[Novacek]

Originally Posted by ivanwolf

But are there enough people who commute daily to really spend hundreds of millions on a commuter train to and from?

Commute daily from Round Rock to Austin?

Again, you're making the _fundamental_ mistake of seeing the tracks go from Austin to SA and assuming everyone (or even more than a small fraction of riders) would be going that whole distance.

Edit: It's like the interstate highway system. It stretches from California to Maine. (approximately) NO ONE ever drives all the way from maine to california. So therefore we shouldn't have built any highways.

Originally Posted by ivanwolf

I'd rather Austin use its tracks on MoPac for a local commuter train similar to the CapMetro Red Line.

Again, it's not "Austin"'s tracks.

They're UP's.

And to even have a chance to use them (which basically is no chance anymore) they needed to provide the freight bypass the _whole_ way.

Originally Posted by ivanwolf

The UP tracks are there, lets use them for something local, which is what the majority wants.

WE CAN'T. Not unless UP plays ball. And they're not going to do so unless it's in their best interest.