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Old Posted Aug 9, 2016, 7:33 PM
llamaorama llamaorama is online now
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,204
Maybe people and politicians like the "idea" of rail between Austin and San Antonio rather than the reality of it. There are very few realistic options that would perform well and be worth it.

To me its a lousy idea. Infrequent slow diesel trains that skirt the edges of suburbia, dropping off passengers in the middle of nowhere. It would be a failure and create more negative feelings about transit spending.

It would be very different if there was a way to obtain the UP line and have trains stopping right at the doorstep of many area destinations. But even then, low frequency suburban commuter lines in comparable US cities tend to get, what, maybe 10-20,000 daily riders on a good day? When you divide that number by the price tag of ANY option being presented, it just doesn't seem worth it.
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