factors? Yes, the City of Fresno leases space to the Fresno Rescue Mission

ABC 30 | Local nonprofit agency seen as obstacle holding up progress of High Speed Rail

#1 Reason West Coast High Speed Rail Constructions Costs Up Billions, Again.

California is building a high speed rail to connect the relaxed free thinkers of Northern Californians to the botoxed, bleached and bronzed support system in Southern California. 

Costs for the high speed rail construction have increased multiple times, the lastest in January 2018.

High speed rail costs have cliumbed 35% for construction phase #1, due to:

  • Signing construction contracts prior to securing right of way lands

The California High Speed Rial project will submit a “business…