***The Official Rapid Rail Thread***

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

All bobol aside. 35 mins from South to Town sounds amazing!

but is 35 mins from south to pos on a flowing highway driving the speed limit.

That is assuming no traffic light, no traffic which will never happen unless is 2 AM.

The reason it taking the RR 35 minutes is because it has to make stops to accommodate the people not everyone going straight POS to South.

In reality it takes what 3 hours in heavy traffic peak hours from south to pos? compare the rail now 35 minutes vs 3 hours. And way cheaper aswell. hmmm but would agree it should do more than 160km/h would prefer 200km/h but I am sure there are reasons why it won't do 200

[sMASH]

How many passengers would this thing carry at one time?

[mero]

Scorch On De Rail fete go be vibes though

[Habit7]

How many passengers would this thing carry at one time?

700

[sMASH]

Wow.

[Numb3r4]

Just think when laventille bandits stage an attack on a train. It's every man jack getting rob.

Is that a western of some sorts....Last Train from Gun Hill or 3:10 To Yuma...

The Great Train Robbery

[Redman]

If the rapid rail is up and the traffic disappears....how long does it take to drive Sando/POS with no traffic??

40 mins?


Given the alternatives ....what makes the RR THE solution...???

All the other solutions are cheaper,more flexible and can be implemented now....

we need a Transportation Policy...multi modal and flexible.

Well if your car gets you 9 litres per 100km and from Sando to POS is 50km currently, with a super gasoline vehicle you will it will cost about $30 per one way trip.

With the fuel subsidy currently removed, price of fuel may double and it cost $60 per one way trip.

With subsidy gone and oil back at +$100 per barrel we are talking again double the price so it is $120 a trip, $1200 a week, $4800 a month.

A train ticket might be $12, $15 or $20? Runs off of cleaner CNG electricity, safer, more reliable and multi modal. You can't ask for a multi modal transport policy and not have a mass transit system.

Also cheaper solutions are not always the best. Consider the Endeavour flyover, rather than expand the flyover or build another one, many piecemeal attempts to change traffic flow, add roundabouts, add bypasses and whatever else, and it still causes traffic congestion and lost manhours.

Let us get the best, let us get something that works, so that we won't have to add some other solution for the new problem created.[/quote



And we again assume that this single solution is the way to go.
In the absence of relevant LOCAL analysis...


You ignore the fact that oil at 100 likely means that Nat Gas used in the generation of electricity here will also be higher and will have to be subsidized....so the rr will also be more expensive to run and maintain...full or empty...

You are advocating removing the gas subsidy that now benefits all drivers to redirect the funds to subsidize the rail...that will benefit only those who use it...

We have no population growth....so we should look at a multi pronged flexible approach that is scalable...not the most expensive,inflexible and longest lead time of any other.

We need to be aware of the types of changes....telecommuting and decentralization...public and private make the city center of POS less relevant....we going to commit to the largest project ever to get more people into a city that is at or near capacity...

We have infrastructure in place and in need of proper management but we could develop on it.

We have the ocean.It free.
Zero maintenance

Sando POS ....shortest distance is across the Gulf of Paria


Get a proper longer term policy study started.
In the mean time test the water taxi,brt and look at hover craft...

Why invest and commit to an intractable PERMANENT project like that ..to solve a problem that we can solve using more cost effective solutions that are easier to adapt...and more forgiving if we ballz it up...

We have monuments to the ballz up propensity...all over.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

700 passengers is a lot of people yes, no more bus can't stop because it full. Or you have to stand up because all seats are taken. Or BUS Ac not working, PTSC is in such a huge mess right now, half them bus the AC never working. VOLVO don't want to sell them parts etc.

Habit do you know how the AC system in the RR will work? I am hoping its just 1 AC motor with a huge compressor so it will be way less work to fix and deal with since is just 1 unit. An issue with PTSC is they have so many buses of so many different brands that they can't keep up with servicing all of them. Time to get rid of half them buses and go back to buying Volvo and sort out the issues with why these big name companies like Volvo no longer do business with PTSC.

One of the Managers in PTSC told me once that Marcopolo and Volvo refuse to do business with PTSC anymore but he didn't say why.

[Habit7]

Well you are badly off with crude oil prices correlating with natural gas. NG is being found now from under every rock to a cow fart, its supply is outstripping demand.


