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Texas’ Long-Awaited Bullet Train Plans to Start Construction

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by tinman, Nov 28, 2018.

  1. PhiSlammaJamma

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    Don't think nationally we have the population density to make this bullet train work city to city. Our big cities are just too far apart. And that's the real testing ground. If you get me from LA to SF in 2 hours. That might work. Think you got something there. But that doesn't seem plausible right now. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it just doesn't seem like it will get used.
     
  2. mfastx

    mfastx Member
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    High speed rail isn't public transit, which works better in dense corridors due to frequent stops and high (<10 min) frequency. High speed rail competes with airlines, and there are a ton of people that fly Southwest/United/American between the two cities already. Which means there is a market for high speed rail.
     
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  3. TMac'n

    TMac'n Contributing Member

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    If I can get from Houston to LA in less time & money then it would take for me to (1) get to airport, (2) check in my bags, (3) wait in security line, (4) wait at the gate, (5) board, (6) taxi on the tarmac (if no delays), (7) fly, (8) taxi on tarmac again, (9) de-plane, (10) get my stuff from baggage claim, and (11) get out of the airport (and be cheaper), then definitely something to consider.

    I Imagine a train from Houston to LA would possibly have stops in San Antonio, El Paso, Phoenix, and finally LA. That's not too bad if this is possible. However I don't imagine this at all in my lifetime
     
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  4. Astrodome

    Astrodome Member
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    I remember choosing to drive to corpus from houston instead of flying because it would take around the same amount of time with less airport headaches. This has potential.
     
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  5. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    We need mass transit in this country so badly....

    DD
     
  6. Redfish81

    Redfish81 Member

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    Oil isn't going anywhere in our lifetimes. It will just be exported more and more... or are you going to tell other countries they can't have oil? Japan didn't like that very much.

    World Wide oil demand will still increase over the next 20 years. Southeast Asia has double the population of the US, China and India each have 4 times the population of the US. OPEC forecasts India's crude oil demand will expand to 5.8 million barrels per day by 2040, accounting for about 40% of the total increase worldwide. They are also investing in renewables but their energy demands are growing so fast they will still need oil. Even with their renewable energy investment their demand for coal grew 9.1% in the year ending in March 2019. There is a reason US oil companies wanted the ability to export oil. The demand is overseas.
     
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  7. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
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    I don't oppose the idea of a Dallas/Houston bullet train, but I personally won't get any use out of it. I mean maybe a family vacation one time? Their arboretum wipes its ass with Houston's arboretum. Otherwise, I'm not going to Dallas.

    I guess the excitement is around the idea of the bullet train - and future builds/extensions - more so than the Dallas/Houston line itself.
     
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  8. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    I am in for a bullet train to Austin.
     
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  9. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    ALWAYS with the arboretum talk! 'Did you know Abe Lincoln founded the first arboretum?' 'Dinosaurs secretly had arboretums!' 'My great uncle was the first curator of the Antarctica Arboretum.' Give it a rest, man!
     
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  10. Jayzers_100

    Jayzers_100 Member

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    Bullet train, hyperloop, high speed rail...whatever you want to call them, this is the future. This will eliminate some of the top causes of stress and anxiety in our lives: time away from loved ones and daily work commutes. It will make people happier, boost the economy, no emissions, allows for more diversified hiring pools (proposed hyperloop in Missouri would make KC > STL = 30 minutes!!!). It is unequivocally the single greatest improvement to american lives that I can imagine. I hope we begin pouring more money into these projects
     
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  11. MystikArkitect

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    You think oil demand is going to increase? Autonomous electric cars are almost here, humanity moves forward.

    I've learned not to believe what big companies want you to believe while they shift their money around in the background. Not to sound all doomsday or whatever, but I dont want to be tied to a city that's tied to an industry that's on the downturn.
     
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  12. TMac'n

    TMac'n Contributing Member

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    Oil isn't only used as fuel. It goes into nearly everything manufactured too, i.e. plastics, polymers, etc. The phone/ tablet/ computer that you're using to view this message now is a product of oil.

    So oil will never go away, it will just not be as profitable in the future
     
  13. Redfish81

    Redfish81 Member

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    It's not just me that thinks this. Look at oil consumption charts. Even in the US we have not turned the corner and still have increasing oil consumption. We are adding over a million legal immigrants a year plus who knows how many illegals. This is going to take a long time to turn the corner. Eventually Europe and our demand will decrease. However, most of the population of the world is in Asia and their increasing demands will offset the decrease from the US and Europe.

    Even Elon Musk said if no more gasoline cars were bought starting today it would take 25 years to replace all of them. There are something like 2.5 billion cars in the world.

    https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_oil_consumption

    https://ycharts.com/indicators/india_oil_consumption

    https://ycharts.com/indicators/china_oil_consumption
     
  14. davidio840

    davidio840 Contributing Member

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    Oil isn’t going anywhere in our lifetime and the demand will be increasing. As others have said, it’s used in just about everything. You need a cracker unit (many of these refineries in the Houston area are Ehylene Cracker Units and more are being built) to get the Ethylene from oil/gas. From that Ethylene, you can use various temps to cause reactions to get a polymer of some sort which is then used to make plastics for just about everything you see and touch.

    A lot of plants/refineries you see all over the US and the world aren’t just making gasoline or oil for your car. They are making plastics, artificial flavors for your lays potato chips, etc. etc.
     
  15. donkeypunch

    donkeypunch Contributing Member

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    Wut?
     
  16. Buck Turgidson

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    He's not wrong.
     
  17. donkeypunch

    donkeypunch Contributing Member

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    Im not doubting and certainly not all that shocked. I was just kinda struck by that sentence and wanted to know more about it.
     
  18. Xenon

    Xenon Contributing Member

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    It's sad how poor our passenger train infrastructure is. It's pathetic really. This video popped up in my youtube recommended list and look at how hard it is to travel via train across our country. It's basically torture.
     
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  19. Buck Turgidson

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    Sajan and donkeypunch like this.
  20. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    That girl is ridiculously attractive.
     
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