Is the Passenger Rail Lobby Drowned OUT by Business Interests?

[CS Foltz]

Faye...........I concur! Fourth Estate will take money from anyone for anything! Not right but that's the name of the game! Hard hitting Investigative Reporting is a thing of the past.......would not want to step on someones toes just for the sake of reporting actual news the public could use to make an informed decision! Heaven forbid actual news that is meaningful and factual would make it into print and out to the public. It would take a well funded news organization to get that kind of information out for consumption ........and not have to contend with trying to sell advertising while possibly slam dunking a paying customer because they did wrong! I understand the fine line involved but I think there might be a market for something honest and factual!

[Ocklawaha]

Could this be "The Growling Gator" to Gainesville? How about it JTA? Amtrak? FDOT?

Faye, plase understand, I'm not trying to be evil, mean, wicked, bad, or nasty here. I agree with TUFSU1, if you would quit worrying about Mica this, or Mica that, you would be far more effective. Frankly I will not vote for someone that can't tell me what they'll do, but they spend their whole campaign dumping chicken shit on their opponent.

Secondly, When speaking to a subject such as mass transit, you would be way ahead of the pack if you'd quit with the mindless newspaper clips. I say mindless because these "professional reporters," generally don't know a darn thing about rail or transportation in general. Thus the articles that Obama's inaugural train "chugged" into Washington. Did you know Obama rode the CABOOSE? The engineer was in the cockpit driving the train... (that steering wheel must be hell to keep on those tiny rails).

This one might get a smile from TUFSU1, "Where is the Passenger Rail Lobby in all of this?"

WHAT PASSENGER RAIL LOBBY?

Last year, a group of suppliers, the AAR, Amtrak and some commuter agency's agreed to bank roll a policy and start a mutual interest group. PAC, Lobby, Industry Association, Riders, Suppliers, are just now banding together for the first time in 80 years.

As for the gas tax, you can pretty well write it off. As the environmental groups have been claiming for the last 50 years, WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF OIL, at least economical to tap oil. The more we tax it and the higher the price climbs, the less people will be driving oil powered automobiles. The fall in support tax revenues has been noticeable in every section of the country. So in the middle of the fuel crisis of 2008, when every transit operator in the USA was reporting double digit passenger load increases, the cost of fuel doubled and the gas tax revenue stream nearly dried up. All transportation needs to attach itself to alternate fuels or energy sources. we'd all be using off shore nuclear power, built in Jacksonville, had the liberals not started a panic stampede right out the gate, over 3 Mile Island.

Congress, the senate, or a suspect band of Skunk Apes living behind the BP terminals off of Hecksher Drive can plan all the alternatives they want, but without local planning and push, they'll just screw it up more. Not even Tallahassee can seem to understand what Jacksonville wants or what Jacksonville needs. We need to be the ones meeting with Norfolk, to get the Jacksonville-Norfolk "TIDEWATER" back on the rails. We need to be the ones meeting with Charlotte, to get a new Jacksonville-Charlotte-New York train up and running. We need to be the ones meeting with Atlanta, to get the Royal Palm, Ponce De Leon and Dixie Flyer back in service. Not to mention Chattanooga, Memphis, Nashville, Montgomery, Birmingham, Knoxville, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Buffalo, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas... You see if we would just act locally we would impact nationally. FDOT fiddles with anything but highways, and Jacksonville has to be the poster child for the Florida City that can fiddle so long and so smooth as to hold first chair.

Nobody far outside of the railroad community even knows that many cities have an Amtrak train. (I will not call it Amtrak service, because a single train daily, or tri-weekly, is a bare accommodation with catastrophic reviews). For over 35 years the only advertising Amtrak has done is so generic as to be ineffective... "Take the train," "Take the train,"Take the train." Yet coming into Oklahoma City on I-35 are billboard messages, "Fly Southwest to Dallas Love, 8 times a day, for only $49.00." More information on a single billboard then in the entire history of Amtrak. So where do I catch the train? Do we have a train station? Where does it go? How often? Will it still be running when I plan to return? These are questions heard every day but NEVER answered in a satisfactory manner.

OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Ock.......you do make sense! I do not recall ever seeing anything about "Take the (Fill in the Blank)Train to somewhere! Could it be a matter of marketing in order to get public behind Rail of any type! Of course as you say "We" need to be talking to the various Cities about connecting up with them via rail and have yet to see anyone other then MJ Forum discussing this. Somehow I don't think the City of Jacksonville Administration has enough vision or even a plan for that.........in fact they are lucky if they can find a bathroom much less think ahead far enough ahead to have any kind of a plan. FDOT is no better since they have a "Concrete" mentality and don't see much from them for our area............all the talk is about Orlando to Tampa/St Pete. Like I have said before"Mickey" can build his own damn railroad!

[buckethead]

Aren't railraod ties made from concrete these days?

Food for thought, Johnny.

[FayeforCure]

Faye, plase understand, I'm not trying to be evil, mean, wicked, bad, or nasty here. I agree with TUFSU1, if you would quit worrying about Mica this, or Mica that, you would be far more effective. Frankly I will not vote for someone that can't tell me what they'll do, but they spend their whole campaign dumping chicken shit on their opponent.

You must be out of your mind if you think I would taylor my communications to someone like you. Most Republicans like yourself have NEVER voted for a Democrat anyway. What should take place however is for Non-Major Party Affliated to be informed.

I did not mention Mica at all in this thread,......but boy, are you sensitive, when Mica looks rather compromised from all the special interests that buy a piece of him. That IS after all the impression the article gives.

All I did was post an article that explains how federal funding comes to the states.

If you don't like the process,.......you should harp on that instead of "shooting the messenger."