Our fuel subsidy at the average cost of $4B every year for the last 10 years could have built many rapid rails. It encourages us having 800,000 cars for 1.3m million ppl, our roads are clogged, our air is unhealthy, high vehicular mortality and forex is leaving the island. A subsidised mass transit system will be a faction of the fuel subsidy and will have added benefits in health, national security and productivity.

We have no net population growth but we have a widening middle class who are more educated and commute more.

More recently, 16 years ago, in 1996, a study by international consultants, Cansult, justified the need for a rapid rail system. Specialist consultants from India came to the same conclusion some years later.
In studying traffic along our main east-west and north-south corridors, Cansult found that the number of people travelling along the East-West Corridor alone was 21,000 per hour in each direction and predicted an increase to 28,000 by 2015. However, an update by Cansult found that the traffic had increased to 30,000 people per hour by 2007. In other words, the traffic on our main roads had increased at many times the rate predicted earlier.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-09- ... way-system

Telecommuting and decentralisation are not solutions, they are piecemeal actions to avoid the inevitable. You can't get more scalable than a rail. Water taxi and hovercraft run on the most subsidised fuel, diesel. It is only a solution for the major towns that are close to the shore, not even Point Fortin is walking distance to the sea.

Trying to plug holes won't work. We need a permanent solution.

[pete]

Your maths are a bit off.

It's $30/day round trip Sando to POS in Fuel, the same price as the fast ferry which to me makes that a much better option. Less wear and tear on the car, less traffic and no looking for a park in town.

If fuel doubles in price it then becomes much cheaper to use the water taxi unless you have 2 people or more in the car so this would either drive people into carpooling or using PT. To me that's ALL they need to do to encourage people to park up their cars and use the bus. Have place to park, jack up the price of fuel and have the buses run on time. Subsidise the buses instead of fuel.

[Habit7]

Your maths are a bit off.

It's $30/day round trip Sando to POS in Fuel, the same price as the fast ferry which to me makes that a much better option. Less wear and tear on the car, less traffic and no looking for a park in town.

If fuel doubles in price it then becomes much cheaper to use the water taxi unless you have 2 people or more in the car so this would either drive people into carpooling or using PT. To me that's ALL they need to do to encourage people to park up their cars and use the bus. Have place to park, jack up the price of fuel and have the buses run on time. Subsidise the buses instead of fuel.

You are right my calc is for round trip.

But I take water taxi and it is a hassle to find a park unless you pay the $250 monthly fee with is sold out in hours. Water taxi doesnt solve the problem, it is heavily subsidised and only serves ppl in Sando and environs. Are we going to send WT up the Caroni for ppl in the corridor?

‘Water taxis leaking $$’
Published on Jun 9, 2014, 8:04 pm AST
Updated on Jun 11, 2014, 9:58 am AST


THE Water Taxi Service continues to be a financial drain for the Government despite being beneficial to passengers.
Dr Carson Charles, president of the National Infrastructure Development Co Ltd (Nidco), the State agency responsible for the water taxi, said yesterday that, every year, there were complaints about the vessels’ financial loss.
He said: “The water taxi is heavily subsidised by the Government. It is a big loss. When you pay $15 for a fare, it actually costs over $100 for a ticket. Nobody wants to increase the fare but it is a huge financial drain. Four brand new vessels, it costs a tremendous amount of money, over $400 million.”
He said: “The water taxi service tries everything they can to mitigate against this very big loss because every year when the accounts go up, people comment about the water taxi loss.”
To ease the financial burden, a parking fee of $250 a month was introduced. Charles said that amount was a small price compared to other parking areas. However, commuters have been complaining that if one wanted to park their vehicle just for the day they were not allowed. Only monthly parking packages are available.
Many have been parking their vehicles on the roadside near the terminal as a result.
At the San Fernando Terminal, King’s Wharf, there are 250 parking spaces.
An official with the water taxi service said work was being done on an electronic ticketing system. Until that system is functioning, then different types of parking passes will be issued. However, the official could not say when the system would be in place.
In 2012, then transport minister Devant Maharaj said the heavily subsidised fare was one of the reasons why the service was under review and the planned expansion service to Point Fortin shelved.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Wat ... 59171.html

[bluesclues]

All bobol aside. 35 mins from South to Town sounds amazing!

but is 35 mins from south to pos on a flowing highway driving the speed limit.

