High-speed rail to link Tulsa\OKC\Dallas and more...

[mecarr]

The $8 billion devoted to high-speed rail in the stimulus package will result in a huge expansion of high-speed trains connecting cities throughout the country. In addition, President Obama is likely to increase funding for high-speed rail in his upcoming budget. The Federal Railroad Administration currently has a map designating high-speed rail cooridor designations. I've read where this is likely where the high-speed train routes will be. Note that it would connect Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Let's try not to make this thread political. I just think it would be great if I could hop on a train here and visit my relatives in San Antonio.



link

[Superhyper]

I think the San Antonio to Tulsa route has been designated as priority for a high-speed upgrade for some time, pending funding. I'll try to find the evidence for that, but if anyone around here knows anything about that it would be helpful.

[Midtowner]

Too bad it's not linked to KC or St. Louis.

[Richard at Remax]

or Dallas to Houston. Have many friends down there. Ditto on the Link to KC. because that would open up many destinations.

[venture]

You can thank Southwest Airlines for a lot of missing connections in the Midwest and Plains. They lobbied hard to make sure their half-hourly service was going to be impacted by a method of transportation that could be cheaper, and more useful than theirs.

I would love to have South Central and the Chicago networks connected. Would probably use it quite a bit.

[mecarr]

Too bad it's not linked to KC or St. Louis.

Isn't the Kansas Dept. of transportation already working on something that would link KC and OKC, plus a lot of other towns in Oklahoma?

[metro]

Agreed, if it was linked to KC and St. Louis and then Cleveland was linked to Buffalo and/or Albany, and if Nashville was in there somewhere, you'd have the whole eastern half of the United States pretty much covered.

[metro]

Isn't the Kansas Dept. of transportation already working on something that would link KC and OKC, plus a lot of other towns in Oklahoma?

Amtrak, but not high speed rail like this is intended to be

[blangtang]

I just think it would be great if I could hop on a train here and visit my relatives in San Antonio.

you can.

i rode the amtrak from san antonio to the norman stop, took nearly all day, but its there.

[Richard at Remax]

thats the problem with amtrak. a) they share thier lines with union pacific and UP has the right of way. That's why the train will randomly stop in the middle of nowhere. and b) they can only go so fast on those lines. I think top speed in Texas is 55mph if I'm not mistaken, which would take all day.

[sgray]

Wow. Ones things for sure, based on the map alone. This would be one heck of a jump-start for high-speed rail in the U.S., you know? Besides the upcoming recovery.org is there a site for this project? Or at least one or some that track the status?

[Doug Loudenback]

My understanding is that the South Central High Speed Corridor has been planned for at least by 2004 but in concept by as early as 1993:

The FRA and the Federal Highway Administration jointly manage the Section 1103(c) grade crossing hazard elimination program in designated high-speed corridors. $1.565 million has been invested in reducing grade crossing hazards in the South Central Corridor since the program's beginning in 1993. Details on the grade crossing inventory in this corridor can be found HERE.

This is from FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : PASSENGER RAIL

[LakeEffect]

The money included in the stimulus plan is not nearly enough to actually build the rail lines... the funds will be used to study the possibilities and provide seed funds for hopefully starting a few of the lines. California's own plan is estimated at $40 billion... I really want this to happen, but I also don't think we should get our hopes up yet.

[mecarr]

The money included in the stimulus plan is not nearly enough to actually build the rail lines... the funds will be used to study the possibilities and provide seed funds for hopefully starting a few of the lines. California's own plan is estimated at $40 billion... I really want this to happen, but I also don't think we should get our hopes up yet.

I dunno about that. Check out this Politico article about how "obama plots huge railroad expansion." Obama wants $1 billion more each year for the next five years for high-speed rail. That would bring the total spent on highspeed rail to $15 billion.

[mcgrawsdad]

Maybe we could have an el-train that connects Norman, edmond, OKC and possibly tulsa that is powered by wind turbines.

[sgray]

Maybe we could have an el-train that connects Norman, edmond, OKC and possibly tulsa that is powered by wind turbines.

LOL Yeah, if so this would definitely be the zone to be in to catch the most wind.

[bluedogok]

You can thank Southwest Airlines for a lot of missing connections in the Midwest and Plains. They lobbied hard to make sure their half-hourly service was going to be impacted by a method of transportation that could be cheaper, and more useful than theirs.

I would love to have South Central and the Chicago networks connected. Would probably use it quite a bit.

Southwest along with the other Texas based airlines, (American & Continental) had the Texas Triangle TGV killed off in the early 90's.

[venture]

Yeah...AA and CO raised a stink, Southwest was the loudest voice since it was at the heart of their company. But yes, you are right.

I would love for high speed rail to really become an option here. I am pretty jealous of places in Europe and Asia with their high speed rail and pretty luxurious offerings. Definitely much better than the cattle car treatment we get in the air now.

[soonerguru]

This is a very encouraging development. I'm just glad OKC is linked and that we -- and Tulsa -- weren't overlooked.

[kevinpate]

> weren't overlooked.

I's say we were overlooked, or at best looked upon as merely the unwelcome stepchild.
To not connect either: Tulsa to KC, or Houston to DFW (or even SA) seems lacking in logic.

[bombermwc]

I made some changes to the map adding some connections I thought made sense. I mean seriously, if we have Meridian, MS and Texarkana, TX....shouldn't we have Memphis and Nashville??

[okclee]

I am sure that this is just the beginning or a phase one type of plan.

Kansas City, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, these cities will have multiple rail lines eventially as we all will.

It is good to start somewhere, even if this is twenty years out.

[OKCMallen]

Sacramento to Eugene- that's a LOOOOOOONG, EXPENSIVE connection that will take a long time to travel. People will fly instead.

Tulsa > KC: what's the point? Not enough traffic from OKC/TUL to KC to justify it, and people further south would likely fly that.

Little Rock > Char: why?

Tulsa > Little Rock: I like this connection if there's something east of Little Rock to connect to, but there isn't I don't think the traffic between Tul and LR would justify this connection

Austin/SanAn > Houston: seems like a no-brainer...can't believe that's not proposed.

Jacksonville > Orlando: all the rails are right there anyway, it's a short connection to link in Tampa and Miami, and you'd think the Jacksonville>Orlando traffic would justify the route. I like this connection a lot.

[Insider]

I agree with most of your 'additions' with a few exceptions. I think a Dallas - Houston link would need to be made. I think the Tulsa - Little Rock connection is a little overkill. The link between Nashville and Birmingham (connecting through Huntsville) should be moved east. It should instead be a link between Nashville and Atlanta connecting through Chattanooga. Finally, I think there needs to be a link between Pittsburgh and either Cleveland (preferred) or Columbus.

[soonerguru]

kevinpate,

I think the point was made that other lines were not included due to industry pressure from airlines. I'm not sure. Either way, there are many states and cities that aren't in these plans, but we are. In my view, that is a positive development.