Southern High-Speed Rail

[cajun]

I voted for Jindal, but I am so sick of him running for president while governing this state. He needs to focus on the well being of this state, instead of doing what he feels will look good on his resume come 2012.

True that.

I'm a huge fan of Jindal, but he needs to just back off. Trust me, after the Health Care debacle is over, the opposing party will implode on their own without his help.

I'm a huge proponent of the rail system, and I would have liked to see farther study on the matter. Prove to me that it can't work.

[byrde]

Jindal is playing politics. He should have stopped running his mouth back in February when the feds were throwing money all over the place. This is one of the reasons I do not care for the party system. Instead of doing what's best for his state, he is playing politics due to party loyalty. Just admit you put your foot in your mouth and take the money Bobby!

[cajun]

My wife has written letters to his office before and has gotten a response.....in fact, during the legislative pay raise issue, citizens flooded his office with letters and encouraged him and his administration to change their stance.

The Advocate said that no reason was given on why the push for these funds were halted (only that it's failed twice already since Katrina). If the governor's office is trying to delay or squash this, then they need to hear from us.

No one really knows about this rail issue other than those of us who actually try to follow it. These articles, unlike the legislative pay raises, health care issues, and war news, are not on the front page of the local papers. If LaSwift has proven anything, it's that people would use mass transit between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and that people here are much more open to it than their rural backgrounds would suggest.

[richyb83]

Glad this issue won't go away...

DDD urges support for high-speed rail

Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District, sent a letter to Transportation Secretary William Ankner, urging him to continue efforts to get $300 million in federal money for high-speed rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. "The Downtown Development District supports the proposed transformational transportation passenger rail service because it can pay significant economic dividends," Rhorer writes in a letter that was also sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal and members of the Capital Region Legislative Delegation. Rhorer notes that U.S. Census Data shows more than 200,000 households living in parishes between Baton Rouge and New Orleans don't have vehicles. "With your office estimating 500,000 riders per year, an intercity passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans would provide a means of transportation for this group proving to be a very valuable economic incubator for the corridor," he says.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/dai...09/oct/01/1218/

[richyb83]

Once again...good to see this refuses to go away...

Economic development agencies, legislators, DOTD talk high-speed rail

Members of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Greater New Orleans Inc. and local legislative delegations met this morning with Department of Transportation and Development Secretary William Ankner to discuss potential commuter and high-speed rail between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Ankner says this was the first in a series of meetings to discuss ways the state can position itself to land federal money for high-speed rail service. Connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans with high-speed rail has been a goal of local economic development groups. "We recognize the fact there are a number of hurdles, such as how to pay for the operating costs," says Ankner. The price tag for commuter rail service has grown from $300 million to $450 million. That includes a multi-step system that would eventually be capable of average speeds of 110 miles per hour; the stretch over the Bonnet Carre Spillway, however, would average 79 miles per hour. While the Obama administration recently announced $8 billion in grants for establishing rail service, Ankner says there are opportunities for other federal money. "There's funding included for rail in the budget the president just put forth," he says. The group plans to meet again in six to eight weeks.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2010/feb/03/1451/

[cajun]

Great to see this progress.

Is there a high speed rail committee or authority in Louisiana?

[richyb83]

Good question cajun...maybe this is going to happen finally?? Also maybe BOTH Mayors also discussed how their cities are in the "Top 5" for Murder rates in the US??

Mayors unite to back rail link

The mayors of Baton Rouge and New Orleans said Tuesday they are committed to finding a way to get a high-speed passenger rail service established between Louisiana’s two largest cities. The comments came at a news conference during which Mayor-President Kip Holden and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu signed an agreement to work cooperatively to promote economic development and cultural activities in their communities.

Gov. Bobby Jindal last fall pulled the plug on a push to seek $300 million federal stimulus dollars to launch a high-speed rail system linking the two cities.

Former Department of Transportation and Development Secretary William Ankner said at the time it would not be financially sustainable and would require $18 million per year in state funds to operate the train service.

Landrieu and Holden both said Tuesday that a passenger rail service would help attract new businesses to the region and draw tourists to attractions and events. “We believe it will benefit both of us economically,” Holden said. “We are firmly on board with working toward having a rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.”

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/94895609.html

[richyb83]

The corridor map shows the possible stops...from just outside of downtown BR to Mall of La.(should be plenty of room with the HUGE surface parking across the RR tracks); Gonzales; LaPlace; Louie Armstrong Int'l; and the NOLA CBD...

On the right track

Imagine walking from your residence in Baton Rouge to a light-rail station for a worry-free 75-minute ride to New Orleans, avoiding possible traffic nightmares on Interstate 10 that could occur at any point along the way.

