Significant Rail News, July 31-August 22, 2014

OK OK It’s Not A Train But It Connects To Dozens Daily

Bad Guys In Fresno Don’t Rejoice Yet Dept: State Parole Office In Fresno To Be Demolished for HSR Construction
http://abc30.com/news/state-parole-office-in-fresno-to-be-demolished-for-high-speed-rail/276005/

Recent Appellate Court Decision Upholding Current HSR Plan Appealed Due to Errors By Court
http://www.examiner.com/article/tos-pcl-howard-jarvis-asks-appeals-court-to-rehear-the-hsr-case

Hey, We Already Knew That Dept: Light Rail Lines Boost Property Values
http://finance-commerce.com/2014/08/boosting-property-values-on-light-rail-lines/

From The Dark Side: Lyft And Uber Have Yet To Prove They Are Sustainable Businesses
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/as-uber-and-lyft-brawl-the-real-danger-is-both-end-up-dead/?mbid=social_twitter

BRT Doubts Dept: Denver, CO. Convert Colfax To Bus Rapid Transit? Not So Fast
http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_26360233/convert-colfax-bus-rapid-transit-not-so-fast

Everything Is Bigger In Texas Dept: The Bullet Train That Could Change Everything
http://nextcity.org/forefront/view/the-bullet-train-that-could-change-everything

Everything Is Bigger In Texas Even When It Isn’t Dept: North Texas Transit Is Great Model For Car Happy Cities
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20140817-north-texas-transit-is-great-model-for-car-happy-cities.ece

Rail Service Reaches DFW Airport
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/18/6635624/dart-rail-service-for-dfw-airport.html

From The Dark Side Dept: Majority Of Americans Would Rather Pay Tolls Than Taxes
http://www.betterroads.com/poll-majority-of-americans-would-rather-pay-tolls-than-taxes/

Hey Maybe The Middle Class Is Willing To Pay More For a Better Product Dept: Buses And “Status Anxiety”
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/status-anxiety-ride-bus-ride-train

Sacramento: Regional Transit To Discuss Downtown Plans With Republic FC (Soccer) Officials
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/14/6629968/sacramento-soccer-fans-are-also.html

A Test Ride On Denver’s Light Rail
http://www.denverpost.com/writersontherange/ci_26344166/test-ride-through-denvers-light-rail

Amtrak’s Empire Builder Struggling To Stay On Time
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2014/08/15/amtraks-empire-builder-struggles-freight-boom/14141015/

From The Folks Who Think Robocars Will Save Us:Silicon Valley’s Self-Feeding Cycle of Car Dependence
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/santa-clara-car-dependence-silicon-valley-driving

Things Are Often Bigger In Arizona, Too Dept: Phoenix Mayor Wants To Triple LRT Mileage
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/08/12/phoenix-mayor-stanton-wants-expand-light-rail/13957029/

Well, We Used To Be Able To Do Big Things, Effectively, Dept: Why Can’t the US Build A HSR System?
http://www.citylab.com/politics/2014/08/why-cant-the-united-states-build-a-high-speed-rail-system/375980/

Now Will It Survive Dept: Orange County Transportation Authority Takes Over Political Football Santa Ana Streetcar Project
http://www.voiceofoc.org/county/article_3adcec1a-2266-11e4-8f6f-001a4bcf887a.html

Opinion: Who Cares What Ideology Drives A High Speed Train?
http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2024291770_fromaharropcolumnhighspeedrail12xml.html

From Japan: Texas To Get Shinkansen System
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/02/business/economy-business/private-u-s-railway-wants-bullet-train-line-for-texas-by-2021/#.U-lwE4BdUqb

Well, They Certainly Know Where They Get Their Loot Dept: Road Builder: Higher Fuel Standards Would Hurt Gas Tax
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/214858-road-builders-higher-truck-fuel-standards-would-reduce-gas-tax

One Year Later, Hyped Loop Remains A Fantasy
http://www.cnet.com/news/one-year-later-hyperloop-remains-fantasy/

Show Us The Money Dept: The ‘P3’ Dilemma: Partnerships Often Fall Short of Taxpayers’ Expectations
http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2014/08/11/The-P3-dilemma-Partnerships-often-fall-short-of-taxpayers-expectations/stories/201408110002

Transit Projects Shouldn’t Take Longer To Finish in 2014 Than They Did In 1925
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/08/transit-projects-shouldnt-take-longer-to-finish-in-2014-than-they-did-in-1925/375851/

Obama’s HSR Program May Be Unfocused But Not A Failure: Here’s The Truth
http://time.com/3100248/high-speed-rail-barack-obama/

From The Dark Side: Polls Says Americans Support Highways But Not Paying More For Them
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/poll-americans-support-highways-but-not-paying-more-for-them/2014/08/05/f7068cec-1cb8-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html

Hope You Don’t Become Even More Confused Dept: Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN – A Southwest Light Rail Explainer
http://streets.mn/2014/08/08/a-southwest-light-rail-explainer/

NY Times: $11 Billion Later, High Speed Rail Is Inching Along
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/07/us/delays-persist-for-us-high-speed-rail.html?_r=0

After Lots Of Sturm Am Drang Dept: San Antonio Streetcar Opponent Fail To Qualify Anti-Streetcar Initiative
http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat/news/2014/08/06/brief-streetcar-petition-update.html

Santa Ana City Council Endorses Streetcar Route
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/streetcar-630920-city-council.html

Hey, How About Putting Streetcars On Old Streetcar Routes Dept: Put Cleveland Bicycle Expressway on Old Streetcar Routes
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/cleveland_bicycle_expressway_c.html

Show Us And We Said No Dept: Missouri Says NO To Amendment 7’s Monster Tax For Roads
http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/08/06/missouri-says-no-to-amendment-7s-monster-tax-hike-for-roads/

Results Are Mixed For Cities Bundling Freeways and Rail in Tax Elections
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/light-rail-road-freeway-funding-austin

Tucson Streetcar Ridership Exceeding Expectations
http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/080514_sun_link_ridership/humming-along-streetcar-ridership-besting-projections/

National Poll Shows No Consensus For Transportation Funding, Except Everyone Opposes Gas Taxes And Tolls
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/214310-poll-public-cant-agree-on-how-to-fund-transportation-projects

New House Majority Leader From San Joaquin Valley Vows to Block HSR Funding
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/214249-new-house-majority-leader-promises-to-block-calif-railway-funding

Maybe If You Paid To Drive As Suggested Here Transit Would Be Profitable Dept: We Don’t Pay Enough For Transportation
http://transportationist.org/2014/08/04/we-dont-pay-enough-for-transportation/

Rates Of Public Transit Usage In Different Cities
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/how-your-citys-public-transit-stacks-up/

State Appeals Court Delivers Win for High Speed Rail
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2014/07/31/high-speed-rail-ruling-overturned/

And The Sun Rises In The East, Too Dept: Fewer People Would Drive To Work If They Had To Pay For Parking
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/08/its-amazing-how-many-more-commuters-would-drive-less-if-they-didnt-get-free-parking/375402/

New Starts: Cheap Chattanooga Streetcars; Eugene BRT Extension, Subway in Vietnam
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/eugene-brt-extension-ho-chi-minh-subway-light-rail-chattanooga

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