Yeah you try driving 80kmph during rush hour traffic and tell me how that goes.

well how it is now with the traffic it wont happen during rush hr. but if we could make an efficient roadway to pos from east to west, then rush hr conditions could improve. the lights is what does cause the backing up anyway. backup will start from by the light housel lights. but once u reach there u in pos anyway.. so u reach.

evening traffic will be much better. pure free flow and easy left hand turn-offs heading east. south traffic is mostly from ppl slowing down to watch accident and other non-existant reasons. ppl driving in the wrong lane and wrong speed etc. thats why i say we need to enforce lane restrictions. especially for them truck drivers who like to drive like they own the road.

[pjfred]

All bobol aside. 35 mins from South to Town sounds amazing!

but is 35 mins from south to pos on a flowing highway driving the speed limit.

Yeah you try driving 80kmph during rush hour traffic and tell me how that goes.

well how it is now with the traffic it wont happen during rush hr. but if we could make an efficient roadway to pos from east to west, then rush hr conditions could improve. the lights is what does cause the backing up anyway. backup will start from by the light housel lights. but once u reach there u in pos anyway.. so u reach.

evening traffic will be much better. pure free flow and easy left hand turn-offs heading east. south traffic is mostly from ppl slowing down to watch accident and other non-existant reasons. ppl driving in the wrong lane and wrong speed etc. thats why i say we need to enforce lane restrictions. especially for them truck drivers who like to drive like they own the road.

Stupid mofos! Congestion on roadways in POS won't stop. No lights will end in same result. Then again stupidity won't stop cuz as what Rowley said on a platform ( vote for your ethnic group ) so say great is the PNM when yuh ass bawling in the grocery about prices!

[RASC]

Anyway...meanwhile... Ethiopia seems to be enjoying their new light rail system.

While we in Trinidad clamouring for more busses ---the more I see sub-saharan Africa adopting technology (mobile banking industry for example) the sadder I become, as we're being left behind.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

All bobol aside. 35 mins from South to Town sounds amazing!

but is 35 mins from south to pos on a flowing highway driving the speed limit.

Yeah you try driving 80kmph during rush hour traffic and tell me how that goes.

well how it is now with the traffic it wont happen during rush hr. but if we could make an efficient roadway to pos from east to west, then rush hr conditions could improve. the lights is what does cause the backing up anyway. backup will start from by the light housel lights. but once u reach there u in pos anyway.. so u reach.

evening traffic will be much better. pure free flow and easy left hand turn-offs heading east. south traffic is mostly from ppl slowing down to watch accident and other non-existant reasons. ppl driving in the wrong lane and wrong speed etc. thats why i say we need to enforce lane restrictions. especially for them truck drivers who like to drive like they own the road.

We got enough carbon monoxide pollution in this tiny country already (with some scientists saying its worse than second hand smoke). Too many people abusing this subsidy, one house having 3 and 4 cars, people going to the malls and leaving engine idle with AC on so car will be cool when they get back, others putting in a set of high cc engines and fart cannon mufflers and making a set of dotish noise whole day.

Much of that going to cut out once you remove that fuel subsidy I for one look forward to seeing less of these idiots racing all over the place with box lancer. Hopefully that rise in fuel cost will make them do that sheit less, there is a strong chance it will. Take that fuel subsidy and transfer it to something that will benefit every single person in this country, in this case a Train.

[bluesclues]

All bobol aside. 35 mins from South to Town sounds amazing!

but is 35 mins from south to pos on a flowing highway driving the speed limit.

Yeah you try driving 80kmph during rush hour traffic and tell me how that goes.

well how it is now with the traffic it wont happen during rush hr. but if we could make an efficient roadway to pos from east to west, then rush hr conditions could improve. the lights is what does cause the backing up anyway. backup will start from by the light housel lights. but once u reach there u in pos anyway.. so u reach.

evening traffic will be much better. pure free flow and easy left hand turn-offs heading east. south traffic is mostly from ppl slowing down to watch accident and other non-existant reasons. ppl driving in the wrong lane and wrong speed etc. thats why i say we need to enforce lane restrictions. especially for them truck drivers who like to drive like they own the road.

We got enough carbon monoxide pollution in this tiny country already (with some scientists saying its worse than second hand smoke). Too many people abusing this subsidy, one house having 3 and 4 cars, people going to the malls and leaving engine idle with AC on so car will be cool when they get back, others putting in a set of high cc engines and fart cannon mufflers and making a set of dotish noise whole day.