In order to establish light-rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, both city councils would have to sign off on the compact. Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who signed an agreement late last month to work together to attract economic development and cultural opportunities, say they support high-speed rail between their cities. The parishes in between—Ascension, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles and Jefferson—would have the choice of opting into the compact once it’s established. If a parish opts out, it wouldn’t receive any of the associated benefits or have boarding stations.

There also is evidence that a service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans would have positive benefits for the light-rail corridor. At median value, every dollar invested in the project would result in a $1.40 return, with a 78% probability of a return on investment, the report says

.

http://www.businessreport.com/news/2010/jun/01/right-track-gvpt1/

[xav13r]

There also is evidence that a service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans would have positive benefits for the light-rail corridor. At median value, every dollar invested in the project would result in a $1.40 return, with a 78% probability of a return on investment, the report says.

Ok, I'm getting that rhe BR to NO link won't be high-speed. Any idea if the plan to tie this into a bigger HSR project? It would probably be easier and/or cheaper to bypass BR with the actual HSR and take it straight across the river in NO and head to Houston since they would be avoiding the swamp. The light rail spur would add connectivity to BR sorta like the Amtrak. NO has been wanting a light rail line using the Airline Hwy corridor to connect MSY to the CBD via UPT for years. It would make perfect sense to extend it in the other direction to BR, that way it will be easier for people flying into MSY to get to BR. It would also probably make a better replacement of LA Swift.

[cajun]

Ok, I'm getting that rhe BR to NO link won't be high-speed. Any idea if the plan to tie this into a bigger HSR project? It would probably be easier and/or cheaper to bypass BR with the actual HSR and take it straight across the river in NO and head to Houston since they would be avoiding the swamp. The light rail spur would add connectivity to BR sorta like the Amtrak. NO has been wanting a light rail line using the Airline Hwy corridor to connect MSY to the CBD via UPT for years. It would make perfect sense to extend it in the other direction to BR, that way it will be easier for people flying into MSY to get to BR. It would also probably make a better replacement of LA Swift.

A Baton Rouge - NOLA route would be a great start with high speed rail. More importantly, it could eventually be extended along rail road right of way through Alexandria on to Shreveport and Dallas.

If it's not high speed, then they might as well forget it. Sharing tracks with freight rail ends up meaning that the passenger rail cars have to be weighed down for safety reasons (freight rail companies own the track, they write the rules and don't want passenger rail clogging up their system). A heavy train couldn't get up to speed fast enough with all those stops to justify making the trip unless it could make up for it by a higher allowed top speed.

Now, it might be worth it to build a seperate line so the rail cars won't have to meet the weight standards. Lighter trains (there is one between Dallas and Ft. Worth) can accelerate faster and get up to the maximum allowed speed and can justify making a couple of more stops.

I'd put the rail stops in Baton Rouge at Scotlandville/Baton Rouge Airport, underneath the NOrth Blvd Overpass, and off Picardy near the Baton Rouge General.

Of course, those areas with stations (which will have to be maintained by the city/parish) will have to be significantly upgraded with sidewalks, covered bus stations, adequate parking, and better pedestrian access....maybe even street car service.

Passenger Rail in Baton Rouge

That brings me to another point, and one that I've been thinking about lately. There are rail cars in Houston right now that act as both a modern day street car but can reach higher speeds farther out from the city center (which is planned in the future expansion). The trains are compatible to use as both commuter rail and street cars....they don't require a bulkhead and platform for boarding either, and are light enough to go anywhere a tractor trailer can go, which means it can use the median spaces on overpasses.

It can happen here. It's actually not that expensive (much cheaper than ALIVE to get started). Modern street based rail cars with the newer European built systems are light, fast, comfortable, quiet, energy efficient, and (listen to this New Orleans) AIR CONDITIONED!. Oh, and did I mention that they are affordable?

If I were mayor, my top priority would be one of these Houston-style rail lines between Denham Springs and Downtown following Florida Blvd median, switching over to a new two lane North Blvd (because it has an overpass over the rail line and carries less vehicular traffic) around BRCC and meeting up with an LSU-Downtown route right in front of the new courthouse on North Blvd. They can be timed with traffic signals so that the only stops the trains have to make are their passenger drop off points.

turning the Houston "modern day" street car type of passenger rail (with frequent stops every few blocks in high density areas) into a flexible Marta-type of commuter rail which travels at higher speeds and can actually compete with the automobile in a cost affective way:

http://www.metrosolu...doc/1068/275137

Also check this out:

http://www.transport...hicle_lines.htm Siemens S70....can act as both a street car for the older parts of town and a commuter rail for the more suburban communities. No platform is needed to board it (just a curb height sidewalk if you require a wheelchair). It can reach top speeds of up to 65 and 70 mph and can comfortably handle regular 40 mph routes with numerous passenger stops.

