Comments on: New Orleans GOPer Still Sore at Jindal For Saying No to High-Speed Rail

By: Allan

Allan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:43:08 +0000

HSR for 80 miles? That's a waste of transportation dollars. Let's establish a regular conventional rail link with speeds up to 110-mph.

Conventional rail has run up to 100 mph in the past. There's a great deal of infrastructure difference and cost for trains running at 110 mph than trains running at 150+ mph.

By: Allan H. Thomas

Allan H. Thomas — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:17:10 +0000

Congressman Cao, I'm still angry that four years since Katrina Amtrak has not reinstated the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans. The National Passenger Rail Corp. has become blinded by HSR dollars to the extent that they are allowing the national passenger rail system to fall into disarray.
You really can't call it a national system when one is traveling from LA to Orlando by rail you have to make a welter out of New Orleans, up to Washington, then down to Orlando. It is pass time to restore service to the Gulf Coast.

By: Jebediah

Jebediah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:19:51 +0000

Tough to see creating a decent passenger rail connection between one of America's foremost cities and it's nearby state capital as "bridge to nowhere." It's not even new construction -- would be an upgrade of existing freight rail tracks. And, naturally, there would have been no guarantees with the application. But that's the nature of an application. There seem to be broadly two strategic opinions on how the money ought to be used: in concentrated form to get something serious done somewhere; or spread around in order to get more broadly distributed interest in the national HSR project and grease the skids in Congress for greater funding going forward. Even if no certainties in the application, Jindal's rationale didn't make sense. I know the GOP likes to consider him the next big thing, but he's honestly kind of a dufus. JR

By: LEJ

LEJ — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:50:39 +0000

I'm taking the Sunset Limited to New Orleans Friday. Going to Faulkner House's event at the Cabildo and Angela King's Royal Street Gallery's opening. And food, glorious food. You know I eat lunch on the train even though it is not tops. It is edible and in the company of interesting folk. Once I sang with a lady who sang with Elvis Presley. Don't look to Jindal for too much leadership on this, or anything. He is the lap dog of the GOP, their Lap Dog Millionaire. LEJ

By: Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:16:05 +0000

Bridge to nowhere? We don't have a single line, unless you count Acela.

We could build two lines anywhere in the South, Mountain West or Midwest for the cost of our wars until Thanksgiving.