You never been to LAX if you don't immediately act with a sigh of relief over a direct train route. It's an potential 90 minute+ commute and another 90 minute TSA process for a 90 minute flight. Dreadful.
>The purpose of HSR is to transform large swatchs of land into a large megalopolis, like in China.
Bakersfield has a dozen reasons ever preventing it from becoming another SF/LA/SD.
Besides, China didn't build its rail all at once. A direct route would prove value when making future splinter routes. Instead, we chase 2 rabbits and get none.
> You never been to LAX if you don't immediately act with a sigh of relief over a direct train route. It's an potential 90 minute+ commute and another 90 minute TSA process for a 90 minute flight. Dreadful.
So your estimate is 270 minutes.
Where's the train stop supposed to be in LA? Downtown, right? What's the commute for that like? Sure, no 90 minute TSA process (big doubt if that's typical) but now the 90 minute flight turns into 160 minutes (which is the target they're aiming for and it's not likely). Add on how long it takes to get downtown and... not much time savings, is there?
Depends on the stops and route. The secret to LAX is to not take LAX if you can avoid it. BUR has a lot of destinations and is a lot less of a toll on sanity. If it is truly a direct LA to SF with minimal stops, then sure. There's not too much lag removed.
A 90 minute commute to simply downtown instead of LAX becomes a 60-70 minute commute simply because you're not spending 20 minutes trying to navigate LAX. Not enter the airport, be stuck in its own brand of LAX traffic.
That will be a relief. Though if I may rant a bit to a bikeshed:
I really hate that thr naming scheme of "people mover" was probably part of the reason this project is coming next year and not 2035. The phrase itself just oozes this sentiment that no one politically involved was allowed to say "train" or "rail" so it doesn't scare off investors.
Actually a "people mover" is a term of art [1]. I had the same reaction when I heard the term (or thought it was some other political gloss to get the thing approved faster), but it's actually a somewhat well-defined term.
>The term 'people mover' was used by Walt Disney, when he and his Imagineers were working on the new 1967 Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The name was used as a working title for a new attraction, the PeopleMover. According to Imagineer Bob Gurr, "the name got stuck," and it was no longer a working title.
Huh. Thinking about it does sound like a very "Disney" term. Interesting to think it spread from a resort park to professional transportation. Never would have guessed.
The reasoning is all too relatable as well. "working names" no one works on and suddenly it's your final product name. Such anti-bikeshedding would be very rare these days.
>The purpose of HSR is to transform large swatchs of land into a large megalopolis, like in China.
Bakersfield has a dozen reasons ever preventing it from becoming another SF/LA/SD.
Besides, China didn't build its rail all at once. A direct route would prove value when making future splinter routes. Instead, we chase 2 rabbits and get none.