Louisiana to seek "wasteful spending" for NOLA-BR high-speed rail (1 Viewer)

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Louisiana to seek New Orleans-Baton Rouge passenger rail line from federal stimulus pot that Jindal called wasteful
by Robert Travis Scott, The Times-Picayune

Saturday February 28, 2009, 8:00 AM

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's transportation department plans to request federal dollars for a New Orleans to Baton Rouge passenger rail service from the same pot of railroad money in the president's economic stimulus package that Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized as unnecessary pork on national television Tuesday night.

The high-speed rail line, a topic of discussion for years, would require $110 million to upgrade existing freight lines and terminals to handle a passenger train operation, said Mark Lambert, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Jindal on Tuesday delivered the official Republican Party response to President Barack Obama's address to Congress. He criticized the stimulus package passed by the Democratic-majority in Congress and the president and noted examples of projects that he found objectionable.

"While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending," Jindal said. "It includes ... $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a 'magnetic levitation' line from Las Vegas to Disneyland."
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/louisiana_to_seek_new_orleansb.html
 
I have actually been saying for years that Texas should find a company willing to build a high speed line between Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio and promise them the land nessicarry to build the line and tax breaks on the operation for the first few years of its operation... provided of course the company puts in multiple lines for both passenger and freight and allows the government to use the line at a discount for both uses.
 
I have actually been saying for years that Texas should find a company willing to build a high speed line between Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio and promise them the land nessicarry to build the line and tax breaks on the operation for the first few years of its operation... provided of course the company puts in multiple lines for both passenger and freight and allows the government to use the line at a discount for both uses.

Upgrading existing lines for freight might be better since the engineering requirements are much different from high-speed rail. The Texas T-Bone is a proposed 200mph+ passenger route. It would be nice to connect BR/NOLA at Houston and extend from Dallas along the Meridian Speedway route through North Louisiana to Atlanta.
 
Upgrading existing lines for freight might be better since the engineering requirements are much different from high-speed rail. The Texas T-Bone is a proposed 200mph+ passenger route. It would be nice to connect BR/NOLA at Houston and extend from Dallas along the Meridian Speedway route through North Louisiana to Atlanta.

I can only dream of that...it would be so nice to be able to take the train from here to New Orleans via Jackson. Gosh, that would change everything.
 
Jindal is such a moron. A bullet line from BR to NOLA would be fantastic! I'd love to see all cities within reason connected via high-speed rail.
 
The Disney rail was wasteful; this, on the other hand, is something we've been needing for years and years. Here's a paper I wrote for a class proposing this. (for all 0.2 of you who will read it).
 
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Jindal is such a moron. A bullet line from BR to NOLA would be fantastic! I'd love to see all cities within reason connected via high-speed rail.

Why is he a moron? He is not saying that light rail does not make sense. He questioned the huge spending on one that does not seem to make sense.
 
I'd love it. It'd be a great way to go down to New Orleans for a day. Then again, I do live in Baton Rouge.
 
I have actually been saying for years that Texas should find a company willing to build a high speed line between Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio and promise them the land nessicarry to build the line and tax breaks on the operation for the first few years of its operation... provided of course the company puts in multiple lines for both passenger and freight and allows the government to use the line at a discount for both uses.

The Trans-Texas Corridor was supposed to provide something like that. But then it got killed recently.
 
Not only is it NOT a wasteful idea it would allow more people to come see the saints and hornets and not have to worry about the drive to get there. Also would allow more students who go to UNO to go to LSU because of the reason of them not wanting to make the commute. To come to think of it, it really opens up more and more of our attractions to Baton Rouge and beyond. This could be the link to the rest of the state that New Orleans and pretty much South LA are striving for.
 
Jindal is such a moron. A bullet line from BR to NOLA would be fantastic! I'd love to see all cities within reason connected via high-speed rail.

That just makes too much sense a high speed train between BR to NOLA? I've got it let's just build more highways!

Louisiana is like 20 years behind. We need a bullet line from BR to NOLA..I was born and raised in NOLA, but live in BR. I would take this train back home almost every weekend.

Jindal is a moron..This train could also allow more people in the cities/town in between BR and NOLA to travel to go to school, work, etc. This will also take more cars off the I-10, which would mean less wrecks and less deaths. Like I said, it just makes too much sense for Louisiana to ever do it.
 
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I don't think Jindal is a moron by any stretch. He's just trying to get a crack at POTUS 2012, and he's going about it the wrong way. Party politics and putting Louisiana last.

I think a more accurate term would be self-serving politician. Rhodes scholars aren't dumb.
 
i love how the arts incentives in the stimulus are labeled "wasteful spending" by our governor. if Jindal rejects the funds allocated for arts that is spitting in the face of our city because music is the backbone of new orleans. Music is the city's identity and one of its most important exports.
 

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