109 replies to this topic

[RShack]

No way it would take just a year to build it.

 

I'm thinking maybe my sarcasm meter is slightly off?

 

Well, OK... 18 months...  

[RShack]

Yeah, I thought the same thing.

 

No way this thing goes from shovel ready to offering rides in less than 5 years.

 

What exactly are we talking about building, really?

 

We could make a good guess based on how long it took them to build it in Japan... if we knew how long that was...

 

EDIT: Somebody on the interwebs said they started in 2001 and got it done in 2005... which is ~4 years... we could do it faster if we wanted to... maybe a lot faster, since it's been done already...

[BSLMikeLowe]

Is there any tunneling involved? I think it's all supposed to be at ground level. That shouldn't be as time consuming as tunneling, or having to elevate the rails. Put enough contractors on the job and 3-5 years sounds about right once the shovels hit the dirt.

[NewMarketSean]

What exactly are we talking about building, really?

 

We could make a good guess based on how long it took them to build it in Japan... if we knew how long that was...

 

It was going to take 3 years to build the red line, a 14 mile long LR line that has been built about a hundred times across the country.

 

Now we're talking about a 35-45 mile breaking edge technology maglev line through cities, residential areas, state parks, industrial parks, government property...run by the government, paid for my tax dollars (don't care how much Japan will pitch in), and will likely run way over budget...if it ever does in act get completed. You forget this is Baltimore where big projects get started and then abandoned all together.

 

Building a MagLev in 5 years is extremely optimistic.

[BSLMikeLowe]

How long did the ICC take once construction began?

[RShack]

Building that in 5 years is extremely optimistic.

 

EDIT: Somebody on the interwebs said they started in 2001 and got it done in 2005... which is ~4 years... we could do it faster if we wanted to... maybe a lot faster, since it's been done already...

 

You're such a pessimist... Americans are still great at building stuff IF we put our minds to it... and not drag it out for state budget reasons...

 

They did it in 4 years... for a longer line... when they were doing it for the very first time...

[NewMarketSean]

If any tunnels are involved, fuggedaboutit

[NewMarketSean]

You're such a pessimist... Americans are still great at building stuff IF we put our minds to it... and not drag it out for budget reasons...

 

Whenever someone has a house project in mind, and they have a goal, a pro comes in and says, double it.

 

I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist.

 

4 years would be a miracle and you know it.

[RShack]

Whenever someone has a house project in mind, and they have a goal, a pro comes in and says, double it.

 

Right... because a major transportation project is just like a guy building a house on cost-plus...

 

I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist.

 

That's what pessimists always say...

 

They built most of the Beltway in 6.5 years... and that was a *much* larger project...  as for the technology, construction is construction... most of the technology part happens at the factory...

[NewMarketSean]

I would be willing to make a bet about this but we'll all be dead by the time it's completed. Well...some of us.

[Nigel Tufnel]

On the one hand, once we decided on it, we sent a man to the freaking moon in less than 7 years.  On the other hand, this thing will inevitably become a NIMBY boondoggle with tunneling required, so 2030 sounds about right.

[NewMarketSean]

The Big Dig in Boston is probably a more apt comparison if there is any major tunneling involved.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yup.  Nobody is going to want a 200 MPH magnetic train or whatever blazing through their backyard.

[RShack]

I would be willing to make a bet about this but we'll all be dead by the time it's completed. Well...some of us.

 

Now, *that* is funny!

[RShack]

Yup.  Nobody is going to want a 200 MPH magnetic train or whatever blazing through their backyard.

 

That's planning and permitting... I already said that would take a million years... the issue here is actual construction...

 

By the time they get the permitting done, we might be able to just make everything on site with 3D printers....

[Pedro Cerrano]

That's planning and permitting... I already said that would take a million years... the issue here is actual construction...

 

Well if Nigel is right and they have to dig tunnels...

[RShack]

Well if Nigel is right and they have to dig tunnels...

 

The trick would be using the existing right-of-way...  rich people don't live right up against train tracks... so, buy'em out, load'em up, move'em out, rawhide...

[NewMarketSean]

The trick would be using the existing right-of-way...  rich people don't live right up against train tracks... so, buy'em out, load'em up, move'em out, rawhide...

 

Which is already being used by Amtrak, Marc and CSX.

[RShack]

Which is already being used by Amtrak, Marc and CSX.

 

Yeah, and US 40 was used by horses before we put cars on it coast-to-coast....

 

The only way it's gonna happen is to use that right-of-way for most of it... might have to widen the right-of-way...

 

I swear, if we listened to you, we'd never do anything, ever... except have more smelly buses....

[NewMarketSean]

Yeah, and US 40 was used by horses before we put cars on it coast-to-coast....

 

The only way it's gonna happen is to use that right-of-way for most of it... might have to widen the right-of-way...

 

I swear, if we listened to you, we'd never do anything ever... except smelly buses....

 

It'll be interesting to see what these quarter-of-a-billion-dollar studies turn up.

 

And speaking of finishing dates, is there a target date for the results found from the studies? THAT could take 5-10 years.

 

Perhaps the biggest positive is that Hogan is on board with it...but he could also very well be a one-term Gov. and the studies may not even be completed by then.