A "Free" Train?
Rahm says it won't cost a dime, which probably means it'll saddle the taxpayers with a few billion in bond debt:
- Mayor Rahm Emanuel is beginning his official search for firms to help turn his vision for a high-speed O’Hare express train from dream to reality. Today, City Hall along with the Chicago Infrastructure Trust will issue a formal Request For Qualifications (RFQ) seeking companies to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the new service.
An express link between downtown Chicago and its busiest international airport was first proposed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley in the early 1990s. The concept was more recently revived by Emanuel as a second term objective with the announcement of a feasibility study in early 2016. The results have apparently provided the administration with the confidence to move forward with the FRQ.
[...]
Though the O’Hare express is expected to cost billions of dollars, the City still insists that it will not rely on any taxpayer-derived funds. It is hoped that ride fares, advertising space, and other “project-specific revenues” will entice a private operator to foot the ten-figure bill.
- Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk says he’ll get in on the competition to construct an express train service to O’Hare Airport.
“The Boring Company will compete to fund, build & operate a high-speed Loop connecting Chicago O’Hare Airport to downtown,” Musk tweeted Wednesday night, referring to the company he founded to dig tunnels for underground transit systems.
Musk, who is in charge of Tesla, can't possibly think he'll make a profit in the most corrupt of sewers like Chicago. Of course, seeing as how he's made some sort of money via massive government subsidies for an electric car that can only be powered by a hundred-fold increase in coal-fired power plants (or ten-fold increase in nuclear power plants), he might not be the vulture picking over Chicago's corpse just yet.
Labels: dumb ideas
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
61 Comments:
The back room deal has already been made,
so don’t worry about it. Great news if you live
anywhere near that route, for the others,
fuck you and pay your taxes!!
We have the Blue Line that goes from O’Hare to downtown, in about a half hour. Why do you need another train to go there, and where the hell are you going to put it? If the rumors we’ve read here about 9.5 leaving before the end of his term (just in time for gang banger, FALN alum Luis Gutierrez to run), are true, hopefully, this idea dies before it ever come to fruition .
Its a project for his second term....if he wins. Its called cash flow. You dont think this evil little twerp survives on his salary do you ?
Isnt there a partial subway downtown from some other project that was never finished.
Musk should build a high speed train in Chicago as a model of what should be running across the continent.
There already exists an express service between downtown and ohare and it flies over my house every weekday, helicopters.
Put the millions into the pensions.
Assholes.
"Simpsons" Monorail Song...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM
Hey Rham, didn't your former boss-- Obama clearly explain that these projects NEVER come free-- hence obamas "you didn't build that" phrase from July 13,2013... "Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business – you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet."
"Ride fares" to help fund this project. The CTA is raising their fares because they are losing some much money. They can't make a profit even though they get government funds. What sucessful tunnel has Musk built already? If you had to build something like this use CTA trackage from O'Hare to Jefferson Park and build transfer point where the Metra meets the Blue line and electrify trackage into Ogilvie transportation center. A fraction of the cost of building 20 miles of tunnels.
The very best express link was called Megs Airport and enabled a hop to O'Hare in just the swiftest of moments. Then there are bulldozers. Not very fast.
Musk is a loser who never made a dime in profit.
Who better to ask for advice. Blind leading the blind.
Google had a pair of goofy executives blowing money
on "Moonshots." Funny, that shit stopped when they
brought in a professional Chief Financial Officer (Ruth
Porat) who spent 25 years on Wall Street. Better yet,
revenue and profits went up, along with the stock.
Imagine that!
Is this piece of rat turd ever going to announce he is leaving and going back to CA and plug up some loose holes since his play wife left the coop some time ago.
They really think we're stupid, don't they? But ,then, judging from the elected assortment of gypsys, tramps and thieves running this shitshow for generations, they are absolutely correct.
