User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:29:24 PM EDT
[#1]
 Construction begins on high-speed rail to Las Vegas |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:35:48 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bobbitybobbity: Another bullshit boondoggle. FPNI will never be finished but the mansions are going to pop up everywhere from this windfall! |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:36:26 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Sharkman74: certainly Pelosis Husbands company will be involved and make BILLIONS from this boondoggle feinstein's too!... |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:43:23 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By USCG_CPO: $12 billion?????? Damn, the Union Pacific line was built for $109 million back in the day, adjusted to current dollars, that would only be $2.5 billion. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:44:48 PM EDT
[#5]
Do local politicians get bribes and kickbacks right from the start or do they have to wait a bit?
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:45:13 PM EDT
[#6]
Those things never get built
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:46:15 PM EDT
[#7]
Why not fly?
|
|
|
|
SGP
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:51:33 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bssrf4: They had slightly fewer environmental studies. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:51:59 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Drsalee: Click click click and I found round trip for $180. Why the fuck would I take a train?! https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/161250/6B66DE35-79A0-45D7-8793-E9511A23FF22-3195162.png Not having to set foot in LAX is a start…  Is this the deal that hired an engineer from SNECMA (the French have been operating high speed trains for 50 years pretty successfully—safely and well run, no comment on profitability) who finally threw up his hands and walked because California was beyond fucked up? Pretty damning statement coming from a Frenchman. 
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:55:31 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 1911SFOREVER: MILLIONS of travelers. MILLIONS! Absolutely a bullshit boondoggle, but an awesome opportunity for graft.  Attached File |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:58:34 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By NotIssued: We can't exactly import Chinamen that are cheap and disposable anymore. What are you talking about? There are hundreds of young, fit, camera-shy Chinese men coming across the border every day. |
|
|
|
NV, USA
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 10:59:22 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CTM1: I'm guessing years behind schedule and several billion over budget and no one held accountable. Years later the audit will reveal missing money and payoffs to corrupt officials. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 11:03:04 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By BSmith79: You can often fly to Vegas with a little planning for like $100 odd bucks. $400 for a train? Lol. I drove to Vegas the other day to pick up SirSqueeboo from the airport there and it took me 2 hrs and 49 minutes to reach the city limits. 3 hours and 7 minutes to get to the airport. Gas expenses were under $100. I drove from a bit farther away (maybe 15-20 minutes in light to moderate traffic) from Rancho Cucamonga. While I think the concept of a fast train to Vegas from the area is nice, the execution is not making much sense to me. It only saves me significant time if there is heavy traffic compared to driving. With planning, peak traffic can be avoided. Flying out of Ontario airport is also less expensive and with precheck and, with some airlines, priority check-in (if I am checking bags), I can get to the airport and through to my gate in under an hour, typically, and then the flight itself is short. Driving, though, gives me a means to get around without having to rent a car or get Ubers, cabs, etc. if I need to travel farther than is reasonable to walk and I won't be drinking. The duration of the travel plus the proposed cost simply does not make sense under most circumstances. Having a high speed train on this route does, and I've been saying this for years, but not like this. I can't imagine I'd use it. |
|
|
|
UT, USA
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 11:06:27 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Paul: You're kidding right? The state counts on California tourist.  True… |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 11:07:37 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By BluDragon: $400 a head seems steep, but it'll keep the poors away. For most SoCal residents, it's about a 4-hour drive to Vegas. A flight from any of the major airports is about an hour, but you have to factor in the pre-boarding, TSA ball-groping and baggage claim, which equates to about four hours altogether. The train travel time plus any TSA-style shenanigans would also equal about 4+ hours. Factor in car rental / Uber and you've got more $$ and more time. I used to enjoy going to Vegas, but it has become another Kommiefornia with bums everywhere, the whole strip smells like weed, and pretty much everywhere charges for parking now. No thanks, I can stay here and get the same experience without having to board a bullet-train boondoggle. If they have anything even remotely close to airport style screening then this option loses whatever bit of attraction it may still have for me. If I'm going to have to deal with that bullshit I might as well fly, and I can avoid it altogether by driving. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 11:48:41 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Pantexan: https://www.maglev.net/media/articles/42/12.%20poland%20pendolino%20ed250%20high-speed%20train.jpg The Japanese already tried and said ‘fuck this’. |