Much of that going to cut out once you remove that fuel subsidy I for one look forward to seeing less of these idiots racing all over the place with box lancer. Hopefully that rise in fuel cost will make them do that sheit less, there is a strong chance it will. Take that fuel subsidy and transfer it to something that will benefit every single person in this country, in this case a Train.

ok so u want to lash the fart canons so bad that you dont mind if u get some backlash doin it? as it appears, any and all projects will bring a tax to pay for it. any new tax will create price rises, and price rises indicate inflation. so if u want this rail u asking for more taxes and to inflate the economy a lil bit(or perhaps alot who knows for sure) to do it.

i just want to point that out. we will have to ban our bellies under pnm to get that rail. like pnm is a ban belly government. always askin yuh to tighten yuh belt.. then u hear calder hart and duprey gone with 50bn dollars and u understand why u had to be tightenin so.

let me also repost this. since the imf's advice resonates with mine.
www.trinidadexpress.com/20151013/featur ... ning-in-tt

[sMASH]

But I take water taxi and it is a hassle to find a park unless you pay the $250 monthly fee with is sold out in hours. Water taxi doesnt solve the problem, it is heavily subsidised and only serves ppl in Sando and environs. Are we going to send WT up the Caroni for ppl in the corridor?

‘Water taxis leaking $$’
Published on Jun 9, 2014, 8:04 pm AST
Updated on Jun 11, 2014, 9:58 am AST


THE Water Taxi Service continues to be a financial drain for the Government despite being beneficial to passengers.
Dr Carson Charles, president of the National Infrastructure Development Co Ltd (Nidco), the State agency responsible for the water taxi, said yesterday that, every year, there were complaints about the vessels’ financial loss.
He said: “The water taxi is heavily subsidised by the Government. It is a big loss. When you pay $15 for a fare, it actually costs over $100 for a ticket. Nobody wants to increase the fare but it is a huge financial drain. Four brand new vessels, it costs a tremendous amount of money, over $400 million.”
He said: “The water taxi service tries everything they can to mitigate against this very big loss because every year when the accounts go up, people comment about the water taxi loss.”
To ease the financial burden, a parking fee of $250 a month was introduced. Charles said that amount was a small price compared to other parking areas. However, commuters have been complaining that if one wanted to park their vehicle just for the day they were not allowed. Only monthly parking packages are available.
Many have been parking their vehicles on the roadside near the terminal as a result.
At the San Fernando Terminal, King’s Wharf, there are 250 parking spaces.
An official with the water taxi service said work was being done on an electronic ticketing system. Until that system is functioning, then different types of parking passes will be issued. However, the official could not say when the system would be in place.
In 2012, then transport minister Devant Maharaj said the heavily subsidised fare was one of the reasons why the service was under review and the planned expansion service to Point Fortin shelved.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Wat ... 59171.html

This is the same arguement to use against the rail, but in the billions.
The only real difference is that u don't have the chance of sinking with the rail.

Nobody saying that the rapid rail wouldn't work. What we are saying is that at THIS time it is too much of an expense to undertake. Is like deciding u csn buy a car and not travel anymore, but u want to pay down on bmw and make payments till thy kingdom come, instead of just buying a tiida.

At this point in time, remove fuel subsidy, put more cng busses.

[skylinechild]

This is the same arguement to use against the rail, but in the billions.
The only real difference is that u don't have the chance of sinking with the rail.

Nobody saying that the rapid rail wouldn't work. What we are saying is that at THIS time it is too much of an expense to undertake. Is like deciding u csn buy a car and not travel anymore, but u want to pay down on bmw and make payments till thy kingdom come, instead of just buying a tiida.

At this point in time, remove fuel subsidy, put more cng busses.

i willing to voice my opinion here....

rapid rail sounds good but the money to get it. also what methods are going to encourage john public to use it and discourage personal vehicles.?? more tax weather it be in the form of removal of subsidy or higher MVT ??

what about govt officials - are they going to be using the RR or will they be driving in style with escort to and from every event under the sun.??

cng buses are a good idea but you got to examine the reason why ppl dont like to take the bus
pros and cons style.

PRO
cheaper

CON
always late
not guaranteed to get on
workers (almost always) on strike
morning / evening rush (even more so when theres an emergency or heavy downpour)
sights sounds and smells on the bus -OMG disgusting
no peace an quiet.

IMHO there should not be one fix it all solution for everything (R.R) multiple solutions even smaller ones help reduce the traffic congestion.

decentralization
implement a tollbooth system for private cars
drastic improvement the bus service
implementation of a small tram system to work within the city from street to street.
proper SECURED parking OUTSIDE of the city.
stop govt officials from having special passes -let them use the same transportation modes as john public.
enforce proper driving practices.

if after ALL these fail....then by all means..R.R for it.