OF COURSE RAHM is going to Pull Money out of ASS again , Millions And Millions ,This time Half is Coming from the Health Cuts and Health Retirement Cuts he slammed City Workers with , With the Judge That went along with his Bullshit Down In Springfield isn't that Nice Of Him ,
They can call me Elon Musk if I had that kind of money.
So obviously the RUMORS of Rahm leaving early were nonsense. This fucking maniac won't leave until he's completely bankrupted this city, or until proof that he's a Satanist comes to light. Elon Musk looks like his face is made of plastic.
This'll NEVER Fly, this train idea.....See what I did there.....
Someday, some brave secret service guys are gonna drop the dime on Rahm, Obama, and all these other freaks. It'll make Weinstein look like a big ole cuddly teddy bear.
Elon Musk is no slouch at the con. He has people convinced he hasn't made a dime off Tesla. And, as another poster stated, "Do you think Rahm survives on his salary". And you'll see Madigan and his crew belly up for their share in exchange for passing any legislation that keeps this project going. The only ones getting fleeced are the tax payers.
Isn't this why we have the cta blue line that already goes to o'hare? Just stupid
If there was a profit potential this would have been done already. No way to build and finance it without putting the City on the hook (which means taxpayer) for bond guarantees.
The problem with the Blue Line isn't the time it takes, it's the people you meet.
Musk was a cofounder of paypal, which made profits before being bought out. Spacex has had mixed results with a few years of profitability. Solarcity and Tesla are not profitable, but he has aquired fake wealth based on stock price of these unprofitable businesses.
Musk is a loser who never made a dime in profit.
Who better to ask for advice. Blind leading the blind.
Google had a pair of goofy executives blowing money
on "Moonshots." Funny, that shit stopped when they
brought in a professional Chief Financial Officer (Ruth
Porat) who spent 25 years on Wall Street. Better yet,
revenue and profits went up, along with the stock.
Imagine that!
Yeah you’re right those electric cars are just a fad. Not going anywhere.
Maybe your not paying attention. Tesla has sold hundreds of thousands of cars. He’ s also shunning big automakers and oil companies by selling his vehicles on his own versus going through dealerships which result in huge markups.
Keep sticking your head in the sand and buy a new overpriced mini van from Chrysler every five years and pay $3 or $4 for a gallon of gas to the Middle East counties that want to destroy the US.
shouldn't Elon Musk concentrate on delivering that $35k Tesla that was promised?
He right it won't cost anything. Contracts let and work done will be nullified by the bankruptcy.
Just another government boondoggle so that all the usual suspects can line up at the trough and slurp. Of course, the hard working taxpayers get stuck with the check. Again. Bastards.
Somewhat wrong with the current service? Is saving 20-30 minutes from trip downtown to O'Hara really worth billions. Of new rail service is not stopping along way numbers of riders will be very limited. Of it does stop there goes a lot of the time advantage. How about workers at airport will they want to o downtown first before finding way home? How much more will anyone be willing to pay to save 23-30 minutes? Only problem with current service is sleeping bums and other types you would not want to ride with. What's to say those same types won't like a new more comfortable sleeping platform. Dream on, self driving cars will be a reality by the time this gets built thereby negating need for a billion bad dream.
Daley already spend 200 million on this failed project. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130612/BLOGS02/130619910/cta-reveals-its-block-37-superstation
...and of course if this ever gets off the ground and is wildly successful, the loss of revenue to the CTA will not mentioned.
Hey, everyday it is another scam and a sham from Rahm!
Take a look at the touted results of the "Reinvention" of the Shitty Colleges of Chicago. The public relations and public building construction scam began under Daley and Emanuel double down on it. Now the results of this massive waste of taxpayer funds conducted under the auspices of an unqualified dictatorial lunatic (Hyman) who proved so bad that Rahmbo actually had to can her when her contract (about $250,000.00 yearly) was up for renewal.
