And in Crazy Train news.

[Blarg]

https://nypost.com/2024/05/04/us-news/california-mocked-over-high-speed-rail-bridge-to-nowhere-that-took-9-years-to-build/amp/

California is taking of heat for celebrating the completion of an high-speed rail bridge that has cost taxpayers $11 billion and took nine years to build — and clearly goes nowhere.

Venture Capitalist Patrick Blumenthal insinuated the authority should pump the brakes on praising itself, posting a breakdown of the lack of progress the rail-line project has made.

“0.3 miles completed. After 15 years. After $11.2 BILLION. $36.96 billion per mile,” he wrote on X.

[gotbeer]

5 hours ago, Blarg said:

https://nypost.com/2024/05/04/us-news/california-mocked-over-high-speed-rail-bridge-to-nowhere-that-took-9-years-to-build/amp/

California is taking of heat for celebrating the completion of an high-speed rail bridge that has cost taxpayers $11 billion and took nine years to build — and clearly goes nowhere.

Venture Capitalist Patrick Blumenthal insinuated the authority should pump the brakes on praising itself, posting a breakdown of the lack of progress the rail-line project has made.

“0.3 miles completed. After 15 years. After $11.2 BILLION. $36.96 billion per mile,” he wrote on X.

Taxpayers approved $9.9 billion for the project. Let that sink in.

https://www.cagw.org/thewastewatcher/california-high-speed-rail-goes-way-track

[Blarg]

It was a stupid idea all along and devised for boondoggle graft. 

[Jason]

12 hours ago, gotbeer said:

Taxpayers approved $9.9 billion for the project. Let that sink in.

https://www.cagw.org/thewastewatcher/california-high-speed-rail-goes-way-track

I sure as hell didn't. This is why you should always vote no for any proposition or ballot measure that requires additional spending. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

Berlin–Munich high-speed railway - Wikipedia

 

Just hire the Germans to do it. Our government is full of retards.

 

"The Berlin–Munich high-speed railway is a 623 km (387 mi) high-speed rail line connecting the German cities of Berlin, Leipzig, Erfurt, Nuremberg, and Munich. The line was opened on 10 December 2017."

"Construction began in 1996 and cost about €10 billion ($11.8 billion),^[5] making it the most expensive transport project in Germany since reunification.^[6] The line traverses the Thuringian Forest and required the construction of 22 tunnels and 29 bridges."

 

[Jason]

2 hours ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

Berlin–Munich high-speed railway - Wikipedia

 

Just hire the Germans to do it. Our government is full of retards.

 

"The Berlin–Munich high-speed railway is a 623 km (387 mi) high-speed rail line connecting the German cities of Berlin, Leipzig, Erfurt, Nuremberg, and Munich. The line was opened on 10 December 2017."

"Construction began in 1996 and cost about €10 billion ($11.8 billion),^[5] making it the most expensive transport project in Germany since reunification.^[6] The line traverses the Thuringian Forest and required the construction of 22 tunnels and 29 bridges."

 

It will be interesting to see how this one being built from Rancho to Vegas goes. 

[gotbeer]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

It will be interesting to see how this one being built from Rancho to Vegas goes. 

My guess is, it gets built from Vegas to primm. Then gets bogged down in calolfornia red tape. Which might work for Vegas since they will just connect it with the second airport.

[AngelsLakersFan]

On 5/9/2024 at 9:07 AM, Make Angels Great Again said:

Berlin–Munich high-speed railway - Wikipedia

 

Just hire the Germans to do it. Our government is full of retards.

 

"The Berlin–Munich high-speed railway is a 623 km (387 mi) high-speed rail line connecting the German cities of Berlin, Leipzig, Erfurt, Nuremberg, and Munich. The line was opened on 10 December 2017."

"Construction began in 1996 and cost about €10 billion ($11.8 billion),^[5] making it the most expensive transport project in Germany since reunification.^[6] The line traverses the Thuringian Forest and required the construction of 22 tunnels and 29 bridges."

 

The issue largely stems from the power we give to special interests and property owners. Every single possible route through California is going to piss someone off and trigger a lawsuit that costs millions and takes years to litigate.

[Jason]

56 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

The issue largely stems from the power we give to special interests and property owners. Every single possible route through California is going to piss someone off and trigger a lawsuit that costs millions and takes years to litigate.

Yep. The bullet train was a stupid idea begin with. 

[Blarg]

If Newsom wanted to balance the budget, calling an end to the crazy train would solve a lot of problems. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

13 hours ago, Jason said:

Yep. The bullet train was a stupid idea begin with. 