EDIT -
any by decentralization i mean PROPER decentralization- not just opening up "offices" all over the place.
imagine you STILL have to go L.O in pos / sando to change engine / color / ownership of a car or register a car.

[Redman]

I said NG prices are likely to be higher if oil was back at 100...not that the historical correlation would continue...and the truth is that LNG prices are geographically sensitive...so while your chart is pretty.... Platts has Japan LNG prices going forward about 2X HH. So while HH will be low there are other markets.that not tied to US supply/demand issues.

That said I have a Nat Geo Magazine from June 2004 that ran a front page story said the era of cheap oil is gone....so the futility of speculating on commodity prices is well proven.

You are using selective parts of reports and studies....

More recently, 16 years ago, in 1996, a study by international consultants, Cansult, justified the need for a rapid rail system. Specialist consultants from India came to the same conclusion some years later.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-09- ... way-system

http://www.newsday.co.tt/businessday/pr ... 83884.html

PB also reported in their Diagnostic Report of the CNTS reported that two studies were conducted for the East West Corridor by Cansult, one in 1997 and the other in 2005. Both studies recommended upgrading the Bus Priority Route to provide a higher level of public transport services. PB claimed that the ‘2005 East-West Corridor study pointed out that rapid transit was needed in the corridor in the future.’

“Here is what the Cansult 2005 report actually stated: “Long term East-West Corridor improvements (2010 – 2015 and beyond) and/or government initiatives which should be further investigated include (but are not limited to) the following: (a) Preferred Options: (i) high order transit systems such as dedicated bus rapid transit or light rail transit system; (ii) increased support for bussing / maxi taxis; (iii) introduction of High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on other roads in the East/West Corridor, UBH Corridor or greater Port-of-Spain to induce higher modal splits; (iv) transit-friendly land use polices; (v) network wide travel demand policies (TDM); (vi) land use diversion strategy away from Port-of-Spain. (b) Other Options: (i) addition of another East-West Corridor road facility.’

You quoted the PM.....

in studying traffic along our main east-west and north-south corridors, Cansult found that the number of people travelling along the East-West Corridor alone was 21,000 per hour in each direction and predicted an increase to 28,000 by 2015. However, an update by Cansult found that the traffic had increased to 30,000 people per hour by 2007. In other words, the traffic on our main roads had increased at many times the rate predicted earlier

But Dr Rowley is selecting the parts that supports his choice ...nothing new for a politician.

Furlonge has additional data.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/businessday/0,184478.html

I have often repeated that World Bank Technical Paper No 52 – Urban Transit System (1986) states (p.3-5) that ‘transit systems using standard-size buses, each with a capacity of about 80 passengers, are able to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour per lane (emphasis mine) in mixed traffic.

Systems using larger buses with a capacity of 120 or more, operating in the same conditions, can carry up to 15,000 passengers per hour (per lane) … (and) maximum bus transit performance is provided by exclusive busways in which buses are physically separated from other traffic by medians and barriers, with grade separation or priority at intersection … (with) volumes in excess of 30,000 passengers per hour per lane.’ Can anybody confirm that that is not applicable here?

That part in red smells plenty like the PBR...properly managed and maintained.

The reality is that the RR does nothing unique....It delivers the same result for exponentially more money and in a less flexible manner.

I will say again...we need an HONEST transparent Policy study.
and a Referendum
Not data mining to support a forgone conclusion

[Habit7]

The NG prices in natural resource deprived, nuclear energy fatigued Japan is not a benchmark on prices. We use the HH prices in this part of the world because NG is in great supply locally, regionally and thanks to the great shale splays in North America, we can expect high supply internationally. Even when NG was at the highest prices in 2008 it was still more economical than diesel.

What I quoted is not refuted by what you quoted. We have reached the threshold for a rail transit system and a rail is one of other options for traffic alleviation. We have been one of the pioneers of BRT with our PBR and what happened is the same thing that dedicated bus lanes all around the world. People don't take buses, car use still grows and bus lanes are taken back for car use. As cheaply as BRT is implemented, it can be dissolved. A LRT attracts more commuters, more comfort and legroom, lower operating cost per passenger and less air and noise pollution.

We both agree that Trindad need a mass transit system, why give a half effort that won't encourage passengers to leave their cars and take public transport? We can built a BRT and still have traffic, however built a LRT and be sure that you can live in Sangre Grande and POS is only 35mins away.

For those of you calling for buses, trust me, if you don't take buses now, don't think you will take it when there is a BRT.