|
|
|
SGP
|
Posted: 4/22/2024 11:52:28 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigstick61: If they have anything even remotely close to airport style screening then this option loses whatever bit of attraction it may still have for me. If I'm going to have to deal with that bullshit I might as well fly, and I can avoid it altogether by driving. |
|
|
MT, USA
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 12:03:08 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Genin: I'm predicting 20%over-runs beyond original cost bid. Government projects typically run 800% over. Doesn't Calf already have a high speed train system they are working on that they haven't even broken ground on and they have already burnt through the money? |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 12:15:27 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By S58DRIVER: We call it the murder train here in S fla..I think we just about to hit an 100 dead bums so far These guys should be in every major city. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 12:43:28 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By odiedodi: No guns. You put your luggage through a metal detector, and then step through yourself, but that's it. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By odiedodi: Originally Posted By bigstick61: If they have anything even remotely close to airport style screening then this option loses whatever bit of attraction it may still have for me. If I'm going to have to deal with that bullshit I might as well fly, and I can avoid it altogether by driving. Fuck that. |
|
|
|
SGP
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 12:50:35 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigstick61: Fuck that. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 1:01:12 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By odiedodi: It's a pretty big caveat and my biggest hang up with using the service here. Again, I'd be alright with them following TSA guidelines on checked luggage, but they don't even allow that. Only active duty police can have a gun anywhere in the facility, with prior authorization from security. DeSantis could probably strong arm them into changing it here (but he won't), but the California line certainly would have no chance of ever allowing it. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By odiedodi: Originally Posted By bigstick61: Fuck that. No chance I would ride it in either State under those conditions, and this has always been my fear for high speed rail here, public or private. If I have to go through the TSA bullshit it would still be better to fly or drive. This sort of thing totally kills it for me. Can't bring guns, have to deal with security BS, costs more than the alternatives, does not save a significant amount of time in most cases compared to my alternatives, costs too much in general, etc. I can't think of any reason why I would bother. |
|
|
|
AK, USA
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 1:11:12 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By OregonShooter: It's a stretch to call Rancho Cucamonga "Los-Angeles." But if the trip Actually takes 2 hours and 10 minutes then total travel time won't be far off of flying when you include the airport fuckery. I mean, it could take an hour or two less depending on where you are coming from. Lots of time with LAX you need to add 2-3 hours to the front end of a trip, just to account for traffic. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 1:16:18 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Middlelength: I mean, it could take an hour or two less depending on where you are coming from. Lots of time with LAX you need to add 2-3 hours to the front end of a trip, just to account for traffic. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Middlelength: Originally Posted By OregonShooter: It's a stretch to call Rancho Cucamonga "Los-Angeles." But if the trip Actually takes 2 hours and 10 minutes then total travel time won't be far off of flying when you include the airport fuckery. I mean, it could take an hour or two less depending on where you are coming from. Lots of time with LAX you need to add 2-3 hours to the front end of a trip, just to account for traffic. Why fly into LAX to go to Vegas when you can fly directly into Vegas? Probably would cost less, too. You would still need to add this to the front of the trip during peak traffic as you would have to go all the way to I-15. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 1:46:48 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Genin: I'm predicting 20%over-runs beyond original cost bid. You are a fucking optimist, I was thinking at least 50% over in addition to what ever inflation is over the many years of construction. If it ever gets finished. |
|
|
|
NV, USA
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 2:39:41 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bobbitybobbity: Another bullshit boondoggle. Please let this fail! |
|
|
NV, USA
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 2:40:16 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HellifIknow: Nevadans should be fighting this. They’ll be destroyed. Our GoP is a gaggle of idiots. |
|
|
NV, USA
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 2:48:18 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By RHR_12: This Vegas train thing seems to be almost exactly what the Simpsons monorail episode predicted  The Simpsons - I Call The Big One Bitey |
|
|
UT, USA
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 3:12:34 AM EDT
[#29]
Calling it now.