Well it's not the trains fault. The real question is why is our system set up in such a way that makes it impossible to do basic things that other countries have no issues with like building a train.

[Amazing Larry]

On 5/11/2024 at 11:41 AM, AngelsLakersFan said:

Well it's not the trains fault. The real question is why is our system set up in such a way that makes it impossible to do basic things that other countries have no issues with like building a train.

Ha! This train was nothing but a slush fund from day 1. But feel free to shit all over private property rights if it makes you feel better. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

On 5/11/2024 at 1:41 PM, AngelsLakersFan said:

Well it's not the trains fault. The real question is why is our system set up in such a way that makes it impossible to do basic things that other countries have no issues with like building a train.

 

What system is that? The right to control the land you own privately?

[cals]

49 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

 

What system is that? The right to control the land you own privately?

You need to go back to the little kids table. Grown ups are talking about adult shit like property ownership, renter. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

2 hours ago, cals said:

You need to go back to the little kids table. Grown ups are talking about adult shit like property ownership, renter. 

 

Pfft.

Your property could probably fit in my side yard.

[AngelsLakersFan]

12 hours ago, Amazing Larry said:

Ha! This train was nothing but a slush fund from day 1. But feel free to shit all over private property rights if it makes you feel better. 

It's obviously a choice we've made as a society to prioritize financial interests over having a functional government. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

9 hours ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

 

What system is that? The right to control the land you own privately?

Very few, if any, people in this country are free to do whatever they'd like with the land they own.

I'll add, I imagine very few lawsuits were brought by individuals who's property the train was going to directly run through. 

 

[Jay]

6 hours ago, cals said:

I own acres in California. 

[Amazing Larry]

12 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

It's obviously a choice we've made as a society to prioritize financial interests over having a functional government. 

I'll let a farmer keep his land over building a train that nobody will ride every time.

[Blarg]

This is poorest infrastructure argument @AngelsLakersFan could champion. The high speed rail between these two points serves no purpose and cannot pay for itself. Being 4 times over budget and ten years behind schedule.

The first leg from Merced to Bakersfield isn't scheduled to open until 2033. That is 25 years from approval to less than half way completed at 171 miles of track.

To put that in perspective the East meets the West railroad expansion in 1862 was completed in 1869, 7 years after approval and spanned 1,776 miles. Their primary tools were shovels, pick axes, sledgehammers and dynamite. 

7 years 1,776 miles as opposed to 25 years and 171 miles. Disgraceful.

[AngelsLakersFan]

10 hours ago, Blarg said:

This is poorest infrastructure argument @AngelsLakersFan could champion. The high speed rail between these two points serves no purpose and cannot pay for itself. Being 4 times over budget and ten years behind schedule.

The first leg from Merced to Bakersfield isn't scheduled to open until 2033. That is 25 years from approval to less than half way completed at 171 miles of track.

To put that in perspective the East meets the West railroad expansion in 1862 was completed in 1869, 7 years after approval and spanned 1,776 miles. Their primary tools were shovels, pick axes, sledgehammers and dynamite. 

7 years 1,776 miles as opposed to 25 years and 171 miles. Disgraceful.

I dont really want to defend the project because it's a shit project but the main reason it's a shit project is because of an overbearing government that makes building things in this state impossible. 

I do take issue with the idea that it needs to pay for itself. We don't ask for roads to pay for themselves, and no one questions when we spend billions adding an extra lane to a freeway. The role of government is to provide the infrastructure that is difficult for private enterprise to create themselves.

The train serves no purpose today but California is not in it's final form. The impossibility of building anything in this state means its a waste of time to try and implement infrastructure and housing projects in the areas people already live. A train between Merced and Bakersfield may very well spark economic growth along the line as trains tend to do in other countries.

[AngelsLakersFan]

11 hours ago, Amazing Larry said:

I'll let a farmer keep his land over building a train that nobody will ride every time.

I think that's fair, but personally, if I wanted to live somewhere with a non-functional government I'd move to some african country. In the past we've never had issues with stuff like this when it was native americans or poor black neighborhoods in the way. Now that it's farmers and some native species of tree frogs or whatever the fuck it's off limits. The sad thing is, in the end the train will get built, it will just take decades, costs insane amounts of money and lack most of the functionality it could have actually originally provided. 

[Taylor]

Those poor farmers who get subsidized by the government to put pesticides in our produce.

[Amazing Larry]

31 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Those poor farmers who get subsidized by the government to put pesticides in our produce.

Yes Taylor. Farmers are evil. 

[Jay]

2 hours ago, Taylor said:

Those poor farmers who get subsidized by the government to put pesticides in our produce.

Crazy train good!

Farmers bad.