Various scandals have been exposed while the mayor runs around town and the nation boasting about increased graduation and program completion rates that are fraudulent. Here is the latest expose' compliment of the Better Government Association:
https://www.bettergov.org/news/internal-report-city-colleges-awarding-invalid-diplomas-in-apprentice-program
There is not reason to believe anything that Rahm Emanuel says is true unless he tells you that he is a liar. A high speed train that costs nothing and runs on pixie dust is about as valuable as a Shitty Colleges diploma or certificate.
For what it is worth, Rahm has been "negotiating" a new contract with the adjunct faculty at the City Colleges since 2012 (when CCC is not being cited for unfair labor practices) and there is no deal in sight.
WOW people leaving Chicago in such a hurry that we need a bullet train to get em da hell outta here!! sign me up, i'll buy a ticket! oh never mind the train's going to san francisco another sanctuary city with lots of bakeries.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Isnt there a partial subway downtown from some other project that was never finished.
12/01/2017 12:46:00 AM
Ah, the deeptunnel? waterproof it and put tracks down. Lay some concrete someplace near the loop and run some helo's.
LA has a just turn the city over to the parking meter company, they will own the city someday anyway.
"It won't cost taxpayers a dime."
WTF!! YGTBSM!.
Its an Elon Musk project. That is where all his money comes from: Government subsidies.
Tesla Motors is kept afloat only by government subsidies. It loses more than $15,000 on every car it sells.
They could skim a billion on this project. But city hall may want to get out of town fast one day.
Musk does a good job of getting the G to fund his experiments. Telsa is in business because of the hefty tax break for buying an electric car. Same goes for SpaceX.
The artical states:
"While Chicago already offers reliable rail access to O’Hare via the CTA’s Blue Line, it is hoped that a high-speed express connection could cut travel times in half—down to roughly 20 minutes. A ticket would cost more than the CTA but would substantially undercut the price of taxis or other ride-hailing services."
This is for the rich, to shave 20 minutes of time.
Only a business person could afford it.
A tourist family with two or three kids will opt for the slower ride.
Also why would Rahm undercut taxis & Uber type drivers.
Most of the drivers live in or near ChiRaq and pay taxes.
Sooooo,Rahm is catering to his rich friends again, not the community.
Underground super transport will be our new catacombs. Think of all the bodies that can be
hid down there? Also what happens when one breaks down half way to downtown?
Apparently laying an extra track right next to the existing Blue line and running it express never occurred to the big thinkers of Chicago in the 70 years the ORD's been in operation
Elon Musk never met a gov't gimmie that he didn't like. he doesn't see a high speed rail, he sees a gravy train.
What's the mayor got against the airport? Or is there a plan to export folks?
J.J.
Elon Musk is a good guy. He's an innovator.
Hundreds of millions will go to legal, engineering and consulting fees (up front of course) before a shovel ready job is ever set into the dirt.
Just how long has it been before The Crosstown Expressway brainstorm was finally canned?
That Elon Musk Rat Tunnel will be a bigger expense than Deep Tunnel that still can't handle a 3" storm cloudburst.
Where's the referendum of the ballot on that or are the Alderthieves to busy buying up land tracts along the route?
What a waste of money to get pissbum express service to O'Hare and nobody is complaining.
Will rahmie's train be safe? Or will crime run rampant like the rest of Chicago's transit system?
The ride from downtown to Ohare is commonly an hour twenty. Any weather it’s 2 hours. If this train could get you there in 30 minutes it would be great for the city. Hate all you want. Big business brings in big bucks.
Instead.. they should make a “super Express” payment to the pension fund.
If the RFQ was viable, the project would have already been built with private funding. Once again the taxpayer will be loaded down while the political elite and cronies feast at the trough of this boondoggle.
Anonymous said...
Apparently laying an extra track right next to the existing Blue line and running it express never occurred to the big thinkers of Chicago in the 70 years the ORD's been in operation
12/01/2017 12:04:00 PM
There's no room for a third track, stupid.
