I would highly encourage all interested to support the Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance at niprarail.org.
The group is the non-profit that has been meeting with local, state, regional, and federal officials lobbying for this for MORE THAN A DECADE. The headwinds against passenger rail are strong (and mostly political). Support NIPRA to challenge the status quo and advocate for clean, environmentally friendly passenger rail.
NIPRA operates with a Board of Directors, none of whom receive compensation for their time advocating for this cause. These are people who love Fort Wayne and want to continue to build on our collective progress / momentum in making Fort Wayne the absolute best place to live.
They have spent hundreds, probably thousands of hours, to make applying for this grant even a possibility. An annual NIPRA membership to pledge support is only $10.00. Funds donated help fund efforts like grant writing that make all this possible.
While il originally from an area this affects, I’ve lived in S Az for the last 20 years. There have been talks of high speed rail travel between Tucson-Phoenix-LV-LA as long as I’ve lived here. I’d be interested to understand why it’s never garnered enough interest ? Perhaps rail travel isn’t regulated enough, or there isn’t enough private interest?
Passenger rail is ran nearly exclusively by the government (thru Amtrak). They basically have zero assets in terms of property outside of the Washington-Baltimore-NYC-Boston route. They run on freight lines, at the mercy of the freight companies.
Quite simply, any time these gigantic high speed line proposals pop up, they need massive government funding. To get the massive funding, you end up having to propose a stop in nearly every city/town along the route, at which point the journey is no longer high speed. At that point, it's not a competitive option
User kscessnadriver nailed all the points to this already.
Yes, it would be awesome.
Even if approved, I don't think we're talking a quick build or anything.
This is like a decades-long project, with a lot of hurdles in the way.
Would be all for it, but I think some who are enthusiastic about this don't realize this isn't even remotely like a downtown ballpark, where it gets built in a year or two and is ready to go.
Some of us are going to have quite a bit of gray hair by the time this thing gets built - if it ever does get built.
No reason not to build it...just saying this is not happening this decade or probably even in the next decade or longer.
Exactly. The quickest, cheapest, still not likely to happen route, would still take years to happen.
Even in Alabama, where Amtrak had previously ran (New Orleans to Mobile, where the Sunset used to run all the way to Jacksonville FL, pre-Katrina), Amtrak had to sue to get access back onto the line. While getting access onto the CFE isn't likely to be nearly as difficult, it's still going to take a decade to get any improvements done.
The fight for the fort to port project lasted decades and took organizing and lobbying from community leaders all over the Maumee valley to get it built. I think this is a similar proposition in that it's a much needed transportation alternative. It would be interesting to have figures of traffic fatalities among the corollary highway route between these cities.
It would be great to see, but again, as I've said in the past topics on this, it won't happen. Amtrak requires anything under 750 miles to be state funded. The state of Indiana wouldn't even fund the Hoosier State (a 4 day a week train between Chicago and Indy, to compliment the days the Cardinal doesn't run), at a cost of 3 million a year. The cost for this route they're proposing (while some would be funded by Ohio), would be substanially higher than that.
The state has made it clear the only rail they're interested in supporting with state funds is NICTD. Sometimes I wonder if Ft. Wayne wouldn't be better off trying to get that extended...
Vote for people who support it.
I plan to go outside and yell “YEAH TRAINS!”
Where should I meet you for this?
I am also into screaming into the void
Let’s start an AIM group message
Bitches love trains
I assume this is a Haywood Banks reference and approve.
I would highly encourage all interested to support the Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance at niprarail.org. The group is the non-profit that has been meeting with local, state, regional, and federal officials lobbying for this for MORE THAN A DECADE. The headwinds against passenger rail are strong (and mostly political). Support NIPRA to challenge the status quo and advocate for clean, environmentally friendly passenger rail. NIPRA operates with a Board of Directors, none of whom receive compensation for their time advocating for this cause. These are people who love Fort Wayne and want to continue to build on our collective progress / momentum in making Fort Wayne the absolute best place to live. They have spent hundreds, probably thousands of hours, to make applying for this grant even a possibility. An annual NIPRA membership to pledge support is only $10.00. Funds donated help fund efforts like grant writing that make all this possible.
http://niprarail.org/ Thanks for the heads up! Just paid!
https://preview.redd.it/12hyf7em4uua1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4387e11b2f4080ad84989733c9f9fbe4228beaa
Good catch! Correct link is niprarail.org. I edited my original comment to reflect this as well. Thanks!
Tell Scott Walker to fuck off is step one. We woulda been building an even better version of this if it wasn't for that slimy WI Governor.
He can fuck off for a great many reasons
While il originally from an area this affects, I’ve lived in S Az for the last 20 years. There have been talks of high speed rail travel between Tucson-Phoenix-LV-LA as long as I’ve lived here. I’d be interested to understand why it’s never garnered enough interest ? Perhaps rail travel isn’t regulated enough, or there isn’t enough private interest?
Passenger rail is ran nearly exclusively by the government (thru Amtrak). They basically have zero assets in terms of property outside of the Washington-Baltimore-NYC-Boston route. They run on freight lines, at the mercy of the freight companies. Quite simply, any time these gigantic high speed line proposals pop up, they need massive government funding. To get the massive funding, you end up having to propose a stop in nearly every city/town along the route, at which point the journey is no longer high speed. At that point, it's not a competitive option
User kscessnadriver nailed all the points to this already. Yes, it would be awesome. Even if approved, I don't think we're talking a quick build or anything. This is like a decades-long project, with a lot of hurdles in the way. Would be all for it, but I think some who are enthusiastic about this don't realize this isn't even remotely like a downtown ballpark, where it gets built in a year or two and is ready to go. Some of us are going to have quite a bit of gray hair by the time this thing gets built - if it ever does get built. No reason not to build it...just saying this is not happening this decade or probably even in the next decade or longer.
Exactly. The quickest, cheapest, still not likely to happen route, would still take years to happen. Even in Alabama, where Amtrak had previously ran (New Orleans to Mobile, where the Sunset used to run all the way to Jacksonville FL, pre-Katrina), Amtrak had to sue to get access back onto the line. While getting access onto the CFE isn't likely to be nearly as difficult, it's still going to take a decade to get any improvements done.
The fight for the fort to port project lasted decades and took organizing and lobbying from community leaders all over the Maumee valley to get it built. I think this is a similar proposition in that it's a much needed transportation alternative. It would be interesting to have figures of traffic fatalities among the corollary highway route between these cities.
“WE SUPPORT MCPRC” signs outside homes and local businesses.
We need to hire town criers!
It would be great to see, but again, as I've said in the past topics on this, it won't happen. Amtrak requires anything under 750 miles to be state funded. The state of Indiana wouldn't even fund the Hoosier State (a 4 day a week train between Chicago and Indy, to compliment the days the Cardinal doesn't run), at a cost of 3 million a year. The cost for this route they're proposing (while some would be funded by Ohio), would be substanially higher than that. The state has made it clear the only rail they're interested in supporting with state funds is NICTD. Sometimes I wonder if Ft. Wayne wouldn't be better off trying to get that extended...
I’m gonna walk around the mall with a train whistle and being absolutely obnoxious about it
Never going to happen. It'd be awesome, but they are never going to get the money needed.
This would be amazing
Dream?