Way behind schedule. Way over budget. Won't get half of what they are estimating as far as people using it. Will quickly turn into a bum haven and ensure no one actually uses it. |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 8:16:02 AM EDT
[#30]
Brightline Florida prohibits firearms on all their property, including trains, garages, facilities, and stations. Brightline West will no doubt do the same.
At least Amtrak allows firearms in checked luggage, not carry-on luggage, and requires 24-hour notice. I guess that's better than no guns at all. If California, Nevada, and Brightline West are all taking federal money for this project they should be required to allow firearms in checked luggage. Ask young people about driving that route or, heck, driving in general. An entire generation has been steered into hating driving and cars and to prefer public transportation and live in cities. Everything about cars is more expensive today than in 1956, and the highway system designed in the 1950s with half of today's population doesn't seem to scale up very well. The only reason I would, and have, ridden a passenger train was for the scenic view, not speed. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 11:42:29 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bobbitybobbity: Another bullshit boondoggle. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 3:23:37 PM EDT
[#32]
Where is it said the government is doing the construction? From what I can tell the government is providing construction funding via tax exempt bonds however Brightline West is doing the actual construction.
This LA Times article is a pretty good write up. Maybe overly optimistic: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-23/la-to-vegas-high-speed-train-breaks-ground BW says ticket pricing would likely be seasonal and competitive with airlines. It’s going to be all electric as well. Magic electricity just appears out of thin air. Sure. LOL |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/23/2024 3:34:47 PM EDT
[Last Edit: realwar]
[#33]
From LA times article:
About four miles north of Ontario International Airport, the Rancho Cucamonga station will sit on a five-acre property at the northwest corner of Milliken Avenue and Azusa Court in San Bernardo County. This station will be co-located with California Metrolink trains to and from downtown Los Angeles and other locations in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Location of the Rancho Cucamonga terminal Google Map 
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 7:39:44 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By realwar: From LA times article: https://www.cityofrc.us/sites/default/files/2022-10/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%2811%29.png Let's get real. That rendering is missing homeless tents, graffiti, needles, broken beer bottles, vandalized toilets, overflowing trash cans, broken boarded up windows, beggars and drug addicts. |
|
|
|
TX, USA
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 7:41:21 AM EDT
[#35]
Big Dig 2.0
|
|
|
TX, USA
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 7:46:45 AM EDT
[#36]
Wait til those stations are full of illegals selling loose candy and crazed homeless meth heads laying in puddles of piss.
|
|
|
TX, USA
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 7:50:12 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AA717driver: What are you talking about? There are hundreds of young, fit, camera-shy Chinese men coming across the border every day. They already have jobs . |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 7:55:08 AM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CTM1: I'm guessing years behind schedule and several billion over budget and no one held accountable. Years later the audit will reveal missing money and payoffs to corrupt officials. What audit? |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 8:15:04 AM EDT
[#39]
If the train stops within walking distance of the strip the cost is competitive with flying.
I checked. Very few people will walk. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 10:01:18 AM EDT
[#40]
This guy made a pretty good render of what it might look like when it's up and running.
 The Brightline West HSR Route Rendered With Unreal Engine 5 |
|
|
|
CA, USA
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 12:41:11 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GiveMeBackMyBullets: Brightline will deliver their 218 mile project from concept to completion far before the state of California finishes their 119 mile project that's been in the works for 15 years. The private model is how high speed rail should be built in the US. Private companies actually build where there's a legitimate business case that justifies the upfront capital expenditure, whereas the government just throws money at the issue with no consideration of fare box recovery or efficiency & the service ends up being subsidized by taxpayers in perpetuity (see Amtrak). |
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 1:55:14 PM EDT
[Last Edit: spmx7777]
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 74HC: Except for the fact that the feds gave $3.5B in grants for this line (so far). It's a project that the potato in chief likes. There’s substantial private money as well. The LA Times mentions it, the DOT press release mentions it too. How much exactly isn’t clear. Private companies profit, the taxpayers pick up the tab. Hmm, maybe I need to buy some Brightline stock. Heh https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-approves-25-billion-private-activity-bonds-allocation |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 2:17:37 PM EDT
[#43]
It’s like $87 to fly round trip.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 3:20:55 PM EDT
[#44]
This was proposed about 25 years ago.