[sMASH]

THe potential cons of the bus system are mostly the same for the rail system. The two major problems would be the establishing cost and the flexibility restriction.
700 persons per trip is quite attractive. How many persons can a buss carry, 50? Well implement 14 more busses.
The differences between the rail and the bus would be that the rail would have its own lane so not impeded by traffic.
To solve that, hire amalgamated to run he bus system.

Imagine when he bus shut down. U would have to wait half hour for another. When the rail shut down, how long till another.

Case against water taxi: highly subsidised runs at a loss.

Case to justify billions and a loan that would not be paid off: highly subsidised and runs at a loss


Is not 500 million spending behind the rail, is billions.

The only advantage the rail has over bus is thwt it would take less time.to commute to and from work.
If someone likes their own personal vehicle then they would continue to use it.

What should be done is make use of public transport more attractive and use of personal vehicle less viable, to induce less cars on the road.



Parking for water taxi? Make a maco size parkade by he hospital... Real real estate not used there.

[Redman]

Im not refuting the RR....Ive said here that there are alternatives that we need to try BEFORE we commit to the RR...


We are YET to have a real proper analysis done.....

For those of you calling for buses, trust me, if you don't take buses now, don't think you will take it when there is a BRT.

So people will change their behavior for s RR but not a BRT....

None of us will use anything that is unreliable and poorly managed.

Keep the subsidy and have a RR that is run the way our public transport is run now ....you will get the same results...

Properly implemented the BRT AND say the WT(just as a label) could take 10% off the roads..but we guessing at the impact cuz we have no data.


The studies you referenced partially clearly suggested that multiple modes is THE answer......and the PROPERLY MANAGED RR should be the assessed AFTER we have properly studied the impact of properly managed alternatives

[Lance]

Anyway...meanwhile... Ethiopia seems to be enjoying their new light rail system.

While we in Trinidad clamouring for more busses ---the more I see sub-saharan Africa adopting technology (mobile banking industry for example) the sadder I become, as we're being left behind.

Please contextualize your initial statement.

Juxtapose Ethiopia (or Addis Ababa for that matter) to Trinidad.

You can use various demographic and geographic metrics.

[Habit7]

So people will change their behavior for s RR but not a BRT....Yes. It has been proven around the world that LRTs attracts more rideship than BRTs

None of us will use anything that is unreliable and poorly managed.Agreed

Keep the subsidy and have a RR that is run the way our public transport is run now ....you will get the same results...I am not saying that, I am saying get rid of the subsidy and have a LRT that serves 80% of the population.

Properly implemented the BRT AND say the WT(just as a label) could take 10% off the roads..but we guessing at the impact cuz we have no data. Well we have the properly implemented Deluxe Coach that runs on the hour from Sando and Grande, comfortable, only $12 and ppl still dont see it as an alternative. We have the properly implemented, world class, best customer service from a public institution Water Taxi and it is highly economically inefficient, not to mention it only can serve Sando and environs.


The studies you referenced partially clearly suggested that multiple modes is THE answer......and the PROPERLY MANAGED RR should be the assessed AFTER we have properly studied the impact of properly managed alternatives. Sure, I welcome the study on the alternatives. But we have experience with the alternatives and I am sure when they were implemented with the constraints that still exist, they had all hopes that they would be properly run.

[bluesclues]

is this why we cant have smooth roads?

[pete]

Yes it's just $12 from Grande to POS but from home to where the bus is might be another $3 each way and from city gate to wherever in POS another $3-4. Still, the gas it takes might be like $15 each way tops and you leave from home and arrive exactly at your destination. When that same trip becomes $30 each way and the bus remains at $12 you might find more people scrambling to use it.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

Are there any other small Caribbean islands that use a railway? I hate to use the word small because we are one of the very large Caribbean Islands at 4000 square KM, others are a fraction of our size. If there is another island our size or smaller then we can easily justify getting a railway.

[16 cycles]

just wary of projects that will burden the treasury for a very long time....build, maintain, repair

[teems1]

Anyway...meanwhile... Ethiopia seems to be enjoying their new light rail system.

While we in Trinidad clamouring for more busses ---the more I see sub-saharan Africa adopting technology (mobile banking industry for example) the sadder I become, as we're being left behind.

32km of rail at a cost of 475m USD.

Doesn't matter if its built by the Chinese, at approx 15m USD per km that is spectacular.

[sMASH]

475mil + the cost to acquire the lands ... And if they assess the properties after property tax implemented, many more money monies would have to be added.