Fact Sheet on the Houston system:

http://www.transport...houston_s70.pdf

Where is this applicable in Baton Rouge:

All those streets that Baton Rouge has been widening with "suicide lanes" can be modified slightly to accommodate dual rail lines. The trains are less than 9' wide. They need 28' of right of way at stations, at least 20' otherwise, which means roads like Perkins, Coursey, Old Hammond, Bluebonnet, Nicholson, North Blvd, Florida Blvd, and Sherwood Forrest can use them provided people can part with 14' wide automobile lanes in favor of 12' lanes, there is enough room to widen some of the 5 lane roads another 10' total in some places (tracks can single up through intersections with dual turn lanes without affecting traffic), and people could part with a little less median space on the boulevards. It can use the concrete road bed as a foundation to save money!

So...take Old Hammond Highway or the new section of Perkins, for example: 5 lane road with a center 16' turn lane (which is massive, BTW), 12' inside lanes and 14' outside lanes with 6' of curb and sidewalk on either side.

If they can eliminate the suicide lane and turn the street into a controlled boulevard (cars making left turns will have to yield to approaching trains like in Portland and Houston), narrow the outside lanes to the normal 12' width, then they'd only have to widen the road by approximately 2 to 3 feet to accommodate a curb to separate vehicular traffic from rail (which there is more than enough right of way for in most cases) unless it's a station point, where they would have to widen the road about 6 feet total. The dual rail lines can single up through intersections with dual turn lanes.

Streets like Florida Blvd east of Foster have enough right of way for 30' median to support this type of rail. In fact, east of Airline, there is already more than enough median space for this.

Streets like North Blvd, and Stanford would have to have shared automotive/train space or just reduce the street to two lanes or eliminate parallel parking.

Streets like Bluebonnet and Coursey have wide medians already. In places where there is landscaping that adds significant value to the neighborhood in the median (Bluebonnet betw Jefferson and I-10), there is enough right of way to accommodate 5 lanes of vehicular travel, a generous median, 2 lanes of rail, and 2 five food sidewalks.

The problem is the North-South routes. These trains can't have an "at grade" crossing with traditional rail tracks, which means that crossing Choctaw to get to the airport would require an overpass.....but I digress. Baby steps. Florida Blvd/North Blvd route to Denham and an Downtown-LSU route is where it should start. We can branch out from there.

If you wanted to get really crazy with it...imagine a new, wider Airline highway with 6 lanes of vehicular traffic, 6' shoulders, turn lanes, and 2 lanes of tracks for these rail cars in the median....on a route between the Baton Rouge airport all the way to downtown New Orleans.....It could happen. I'd like to see them start thinking about adding a 30' median and boulevard when they widen roads so that we can at least have this option more affordable in the future.

[hagetaka]

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[dan326]

Neat ideas, Cajun. I would have sworn you got some kind of communications degree because you sure know how to elaborate your points well.

[all2neat]

Unless it's high speed and I can get from br to no in under 40 minutes it's not worth the hassel.

[buckett5425]

Unless it's high speed and I can get from br to no in under 40 minutes it's not worth the hassel.

I agree with you all2neat. But in the near future gas could be $5 a gallon, in which case taking mass transit will be cheaper for you. We need to build these mass transit options now while construction costs are lower because when gas gets expensive again, building these other options could prove to be to costly. We need to prepare now for the future.

[cajun]

I agree with you all2neat. But in the near future gas could be $5 a gallon, in which case taking mass transit will be cheaper for you. We need to build these mass transit options now while construction costs are lower because when gas gets expensive again, building these other options could prove to be to costly. We need to prepare now for the future.

You've got my vote.

At the very least, stations should be put in place and basic routes organized. They can electrify most of the rails later. Get the basic logistics in place for the 2012 tourist season.....

[richyb83]

Jackson expects high-speed rail to become reality

Rep. Michael Jackson says Louisiana is moving forward with its plan to build a $447 million high-speed rail connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Legislation was passed this session that set up a compact-designating authority to a board of directors who will oversee financing issues. Jackson, a Baton Rouge independent, told the Baton Rouge Press Club today he does not expect Gov. Bobby Jindal to veto his bill and feels the project can survive independent of state financing. Louisiana was overlooked last year when other states were receiving federal stimulus grants to fund similar projects because a solid plan was not in order. Jackson says the compact board will position Louisiana well to receive the next round of stimulus money. New stimulus money will come with the caveat that states provide matching funds.

