Quote:
Originally Posted by twoNeurons
The Texas T-Bone configuration maps that I've seen would put stations in some of those suburbs anyhow. Seems like a pretty optimal layout when it comes to station spacing and distances. Seems almost PERFECT for HSR.
http://www.thestarshollowgazette.com...igh-speed-rail |
The T-Bone strategy leaves Houston as an afterthought with much higher travel times. Any agency or company that would use this would start with an Austin to Dallas service or even Austin to San-Antonio. Then they would add Houston in afterwards. So I highly doubt we will ever see this format especially with so many stations.
HSR stations cost a fairly decent amount of money. If you build one in downtown Houston you get direct access to 2 million passengers who can use public transport to get to your station. If you build a station in the Woodlands you get access to another 200,000 passengers none of which have public transportation. (Out of all of the T-bone proposed stations outside of Waco, Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio this one makes the most sense since you also have Conroe nearby). So you have to take into account what ridership boost you would get so plus 10% for proximity minus the amount of people willing to drive downtown to use HSR and minus those who would only use HSR if there was public transportation in the area. For a station that is likely to cost $75 - $100 million the bonus in ridership just doesn't make sense.
In addition to all of these extra costs you are also limiting service to those in the downtown cores. If every train either has to stop at another station you are looking at a 10 minute plus delay. (Estimate of Slowing, Boarding, Gaining speed) A ten minute delay on a trip aimed to be 90 minutes is highly significant. So overall I would guess that by building a station on a direct Dallas to Houston route no matter the city in between would probably not add any more riders than it would take away. All this for slower and more expensive service between Houston and Dallas.
The reason plans like T-bone are thought up with so many uneconomical stations has less to do with money and more to do with voters. If the state of Texas was to help support HSR it would need to eventually reach as many riders as possible. Otherwise why would representatives outside of the major cities allow so much money to be diverted out of their districts? Overall even if the political will was in favor of HSR in Texas it probably still wouldn't happen as a public effort. Too many people live outside of the possible service zone. Those along the border from El Paso to Brownsville would never see service and neither would Lubbock or Amarillo. The metropolitan areas of DFW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Waco all still only represent ~ 65% of the population. Much of that 65% is also in the suburbs which would not be very well served by such a service.
So as a private effort to establish HSR at low cost (perhaps with some public support) the best and most profitable route is this. One station in downtown Dallas connected directly to one station in downtown Houston. From there the service would expand if successful but starting where I don't really know.