Maybe if you stopped fatasizing about what could be with all the pictorials, and work instead on either replacing the ones in leadership that are holding things up, whether locally in Jax or at State and Federal level, you'd be far more effective.

As I said changing leadership's minds is not as easy as simply removing them, if we set our mind to it.

Also dissing on Obama, when we finally have someone in the White House who supports Rail doesn't help your cause.

[JeffreyS]

Faye, Ock neither of you are part of the problem. Ock she does not bash Mica in most of her posts. Faye, Ock is hardly a party line man and has stated that he is happy the current admin is pro transit.

[Ocklawaha]

Near the Caribe, northern coast, outside of Santa Marta, Colombia... (for those the LIKE photos)

Faye, please understand, I'm not trying to be evil, mean, wicked, bad, or nasty here. I agree with TUFSU1, if you would quit worrying about Mica this, or Mica that, you would be far more effective. Frankly I will not vote for someone that can't tell me what they'll do, but they spend their whole campaign dumping chicken shit on their opponent.

You must be out of your mind if you think I would taylor my communications to someone like you.

In vino veritas. Eventus stultorum magister. Why Faye, does this mean we are not friends anymore if I didn't think we were friends, I just couldn't bear it. By the way, the comments I made referred to another thread where TUFSU1 suggested you chill out for creditability, I was merely adding that using news clippings for source material on railroads is usually unreliable at best.

Most Republicans like yourself have NEVER voted for a Democrat anyway. What should take place however is for Non-Major Party Affliated to be informed.[/b]

Wow, you REALLY know a lot about me! If there were more "Republicans like me" then there would no longer be ANY Republicans..

I did not mention Mica at all in this thread,......but boy, are you sensitive, when Mica looks rather compromised from all the special interests that buy a piece of him. That IS after all the impression the article gives.

Are we talking about the same thread? REALLY? Or are you implying that you can post any anti-_____ (fill in the blank) that you so desire, and because YOU don't mention the name, it absolves you of all intents?

A Lobbying Free-for-All
Thousands of Special Interests Vie for Influence on New Transportation Bill

By Matthew Lewis | September 17, 2009, 5:00 am

Crafting a New Bill as the Clock Ticks
Desperate Search for New Money
Special Interests, Not National Interests
Lobbyists and their Ties to Lawmakers
A Bias Toward Roads


Speaking from a lofty perch not unlike the one he occupies as ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, Florida Representative John Mica

Word 22 and 23 of the first line, of your first post in this thread, would seem to me to be about Mica... Again...


Just what I need, A system to grow money on trees, I have a place where we could damn well invest it!

All I did was post an article that explains how federal funding comes to the states.
If you don't like the process,.......you should harp on that instead of "shooting the messenger."

I don't like the process any more then you do, the Congress, Senate or President, should NOT be allowed to add or cut trains on a whim. Frankly the more regional Amtrak becomes (even to splitting it 10 ways) the more responsive to local needs and markets it will become.

Maybe if you stopped fatasizing about what could be with all the pictorials, and work instead on either replacing the ones in leadership that are holding things up, whether locally in Jax or at State and Federal level, you'd be far more effective.  As I said changing leadership's minds is not as easy as simply removing them, if we set our mind to it.

I'm not worried about my effectiveness on this topic. I have ridden this train all the way to spending my afternoons or holidays with the secretary of transportation, or inspector general of the railroads. Been there, done that. The pictorials will continue, they demonstrate how trains or transit can fit into your life, your neighborhood or your town. They are great for showing right ways and wrong ways of doing things, just as Lakelander uses his pictorials on his "Learning from" or "Urban 101" series'. As an "editor" on this site (Hey it still doesn't say that Lunican! HA!) I either write or supply information for a number of articles. Had I not tried to fly in my master bath a week ago, you'd be reading some new articles with lots of pictures. Fact is I'm just now back to being able to SIT down!

Also dissing on Obama, when we finally have someone in the White House who supports Rail doesn't help your cause.

My cause is the expansion of transportation options in the America's. However there is merit to every argument and expansion can't happen because a few of us have warm fuzziness about a train ride in 1950. We must respond to every change, electronic, track condition, demographics and budget question. While I whole hearted agree with Obama's focus on rail alternatives, I also recall the words of Ben Franklin, who said, "Man can neither spend himself rich, or drink himself dry." We get more bang for the buck with rail, just as we humans get more bang for the buck eating a peach rather then a peach flavored Twinkie. Trying to eat 100 peaches at one sitting, might cause some trouble in the near term, which is why I didn't vote for either of the front runners.


Already feeling like I'm 1/4 mile high, all I needed was to look up and see this guy to completely make my day!

You do realize of course that for the most part, we (and Lakelander and TUFSU1) are both on the same team here.


OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Ock...........for the most part all involved here are on the same team and have the same passion for rail in any shape or form. I enjoy the different takes on what is a problem that effects us all and hope this continues as is!

[BridgeTroll]

 

Most Republicans like yourself have NEVER voted for a Democrat anyway.

AHA!  Apparently you have been outed!  Out of the closet with you... you... republican you.

[Ocklawaha]

Yeah, BT, I'd puke all night long if I were to boost the "Party of Lincoln". My Quantrill Riding ancestors would come to me in my sleep and whoop the tar out of me! How could I ever turn my back on good ol Uncle Sant? Jessie James, Frank, and the Boys? Bloody Bill Anderson, The Younger's, and Belle and San Starr? Hell I wonder what they would think of the three ring circus our city has become?

OCKLAWAHA
DEO VINDICE! Y'ALL

[CS Foltz]

More than likely they would speechless unlike the rest of us Ock! Was up and over there in the James Brothers world not long ago...........pretty country but I would not live there.....too fond of beaches!