Comments on cheaphack: Proposal for a future Interstate Rail Network

Great read! I wish you could follow up to this top...

2011-04-10T21:43:40.271-04:00

Great read! I wish you could follow up to this topic

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2011-04-08T23:13:44.598-04:00

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Nick,

I agree with you that the real "costs...

2009-02-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

Nick,

I agree with you that the real "costs" of private automobile transportation far outweigh those of rail transportation, particularly in the areas of federal subsidies, time, and environmental impact (especially where electric locomotion is concerned). Additionally, safety reports I have read in the past have always indicated a higher mortality rate associated with automobile travel than with air or rail travel, pointing to other higher social costs.

However, from a personal perspective, comparative out-of-pocket expenses create a prohibitive barrier to rail travel.

As an owner of a car I already have paid the direct costs of private travel; those including the purchase of the car, fuel, maintenance, insurance. These are in addition to the indirect costs paid by all taxpayers, which you mentioned in your response, including tax subsidies for fuel, manufacturing and highways.

Having already paid those costs REGARDLESS of whether I travel by car or rail, I am left with a comparison only of the additional costs, that being fuel and tolls versus a round trip ticket.

And by the way, the cost to drive myself to Boston is virtually the same as the cost of driving myself, my wife and my son. By train, the cost of riding there myself is 1/3 the cost of all three of us!

Where I do absolutely agree with you is in the value of time on the trip. By far I personally believe that the value of time on the trip is highest by train, where one can sleep, eat (both safely!), telecommute and/or enjoy quiet family time in comfort.

Ken,

I hear you, but I respectfully disagre...

2009-02-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

Ken,

I hear you, but I respectfully disagree with your analysis. You are comparing roads and trains today, in which private automobile travel is subsidized, and rail travel is (relatively speaking) unsubsidized.

Your driving cost is cheaper because the auto industy, the gas industry, and highways and roads are all heavily subsidized by the federal, state and local governments. Our auto manufacturers are being bailed out, our gas prices are a fraction of what europeans pay, and we spend tons of money to pave, expand, plow, and otherwise maintain roads.

You and I both pay taxes to make these cheaper for drivers, even though I don't have a car. Trains too are subsidized, but by a fraction of what private automobiles get.

If our government decided to reallocate its subsidies to favor rail transport instead of automobiles, I believe that your analysis would swing the other way. No, I don't have exact numbers to support this claim.

Further, I'd like to see a cost/benefit analysis from the perspective of the federal government. If the government spends 1 unit of money, how many safe passenger-miles does that purchase in trains or in cars?

In terms of the value of the passenger's time on the train vs flying, note that this proposal is focusing on short (< 500 mi) trips on fast (150 mph) trains. In this situation, the total time in transit by train is less than by airplane. This is adding in time inefficiencies such as waiting at the security checkpoint, etc. Such rides are (in my opinion) more comfortable, since trains are less cramped than airplanes, have fresher air, have dining cars, and have electrical outlets for your laptop or whatever. Such shorter trips include PA to MA, but probably don't include PA to FL.

Thanks for your input.

I am a fan of public transportation and specifical...

2009-02-02T10:21:00.000-05:00

I am a fan of public transportation and specifically rail transportation.

However my personal preference would be to invest in lower cost rail transportation rather than faster speed transportation.

For example, I personally could live with a train to Florida or Boston that took just about as long as a drive there if it weren't so much more expensive than driving. And certainly , when you factor in the value of time and compare it to flying, it is horribly more expensive to train than fly.

For years I have personally weighed training to Boston to visit family in Maine each year, but cannot handle that it would cost my family $260+ round trip while it would cost a fraction of that to drive.

This infrastructure expansion might drive competitors into the market, but I don't hold much hope for that.