After being overtaken by the likes of China and Russia (Siemens/Germany export successes), Turkey (CAF/Spain export success), Morocco and Argentina (Alstom/France export successes), now it seems one project may get serious: that of California. I read that Governor Ahhhnold, who tried to undercut California High Speed in so many ways, but lately seems to have become a convert when the TGV ran its world record, signed in support for the financing bill that shall be put to vote in November. (Last elections, Jeb Bush used a similar occasion to bury the Florida project by campaigning for the denial of funding.) *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Unfortunately that's just the start. The bond would provide $10 billion, but the cost estimate to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles is over $40 billion. We're going to have to get a big chunk of change from the feds, which will be easy if Obama wins and difficult to impossible if McCain wins. Private companies have shown interest in making up the last $10 billion, but don't want to be contributing any more than 25-30% of project costs. And of course it's not yet clear what exactly they're going to want in return.
Few decisions have been made regarding the technology that we'll use, and that's obviously going to be a high priority after November, if we win.
For anyone who's interested in more about the California HSR project, I run the California High Speed Rail Blog which is the central online hub for project supporters. I'd love more input and thoughts on what we're proposing in CA, especially since I am not strong on the technical aspect of things the way DoDo is... And the world will live as one
I think I have the perfect investment property for you - a subway that goes down Second Avenue - densely populated area, the only competition is ridiculously overcrowded.
What's up with that project, by the way? I thought tendering is underway. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
There's also a commuter rail project currently being built that will connect up the LIRR to Grand Central. Right now it only goes to Penn Station which is much less convenient to the heart of the Midtown office district. This involves creating a tunnel from a current terminus in Western Queens into Manhattan and down to the station. Construction began in the early seventies and they completed the tunnel under the river a good thirty years ago, but the city went bankrupt.
There are two other rail projects in advanced planning stages. One is extending the 7 line westwards towards the Hudson to create better access to the rapidly developing far west side of midtown. The other is building another pair of tunnels under the Hudson to relieve the ridiculously overcrowded commuter rail lines from Jersey to Midtown. While they're at it they're also planning on hooking up the NJ lines to Grand Central, rather than just finishing up in Penn Station.
Heh. My example of the horror of horrors, the rail connector tunnel under Boston with the $8.7 billion cost estimate, also has most of the raw tunnel already built...
There's also a commuter rail project currently being built that will connect up the LIRR to Grand Central.
I recall reading when the tunneling contracts (Spanish firm Dragados was involved) were sent for re-tendering. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
At least, certainly under the current administration, if the state government did an improvement and then said, "this work we already did is going to count as part of our financial support of this project", I'd expect to hear that it was water under the bridge, the money allocated going forward is what counts as the local contribution.
I have no idea how much of that is administrative and how much the underlying acts. Utsukushikereba sore de ii
Also, forgot to comment this from Montereyan:
Private companies have shown interest in making up the last $10 billion, but don't want to be contributing any more than 25-30% of project costs. And of course it's not yet clear what exactly they're going to want in return.
Yeah right. I am extremely wary of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Yeah right. I am extremely wary of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
Me too, but not if they are structured correctly, which is beginning to happen. eg City of Glasgow now has three municipal LLP "partnerships" with several more to come.
The key IMHO is a new take on financing through the creation of new forms of "Public Equity" in vehicles other than "the Corporation" which may be the entity that makes the Private sector "private", but is not, in fact, obligatory.....
I believe that it is possible to provide long term financing of public transport much more cheaply than by conventional "deficit-based" (ie secured debt created by credit institutions) finance through:
(a) "unitising" the resulting revenue streams; and
(b) capturing some of the land value created along the route, particularly in the vicinity of stations;
through the use of partnership-based frameworks for financing and assets maintained in public ownership by "Custodians".
You can't blackmail the FTA into supporting a rail project ... at least, no under present management. Utsukushikereba sore de ii
What I've been told my Democrats in the state legislature here in California is that they agreed to it because the details will have to be approved by the Legislature, and they're not interested in PPP. Their hope is that a Democrat will get elected governor in 2010 and that the PPP push will die. I'm not as confident as they, but in any case, PPP is now written into the project but without any details on what that actually means. And the world will live as one
Final version here: Midnight Thought on Living Energy Independence
and here: Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence Utsukushikereba sore de ii
I was off-line for days when you posted it (and, as it happens, again when it was promoted). *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
I like your thinking here, but it's not workable (as much as I think CA should blackmail the feds, who take our tax money and never return it). The plan is to use the passage of the bonds as a stake to entice Congress to pony up.
Congress IS interested in doing this and we have powerful allies in DC, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Dianne Feinstein. But the real key is the White House. If Obama wins we'll be OK. If McCain wins, it's going to be ugly. And the world will live as one
