And so it continues

A loss? From what ive read and been told the bay area commuters actually made money. If SP had performed commuter service like they were between San Bernardino to LA to the San Fernando Valley they would of made a fortune. That was known as Baxters choo choo. It didn't get off the ground due to money going to the freeway systems in the 70s. Low and behold enters Metrolink and that line is now their most profitable busiest line. If the SP had held on for 1 to 2 more years in passenger service they would of seen a high influx of revenue. The SP wanted out to cut cost in labor,food supply (thats why the full service diner went to a hamburger grill to an automat) and because the airlines. The truly profitable line they had was the daylight. Amtraks doing just fine with San Diegans and the starlight by offering no discounts ever.
I can site my sources if you would like both from refrence books as well as SP people that were there. lol the SP could have been still strong in California in ways of passenger traffic. Even SF had numbers in the black when they ended passenger traffic as did SP. I will admit the major failure of the SP was the Owel.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

Which is right around the time when Baxter the rep down in LA was playing trains. It was successful and fully backed. The deal breaker was the state. Both in the bay and down here would have been a function like Amtrak California but more local funding and control vs. State. Nobody saw the boom in population or homes so they simply shrugged it.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

There are definitely interesting things going on in California, to say the least. The idea of high speed rail over multiple mountain ranges is unique. As is high speed rail between San Francisco and LA via Fresno, and between LA and Diego via San Bernardino.

How fast will it have to go via Berdoo and still get there sooner than the San Diegan...?

 

Well the San Diegan does about 70 and in certain spots 90. It's plausible to do the route but UP owns the track and wants no passenger traffic only exception is when the starlight needs to re route. Your talking an extra track through Tehachapi. There is already some work going on, on the route currently for freight track. Looks like adding an extra pocket or two. I drive the grade every week. No way could you drill through it due to a fault line.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

Well, the Tehachapi crossing is for the SF-Fresno-LA stretch. That will more or less follow the old SP Lancaster line, I imagine--the route of the old San Joaquin Daylight.

The LA-Diego extension is supposed to go due east to Berdoo, then make a sharp right.

It's amusing. They came up with a route that wanders all over Creation, then started shopping for trainsets that could top 240 MPH.

 

Seems costly and more work.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

I meant Lancaster. And east.

Yeah, doesn't it? You know how governments are. If they can spend ten times as much and serve a few more sizeable cities, well, that's more public to support it--and more kickbacks, too!

 

Yea, look how long it took the gold line! LOL

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

Amtrak also charges more in fares than metrolink. My metrolink trip from say LA to Irvine would be around $10 one way. If I were to take Amtrak it would be $20 one way. If I were to go from Bakersfield to Fresno your talking $35. $40 if I want the flexible refundable fare.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

In the hayday's of rail passenger - it was an entire system of trains by all the carriers. With various carriers 'milk runs' feeding passengers to 'the Limteds' at major terminals.

As passengers declined, the first trains to go were the milk runs, with the milk runs go the Limiteds then had the passenger counts decline - decline to the point that Amtrak was created.

While Amtrak has retained a number of services that were provided by the Limiteds - Amtrak has never attempted to develop the feeder system that the milk runs provided, and they never will.

Until the Interstate system becomes so congested that it is faster to take the train between O-D pairs there will never be significant private investment in passenger rail to have a private passenger network

 

Cars and bus services can feed trains.

Government doesn't know or care how to be attractive. They're a monopoly. All they know is how to be what we're stuck with by force. The more they fail the more of our taxes they get.

Rail's strength, if the railroads are ever allowed to develop it, is in serving cities some 400-500 miles apart. Rather than business people getting up in the middle of the night and catching a redeye to arrive in time for business in the morning, they check into a Pullman Hotel the night before and go to bed. At eight in the morning, they're at their destination--and right downtown, too.

It truly is the most civilized way to travel.