Rail Feasibility Study HERE WE GO AGAIN!!

Great googly moogly, it's easier trying to kill a zombie then stop the wasting of money AGAIN on these ever repeating rail feasibility studies!

Allentown takes the lead
in calling for LV passenger rail study
Randy Kraft | WFMZ

"ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A small but important first step toward the possible return of passenger rail service to the Lehigh Valley was taken late Wednesday night by Allentown City Council... Kirk Raup has estimated restoring rail service to the Lehigh Valley would cost $500 million, with half the money coming from the federal government."This is the fourth time I'm posting about this nonsense. The first time was June 9th, 2010. The second time I posted was on December 12, 2012. The third was on March 20, 2013.

I'm not going to post all the links that back up 100% of what I'm about to say. They can all be found in those prior posts. Rather I'll briefly as possible list the talking points against wasting taxpayers dollars yet again for a 3rd study.
(1) If New York's MTA can't operate at a profit with over 10 million riders a week traveling uptown and downtown in a single city, why would anybody in their right mind consider 1,400 riders traveling 87 miles from Allentown to New York across three states a good idea?

(2) Not only does the Bieber Bus make it to NYC from Wescosville in as little as 1 hour 15 minutes , it does so at a profit and takes you right into 42nd street. It has 13 different departure times in the morning and another 6 more in the afternoon. Bieber's Charcoal Dtive-in location has parking for nearly 200 cars. Allentown's proposed rail service can't possibly provide this kind of service.

(3) Kirk Raup estimates it will cost roughly $500 million. However the prior study indicated it would cost $649 million and another $11.7 million yearly to maintain it. That's because the $500 million doesn't include the estimated $20 million a mile cost to connect Easton to High Bridge New Jersey. Both TransBridge and Bieber cost taxpayers nothing and both make a profit.

(4) The buses take from a little over 2 to 2 1/2 hours. This was the same amount of time the old LVRR took. However under this new plan, riders would have to switch trains in High Bridge New Jersey and again switch trains in Newark before going into New York itself. No matter how you slice it even if one could board the next train within 5 minutes, it would add an additional 15 minutes to the travel time.

(5) The station in High Bridge is closed. Arriving passengers would have to wait in the cold or inclement weather for the High Bridge Line. Of greater concern is the fact that New Jersey Transit (which operates the rail service) had considered reducing or ending the service to High Bridge (which is the end of the line for that branch). Would not NJT, knowing how dependant our LVRR service would be on the High Bridge station, be so inclined to shake us down for a couple of bucks to keep the service running?

(6) Alternatively there was talk of using the Norfolk-Southern rails. NS made it clear freight trains would be a priority. Passenger trains would be required to pull over to a siding and allow them to pass. The reasoning is they didn't want their freight trains getting stuck behind passenger trains stopping every few minutes to pick up passengers. Another consideration was currently their rail system does not conform to federal standards for passenger service. This would require NS make vast and expensive upgrades. Something they are definitely not keen on doing

(7) Most of the prior train stations in the Lehigh Valley are now owned privately. Some house other businesses. This would result in them being taken off the tax roles.

(8) Currently it is estimated 1,400 ride the buses daily into New York City. How many would be willing to switch over to riding the rails that might take up to an 1/2 hour longer? In addition trains are notorious for not running on time. Buses are almost never late.

(9) Buses leave every 30 minutes to accommodate NYC workers' various starting times. Trains leave an hour to several hours apart. There's simply not enough track room nor enough trains to do otherwise.

(10) Currently it cost $46 round trip on Bieber bus from Wescosville, Pennsylvania. If these folks were truly concerned abut getting people to use public transportation, why not take the $11.7 million it would cost to subsidize this rail system every year and offer 254,347 free round trip rides instead?This works out to about 181 days for all the 1,400 who currently take the bus daily. One of the ways it could be implemented is handing out a free ticket for every two a rider pays for. I'm sure the bus company and riders would love it. So would the taxpayers for not spending the additional $500-$649 million in the first place!

Yeah we all love choo choos I get it. Yes we all would favor greater use of public transportation. I get that too. BUT isn't using my suggestion #10 a much better way to go about it?
* No property would be seized.
* It could be implemented immediately.
* Earned free rides is a fantastic incentive to use public transportation
* Bus companies already have the business model setup. No overhead costs required by yet another bureaucracy.
* Buses can change routes on demand. Trains cannot pull up and move their tracks.



This whole train idea is yet another example of over thinking
and...
Government spending money trying to find a solution for a problem that doesn't exist