electricron wrote:David Benton wrote:
- High speed rail started in CA
- 110 mph running in Michigan
- Talgos
- 110 mph running on St.Louis line
- Tiger rebuilds of Amfleet 1 cafes
- Bilevel order
strange definition of nothing.
But few of these are actually fully in service. HSR tracks construction has started in California, but not the new trains. Miles of 110 mph service in Michigan, new BiLevel "Surfliners" on order, but not even the first pilot car has been completed much less entered service. New Talgo trains are running on the Cascade trains, but not more trains between Portland and Seattle, which is the ultimate purpose for these trains. A few miles of 110 mph service in Illinois, but most of the corridor should be at 110 mph by now and isn't. ...
Lots of projects partially complete, but few fully implemented. Sadly after 7 years, more should be fully implemented or completed by now. ... difficult to [propose more] so when the past projects are delayed and have broken the budget.
An excellent example of Obama derangement syndrome. You think of Obama and you can't think straight. Now you blame him for CAF and Nippon-Sharyo, while actually, your examples suggest that private business can't make deadlines. LOL.
And over and over you are WRONG to suggest that as a group the Stimulus projects should have been completed by now, except for those that have been done and service begun (e.g., the Vermonter route).
The Stimulus deadline, passed by Congress, is for the paperwork and check-writing to be finished in this fiscal year. To get it done by September, most or all of the states are hurrying to finish by the end of June. There may be some states that slip the deadline, but they not will approach the delays of Nippon-Sharyo and CAF, those prodigies of private industry. Maybe any delays you see are projects funded by FY 2010 appropriations, which don't have a deadline this year (New Haven-Hartford-Springfield ?)
Two new frequencies on the Talgo's route Seattle-Portland will be added this year, take it to the bank. The biggest unfinished business is the new Tacoma station, where local interests squabbled about the proper location. It used to be that one party liked to make speeches about keeping government close to home, at the state and local level, not concentrating all powers in D.C. Now you are suggesting that Obama should have intervened in Tacoma to decide the location of the new station in that fair city?
Most of the projects upgrading the Raleigh-Charlotte segment of the Piedmonts and Carolinian have been completed, with work underway on the new Raleigh station.
Double tracking, new signaling, and new station facilities in and around Albany seem to be making good progress.
The very short segment of 110-mph in Illinois was more a photo-op than a real project. The full first phase of upgrades on 70% of the route St Louis-CHI will kick in by the end of the 2007 fiscal year, tho lacking new bi-levels.
Last but not least, you absurdly blame Obama for broken budgets on these projects. Are you saying Obama invented cost over-runs and broken budgets? And exactly which, if any, of the Stimulus projects have gone over budget?
Obama proposed investing about $4 Billion a year after the 2010 budget. Congress shot down that proposal, year after year. Lessee, if Obama had got the $4 Billion a year that the haters squashed, we'd probably have new single-level cars on the assembly line, a follow-up order for more Viewliners, an order for new diesel locomotives, and more 110-mph routes out of CHI: CHI-Indy-Cincy, CHI-TOL-CLE, and CHI-St Paul. That's about $25 Billion diverted from Amtrak infrastructure to tax cuts for the richest of the rich. But you think it's Obama's fault?
