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This is the kind of density needed to make trains viable, along with the quality to make people want to ride them.</p>
<p>Amtrak already has train service from Seattle to Eugene. It takes 6-1/2 hours, which is about how long it normally takes to drive that far. The train is faster, but stops a lot more often.</p>
<p>Now that I-5 is underwater, I wonder what condition the freeway is in. Likewise, the UPRR tracks. Washington taxpayers has always been cheap compared to the state south of the River.</p>
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<p>Washingtonians might be cheap, but they pay a higher proportion of their incomes in state and local taxes than Oregonians do, according to CNNMoney – 10% of personal per capita earnings compared to 9.6%.</p>
<p>So, how is light rail coming along in Seattle area? Are they buying all the stuff in Oregon to avoid the sales tax? (joke)</p>
<p>Ah, I fondly remember the days when one could cruise down the 4-lanes (or was it 5-lanes?) of I-5 southbound from Seattle, pass through Kent, Fife, Olympia and on to Portland and see no more than 1/2 dozen cars ahead of you at one time. THE 1980s!!! Pave paradise, put up a parking lot!</p>
<p>I just saw a video of two bobcats going at each other somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. It’s awesome!</p>
<p>^^ There was a recent mountain lion sighting across the street from me and bobcat sightings aren’t unusual and we have zillions of coyotes. Some animals adapt well.</p>
<p>“Does anyone know how much it costs to travel on bullet trains in Japan? UCLAri? How about Europe?”</p>
<p>I’ve ridden the Japanese trains (from Tokyo north to Hokkaido and west to Osaka) and the TGV (from Paris to Venice). Both had great service and were reasonably priced compared to flights, but as someone else pointed out, we don’t know what the subsidies are per rider. Japanese trains also have certain discounts only available to foreign tourists.</p>
<p>We don’t focus enough on other costs savings, though. One is that the trains bring you right into the center of the city, which is not true of the airport in pretty much any major U.S. city (Las Vegas being the closest thing to an exception). The time and traffic impact, as well as the price, of airport-to-downtown travel need to be considered.</p>
<p>Another is that, in Japan anyway, the trains are ridiculously reliable in all weather. We’re talking about accuracy measured in seconds. I once got on the wrong train in Japan because I figured that the train waiting on track 8 at 3:56 would be the 4:00 to Kyoto. Of course, it wasn’t; it was the 3:57 to Nagoya. The 4:00 to Kyoto appeared on Track 8 at 3:59. Think about what all those airport weather and traffic delays cost business travelers and their companies. If the train and plane nominally cost the same, then the more-reliable train is actually cheaper.</p>
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The east end of San Diego’s runway is in downtown, with high rises on each side of the landing approach, and higher than standard weather minimums to prevent accidents (so far).</p>
<p>Reagan is pretty darned downtown, too.</p>
<p>On trains, I actually had a wonderful experience taking the Eurostar from London to Brussels. Much quieter, more comfortable, and generally nicer than a plane, especially the disgusting, cramped Virgin cattlecar I took to Madrid. I just despair of the economic realities of passenger rail in most of the US. For anything up to 300 or 400 miles I would take high-speed rail if it were available, but I would still drive if it was less than 200, and fly if it were more than 400-500. I don’t think most people would choose differently.</p>
<p>Washington National (nee Reagan) Airport is dangerously close to downtown DC. Remember the 14th Street Bridge crash in the early 1980s?</p>
<p>^^ Pretty safe compared to Kai Tak Airport (former Hong Kong airport). Any crash would have been a HUGE disaster!</p>
<p>I loved the hairpin turns in a 747 landing at Kai Tak, and watching TV in the apartment buildings next to the wings on short final.</p>