Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover
You're talking about elevated rail along the highway ROW and then street grade LRT down 7th St. That's easily 1.5-2 billion for an "express" option. Come on guys.
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Not to lengthen an internet debate, but I personally never said anything about a 7th St alignment, elevated rail, or along highway ROW.
Putting Stadler DMUs along Cap Metro ROW to the MoKan spur gets you to the Colorado river north of the port without spending a dime. Cross the river and buy some underutilized land south of there gets you virtually a straight shot into the port from the north.
That is by far the cheapest way to get rail to the airport, but I thought I conceded that the demand wasn't there yet. And I also concede that no amount of downtown-airport direct express service would justify a $2B investment.
But the demand doesn't need to get all that high for the numbers to possibly work if you criticize what I actually said. To that end, please try not to be so dismissive if you want to foster some good conversation on Austin transportation.