The inaugural run can be by CTA employee who fell asleep on Blue Line and ran it into O'Hare on 3/24/14. Must be in upper-level management by now.
Oh, there's already CTA/Mass transit there. Heck yes, add another train. That makes sense.....NOT!
We all generally pay off credit cards in 30 days. Why doesn't the government learn this?
NOT ILLINOIS. NOT LAW.
All this hype to get to/from O'Hare ten minutes sooner.
Asinine.
Beyond asinine.
All aboard. Eye Eye Eye. Were going onto the rails of the crazy train.
The ride from downtown to Ohare is commonly an hour twenty. Any weather it’s 2 hours. If this train could get you there in 30 minutes it would be great for the city. Hate all you want. Big business brings in big bucks.
12/01/2017 06:22:00 PM
What the hell you talking about. The CTA can take you from Ohare to downtown in 40 minutes and it stops at several downtown locations. The express choo choo will take 30 minutes and drop everyone off at the same location. Then you have to walk or cab it to your downtown location. So what the hell is so good there?
If it wasn't for the pissbums and other assholes on the Blue Line, it's a good way to get to/from O'Hare. There needs to be places to put luggage, but that would work best.
A dedicated tunnel/train from O'Hare to downtown Chicago is going to be at a bare minimum a $2 billion project. Even when done right by professionals with cheap labor and minimal graft, it'll be $100 million a mile at a best case scenario. New York's Second Avenue Subway is a billion dollars a mile. Billion.
There is not reason to believe anything that Rahm Emanuel says is true unless he tells you that he is a liar. A high speed train that costs nothing and runs on pixie dust is about as valuable as a Shitty Colleges diploma or certificate.
For what it is worth, Rahm has been "negotiating" a new contract with the adjunct faculty at the City Colleges since 2012 (when CCC is not being cited for unfair labor practices) and there is no deal in sight.
12/01/2017 09:28:00 AM
What did the city do with the millions they received for the WYCC frequency that they sold? No more tv studio training there. ;)
No more people in costumes sitting around a table hating on everyone! I’m sure the taxpayers lost money somehow....
"El Chapo" knows how to build tunnels. Magnificent, beautiful ones that come in on time and under budget too. If we're gonna have bullet trains we should hire him and make mine a 50 cal.
"The ride from downtown to Ohare is commonly an hour twenty. Any weather it’s 2 hours. If this train could get you there in 30 minutes it would be great for the city. Hate all you want. Big business brings in big bucks. "
The CTA Blue line only takes you 45 min. now! Spending billions of dollars to cut 15 mins travel time hell if they are worried about travel time that much they should of never tore up Meigs field
I have an idea and it would be much faster!
http://14544-presscdn-0-64.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/human-cannonball-750x501.jpg
AHOY! More than 90% of Tesla cars roll off assembly
line defective. LOOK IT UP. Henry Ford would have gone
out of business. These cars are not for the masses.
Pony up your $$$$$$$ and buy one for Chicago winters.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-quality-insight/build-fast-fix-later-speed-hurts-quality-at-tesla-some-workers-say-idUSKBN1DTONB
Anonymous said...
Instead.. they should make a “super Express” payment to the pension fund.
12/01/2017 06:38:00 PM
That would be the honorable thing to do.
(Therefore, it will never happen.)
"Anonymous said...
"The ride from downtown to Ohare is commonly an hour twenty. Any weather it’s 2 hours. If this train could get you there in 30 minutes it would be great for the city. Hate all you want. Big business brings in big bucks. "
The CTA Blue line only takes you 45 min. now! Spending billions of dollars to cut 15 mins travel time hell if they are worried about travel time that much they should of never tore up Meigs field
12/02/2017 10:12:00 AM"
I agree with the person who replied.
The travel times in the original post seem way off. Was that you, Tiny Dancer?
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