After the bill goes into law on July 1, Jackson says Mayor Kip Holden and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will be asked to formally support the rails with resolutions. Then five directors will be chosen for the board of directors, one from each of the parishes that the rail line is designed to go through. Jackson called the board a "quasi-governmental entity" and says the members will not be paid. He claims the rail could be an important tool to evacuating New Orleans in the event of another Hurricane Katrina-like catastrophe. "It could be a bridge to a whole new world of south Louisiana, and we're going to make sure we do everything in our power to bring it forward,"

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/

[all2neat]

I hope a dedicated high speed rail line gets built. I would use it, a stop downtown, one at mall of la, tanger outlet, Laplace, MSY, and downtown would be awesome.

[richyb83]

Think tank head says B.R. to N.O. rail plausible, maybe even feasible

A proposed rail line connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans may be comparable to Amtrak's most successful lines, says Scott Bernstein, president and cofounder of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Routes that run from 80 to 170 miles tend to be best able to support themselves through fares, he says. Shorter routes, such as Amtrak's Capitol Corridor in northern California, usually recover 75% to 80% of their operating costs through fares, compared to 30% to 40% on longer routes. A Baton Rouge–to–New Orleans route would be about 80 miles. "I think there's a pretty good case to be made that service distance in this range is plausible," he says. "For it to be feasible, you'd have to know that it was running frequently enough to attract the people who would want to use it." A 2009 study indicated a Baton Rouge–to–New Orleans rail line might cost $105 million to build, while generating $186.5 million in benefits over 30 years. Critics say rail projects often cost far more than projected, without delivering the promised economic benefits

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/

[Antrell Williams]

Highly doubt it's feasible to even plan anytime soon.

[Antrell Williams]

Voters seem to like the idea of passenger rail to The 'Easy:

http://www.businessreport.com/polls/2011/aug/polldram8411/results/

[all2neat]

If they had stops at the Mall of LA or Tanger and also one at MSY and Downtown I would use it frequently.

[rocketrichard]

come on guys. you can't be serious.

high speed rail connecting boston, philly, nyc, and washington and maybe all the way to Miami? Yes. high speed rail connecting san francisco, LA and Las vegas? of course.

But baton rouge to NOLA? so I would drive to the rail station in baton rouge, take the train to NOLA and then need to find a car to go around there. While, if I drove, I would be there in an hour? 100 million dollars for this with a 130 million dollar return in 30 YEARS!!?!?!?

How about using the money to make wider sidewalks in baton rouge and more bike paths. maybe a light rail connecting downtown to LSU to the Mall of Louisiana to the OLOL medical complex.

[Antrell Williams]

come on guys. you can't be serious.

high speed rail connecting boston, philly, nyc, and washington and maybe all the way to Miami? Yes. high speed rail connecting san francisco, LA and Las vegas? of course.

But baton rouge to NOLA? so I would drive to the rail station in baton rouge, take the train to NOLA and then need to find a car to go around there. While, if I drove, I would be there in an hour? 100 million dollars for this with a 130 million dollar return in 30 YEARS!!?!?!?

How about using the money to make wider sidewalks in baton rouge and more bike paths. maybe a light rail connecting downtown to LSU to the Mall of Louisiana to the OLOL medical complex.

You don't need a car to do many things the rail would be for: business is conducted in the downtowns of both cities, LSU games, Saints/Hornets games, and the many events in New Orleans. Plus you can drink and not have to worry about getting home.

[itsjustme3]

come on guys. you can't be serious.

high speed rail connecting boston, philly, nyc, and washington and maybe all the way to Miami? Yes. high speed rail connecting san francisco, LA and Las vegas? of course.

But baton rouge to NOLA? so I would drive to the rail station in baton rouge, take the train to NOLA and then need to find a car to go around there. While, if I drove, I would be there in an hour? 100 million dollars for this with a 130 million dollar return in 30 YEARS!!?!?!?

How about using the money to make wider sidewalks in baton rouge and more bike paths. maybe a light rail connecting downtown to LSU to the Mall of Louisiana to the OLOL medical complex.

Alot of these pro-rail types here are hysterical and in complete denial. They so badly want to have a rail setup like the northeast but refuse to acknowledge that it just won't work here.

[steve3n8]

Alot of these pro-rail types here are hysterical and in complete denial. They so badly want to have a rail setup like the northeast but refuse to acknowledge that it just won't work here.

If they decide to go ahead with this project, u just have to give it a chance. It may work, or it may not, but just at least give it a chance......