13 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA, 11/1:

State floats train plan
$60 million line would link BR with Big Easy

Passenger railroad service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans would resume for the first time in roughly 40 years under an ambitious, $60 million proposal unveiled Tuesday by the state transportation department.

The plan, which faces huge financial and other hurdles, is aimed primarily at helping New Orleans area residents who have been forced into daily commutes since Hurricane Katrina.

But the long-shot effort would also be designed to lure other riders as well.

here.

[ICGsteve]

The state will have no money for the foreseeable future, so lets be honest here; this is a $120 million over five years plan. 100% of this dough would need to come from Uncle Sam. I very much doubt it.

[KevinKorell]

The question still remains whether the city will be fully rebuilt, or whether it will be left alone. With some residents seemingly permanently displaced, there are not as many businesses or employers left in the CBD as there were before Katrina. So it may be hard to justify a commuter rail service, as it could end up being a railroad to nowhere. And if there is another levy breach, the commuter rail plan won't be the only thing floating in New Orleans.

[ICGsteve]

I think that we do know that NO will never be fully rebuilt. I said soon after the storm that this would be the case, and every bit of the floundering that has come since supports my argument. The question that interest me is what is the state up to here? My guess is that they are attempting to make Baton Rogue the bedroom community for the underclass that serves the tourism industry. This is a very long commute, and the desire for a twenty dollar round trip charge for a journey that is 80 miles one way is the reason that I come to that conclusion. The only people who will put up with that commute every day are the ones that have no choice, and it is priced very cheaply. It is clear that NO is becoming a very expensive place to live, that the underclass has no place to go other that Baton Rogue. Most of the public housing is gone and it will not be rebuild. There is no sign that places such as the lower 9th ward will be rebuilt or that there will be a alternative cheap places to live. It looks to me like the state is trying to get what it can from the feds. The state is telling the feds that they are open to shrinking NO and thus shrinking the cost to protect NO (all of which comes from US) but in return the feds should pay for alternatives, shuch as making Baton Rogue a bedroom community.

[Sloan]

http://www.nola.com/...n_or_light.html

Despite the headline, the legislation emphasis seems to be on establishing Baton Rouge—New Orleans service.

Sloan

[Sloan]

http://www.2theadvoc...n/94365174.html

[Sloan]

http://theadvocate.c...link-study-gets

Illustration shows Chinese-style high speed train, which, IMHO, is not necessary. A good 110 mph infrastructure will serve travelers' needs quite well.

Sloan


P. S.: I'm glad to se this project is returning to the forefront of Louisiana transportation agenda.

[KevinKorell]

Well OK, sure such a line would make sense, but it would have made more sense if rushed into service when the residents of New Orleans were displaced by the hurricane and forced to live outside the flooded city. Note we were talking about this in November of 2006, just 15 months after Katrina. Now that things have returned to semi-normal (except for the portions of the city not rebuilt), and those permanently displaced have surely taken root someplace by now, I don't sense the local excitement like there was when it would have been a key lifeline for so many people. The bus service that was set up between the two cities has been cut back several times, to a point where its schedule is no longer practical. The way the damage from the Northridge earthquake in the Los Angeles area was the catalyst for the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line (which initially was only supposed to go as far as Santa Clarita), that is how the effects of Katrina should have stimulated this rail line. I hope I am wrong, but the train may have already figuratively left the station.

Edited by KevinKorell, 20 May 2012 - 05:50 PM.

[Sloan]

Light Passenger Rail for New Orleans?

If the goal of light rail is to take commuters from Point A to Point B and beyond, then New Orleans remains stuck at or just shy of Point A. But it's not for lack of effort.

"Light Passenger Rail?"

Sloan

http://www.bestofnew...ent?oid=2079557

[KevinKorell]

"Light Passenger Rail?"

Well, Sloan, they also refer to the "high speed rail" concept which, if looked at in the context of New Orleans to Baton Rouge only, would be a mistake. If Baton Rouge is the first stop on a high speed rail line leading to another major city such as Houston, then it's OK.

The rail line (in whatever form) proposed post-Katrina for New Orleans-Baton Rouge has essentially already been rejected by Governor Jindal, much as the Governors of Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio have done in their respective states. I just hope that the use of incorrect terminology, which was a major factor in the fates of Milwaukee-Madison, Orlando-Tampa, and Cleveland-Cincinnati, did not also kill off this route. But as I said earlier in this thread, the time for a Baton Rouge service may have already come and gone.

"Light passenger rail" -- as opposed to what, "Light freight rail"? LRT would be applicable for areas closer to downtown New Orleans, and it should not be tough to understand given the iconic streetcar lines that already ply their streets. But the further one gets from the city's central business district, the greater the need for a more modern light rail system with stops placed much further apart than the streetcars have. And still further, commuter rail can come into play.