The builder back then was Mercedes Benz. Nothing ever happened. 
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 3:24:35 PM EDT
[#45]
A Billionaire’s Blueprint For Building Bullet Trains
 A Billionaire’s Blueprint For Building Bullet Trains Wes Edens has broken ground on Brightline West, his $12 billion Las Vegas-to-SoCal railway, aided by billions from the Biden Administration. But building more high-speed lines like this one won’t be easy. Under a blazing morning Las Vegas sun, billionaire Wes Edens and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg threw a party this week to mark the start of construction of Brightline West, the first private high-speed railway in the U.S., driving yellow spikes into a section of track. Now comes the hard part. The $12 billion project is three years behind his original schedule — delayed by the pandemic and final environmental approvals — but if construction goes as fast as the billionaire cofounder of Fortress Investment Group promises, it'll open in time to speed travelers across the desert at 200 miles per hour from Sin City to Southern California in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “The timeline is both realistic and achievable,” Edens told Forbes. “The impact of this is going to be long-lasting and prodigious. And I want it to be successful because I want the next one and the next one and the next one to happen.” Breaking down funding for $12B Brightline West high-speed rail between So-Cal, Las Vegas  Breaking down funding for $12B Brightline West high-speed rail between So-Cal, Las Vegas |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 4:16:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: OregonShooter]
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By realwar: A Billionaire’s Blueprint For Building Bullet Trains  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOoekV6Cy8QWes Edens has broken ground on Brightline West, his $12 billion Las Vegas-to-SoCal railway, aided by billions from the Biden Administration. But building more high-speed lines like this one won’t be easy. Under a blazing morning Las Vegas sun, billionaire Wes Edens and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg threw a party this week to mark the start of construction of Brightline West, the first private high-speed railway in the U.S., driving yellow spikes into a section of track. Now comes the hard part. The $12 billion project is three years behind his original schedule — delayed by the pandemic and final environmental approvals — but if construction goes as fast as the billionaire cofounder of Fortress Investment Group promises, it'll open in time to speed travelers across the desert at 200 miles per hour from Sin City to Southern California in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “The timeline is both realistic and achievable,” Edens told Forbes. “The impact of this is going to be long-lasting and prodigious. And I want it to be successful because I want the next one and the next one and the next one to happen.” Breaking down funding for $12B Brightline West high-speed rail between So-Cal, Las Vegas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEpTDkyknBwThat spike pounding ceremony in the second video was fucking pathetic. I would be ashamed. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 6:05:03 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By spmx7777: Let's get real. That rendering is missing homeless tents, graffiti, needles, broken beer bottles, vandalized toilets, overflowing trash cans, broken boarded up windows, beggars and drug addicts. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By spmx7777: Originally Posted By realwar: From LA times article: https://www.cityofrc.us/sites/default/files/2022-10/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%2811%29.png Let's get real. That rendering is missing homeless tents, graffiti, needles, broken beer bottles, vandalized toilets, overflowing trash cans, broken boarded up windows, beggars and drug addicts. It's not bad out there. Not perfect by any means, but that perception of the areas show that you don't know it at all. It's not LA. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 6:52:54 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigstick61: It's not bad out there. Not perfect by any means, but that perception of the areas show that you don't know it at all. It's not LA. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigstick61: Originally Posted By spmx7777: Originally Posted By realwar: From LA times article: https://www.cityofrc.us/sites/default/files/2022-10/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%2811%29.png Let's get real. That rendering is missing homeless tents, graffiti, needles, broken beer bottles, vandalized toilets, overflowing trash cans, broken boarded up windows, beggars and drug addicts. It's not bad out there. Not perfect by any means, but that perception of the areas show that you don't know it at all. It's not LA. I was thinking what it'll look like after a few years. I hope it stays decent. |
|
|
|
FL, USA
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 8:58:09 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Paul: You're kidding right? The state counts on California tourist. And labor from those who have two strikes and leave CA for Las Vegas. |
|
|
FL, USA
|
Posted: 4/24/2024 9:03:03 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Blackbeard28: Brightline trains seem to hit a lot of people/cars in this state. My agency has worked a couple of brightline train v ped cases on the treasure coast. |
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
